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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:44:49 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:44:49 -0700 |
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| tree | f0494319e32655150395c9954c56451ce092ff04 /14562-h | |
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diff --git a/14562-h/14562-h.htm b/14562-h/14562-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a8b6077 --- /dev/null +++ b/14562-h/14562-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,18508 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta name="generator" content= + "HTML Tidy for Windows (vers 1st August 2004), see www.w3.org" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + + <title>The Land War in Ireland, November, 2004.</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + hr.short {text-align: center; width: 20%;} + html>body hr.short {margin-right: 40%; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%;} + + .note + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + .poem + {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 5em;} + + .figure, .figcenter, .figright, .figleft + {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;} + .figure img, .figcenter img, .figright img, .figleft img + {border: none;} + .figure p, .figcenter p, .figright p, .figleft p + {margin: 0; text-indent: 1em;} + .figcenter {margin: auto;} + .figright {float: right;} + .figleft {float: left;} + + .footnote {font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10%; margin-left: 10%;} + + .side { float:right; + font-size: 75%; + width: 25%; + padding-left:10px; + border-left: dashed thin; + margin-left: 10px; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic;} + --> +/*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> + +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14562 ***</div> + + <h1>THE LAND-WAR IN IRELAND</h1> + + <h2>A HISTORY FOR THE TIMES</h2> + + <h4>BY</h4> + + <h3>JAMES GODKIN</h3> + + <h4>AUTHOR OF 'IRELAND AND HER CHURCHES'</h4> + + <h4>LATE IRISH CORRESPONDENT OF 'THE TIMES'</h4> + + <h4>London</h4> + + <h3>MACMILLAN AND CO.</h3> + + <h4>1870</h4> + + <h4>LONDON: PRINTED BY</h4> + + <h4>SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE</h4> + + <h4>AND PARLIAMENT STREET</h4> + + <h2>PREFACE.</h2> + + <p>It would be difficult to name any subject so much discussed + during the last half century as 'the condition of Ireland.' There + was an endless diversity of opinion; but in one thing all writers + and speakers agreed: the condition was morbid. Ireland was always + sick, always under medical treatment, always subject to enquiries + as to the nature of her maladies, and the remedies likely to + effect a cure. The royal commissions and parliamentary committees + that sat upon her case were innumerable, and their reports would + fill a library. Still the nature of the disease, or the + complication of diseases, was a mystery. Sundry 'boons' were + prescribed, by way of experiment; but, though recommended as + perfect cures, they did the patient no good. She was either very + low and weak, or so dangerously strong and violent that she had + to be put under restraint. Whenever this crisis arrived, she + arrested the special attention of the state doctors. + Consultations were held, and it was solemnly determined that + something should be done. Another effort should be made to + discover the <i>fons malorum</i>, and dry it up if + possible.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevi" id= + "pagevi"></a>[pg vi]</span> + + <p>A diseased nation, subject to paroxysms of insanity, and + requiring 30,000 keepers, was a dangerous neighbour, as well as a + serious financial burden. Yet many contended that all such + attempts were useless. It was like trying different kinds of soap + to whiten the skin of a negro. The patient was incurable. Her + ailment was nothing but natural perversity, aggravated by + religious delusions; and the root of her disorder could never be + known till she was subjected to a <i>post mortem</i> examination, + for which it was hoped emigration, and the help of improving + landlords, would soon afford an opportunity. In the meantime, the + strait waistcoat must be put on, to keep the patient from doing + mischief.</p> + + <p>But at length a great physician arose, who declared that this + state of things should not continue; the honour, if not the + safety, of England demanded that the treatment should be + reversed. Mr. Gladstone understands the case of Ireland, and he + has courage to apply the proper remedies. Yet the British public + do not understand it so well; and he will need all the force of + public opinion to sustain him and his cabinet in the work of + national regeneration which they have undertaken. It is not + enough for a good physician to examine the symptoms of his + patient. He must have a full and faithful history of the case. He + must know how the disease originated, and how it was treated. If + injuries were inflicted, he must know under what circumstances, + how they affected the nervous system, and whether there may not + be <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevii" id="pagevii"></a>[pg + vii]</span> surrounding influences which prevent the restoration + of health, or some nuisance that poisons the atmosphere.</p> + + <p>Such a history of the case of Ireland the author has + endeavoured to give in the following pages. It it is no + perfunctory service. He resolved to do it years ago, when he + finished his work on the Irish Church Establishment, and it has + been delayed only in consequence of illness and other + engagements. He does not boast of any extraordinary + qualifications for the work. But he claims the advantage of + having studied the subject long and earnestly, as one in which he + has been interested from his youth. He has written the history of + the country more or less fully three times. During his thirty + years' connexion with the press, it has been his duty to examine + and discuss everything that appeared before the public upon Irish + questions, and it has always been his habit to bring the light of + history to bear upon the topics of the day. Twenty years ago he + was an active member of the Irish Tenant League, which held great + county meetings in most parts of the island; and was + enthusiastically supported by the tenant farmers, adopting + resolutions and petitions on the land question almost identical + with those passed by similar meetings at the present time. Then + Mr. Sharman Crawford was the only landlord who joined in the + movement; now many of the largest proprietors take their stand on + the tenant-right platform. And after a generation of sectarian + division and religious dissension in Ulster, stimulated by the + landed gentry, <span class="pagenum"><a name="pageviii" id= + "pageviii"></a>[pg viii]</span> for political purposes, the + Catholic priests and the Presbyterian clergy have again united to + advocate the demands of the people for the legal protection of + their industry and their property.</p> + + <p>There is scarcely a county in Ireland which the author of this + volume has not traversed more than once, having always an eye to + the condition of the population, their mode of living, and the + relations of the different classes. During the past year, as + special commissioner of the <i>Irish Times</i>, he went through + the greater part of Ulster, and portions of the south, in order + to ascertain the feelings of the farmers and the working classes, + on the great question which is about to engage the attention of + Parliament.</p> + + <p>The result of his historical studies and personal enquiries is + this:—All the maladies of Ireland, which perplex statesmen + and economists, have arisen from injuries inflicted by England in + the wars which she waged to get possession of the Irish land. + Ireland has been irreconcilable, not because she was conquered by + England, not even because she was persecuted, but because she was + robbed of her inheritance. If England had done everything she has + done against the Irish nation, omitting the <i>confiscations</i>, + the past would have been forgotten and condoned long ago, and the + two nations would have been one people. Even the religious wars + resolve themselves into efforts to retain the land, or to recover + the forfeited estates. And the banished chiefs never <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pageix" id="pageix"></a>[pg ix]</span> could + have rallied the nation to arms, as they so often did against + overwhelming odds, if the people had not been involved in the + ruin of their lords. All that is really important in the history + of the country for the last three centuries is, the fighting of + the two nations for the possession of the soil. The Reformation + was in reality nothing but a special form of the land war. The + oath of supremacy was simply a lever for evicting the owners of + the land. The process was simple. The king demanded spiritual + allegiance; refusal was high treason; the punishment of high + treason was forfeiture of estates, with death or banishment to + the recusants. Any other law they might have obeyed, and retained + their inheritance. This law fixed its iron grapples in the + conscience, and made obedience impossible, without a degree of + baseness that rendered life intolerable. Hence Protestantism was + detested, not so much as a religion, as an instrument of + spoliation.</p> + + <p>The agrarian wars were kept up from generation to generation, + Ireland always making desperate efforts to get back her + inheritance, but always crushed to the earth, a victim of famine + and the sword, by the power of England.</p> + + <p>The history of these wars, then, is the history of the case of + the Irish patient. Its main facts are embodied in the general + history of the country. But they have recently been brought out + more distinctly by authors who have devoted years to the + examination of the original state papers, in which <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pagex" id="pagex"></a>[pg x]</span> the actors + themselves described their exploits and recorded their motives + and feelings with startling frankness. When a task of this kind + has been performed by a capable and conscientious historian, it + would be a work of supererogation for another enquirer to undergo + the wearisome toil, even if he could. I have, therefore, for the + purpose of my argument, freely availed myself of the materials + given to the public by Mr. Froude, the Rev. C.P. Meehan, and Mr. + Prendergast, not, however, without asking their permission, which + was in each case most readily and kindly granted.</p> + + <p>The ancient state of Ireland, and especially of Ulster, is so + little known in England, that I was glad to have the facts + vouched for by so high an authority as Mr. Froude, and a writer + so full of the instinctive pride of the dominant nation; the more + so as I have often been obliged to dissent from his views, and to + appeal against his judgments. Beguiled by the beauty of his + descriptions, I am afraid I have drawn too largely on his pages, + in proving and illustrating my case; but I feel confident that no + one will read these extracts without more eagerly desiring to + possess the volumes of his great work from which they are + taken.</p> + + <p>I have similar acknowledgments to make to Father Meehan and + Mr. Prendergast, both of whom are preparing new editions of their + most valuable works. The royal charters, and other documents + connected with the Plantation of Ulster, are printed in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexi" id="pagexi"></a>[pg + xi]</span> the 'Concise View of the Irish Society,' compiled from + their records, and published by their authority in 1832. Whenever + I have been indebted to other writers, I have acknowledged my + obligation in the course of the work. In preparing it, I have had + but one object constantly in view: to present to the public a + careful collection and an impartial statement of facts on the + state of Ireland, for the right government of which the British + people are now more than ever responsible. I shall be thankful if + my labours should contribute in any measure, however humble, to + the new conquest of Ireland 'by justice' of which Mr. Bright has + spoken. His language is suggestive. It is late (happily not 'too + late') to commence the reign of justice. But the nation is not to + be despised which requires nothing more than <i>that</i> to win + its heart, while its spirit could not be conquered by centuries + of injustice. Nor should it be forgotten by the people of England + that some atonement is due for past wrongs, not the least of + which is the vilification and distrust from which the Irish + people have suffered so much. 'The spirit of a man may sustain + his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?' Some + manifestation of Christian magnanimity just now would greatly + help the work of national reconciliation. The time is favourable. + The Government enjoys the prestige of an unparalleled success. + The only Prime Minister that ever dared to do full justice to + Ireland, is the most powerful that England has had for nearly a + century. He has in his Cabinet <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pagexii" id="pagexii"></a>[pg xii]</span> the only Chief + Secretary of Ireland that ever thoroughly sympathised with the + nation, not excepting Lord Morpeth; the great tribune of the + English people, who has been one of the most eloquent advocates + of Ireland; an Ex-Viceroy who has pronounced it felony for the + Irish landlords to avail themselves of their legal rights, + although he put down a rebellion which that felony mainly + provoked; another Ex-Governor, who was one of the most earnest + and conscientious that ever filled the viceregal throne, and who + returned to Parliament to be one of the ablest champions of the + country he had ruled so well; not to mention other members of + commanding ability, who are solemnly pledged to the policy of + justice. In these facts there is great promise. He understands + little of 'the signs of the times,' who does not see the dangers + that hang on the non-fulfilment of this promise.</p> + + <p>J.G.</p> + + <p>LONDON: <i>January 20</i>, 1870.</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="pagexiii" id="pagexiii"></a>[pg xiii]</span> + + <h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I. INTRODUCTION <a href="#page1">1</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>II. THE RULE OF THE O'NEILLS <a href= + "#page29">29</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>III. SHANE O'NEILL, SOVEREIGN OF ULSTER <a href= + "#page33">33</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>IV. EXTERMINATING WARS <a href="#page71">71</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>V. AN IRISH CRUSADE <a href="#page88">88</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>VI. THE LAST OF THE IRISH PRINCES <a href= + "#page97">97</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>VII. GOVERNMENT APPEALS TO THE PEOPLE <a href= + "#page114">114</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>VIII. THE CASE OF THE FUGITIVE EARLS <a href= + "#page120">120</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>IX. THE CONFISCATION OF ULSTER <a href= + "#page138">138</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>X. THE PLANTATION OF ULSTER <a href= + "#page152">152</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XI. THE REBELLION OF 1641 <a href= + "#page185">185</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XII. THE PURITAN PLANTATION <a href= + "#page215">215</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XIII. THE PENAL CODE. A NEW SYSTEM OF LAND WAR <a href= + "#page234">234</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XIV. ULSTER IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY <a href= + "#page248">248</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XV. POVERTY AND COERCION <a href= + "#page271">271</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XVI. THE FAMINE <a href="#page289">289</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XVII. TENANT-RIGHT IN ULSTER <a href= + "#page303">303</a><br /></p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "pagexiv" id="pagexiv"></a>[pg xiv]</span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XVIII. TENANT-RIGHT IN DOWN <a href= + "#page313">313</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XIX. TENANT-RIGHT IN ANTRIM <a href= + "#page328">328</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XX. TENANT-RIGHT IN ARMAGH <a href= + "#page346">346</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XXI. FARNEY—MR. TRENCH'S 'REALITIES' <a href= + "#page356">356</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XXII. BELFAST AND PERPETUITY <a href= + "#page381">381</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XXIII. LEASE-BREAKING—GEASHILL <a href= + "#page387">387</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XXIV. THE LAND SYSTEM AND THE WORKING CLASSES <a href= + "#page401">401</a><br /></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>XXV. CONCLUSION—AN APPEAL TO ENGLISHMEN <a href= + "#page424">424</a><br /></p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1" id="page1"></a>[pg + 1]</span> + + <h1>THE</h1> + + <h1>LAND-WAR IN IRELAND.</h1> + + <h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + <h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3> + + <p>As the hour approaches when the legislature must deal with the + Irish Land question, and settle it, like the Irish Church + question, once for all, attempts are redoubled to frighten the + public with the difficulties of the task. The alarmists conjure + up gigantic apparitions more formidable than those which + encountered Bunyan's Pilgrim. Monstrous figures frown along the + gloomy avenue that, leads up to the Egyptian temple in which the + divinity, PROPERTY, dwells in mysterious darkness. To enter the + sanctuary, we are solemnly assured, requires all the cardinal + virtues in their highest state of development—the firmest + faith, the most vivid hope, and the charity that never faileth. + But this is not the only country that has had a land question to + settle. Almost every nation in Europe has done for itself what + England is now palled upon to do for Ireland. In fact, it is a + necessary process in the transition from feudalism to + constitutional self-government. Feudalism gave the land to a few + whom it made princes and lords, having forcibly taken it from the + many, whom it made subjects and serfs. The land is the natural + basis of society. The Normans made it the artificial basis of a + class. Society in nearly every other country has <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page2" id="page2"></a>[pg 2]</span> reverted + back to its original foundations, and so remains firm and strong + without dangerous rents or fissures. No doubt, the operation is + difficult and critical. But what has been done once may be done + again; and as it was England that kept Irish society so long + rocking on its smaller end, it is her duty now to lend all her + strength to help to seat it on its own broad foundations. Giving + up the Viceroy's dreams that the glorious mission of Ireland was + to be a kitchen garden, a dairy, a larder for England, we must + come frankly to the conclusion that the national life of the + Irish people, without distinction of creed or party, increases in + vigour with their intelligence, and is now invincible. Let the + imperial legislature put an end for ever to such an unnatural + state of things—thus only can they secure the harmonious + working and cordial Union of the two nations united together in + one State—thus only can they insure for the landlords + themselves all the power and all the influence that can be + retained by them in consistency with the industrial rights and + political freedom of the cultivators of the soil. These now + complain of their abject dependence, and hopeless bondage, under + grinding injustice. They are alleged to be full of discontent, + which must grow with the intelligence and manhood of the people + who writhe under the system. Their advocates affirm that their + discontent must increase in volume and angry force every year, + and that, owing to the connection of Ireland with the United + States, it may at any time be suddenly swollen with the fury of a + mountain torrent, deeply discoloured by a Republican element.</p> + + <p>It must be granted, I fear, that the Celts of Ireland feel + pretty much as the Britons felt under the ascendency of the + Saxons, and as the Saxons in their turn felt under the ascendency + of the Normans. In the estimation of the Christian Britons, their + Saxon conquerors, even after the conversion of the latter, were + 'an accursed race, the children of robbers and murderers, + possessing the fruits of their fathers' crimes.' 'With them,' + says Dr. Lingard, 'the Saxon was no better than a pagan bearing + the name of a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page3" id= + "page3"></a>[pg 3]</span> Christian. They refused to return his + salutation, to join in prayer with him in the church, to sit with + him at the same table, to abide with him under the same roof. The + remnant of his meals and the food over which he had made the sign + of the cross they threw to their dogs or swine; the cup out of + which he had drunk they scoured with sand, as if it had + contracted defilement from his lips.'</p> + + <p>It is not the Celtic memory only that is tenacious of national + wrong. The Saxon was doomed to drink to the dregs the same bitter + cup which he administered so unmercifully to the Briton. His + Teutonic blood saved him from no humiliation or insult. The + Normans seized all the lands, all the castles, all the pleasant + mansions, all the churches and monasteries. Even the Saxon saints + were flung down out of their shrines and trampled in the dust + under the iron heel of the Christian conqueror. Everything Saxon + was vile, and the word 'Englishry' implied as much contempt and + scorn as the word 'Irishry' in a later age. In fact, the + subjugated Saxons gradually became infected with all the vices + and addicted to all the social disorders that prevailed among the + Irish in the same age; only in Ireland the anarchy endured much + longer from the incompleteness of the conquest and the absence of + the seat of supreme government, which kept the races longer + separate and antagonistic. Perhaps the most humiliating notice of + the degrading effects of conquest on the noble Saxon race to be + found in history, is the language in which Giraldus Cambrensis, + the reviler of the Irish Celt, contrasts them with his + countrymen, the Welsh. 'Who dare,' he says, 'compare the English, + the most degraded of all races under heaven, with the Welsh? In + their own country they are the serfs, the veriest slaves of the + Normans. In ours whom else have we for our herdsmen, shepherds, + cobblers, skinners, cleaners of our dog kennels, ay, even of our + privies, but Englishmen? Not to mention their original treachery + to the Britons, that hired by them to defend them they turned + upon them in spite of their oaths and engagements, they are to + this day given to treachery and murder.' <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page4" id="page4"></a>[pg 4]</span> The lying + Saxon was, according to this authority, a proverbial + expression.</p> + + <p>The Saxon writers lamented their miserable subjection in a + monotonous wail for many generations. So late as the seventeenth + century an English author speaks in terms of compassion of the + disinherited and despoiled families who had sunk into the + condition of artisans, peasants, and paupers. 'This,' says M. + Thierry, 'is the last sorrowful glance cast back through the mist + of ages on that great event which established in England a race + of kings, nobles, and warriors of foreign extraction. The reader + must figure to himself, not a mere change of political rule, not + the triumph of one of two competitors, but the intrusion of a + nation into the bosom of another people which it came to destroy, + and the scattered fragments of which it retained as an integral + portion of the new system of society, in the <i>status</i> merely + of personal property, or, to use the stronger language of records + and deeds, <i>a clothing of the soil</i>. He must not picture to + himself on the one hand the king and despot; on the other simply + his subjects, high and low, rich and poor, all inhabiting + England, and consequently all English. He must bear in mind that + there were two distinct nations—the old Anglo-Saxon race + and the Norman invaders, dwelling intermingled on the same soil; + or, rather, he might contemplate two countries—the one + possessed by the Normans, wealthy and exonerated from public + burdens, the other enslaved and oppressed with a land + tax—the former full of spacious mansions, of walled towns, + and moated castles—the latter occupied with thatched + cabins, and ancient walls in a state of dilapidation. This + peopled with the happy and the idle, with soldiers, courtiers, + knights, and nobles—that with miserable men condemned to + labour as peasants and artisans. On the one side he beholds + luxury and insolence, on the other poverty and envy—not the + envy of the poor at the sight of opulence and men born to + opulence, but that malignant envy, although justice be on its + side, which the despoiled cannot but entertain on looking upon + the spoilers. Lastly, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page5" id= + "page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> to complete the picture, these two + countries are in some sort interwoven with each other—they + meet at every point, and yet they are more distinct, more + completely separated, than if the ocean rolled between them.'</p> + + <p>Does not this picture look very like Ireland? To make it more + like, let us imagine that the Norman king had lived in Paris, and + kept a viceroy in London—that the English parliament were + subordinate to the French parliament, composed exclusively of + Normans, and governed by Norman undertakers for the benefit of + the dominant State—that the whole of the English land was + held by ten thousand Norman proprietors, many of them + absentees—that all the offices of the government, in every + department, were in the hands of Normans—that, differing in + religion with the English nation, the French, being only a tenth + of the population, had got possession of all the national + churches and church property, while the poor natives supported a + numerous hierarchy by voluntary contributions—that the + Anglo-Norman parliament was bribed and coerced to abolish itself, + forming a union of England with France, in which the English + members were as one to six. Imagine that in consequence of + rebellions the land of England had been confiscated three or four + times, after desolating wars and famines, so that all the native + proprietors were expelled, and the land was parcelled out to + French soldiers and adventurers on condition that the foreign + 'planters' should assist in keeping down 'the mere English' by + force of arms. Imagine that the English, being crushed by a cruel + penal code for a century, were allowed to reoccupy the soil as + mere tenants-at-will, under the absolute power of their French + landlords. If all this be imagined by English legislators and + English writers, they will be better able to understand the Irish + land question, and to comprehend the nature of 'Irish + difficulties,' as well as the justice of feeble, insincere, and + baffled statesmen in casting the blame of Irish misery and + disorder on the unruly and barbarous nature of Irishmen. They + will recollect that the aristocracy of Ireland are the + high-spirited descendants of conquerors, with the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page6" id="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> instinct + of conquest still in their blood. The parliament which enacted + the Irish land laws was a parliament composed almost exclusively + of men of this dominant race. They made all political power + dependent on the ownership of land, thus creating for themselves + a monopoly which it is not in human nature to surrender without a + struggle.</p> + + <p>The possession of this monopoly, however, fully accounts for + two things—the difficulty which the landlords feel in + admitting the justice of the tenant's claims for the legal + recognition of the value which his labour has added to the soil, + and the extreme repugnance with which they regard any legislation + on the subject. Besides, the want of sympathy with the people, of + earnestness and courage in meeting the realities of the case, is + conspicuous in all attempts of the kind during the last + half-century. Those attempts have been evasive, feeble, + abortive—concessions to the demand that <i>something</i> + must be done, but so managed that nothing should be done to + weaken the power of the eight thousand proprietors over the mass + of the nation dependent on the land for their existence. Hence + has arisen a great amount of jealousy, distrust, and irritability + in the landlord class towards the tenantry and their + advocates.</p> + + <p>The Irish race, to adopt Thierry's language, are full of + 'malignant envy' towards the lords of the soil; not because they + are rich, but because they have the people so completely in their + power, so entirely at their mercy for all that man holds most + dear. The tenants feel bitterly when they think that they have no + legal right to live on their native land. They have read the + history of our dreadful civil wars, famines, and confiscations. + They know that by the old law of Ireland, and by custom from + times far beyond the reach of authentic history, the clans and + tribes of the Celtic people occupied certain districts with which + their names are still associated, and that the land was + inalienably theirs. Rent or tribute they paid, indeed, to their + princes, and if they failed the chiefs came with armed followers + and helped themselves, driving away <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page7" id="page7"></a>[pg 7]</span> cows, + sheep, and horses sufficient to meet their demand, or more if + they were unscrupulous, which was 'distress' with a vengeance. + But the eviction of the people even for non-payment of rent, and + putting other people in their place, were things never heard of + among the Irish under their own rulers. The chief had his own + mensal lands, as well as his tribute, and these he might forfeit. + But as the clansmen could not control his acts, they could never + see the justice of being punished for his misdeeds by the + confiscation of their lands, and driven from the homes of their + ancestors often made doubly sacred by religious associations.</p> + + <p>History, moreover, teaches them that, as a matter of fact, the + government in the reign of James I.—and James himself in + repeated proclamations—assured the people who occupied the + lands of O'Neill and O'Donnell at the time of their flight that + they would be protected in all their rights if they remained + quiet and loyal, which they did. Yet they were nearly all removed + to make way for the English and Scotch settlers.</p> + + <p>Thus, historical investigators have been digging around the + foundations of Irish landlordism. They declare that those + foundations were cemented with blood, and they point to the many + wounds still open from which that blood issued so profusely. The + facts of the conquest and confiscation were hinted at by the + Devon Commissioners as accounting for the peculiar difficulties + of the Irish land question, and writers on it timidly allude to + 'the historic past' as originating influences still powerful in + alienating landlords and tenants, and fostering mutual distrust + between them. But the time for evasion and timidity has passed. + We must now honestly and courageously face the stern realities of + this case. Among these realities is a firm conviction in the + minds of many landlords that they are in no sense trustees for + the community, but that they have an absolute power over their + estates—that they can, if they like, strip the land clean + of its human clothing, and clothe it with sheep or cattle + instead, or lay it bare and desolate, let it lapse into a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page8" id="page8"></a>[pg + 8]</span> wilderness, or sow it with salt. That is in reality the + terrific power secured to them by the present land code, to be + executed through the Queen's writ and by the Queen's + troops—a power which could not stand a day if England did + not sustain it by overwhelming military force.</p> + + <p>Another of the realities of the question is the no less + inveterate conviction in the tenants' mind that the absolute + power of the landlord was originally a usurpation effected by the + sword. Right or wrong, they believe that the confiscations were + the palpable violation of the natural rights of the people whom + Providence placed in this country. With bitter emphasis they + assert that no set of men has any divine right to root a nation + out of its own land. Painful as this state of feeling is, there + is no use in denying that it exists. Here, then, is the deep + radical difference that is to be removed. Here are the two + conflicting forces which are to be reconciled. This is the real + Irish land question. All other points are minor and of easy + adjustment. The people say, and, I believe, sincerely, that they + are willing to pay a fair rent, according to a public + valuation—not a rent imposed arbitrarily by one of the + interested parties, which might be raised so as to ruin the + occupier. The feelings of these two parties often clash so + violently, there is such instinctive distrust between them, the + peace and prosperity of the country depend so much on their + coming to terms and putting an end to their long-standing feud, + that it is still more imperatively necessary than in the Church + question, that a third party, independent, impartial, and + authoritative, should intervene and heal the breach.</p> + + <p>There was one phrase constantly ringing in the ears of the + Devon Commissioners, and now, after nearly a generation has + passed away, it is ringing in the ears of the nation louder than + ever—'<i>the want of tenure</i>.' All the evidence went to + show that the want of security paralysed industry and impeded + social progress. It seems strange that any evidence should be + thought necesary to prove that a man will not sow if he does not + hope to reap, and that he will not build <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page9" id="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> houses for + strangers to enjoy. This would be taken as an axiom anywhere out + of Ireland. Of all the people in Europe, the Irish have suffered + most from the oppression of those who, from age to age, had power + in the country. Whoever fought or conquered, they were always the + victims; and it is a singular fact that their sufferings are + scarcely ever noticed by the contemporary annalists, even when + those annalists were ecclesiastics. The extent to which they were + slaughtered in the perpetual wars between the native chiefs, and + in the wars between those chiefs and the English, is something + awful to contemplate, not to speak of the wholesale destruction + of life by the famines which those wars entailed. On several + occasions the Celtic race seemed very nearly extinct. The penal + code, with all its malign influence, had one good effect. It + subdued to a great extent the fighting propensities of the + people, and fused the clans into one nation, purified by + suffering. Since that time, in spite of occasional visitations of + calamity, they have been steadily rising in the social scale, and + they are now better off than ever they were in their whole + history. When we review the stages by which they have risen, we + cannot but feel at times grieved and indignant at the + opportunities for tranquillising and enriching the country which + were lost through the ignorance, apathy, bigotry, and selfishness + of the legislature. There was no end of commissions and select + committees to inquire into the condition of the agricultural + population, whenever Parliament was roused by the prevalence of + agrarian outrages. They reported, and there the matter ended. + There were always insuperable difficulties when the natives were + to be put in a better position. Between 1810 and 1814, for + example, a commission reported four times on the condition of the + Irish bogs. They expressed their entire conviction of the + practicability of cultivating with profit an immense extent of + land lying waste. In 1819, in 1823, in 1826, and in 1830, select + committees inquired into and reported on drainage, reclamation of + bogs and marshes, on roads, fisheries, emigration, and other + schemes for giving employment to the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page10" id="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> + redundant population that had been encouraged to increase and + multiply in the most reckless manner, while 'war prices' were + obtained for agricultural produce, and the votes of the + forty-shilling freeholders were wanted by the landlords. When, by + the Emancipation Act in 1829, the forty-shilling franchise was + abolished, the peasant lost his political value. After the war, + when the price of corn fell very low, and, consequently, tillage + gave place to grazing, labourers became to the middleman an + encumbrance and a nuisance that must be cleared off the land, + just as weeds are plucked up and flung out to wither on the + highway. Then came Lord Devon's Land Commission, which inquired + on the eve of the potato failure and the great famine. The Irish + population was now at its highest figure—between eight and + nine millions. Yet, though there had been three bad seasons, it + was clearly proved at that time that by measures which a wise and + willing legislature would have promptly passed, the whole surplus + population could have been profitably employed.</p> + + <p>In this great land controversy, on which side lies the truth? + Is it the fault of the people, or the fault of the law, that the + country is but half cultivated, while the best of the peasantry + are emigrating with hostile feelings and purposes of vengeance + towards England? As to the landlords, as a class, they use their + powers with as much moderation and mercy as any other class of + men in any country ever used power so vast and so little + restrained. The best and most indulgent landlords, the most + genial and generous, are unquestionably the old nobility, the + descendants of the Normans and Saxons, those very conquerors of + whom we have heard so much. The worst, the most harsh and + exacting, are those who have purchased under the Landed Estates + Court—strangers to the people, who think only of the + percentage on their capital. We had heard much of the necessity + of capital to develope the resources of the land. The capital + came, but the development consists in turning tillage lands into + pasture, clearing out the labouring population and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page11" id="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> sending + them to the poorhouse, or shipping them off at a few pounds per + head to keep down the rates. And yet is it not possible to set + all our peasantry to work at the profitable cultivation of their + native land? Is it not possible to establish by law what many + landlords act upon as the rule of their estates—namely, the + principle that no man is to be evicted so long as he pays a fair + rent, and the other principle, that whenever he fails, he is + entitled to the market value by public sale of all the property + in his holding beyond that fair rent? The hereditary principle, + rightly cherished among the landlords, so conservative in its + influence, ought to be equally encouraged among the tenants. The + man of industry, as well as the man of rank, should be able to + feel that he is providing for his children, that his farm is at + once a bank and an insurance office, in which all his minute + daily deposits of toil and care and skill will be safe and + productive. This is the way to enrich and strengthen the State, + and to multiply guarantees against revolution—not by + consolidation of farms and the abandonment of tillage, not by + degrading small holders into day labourers, levelling the + cottages and filling the workhouses.</p> + + <p>If the legislature were guided by the spirit that animates + Lord Erne in his dealings with his tenantry, the land question + would soon be settled to the satisfaction of all parties. 'I + think,' said his lordship, 'as far as possible, every tenant on + my estate may call his farm his castle, as long as he conducts + himself honestly, quietly, and industriously; and, should he wish + to leave in order to find a better landlord, I allow him to sell + his farm, provided he pleases me in a tenant. Therefore, if a man + lays out money on his farm judiciously, he is certain to receive + back the money, should he wish to go elsewhere.' He mentioned + three cases of sale which occurred last year. One tenant sold a + farm of seventy acres in bad order for 570<i>l.</i>, another + thirty acres for 300<i>l.</i>, and a third the same number of + acres in worse condition for 200<i>l.</i> The landlord lost + nothing by these changes. His rent was paid up, and in each case + he got a good tenant for <span class="pagenum"><a name="page12" + id="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> a bad one. Lord Erne is a just + man, and puts on no more than a fair rent. But all landlords are + not just, as all tenants are not honest. Even where tenant-right + is admitted in name, it is obvious that the rent may be raised so + high as to make the farm worth nothing in the market. To give to + the tenant throughout the country generally the pleasant feeling + that his farm is his castle, which he can make worth more money + every day he rises, there must be a public letting valuation, and + this the State could easily provide. And then there should be the + right of sale to the highest solvent bidder.</p> + + <p>This might be one way of securing permanent tenure, or + stimulating the industry and sustaining the thrift of the farmer. + But the nature of the different tenures, and the effect of each + in bracing up or relaxing the nerves of industry, will be the + object of deliberation with the Government and the legislature. + It is said that, in the hands of small farmers, proprietorship + leads to endless subdivision; that long leases generally cause + bad husbandry; that tenants-at-will often feel themselves more + secure and safe than a contract could make them; that families + have lived on the same farm for generations without a scrape of a + pen except the receipt for rent. On the other hand, there is the + general cry of 'want of tenure;' there is the custom of serving + notices to quit, sometimes for other reasons than non-payment of + rent; there are occasional barbarities in the levelling of + villages, and dragging the aged and the sick from the old + roof-tree, the parting from which rends their heart-strings; and, + above all, there is the feeling among the peasantry which makes + them look without horror on the murder of a landlord or an agent + who was a kind and benevolent neighbour; and, lastly, the + paramount consideration for the legislature, that a large portion + of the people are disaffected to the State, and ready to join its + enemies, and this almost solely on account of the state of the + law relating to land. Hence the necessity of settling the + question as speedily as possible, and the duty of all who have + the means to contribute <span class="pagenum"><a name="page13" + id="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> something towards that most + desirable consummation, which seems to be all that is wanted to + make Irishmen of every class work together earnestly for the + welfare of their country. It is admitted that no class of men in + the world has improved more than the Irish landlords during the + last twenty years. Let the legislature restore confidence between + them and the people by taking away all ground for the suspicion + that they wish to extirpate the Celtic race.</p> + + <p>Nor was this suspicion without cause, as the following history + will too clearly prove. A very able English writer has said: 'The + policy of all the successive swarms of settlers was to extirpate + the native Celtic race, but every effort made to break up the old + framework of society failed, for the new-comers soon became + blended with and undistinguishable from the mass of the + people—being obliged to ally themselves with the native + chieftains, rather than live hemmed in by a fiery ring of angry + septs and exposed to perpetual war with everything around them. + Merged in the great Celtic mass, they adopted Irish manners and + names, yet proscribed and insulted the native inhabitants as an + inferior race. Everything liberal towards them is intercepted in + its progress.</p> + + <p>'The past history of Ulster is but a portion of Scottish + history inserted into that of Ireland—a stone in the Irish + mosaic of an entirely different quality and colour from the + pieces that surround it.</p> + + <p>'Thus it came to pass that, through the confiscation of their + lands and the proscription of their religion, popery was worked + by a most vehement process into the blood and brain of the Irish + nation.'</p> + + <p>It has been often said that the Irish must be an inferior + race, since they allowed themselves to be subjugated by some + thousands of English invaders. But it should be recollected, + first, that the conquest, commenced by Henry II. in the twelfth + century, was not completed till the seventeenth century, when the + King's writ ran for the first time through <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page14" id="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> the + province of Ulster, the ancient kingdom of the O'Neills; in the + second place, the weakness of the Celtic communities was not so + much the fault of the men as of their institutions, brought with + them from the East and clung to with wonderful tenacity. So long + as they had boundless territory for their flocks and herds, and + could always move on 'to pastures new,' they increased and + multiplied, and allowed the sword and the battle-axe to rest, + unless when a newly elected chief found it necessary to give his + followers 'a hosting'—which means an expedition for + plunder. Down to the seventeenth century, after five hundred + years' contact with the Teutonic race, they were essentially the + same people as they were when the ancient Greeks and Romans knew + them. They are thus described by Dr. Mommsen in his 'History of + Rome:'—'Such qualities—those of good soldiers and of + bad citizens—explain the historical fact that the Celts + have shaken all States and have <i>founded none</i>. Everywhere + we find them ready to rove, or, in other words, to march, + preferring movable property to landed estate, and gold to + everything else; following the profession of arms as a system of + organised pillage, or even as a trade for hire, and with such + success that even the Roman historian, Sallust, acknowledges that + the Celts bore off the prize from the Romans in feats of arms. + They were the true 'soldiers of fortune' of antiquity, as + pictures and descriptions represent them, with big but sinewy + bodies, with shaggy hair and long moustaches—quite a + contrast to the Greeks and Romans, who shaved the upper + lip—in the variegated embroidered dresses which in combat + were not unfrequently thrown off, with a broad gold ring round + their neck, wearing no helmets and without missile weapons of any + sort, but furnished instead with an immense shield, a long + ill-tempered sword, a dagger and a lance, all ornamented with + gold, for they were not unskilful in working in metals. + Everything was made subservient to ostentation—even wounds, + which were often enlarged for the purpose of boasting a broader + scar. Usually they fought on foot, but certain tribes on + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page15" id="page15"></a>[pg + 15]</span> horseback, in which case every free man was followed + by two attendants, likewise mounted. War-chariots were early in + use, as they were among the Libyans and Hellenes in the earliest + times. Many a trait reminds us of the chivalry of the middle + ages, particularly the custom of single combat, which was foreign + to the Greeks and Romans. Not only were they accustomed in war to + challenge a single enemy to fight, after having previously + insulted him by words and gestures; in peace also they fought + with each other in splendid equipments, as for life or death. + After such feats carousals followed in due course. In this way + they led, whether under their own or a foreign banner, a restless + soldier life, constantly occupied in fighting and in their + so-called feats of heroism. They were dispersed from + <i>Ireland</i> and Spain to Asia Minor, but all their enterprises + melted away like snow in spring, and they nowhere created a great + state or developed a distinctive culture of their own.' Such were + the people who once almost terminated the existence of Rome, and + were afterwards with difficulty repulsed from Greece, who became + masters of the most fertile part of Italy and of a fair province + in the heart of Asia Minor, who, after their Italian province had + been subdued, inflicted disastrous blows on successive Roman + generals, and were only at last subjugated by Cæsar + himself in nine critical and sometimes most dangerous campaigns, + B.C. 51.</p> + + <p>Niebuhr observes that at that time the form of government was + everywhere an hereditary monarchy, which, when Cæsar + went into Gaul, had been swallowed up, as had the authority of + the Senate, in the anarchy of the nobles. Their freedom was + lawlessness; an inherent incapacity of living under the dominion + of laws distinguishes them as barbarians from the Greeks and + Italians. As individuals had to procure the protection of some + magnate in order to live in safety, so the weaker tribes took + shelter under the patronage of a more powerful one. For they were + a disjointed multitude; and when any people had in this manner + acquired an extensive <span class="pagenum"><a name="page16" id= + "page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> sovereignty, they exercised it + arbitrarily until its abuses became intolerable, or their + subjects were urged by blind hatred of their power to fall off + from them, and gather round some new centre. The sole bond of + union was the Druidical hierarchy which, at least in + Cæsar's time, was common to both nations. Both of them + paid obedience to its tribunal, which administered justice once a + year—an institution which probably was not introduced till + long after the age of migrations, when the expulsion of the + vanquished had ceased to be regarded as the end of war, and which + must have been fostered by the constant growth of lawlessness in + particular states—being upheld by the <i>ban</i>, which + excluded the contumacious from all intercourse in divine worship + and in daily life with the faithful. The huge bodies, wild + features, and long shaggy hair of the men, gave a ghastliness to + their aspect. This, along with their fierce courage, their + countless numbers, and the noise made by an enormous multitude of + horns and trumpets, struck the armies arrayed against them with + fear and amazement. If these, however, did not allow their terror + to overpower them, the want of order, discipline, and + perseverance would often enable an inferior number to vanquish a + vast host of the barbarians. Besides, they were but ill equipped. + Few of them wore any armour; their narrow shields, which were of + the same height with their bodies, were weak and clumsy; they + rushed upon their enemies with broad thin battle-swords of bad + steel, which the first blow upon iron often notched and rendered + useless. Like true savages, they destroyed the inhabitants, the + towns, and the agriculture of the countries they conquered. They + cut off the heads of the slain, and tied them by the hair to the + manes of their horses. If a skull belonged to a person of rank, + they nailed it up in their houses and preserved it as an heirloom + for their posterity, as the nobles in rude ages do stag-horns. + Towns were rare amongst them; the houses and the villages, which + were very numerous, were mean, the furniture wretched—a + heap of straw covered with skins served both for a bed and a + seat. They did not cultivate <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page17" id="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> corn save for a very + limited consumption, for the main part of their food was the milk + and the flesh of their cattle. These formed their wealth. Gold, + too, they had in abundance, derived partly from the sandy beds of + their rivers, partly from some mines which these had led them to + discover. It was worn in ornaments by every Gaul of rank. In + battle he bore gold chains on his arms and heavy gold collars + round his neck, even when the upper part of his body was in other + respects quite naked. For they often threw off their + parti-coloured chequered cloaks, which shone with all the hues of + the rainbow, like the picturesque dress of their kinspeople the + Highlanders, who have laid aside the trousers of the ancient + Gauls. Their duels and gross revels are an image of the rudest + part of the middle ages. Their debauches were mostly committed + with beer and mead; for vines and all the plants of southern + regions were as yet total strangers to the north of the Alps, + where the climate in those ages was extremely severe; so that + wine was rare, though of all the commodities imported it was the + most greedily bought up.</p> + + <p>Ulster was known in ancient times as one of the five Irish + 'kingdoms,' and remained unconquered by the English till the + reign of James I., when the last prince of the great house of + O'Neill, then Earl of Tyrone, fled to the Continent in company + with O'Donel, Earl of Tyrconnel, head of another very ancient + sept. Up to that period the men of Ulster proudly regarded + themselves as 'Irish of the Irish and Catholic of the Catholics.' + The inhabitants were of mixed blood, but, as in the other + provinces of the island, the great mass of the people, as well as + the ruling classes, were of Celtic origin. Those whom + ethnologists still recognise as aborigines, in parts of Connaught + and in some mountainous regions, an inferior race, are said to be + the descendants of the Firbolgs, or Belgae, who formed the third + immigration. They were followed and subdued by the Tuatha de + Danans—men famed for their gigantic power and supernatural + skill—a race of demigods, who still live in the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page18" id="page18"></a>[pg + 18]</span> national superstitions. The last of the ancient + invasions was by the Gael or Celt, known as the Milesians and + Scoti. The institutions and customs of this people were + established over the whole island, and were so deeply rooted in + the soil that their remnants to this day present the greatest + obstacles to the settlement of the land question according to the + English model, and on the principles of political economy, which + run directly counter to Irish instincts. It is truly wonderful + how distinctly the present descendants of this race preserve the + leading features of their primitive character. In France and + England the Celtic character was moulded by the power and + discipline of the Roman Empire. To Ireland this modifying + influence never extended; and we find the Ulster chiefs who + fought for their territories with English viceroys 280 years ago + very little different from the men who followed Brennus to the + sack of Home, and encountered the legions of Julius + Cæsar on the plains of Gaul.</p> + + <p>Mr. Prendergast observes, in the introduction to his + 'Cromwellian Settlement' that when the companions of Strongbow + landed in the reign of Henry II. they found a country such as + Cæsar had found in Gaul 1200 years before. A thousand + years had passed over the island without producing the slightest + social progress—'the inhabitants divided into tribes on the + system of the clansmen and chiefs, without a common Government, + suddenly confederating, suddenly dissolving, with Brehons, + Shaunahs, minstrels, bards, and harpers, in all unchanged, except + that for their ancient Druids they had got Christian priests. Had + the Irish remained honest pagans, Ireland perhaps had remained + unconquered still. Round the coast strangers had built seaport + towns, either traders from the Carthaginian settlements in Spain, + or outcasts from their own country, like the Greeks that built + Marseilles. At the time of the arrival of the French and Flemish + adventurers from Wales, they were occupied by a mixed Danish and + French population, who supplied the Irish with groceries, + including the wines of Poitou, the latter in such abundance that + they had no need of vineyards.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page19" id="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> + + <p>If vineyards had been needed, we may be sure they would not + have been planted, for the Irish Celts planted nothing. Neither + did they build, except in the simplest and rudest way, improving + their architecture from age to age no more than the beaver or the + bee. Mr. Prendergast is an able, honest, and frank writer; yet + there is something amusingly Celtic in the flourish with which he + excuses the style of palaces in which the Irish princes delighted + to dwell. 'Unlike England,' he says, 'then covered with castles + on the heights, where the French gentlemen secured themselves and + their families against the hatred of the churls and villains, as + the English peasantry were called, the dwellings of the Irish + chiefs were of wattles or clay. It is for robbers and foreigners + to take to rocks and precipices for security; for native rulers, + there is no such fortress <i>as justice and humanity</i>.' This + is very fine, but surely Mr. Prendergast cannot mean that the + Irish chiefs were distinguished by their justice and humanity. + The following touch is still grander:—'The Irish, like the + wealthiest and highest of the present day, loved detached houses + surrounded by fields and woods. Towns and their walls they looked + upon as tombs or sepulchres, &c.' As to fields, there were + none, because the Irish never made fences, their patches of + cultivated land being divided by narrow strips of green sod. + Besides, they lived in villages, which were certainly surrounded + by woods, because the woods were everywhere, and they furnished + the inhabitants with fuel and shelter, as well as materials for + building their huts.</p> + + <p>But further on this able author expresses himself much more in + accordance with the truth of history, when he states that the + 'Irish enemy' was no <i>nation</i> in the modern sense of the + word, but a race divided into many nations or tribes, + <i>separately</i> defending their lands from the English barons + in the immediate neighbourhood. There had been no ancient + national government displaced, no dynasty overthrown; the Irish + had <i>no national flag</i>, nor any capital city as the + metropolis of their common country, nor any common <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page20" id="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> + administration of law.' He might have added that they had no + <i>mint</i>. There never was an Irish king who had his face + stamped on a coin of his realm. Some stray pieces of money found + their way into the country from abroad, but up to the close of + the sixteenth century the rudest form of barter prevailed in + Ulster, and accounts were paid not in coins but in cows. Even the + mechanical arts which had flourished in the country before the + arrival of the Celts had gradually perished, and had disappeared + at the time of the English invasion. Any handy men could build a + house of mud and wattles. Masons, carpenters, smiths, painters, + glaziers, &c., were not wanted by a people who despised stone + buildings as prisons, and abhorred walled towns as sepulchres. + Spinning and weaving were arts cultivated by the women, each + household providing materials for clothing, which was little used + in warm weather, and thrown off when fighting or any other + serious work was to be done.</p> + + <p>I should be sorry to disparage the Celtic race, or any other + race, by exaggerating their bad qualities or suppressing any + reliable testimony to their merits. But with me the truth of + history is sacred. Both sides of every case should be fairly + stated. Nothing can be gained by striving to hide facts which may + be known to every person who takes the trouble to study the + subject. I write in the interest of the people—of the + toiling masses; and I find that they were oppressed and degraded + by the ruling classes long before the Norman invader took the + place of the Celtic chief. And it is a curious fact that when the + Cromwellians turned the Catholic population out of their homes + and drove them into Connaught, they were but following the + example set them by the Milesian lords of the soil centuries + before.</p> + + <p>The late Mr. Darcy Magee, a real lover of his country, in his + Irish history points out this fact. The Normans found the + population divided into two great classes—the free tribes, + chiefly if not exclusively Celtic, and the unfree tribes, + consisting of the descendants of the subjugated races, or of + clans once free, reduced to servitude by the sword, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page21" id="page21"></a>[pg + 21]</span> the offspring of foreign mercenary soldiers. 'The + unfree tribes,' says Mr. Darcy Magee, 'have left no history. + Under the despotism of the Milesian kings, it was high treason to + record the actions of the conquered race, so that the Irish + Belgae fared as badly in this respect at the hands of the + Milesian historians as the latter fared in after times from the + chroniclers of the Normans. We only know that such tribes were, + and that their numbers and physical force more than once excited + the apprehension of the children of the conquerors. One thing is + certain—the jealous policy of the superior race never + permitted them to reascend the plane of equality from which they + had been hurled at the very commencement of the Milesian + ascendency.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Haverty, another Catholic historian, learned, accurate, + and candid, laments the oppression of the people by their native + rulers. 'Those who boasted descent from the Scytho-Spanish hero + would have considered themselves degraded were they to devote + themselves to any less honourable profession than those of + soldiers, <i>ollavs</i>, or physicians; and hence the cultivation + of the soil and the exercise of the mechanic arts were left + almost exclusively to the <i>Firbolgs</i> and the + <i>Tuatha-de-Danans</i>—the former people, in particular, + being still very numerous, and forming the great mass of the + population in the west. These were ground down by high rents and + the exorbitant exactions of the dominant race, <i>in order to + support their unbounded hospitality</i> and defray the expenses + of costly assemblies; but this oppression must have caused + perpetual discontent, and the hard-working plebeians, as they + were called, easily perceived that their masters were running + headlong to destruction, and that it only required a bold effort + to shake off their yoke.' Then follows an account of a civil war, + one of the leaders of the revolution being elected king at its + termination. Carbry reigned five years, during which time there + was no rule or order, and the country was a prey to every + misfortune. 'Evil was the state of Ireland during his reign; + fruitless her corn, for there used to be but one <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page22" id="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> grain + on the stalk; and fruitless her rivers; her cattle without milk; + her fruit without plenty, for there used to be but one acorn on + the oak.'</p> + + <p>Dr. Lynch, author of <i>Cambrensis Eversus</i>, expresses his + astonishment at the great number of ancient Irish kings, most of + whom were cut off by a violent death, each hewing his way to the + throne over the body of his predecessor. But upon applying his + mind to the more profound consideration of the matter, he found + nothing more wonderful in the phenomenon 'than that the human + family should proceed from one man—the overflowing harvest + from a few grains of seed, &c.' His learned translator, the + Rev. Matthew Kelly, of Maynooth, sees proof of amendment in the + fact that between 722 and 1022 twelve Irish kings died a natural + death. This candid and judicious writer observes in a + note—'It appears from the Irish and English annals that + there was perpetual war in Ireland during more than 400 years + after the invasion. It could not be called a war of races, except + perhaps during the first century, for English and Irish are + constantly found fighting under the same banner, according to the + varying interests of the rival lords and princes of both nations. + This was the case even from the commencement.'<a id= + "footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a href= + "#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>Many persons have wondered at the success of small bands of + English invaders. Why did not the Irish nation rise <i>en + masse</i>, and drive them into the sea? The answer is easy. There + was no Irish nation. About half a million of people were + scattered over the island in villages, divided into tribes + generally at war with one another, each chief ready to accept + foreign aid against his adversary—some, perhaps, hoping + thereby to attain supremacy in their clans, and others, who were + pretenders, burning to be avenged of those who had supplanted + them. It was religion that first gave the Irish race a common + cause. In the very year of the English invasion (1171) there were + no fewer than twenty predatory excursions or battles among the + Irish chiefs themselves, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page23" + id="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> exclusive of contests with the + invaders. Hence the Pope said—'<i>Gens se interimit mutua + cæde</i>.' The Pope was right.</p> + + <p>The clergy exerted themselves to the utmost in trying to + exorcise the demon of destruction and to arrest the work of + extermination. Not only the <i>Bashall Isa</i>, or 'the staff of + Jesus,' but many other relics were used with the most solemn + rites, to impress the people with a sense of the wickedness of + their clan-fights, and to induce them to keep the peace, but in + vain. The King of Connaught once broke a truce entered into under + every possible sanction of this kind, trampling upon all, that he + might get the King of Meath into his clutches. Hence the Rev. Mr. + Kelly is constrained to say—'It is now generally admitted + by Catholic writers that however great the efforts of the Irish + clergy to reform their distracted country in the eleventh and + twelfth centuries, the picture of anarchy drawn by Pope Adrian is + hardly overcharged.' Indeed, some Catholic writers have confessed + that the anarchy would never have been terminated except by + foreign conquest establishing a strong central government. This, + however, was not accomplished till after a struggle of centuries, + during which, except in brief intervals, when a strong prince was + able to protect his people, the national demoralisation grew + worse and worse. An Oxford priest, who kept a school at Limerick, + writing so late as 1566 of the Irish nobles, says—'Of late + they spare neither churches nor hallowed places, but thence also + they fill their hands with spoil—yea, and sometimes they + set them on fire and kill the men that there lie hidden.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Froude, following the Irish MSS. in the Rolls House, has + presented graphic pictures of the disorders of the Irishry in the + reign of Queen Mary. 'The English garrison,' he says, 'harassed + and pillaged the farmers of Meath and Dublin; the chiefs made + forays upon each other, killing, robbing, and burning. When the + war broke out between England and France, there were the usual + conspiracies and uprisings of <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page24" id="page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> nationality; the young + Earl of Kildare, in reward to the Queen who had restored him to + his rank, appearing as the natural leader of the patriots. + Ireland was thus happy in the gratification of all its natural + tendencies. The Brehon law readvanced upon the narrow limits to + which, by the exertions of Henry VIII., the circuits of the + judges had been extended. And with the Brehon law came anarchy as + its inseparable attendant.'</p> + + <p>The correctness of this view is too well attested by the + records which the learned historian brings to light, adopting the + quaint and expressive phraseology of the old writers whom he + quotes. For example:—</p> + + <p>'The lords and gentiles of the Irish Pale that were not + governed under the Queen's laws were compelled to keep and + maintain a great number of idle men of war to rule their people + at home, and exact from their neighbours abroad—working + everyone his own wilful will for a law—to the spoil of his + country, and decay and waste of the common weal of the same. The + idle men of war ate up altogether; the lord and his men took what + they pleased, destroying their tenants, and themselves never the + better. The common people, having nothing left to lose, became as + idle and careless in their behaviour as the rest, stealing by day + and robbing by night. Yet it was a state of things which they + seemed all equally to enjoy, and high and low alike were always + ready to bury their own quarrels, to join against the Queen and + the English.'</p> + + <p>At the time when the crown passed to Elizabeth the qualities + of the people were thus described by a correspondent of the + council, who presents the English view of the Irishry at that + time:—</p> + + <p>'The appearance and outward behaviour of the Irish showeth + them to be fruits of no good tree, for they exercise no virtue + and refrain and forbear from no vice, but think it lawful to do + every man what him listeth. They neither love nor dread God, nor + yet hate the devil. They are worshippers of images and open + idolaters. Their common <span class="pagenum"><a name="page25" + id="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> oath they swear is by books, + bells, and other ornaments which they do use as holy religion. + Their chief and solemnest oath is by their lord or master's hand, + which whoso forsweareth is sure to pay a fine or sustain a worse + turn. The Sabbath-day they rest from all honest exercises, and + the week days they are not idle, but worse occupied. They do not + honour their father and mother as much as they do reverence + strangers. For every murder that they commit they do not so soon + repent, for whose blood they once shed, they lightly never cease + killing all that name. They do not so commonly commit adultery; + not for that they profess or keep chastity, but for that they + seldom or never marry, and therefore few of them are lawful + heirs, by the law of the realm, to the lands they possess. They + steal but from the strong, and take by violence from the poor and + weak. They know not so well who is their neighbour as who they + favour; with him they will witness in right and wrong. They covet + not their neighbours' good, but command all that is their + neighbours' as their own. Thus they live and die, and there is + none to teach them better. There are no ministers. Ministers will + not take pains where there is no living to be had, neither church + nor parish, but all decayed. People will not come to inhabit + where there is no defence of law.'</p> + + <p>After six years of <i>discipline and improvement</i> Sir Henry + Sidney, in 1566, described the state of the four shires, the + Irish inhabitants, and the English garrison, in the following + terms:—'The <i>English Pale</i> is overwhelmed with + vagabonds—stealth and spoil daily carried out of + it—the people miserable—not two gentlemen in the + whole of it able to lend 20<i>l.</i> They have neither horse nor + armour, nor apparel, nor victual. The soldiers be so beggerlike + as it would abhor a general to look on them; yet so insolent as + to be intolerable to the people, so rooted in idleness as there + is no hope by correction to amend them, yet so allied with the + Irish, I dare not trust them in a forte, or in any dangerous + service.'</p> + + <p>A sort of 'special correspondent' or 'commissioner,' as we + should call him now, furnished to Cecil a detailed account of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page26" id="page26"></a>[pg + 26]</span> the social condition of the people, which of course he + viewed with English eyes. He found existing among them a general + organisation wherever the Irish language was spoken—the + remnants of a civilisation very ancient, but now fast tending to + ruin. Next to the chiefs were the priesthood, and after them came + a kind of intellectual hierarchy, consisting of four classes of + spiritual leaders and teachers, which were thus described. The + first was called the Brehon, or the judge. These judges took + 'pawns' of both the parties, and then judged according to their + own discretion. Their property was neutral, and the Irishmen + would not prey upon them. They had great plenty of cattle, and + they harboured many vagabonds and idle persons. They were the + chief maintainers of rebels, but when the English army came to + their neighbourhood they fled to the mountains and woods 'because + they would not succour them with victuals and other necessaries.' + The next sort was called <i>Shankee</i>, who had also great + plenty of cattle wherewith they succoured the rebels. They made + the ignorant men of the country believe that they were descended + from Alexander the Great, or Darius, or Cæsar, 'or some + other notable prince, which made the ignorant people run mad, and + care not what they did.' This, the correspondent remarked, 'was + very hurtful to the realm.' Not less hurtful were the third sort + called <i>Denisdan</i>, who not only maintained the rebels, but + caused those that would be true to become + rebellious—'thieves, extortioners, murderers, raveners, + yea, and worse if it was possible.' These seem to have been the + historians or chroniclers of the tribe. If they saw a young man, + the descendant of an O' or a Mac, with half a dozen followers, + they forthwith made a rhyme about his father and his ancestors, + numbering how many heads they had cut off, how many towns they + had burned, how many virgins they had deflowered, how many + notable murders they had done, comparing them to Hannibal, or + Scipio, or Hercules, or some other famous + person—'wherewithal the poor fool runs mad, and thinks + indeed it is so.' Then he will gather a lot of rascals about him, + and get a fortune-teller <span class="pagenum"><a name="page27" + id="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> to prophesy how he is to speed. + After these preliminaries he betakes himself with his followers + at night to the side of a wood, where they lurk till morning. And + when it is daylight, then will they go to the poor villages, not + sparing to destroy young infants and aged people; and if a woman + be ever so great with child, her will they kill, burning the + houses and corn, and ransacking the poor cots; then will they + drive away all the kine and plough-horses, with all the other + cattle. Then must they have a bagpipe blowing before them, and if + any of the cattle fortune to wax weary or faint they will kill + them rather than it should do the owner good; and if they go by + any house of friars, or religious house, they will give them two + or three beeves, and they will take them and pray for them, yea, + and praise their doings, and say, 'His father was accustomed so + to do, wherein he will rejoice.' The fourth class consisted of + 'poets.' These men had great store of cattle, and 'used all the + trade of the others with an addition of prophecies. They were + maintainers of witches and other vile matters, to the blasphemy + of God, and to the impoverishing of the commonwealth.'</p> + + <p>These four septs were divided in all places of the four + quarters of Ireland, and some of the islands beyond Ireland, as + Aran, the land of the Saints, Innisbuffen, Innisturk, Innismain, + and Innisclare. These islands, he added, were under the rule of + O'Neill, and they were 'very pleasant and fertile, plenty of + wood, water, and arable ground, pastures, and fish, and a very + temperate air.' On this description Mr. Froude remarks in a + note—'At present they are barren heaps of treeless moors + and mountains. They yield nothing but scanty oat crops and + potatoes, and though the seas are full of fish as ever, there are + no hands to catch them. <i>The change is a singular commentary + upon modern improvements</i>.' There were many branches belonging + to the four septs, continues the credulous reporter, who was + evidently imposed upon, like many of his countrymen in modern + times with better means of information. For example, 'there was + the branch of Gogath, the glutton, of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page28" id="page28"></a>[pg 28]</span> which + one man would eat half a sheep at a sitting. There was another + called the Carrow, a gambler, who generally went about naked, + carrying dice and cards, and he would play the hair off his head. + Then there was a set of women called Goyng women, blasphemers of + God, who ran from country to country, sowing sedition among the + people.'<a id="footnotetag2" name="footnotetag2"></a><a href= + "#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a></p> + + <p>Mr. Froude says that this 'picture of Ireland' was given by + some half Anglicised, half Protestantised Celt, who wrote what he + had seen around him, careless of political philosophy, or of fine + phrases with which to embellish his diction. But if he was a + Celt, I think his description clearly proves that he must have + been a Celt of some other country than the one upon whose state + he reports. Judging from internal evidence, I should say that he + could not be a native; for an Irishman, even though a convert to + Anglicanism, and anxious to please his new masters, could + scarcely betray so much ignorance of the history of his country, + so much bigotry, such a want of candour and discrimination. If + Mr. Froude's great work has any fault, it is his unconscious + prejudice against Ireland. He knows as well as anyone the working + of the feudal system and the clan system in Scotland in the same + age. He knows with what treachery and cruelty murders were + perpetrated by chiefs and lairds, pretenders and + usurpers—how anarchy, violence, and barbarism reigned in + that land; yet, when he is dealing with a similar state of things + in Ireland, he uniformly takes it as proof of an incurable + national idiosyncrasy, and too often generalises from a few + cases. For example, in speaking of Shane O'Neill, who killed his + half-brother, Matthew Kelly, Baron of Dungannon, in order to + secure the succession for himself, he says—'<i>They manage + things strangely in Ireland.</i> The old O'Neill, instead of + being irritated, saw in this exploit a proof of commendable + energy. He at once took Shane into favour, and, had he been able, + would have given him his dead brother's rights.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> + + <p>Vol. i. p. 216.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude's History, of England, vol. viii. chap. vii.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page29" id= + "page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + <h3>THE RULE OF THE O'NEILLS.</h3> + + <p>Shane O'Neill was a man of extraordinary ability and + tremendous energy, as the English found to their cost. He was + guilty of atrocious deeds; but he had too many examples in those + lawless times encouraging him to sacrifice the most sacred ties + to his ambition. He resolved to seize the chieftainship by + deposing his father and banishing him to the Pale, where, after + passing some years in captivity, he died. He was, no doubt, urged + to do this, lest by some chance the son of the baron of Dungannon + should be adopted by England as the rightful heir, and made Earl + of Tyrone. This title he spurned, and proclaimed himself the + O'Neill, the true representative of the ancient kings of Ulster, + to which office he was elected by his people, taking the usual + oath with his foot upon the sacred stone. This was an open + defiance of English power, and he prepared to abide the + consequences. He thought the opportunity a favourable one to + recover the supremacy of his ancestors over the O'Donels. He + accordingly mustered a numerous army, and marched into Tyrconnel, + where he was joined by Hugh O'Donel, brother of Calvagh, the + chief, with other disaffected persons of the same clan. O'Donel + had recourse to stratagem. Having caused his cattle to be driven + out of harm's way, he sent a spy into the enemy's camp, who mixed + with the soldiers, and returning undiscovered, he undertook to + guide O'Donel's army to O'Neill's tent, which was distinguished + by a great watch-fire, and guarded by six galloglasses on one + side and as many Scots on the other. The <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page30" id="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span> camp, + however, was taken by surprise in the dead of night, and + O'Neill's forces, careless or asleep, were slaughtered and routed + without resistance. Shane himself fled for his life, and, + swimming across three rivers, succeeded in reaching his own + territory. This occurred the year before he cast off his + allegiance to England. He was required to appear before Elizabeth + in person to explain the grounds on which he had claimed the + chieftainship. He consented, on condition that he got a + safe-conduct and money for the expenses of his journey. At the + same time he sent a long letter to the Queen, complaining of the + treatment he had received, and defending his pretensions. The + letter is characteristic of the man and of the times. He said: + 'The deputy has much ill-used me, your Majesty; and now that I am + going over to see you, I hope you will consider that I am but + rude and uncivil, and do not know my duty to your Highness, nor + yet your Majesty's laws, but am one brought up in wildness, far + from all civility. Yet have I a good will to the commonwealth of + my country; and please your Majesty to send over two + commissioners that you can trust, that will take no bribes, nor + otherwise be imposed on, to observe what I have done to improve + the country, and hear what my accusers have to say; and then let + them go into the Pale, and hear what the people say of your + soldiers, with their horses, and their dogs, and their + concubines. Within this year and a half, three hundred farmers + are come from the English Pale to live in my country, where they + can be safe.</p> + + <p>'Please your Majesty, your Majesty's money here is not so good + as your money in England, and will not pass current there. Please + your Majesty to send me three thousand pounds in English money to + pay my expenses in going over to you, and when I come back I will + pay your deputy three thousand pounds Irish, such as you are + pleased to have current here. Also I will ask your Majesty to + marry me to some gentlewoman of noble blood meet for my vocation. + I will make Ireland all that your Majesty wishes for <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page31" id="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> you. I + am very sorry your Majesty is put to such expense. If you will + trust it to me, I will undertake that in three years you will + have a revenue, where now you have continual loss.'</p> + + <p>Shane suspected evil designs on the part of the English, and + not without reason. The object of the summons to England was to + detain him there with 'gentle talk' till Sussex could return to + his command with an English army powerful enough to subjugate + Ulster. For this purpose such preparations were made by the + English Government in men and money, 'that rebellion should have + no chance; and,' says Mr. Froude, 'so careful was the secresy + which was observed, to prevent Shane from taking alarm, that a + detachment of troops sent from Portsmouth sailed with sealed + orders, and neither men nor officers knew that Ireland was their + destination till they had rounded the Land's End.' The English + plans were well laid. Kildare, whom Elizabeth most feared, had + accepted her invitation to go to London, and thus prevented any + movement in the south, while O'Donel was prepared to join the + English army on its advance into Ulster; and the Scots, + notwithstanding their predilection for Mary Stuart, were expected + to act as Argyle and his sister should direct. But Shane had a + genius for intrigue as well as Elizabeth, and he was far more + rapid than her generals in the execution of his plans. By a + master-stroke of policy he disconcerted their arrangements. He + had previously asked the Earl of Argyle to give him his daughter + in marriage, in order that he might strengthen his alliance with + the Ulster Scots. It is true that she had been already married to + his rival, O'Donel; but that was a small difficulty in his way. + The knot was tied, but he had no hesitation in cutting it with + his sword. 'The countess' was well educated for her time. She was + also a Protestant, and the government had hopes that her + influence would be favourable to 'civility and the Reformation' + among the barbarians of the north. But whatever advantages the + presence of the fair Scottish missionary might bring, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page32" id="page32"></a>[pg + 32]</span> Shane O'Neill did not see why they should not be all + his own, especially as he had managed somehow to produce a + favourable impression on her heart. Accordingly he made a dash + into Tyrconnel, and carried off both the lady and her husband to + his stronghold, Shane's Castle, on the banks of Lough Neagh. Her + Scotch guard, though fifteen hundred strong, had offered no + resistance. O'Donel was shut up in a prison, and his wife became + the willing paramour of the captor. 'The affront to McConnell was + forgiven or atoned for by private arrangement, and the sister of + the Earl of Argyle—an educated woman for her time, not + unlearned in Latin, speaking French and Italian, counted sober, + wise, and no less subtle—had betrayed herself and her + husband. The O'Neills, by this last manoeuvre, became supreme in + Ulster. Deprived of their head, the O'Donels sank into + helplessness. The whole force of the province, such as it was, + with the more serious addition of several thousand Scotch + marauders, was at Shane's disposal, and thus provided, he thought + himself safe in defying England to do its worst.'<a id= + "footnotetag3" name="footnotetag3"></a><a href= + "#footnote3"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>Meantime, Sussex had arrived in Dublin preceded by his English + forces. He made a rapid preliminary movement to the north, and + seized the Cathedral of Armagh, in order to make it a fortified + depôt for his stores. He then fell back into Meath, + where he was joined by Ormond with flying companies of + galloglasses. Soon after a singular attack was made on the + English garrison at Armagh. Seeing a number of kernes scattered + about the town, the officer in command sallied out upon them, + when O'Neill suddenly appeared, accompanied by the Catholic + Archbishop, on a hill outside the walls. 'The English had but + time to recover their defences when the whole Irish army, led by + a procession of monks, and every man carrying a fagot, came on to + burn the cathedral over their heads. The monks sang a mass; the + primate walked three times up and down the lines, willing the + rebels to go forward, for God was on their side. Shane swore a + great oath not to turn his back <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page33" id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> while an Englishman was + alive; and with scream and yell his men came on. <i>Fortunately + there were no Scots among them.</i> The English, though + out-numbered ten to one, stood steady in the churchyard, and, + after a sharp hand-to-hand fight, drove back the howling crowd. + The Irish retired into the friars' houses outside the cathedral + close, set them on fire, and ran for their lives.'</p> + + <p>'So far,' adds Mr. Froude, 'all was well. After this there was + no more talk of treating, and by the 18th, Sussex and Ormond were + themselves at Armagh with a force—had there been skill to + direct it—sufficient to have swept Tyrone from border to + border.'</p> + + <p>The English historian exults in the valour of the small + garrison of his countrymen, well-disciplined and sheltered behind + a strong wall, in resisting the assault of a howling multitude of + mere Irish, and he observes significantly, that 'fortunately + there were no <i>Scots</i> among them.' But he is obliged + immediately after to record an Irish victory so signal that, + according to the lord deputy himself, 'the fame of the English + army so hardly gotten, was now vanished.' Yet Mr. Froude does + not, in this, lay the blame of defeat upon the <i>nationality</i> + of the vanquished. It is only the Irish nation that is made the + scape-goat in such cases.</p> + + <p>It was July, but the weather was wet, the rivers were high, + Ormond was ill, Sussex would not leave his friend, and so the + English army stayed in town doing nothing till the end of the + month, when their failing provisions admonished them that an + Irish hosting would be desirable. O'Neill, who seems to have been + aware of the state of things, presented the appropriate + temptation. Spies brought the lord deputy word that in the + direction of Cavan there were herds of cows, which an active + party might easily capture. These spies, with ardent professions + of loyalty, offered to guide the English troops to the place + where the booty would be found, their object being to draw them + among bogs and rivers where they might be destroyed. The lord + deputy did not think it necessary to accompany this host, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" id="page34"></a>[pg + 34]</span> which consisted of 200 horse, 500 men-at-arms, and + some hundreds of the loyal Irish of the Pale. Shane intended to + attack them the first night while resting on their march. But + they escaped by an alteration of the route. Next morning they + were marching on the open plain, miles from any shelter of hill + or wood, when the Irish chief, with less than half their number, + pursued them, and fell upon the cavalry in the rear, with the + cry, '<i>Laundarg Aboo</i>—the Bloody Hand—Strike for + O'Neill!' The English cavalry commanded by Wingfield, seized with + terror, galloped into the ranks of their own men-at-arms, rode + them down, and extricated themselves only to fly panic-stricken + from the field to the crest of an adjoining hill. Meantime, + Shane's troopers rode through the broken ranks, cutting down the + footmen on all sides. The yells and cries were heard far off + through the misty morning air. Fitzwilliam, who had the chief + command, was about a mile in advance at the head of another body + of cavalry, when a horseman was observed by him, galloping wildly + in the distance and waving his handkerchief as a signal. He + returned instantly, followed by his men, and flung himself into + the <i>mêleé</i>. Shane receiving such a charge + of those few men, and seeing more coming after, ran no farther + risk, blew a recall note, and withdrew unpursued. Fitzwilliam's + courage alone prevented the army from being annihilated. Out of + 500 English 50 lay dead, and 50 more were badly wounded. The + survivors fell back to Armagh 'so <i>dismayed</i> as to be unfit + for farther service.' Pitiable were the lamentations of the lord + deputy to Cecil on this catastrophe. It was, said he, 'by + cowardice the dreadfullest beginning that ever was seen in + Ireland. Ah! Mr. Secretary, what unfortunate star hung over me + that day to draw me, that never could be persuaded to be absent + from the army at any time—to be then absent for a little + disease of another man? <i>The rearward was the best and picked + soldiers in all this land.</i> If I or any stout man had been + that day with them, we had made an end of Shane—which is + now farther off than ever it was. Never before durst Scot or + Irishman look <span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" id= + "page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> on Englishmen in plain or wood since + I was here; and now Shane, in a plain three miles away from any + wood, and where I would have asked of God to have had him, hath, + with 120 horse, and a few Scots and galloglasse, <i>scarce half + in numbers</i>, charged our whole army, and by the cowardice of + one wretch whom I hold dear to me as my own brother, was like in + one hour to have left not one man of that army alive, and after + to have taken me and the rest at Armagh. The fame of the English + army, so hardly gotten, is now vanished, and I, wretched and + dishonoured, by the vileness of other men's deeds.'</p> + + <p>This is real history that Mr. Froude has given us. It places + the actors before us, enables us to discern their characters, + tells us who they are and what they have done. It shows also the + value and the necessity of documentary evidence for establishing + the truth of history. How different from the vague, uncertain, + shadowy representations derived from oral tradition, or mere + reports, though contemporary, circulated from mouth to mouth, and + exaggerated according to the interests of one party or the other. + Let us for illustration compare Mr. Froude's vivid picture of + this battle, so disastrous to the English, with the account given + of the same event by the Annalists called the Four Masters. These + writers had taken great pains to collect the most authentic + records of the various Irish tribes from the invasion by Henry + II. to the period of which we are writing. They were intensely + Irish, and of course glad of any opportunity of recording events + creditable to the valour of their countrymen. They lived in + Donegal, under the protection of O'Donel, but they showed + themselves quite willing to do full justice to his great rival + O'Neill. The presence of the lord deputy, the Earl of Ormond, and + other great men at Armagh, with a select English army, would + naturally have roused their attention, and when that army was + encountered and vanquished in the open field by the Irish + general, we should have expected that the details of such a + glorious event <span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" id= + "page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> would have been collected with the + greatest care from the accounts of eye-witnesses. The bards and + historiographers should have been on the alert to do justice to + their country on so great an occasion. They were on the spot, + they were beside the victors, and they had no excuse whatever for + ignorance. Yet here is the miserably cold, <i>jejune</i>, feeble, + and imperfect record which we find in the Annals of the Four + Masters:—'The Lord Justice of Ireland, namely Thomas + Fitzwalter (Sussex), marched into Tyrone to take revenge for the + capture of Caloach O'Donel, and also for his own quarrels with + the country. He encamped with a great army at Armagh, and + constructed deep entrenchments and impregnable ramparts about the + great church of Armagh, which he intended to keep constantly + guarded. O'Neill, <i>i.e.</i> John, having received intelligence + of this, sent a party of his faithful men and friends with + Caloach O'Donel to guard and keep him from the Lord Justice, and + they conveyed him from one island to another, in the recesses and + sequestered places of Tyrone. After some time the Lord Justice + sent out from the camp at Armagh, a number of his captains with + 1000 men to take some prey and plunder in Oriel. O'Neill, having + received private information and intelligence of those great + troops marching into Oriel, proceeded privately and silently to + where they were, and came up to them after they had collected + their prey; a battle ensued in which many were slain on both + sides; and finally the preys were abandoned, and fell into the + hands of their original possessors on that occasion.'</p> + + <p>That is the whole account of the most signal victory over the + English that had crowned the arms of Ulster during those wars! + Not a word of the disparity of the forces, or the flight of the + English cavalry, or the slaughter of the Englishmen-at-arms, or + the humiliation and disabled condition of the garrison at Armagh. + Equally unsatisfactory is the record of the subsequent march + through Tyrone by Sussex, in the course of which his army + slaughtered 4000 head of cattle, which they could not drive away. + Of this <span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" id= + "page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> tremendous destruction of property + the Four Masters do not say a word. Such omissions often occur in + their annals, even when dealing with contemporary events. + Uncritical as they were and extremely credulous, how can we trust + the records which they give of remote ages?</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote3" name="footnote3"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag3">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, Ibid.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" id= + "page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + <h3>O'NEILL, SOVEREIGN OF ULSTER.</h3> + + <p>The moral atmosphere of Elizabeth's court was not favourable + to public virtue. Strange to say at this time Lord Pembroke + seemed to be the only nobleman connected with it whose patriotism + could be depended on; and, according to Cecil, there was not + another person, 'no not one' who did not either wish well to + Shane O'Neill, or so ill to the Earl of Sussex as 'rather to + welcome the news than regret the English loss!' It would be + difficult to find 'intriguing factiousness' baser than this even + in barbarous Ireland. The success of O'Neill, however, had raised + him high in the opinion of the Queen, who proposed, through the + Earl of Kildare, to leave him in possession of all his + territories, and let him govern the Irish 'according to Irish + ideas' if he would only become her vassal. Sussex had returned to + Dublin with the remnant of his army, while Fitzwilliam was + dispatched to London to explain the disaster, bearing with him a + petition from the Irish Council, that the troops who had been + living in free quarters on the tenants of the Pale should be + recalled or disbanded. 'Useless in the field and tyrannical to + the farmer, they were a burden on the English exchequer, and + answered no purpose but to make the English name detested.'</p> + + <p>To O'Neill the Queen sent a pardon, with a safe conduct to + England, if he could be prevailed on to go. In the meantime Shane + sent a message to the lord deputy, demanding the removal of the + garrison from Armagh. One of his messengers, Neill Grey + communicated secretly with Lord <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page39" id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> Sussex, affecting to + dislike rebellion, and intimating that he might help the English + to get rid of his master. The lord deputy, without the least + scruple or apparent consciousness of the criminality or disgrace + of the proceeding, actually proposed to this man that he should + murder O'Neill. This villanous purpose he avows in his letter to + the Queen. 'In fine,' said he, 'I breake with him to kill Shane; + and bound myself by my oath to see him have a hundred marcs of + land by the year to him, and to his heirs, for his reward. He + seemed desirous to serve your Highness, and to have the land; but + fearful to do it, doubting his own escape after with safety, + which he confessed and promised to do by any means he might, + escaping with his life. What he will do I know not, but I assure + your Highness he may do it without danger if he will. And if he + will not do that he may in your service, there will be done <i>to + him</i> what others may. God send your Highness a good end.'</p> + + <p>This English nobleman was, it seems, pious as well as + honourable, and could mingle prayers with his plots for + assassination. Mr. Froude suggests extenuating circumstances: + 'Lord Sussex, it appears, regarded Shane as a kind of wolf, whom + having failed to capture in fair chase he might destroy by the + first expedient that came to his hand.' And 'English honour, like + English coin, lost something of its purity in the sister island.' + Of course; it was the Irish atmosphere that did it all. But + Sussex was not singular in this mode of illustrating English + honour. A greater than he, the chivalrous Sir Walter Raleigh, + wrote to a friend in Munster, recommending the treacherous + assassination of the Earl of Desmond, as perfectly justifiable. + And this crime, for which an ignorant Irishman would be hanged, + was deliberately suggested by the illustrious knight whilst + sitting quietly in his English study.<a id="footnotetag4" name= + "footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4"><sup>1</sup></a> But what + perplexes the historian most of all is that the Queen of England + showed no resentment at the infamous proposal of Sussex. 'It is + most sadly certain, however, that Sussex was continued + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" id="page40"></a>[pg + 40]</span> in office, and inasmuch as it will be seen that he + repeated the experiment a few months later, his letter could not + have been received with any marked condemnation.' Yet Elizabeth + was never in Ireland.</p> + + <p>Fitzwilliam, however, returned with reinforcements of troops + from Berwick, with which the deputy resolved to repair the credit + of the English arms, and to set the Irish an example of civilised + warfare. How did he do this? Dispatching provisions by sea to + Lough Foyle, he succeeded this time in marching through Tyrone, + 'and in destroying on his way 4,000 cattle, which he was unable + to carry away. He had left Shane's cows to rot where he had + killed them; and thus being without food, and sententiously and + characteristically concluding that man by his policy might + propose, but God at His will did dispose; Lord Sussex fell back + by the upper waters of Lough Erne, sweeping the country before + him.' When the Irish peasantry saw the carcasses of their cattle + rotting along the roads, while their children were famished for + want of milk, they must have been most favourably impressed with + the blessings of British rule! Shane, instead of encountering the + deputy on his own territory, amused himself burning villages in + Meath. Neither of those rulers—those chief protectors of + the people—seems to have been conscious that he was doing + anything wrong in destroying the homes and the food of the + wretched inhabitants, whom they alternately scourged. On the + contrary, the extent of devastation which they were able to + effect was supposed to put them in a better position for meeting + together, and treating as honourable and gallant representatives + of their respective nations.</p> + + <p>In accordance with the desire of the Queen, Shane, fresh from + the work of destruction in the Pale, was invited to a conference + with Kildare. They met at Dundalk, and the Irish chief consented + to wait upon Elizabeth in London, being allowed to name his own + conditions. In doing so he implied 'that he was rather conferring + a favour than receiving one, and that he was going to England as + a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" id="page41"></a>[pg + 41]</span> victorious enemy permitting himself to be + conciliated.' He demanded a safe-conduct so clearly worded that, + whatever was the result of his visit, he should be free to + return; he required 'a complete amnesty for his past misdeeds, + and he stipulated that Elizabeth should pay all expenses for + himself and his retinue; the Earls of Ormond, Desmond, and + Kildare must receive him in state at Dundalk, and escort him to + Dublin; Kildare must accompany him to England; and, most + important of all, Armagh Cathedral must be evacuated. He did not + anticipate treachery; and either he would persuade Elizabeth to + recognise him, and thus prove to the Irish that rebellion was the + surest road to prosperity and power, or, at worst, by venturing + into England, and returning unscathed, he would show them that + the Government might be defied with more than impunity.'<a id= + "footnotetag5" name="footnotetag5"></a><a href= + "#footnote5"><sup>2</sup></a></p> + + <p>These terms, so humiliating to English pride, were advocated + in the Council 'for certain secret respects;' and even Sir + William Cecil was not ashamed to say, 'that, in Shane's absence + from Ireland,' <i>something might be cavilled against him or + his</i>, for non-observing the covenants on his side; and so the + pact being infringed, the matter might be used as should be + thought fit. With this understanding Elizabeth wrote, making all + the ignominious concessions demanded, save one, the evacuation of + the cathedral. Shane replied in lofty terms that, although for + the Earl of Sussex he would not mollify one iota of his + agreement, yet he would consent at the request of her Majesty. + 'Thus,' says Mr. Froude, 'with the Earl of Kildare in attendance, + a train of galloglasse, 1,000<i>l.</i> in hand, and a second + 1,000<i>l.</i> awaiting for him in London, the champion of Irish + freedom sailed from Dublin, and appeared on the second of January + at the English court.'</p> + + <p>It is stated that Cecil, Pembroke, and Bacon, received him + privately on his arrival, instructed him how to behave in the + royal presence, gave him the promised money, and endeavoured to + impress upon him the enormity of his <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page42" id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> + offences. But, to every appeal made to his conscience, Shane + answered by a counter appeal about money; 2,000<i>l.</i> was a + poor present from so great a Queen; he was sure their honours + would give him a few more hundreds. He agreed, however, to make a + general confession of his sins in Irish and English; and, thus + tutored, Elizabeth received him in state on January 6, 1562, + attended by the Council, the peers, the foreign ambassadors, + bishops, aldermen, dignitaries of all kinds, who gazed 'as if at + the exhibition of some wild animal of the desert.' The scene is + very graphically described by Mr. Froude: 'O'Neill stalked in, + his saffron mantle sweeping round and round him, his hair curling + on his back, and clipped short below the eyes, which gleamed from + under it with a grey lustre, frowning, fierce, and cruel. Behind + him followed his galloglasse, bare-headed and fair-haired, with + shirts of mail which reached their knees, a wolf-skin flung + across their shoulders, and short broad battle-axes in their + hands. At the foot of the throne the chief paused, bent forward, + threw himself on his face upon the ground, and then, rising upon + his knees, spoke aloud in Irish!' Camden says he 'confessed his + crime and rebellion with howling,' and Mr. Froude adds that, to + his hearers, the sound of the words 'was as the howling of a + dog.' He said:—</p> + + <p>'Oh! my most dread sovereign lady and queen, like as I Shane + O'Neill, your Majesty's subject of your realm of Ireland, have of + long time desired to come into the presence of your Majesty to + acknowledge my humble and bounden subjection, so am I now here + upon my knees by your gracious permission, and do most humbly + acknowledge your Majesty to be my sovereign lady and Queen of + England, France, and Ireland; and I do confess that, for lack of + civil education, I have offended your Majesty and your laws, for + the which I have required and obtained your Majesty's pardon. And + for that I most humbly, from the bottom of my heart, thank your + Majesty, and still do with all humbleness require the continuance + of the same; and I faithfully <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page43" id="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> promise here before + Almighty God and your Majesty, and in presence of all these your + nobles, that I intend, by God's grace, to live hereafter in the + obedience of your Majesty as a subject of your land of + Ireland.</p> + + <p>'And because this my speech, being Irish, is not well + understanded, I have caused this my submission to be written in + English and Irish, and thereto have set my hand and seal; and to + these gentlemen, my kinsmen and friends, I most humbly beseech + your Majesty to be merciful and gracious.'</p> + + <p>Camden remarks that the bare-headed galloglasse, with long + dishevelled hair, crocus-dyed shirts, wide sleeves, short + jackets, shaggy cloaks, &c., were objects of great wonder to + the Londoners; while the hauteur of the Irish prince excited the + merriment of the courtiers, who styled him 'O'Neill the Great, + cousin to St. Patrick, friend to the Queen of England, enemy to + all the world besides.' Notwithstanding Shane's precautions with + respect to the safe-conduct, English artifice outdid Irish + cunning. With all their horror of the Jesuits, Elizabeth's + ministers in this case practised mental reservation. True, the + Government had promised to permit him to return to Ireland, but + then the time of his stay had not been specified. Various + pretexts were invented to detain him. He must be recognised as + his father's heir; the cause must be pleaded before the English + judges; the young Baron of Dungannon must come over and be heard + on the other side. O'Neill was told that he had been sent for, + while Cecil wrote privately to Fitzwilliam to keep him safe in + Ireland. While the prince was thus humoured with vain excuses, he + was occupied in pleading his own cause by flattering + communications to the Queen, 'whose fame was spoken of throughout + the world.' He wished to study the wisdom of her government, that + he might know better how to order himself in civil polity. He was + most urgent that her Majesty would give him 'some noble English + lady for a wife, with augmentation of living suitable.' If she + would give him his father's earldom, he <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page44" id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> would + make her the undisputed sovereign of willing subjects in Ulster; + he would drive away all her enemies, save her from all further + expense, and secure for her a great increase of revenue. He + begged in the meantime, that he might be allowed to attend her + favourite, Lord Robert Cecil, in order to learn 'to ride after + the English fashion, to run at the tilt, to hawk, to shoot, and + use such other good exercises as the said good lord was most apt + unto.' Thus month after month passed away, and Shane was still + virtually a prisoner. 'At length,' says Mr. Froude, 'the false + dealing produced its cruel fruit, the murder of the boy who was + used as the pretext for the delay. Sent for to England, yet + prevented from obeying the command, the young Baron of Dungannon + was waylaid at the beginning of April in a wood near Carlingford + by Turlogh O'Neill. He fled for his life, with the murderers + behind him, till he reached the bank of a deep river, which he + could not swim, and there he was killed.'</p> + + <p>This event brought matters to a crisis, and Shane's cause was + triumphant. By articles entered into between him and the Queen it + was agreed that he was to be constituted captain or governor of + Tyrone 'in the same manner as other captains of the said nation + called O'Nele's had rightfully executed that office in the time + of King Henry VIII. And, moreover, he was to enjoy and have the + name and title of O'Nele, with the like authority as any other of + his ancestors, with the service and homage of all the lords and + captains called <i>urraughts</i>, and other nobles of the said + nation of O'Nele.' All this was upon the condition 'that he and + his said nobles should truly and faithfully, from time to time, + serve her Majesty, and, where necessary, wage war against all her + enemies in such manner as the Lord Lieutenant for the time being + should direct.' The title of O'Neill, however, was to be + contingent on the decision of Parliament as to the validity of + the letters-patent of Henry VIII. Should that decision be + unfavourable, he was to enjoy his powers and prerogatives under + the style and title of the Earl of Tyrone, with feudal + jurisdiction over the northern <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page45" id="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> counties. The Pale was to + be no shelter to any person whom he might demand as a malefactor. + If any Irish lord or chief did him wrong, and the deputy failed + within twenty-one days to exact reparation, Shane might raise an + army and levy war on his private account. An exception was made + on behalf of the loyal O'Donel, whose cause was to be submitted + to the arbitration of the Irish earls. The 'indenture' between + the Queen and O'Neill was signed by the high contracting parties, + and bears date April 30, 1562. The English historian indignantly + remarks: 'A rebel subject treating as an equal with his sovereign + for the terms on which he would remain in his allegiance was an + inglorious spectacle; and the admission of Shane's pretensions to + sovereignty was one more evidence to the small Ulster chiefs that + no service was worse requited in Ireland than fidelity to the + English crown. The Maguires, the O'Reillys, the + O'Donels—all the clans who had stood by Sussex in the + preceding summer—were given over to their enemy bound hand + and foot. But Elizabeth was weary of the expense, and sick of + efforts which were profitless as the cultivation of a quicksand. + True it was that she was placing half Ireland in the hands of an + adulterous, murdering scoundrel, but the Irish liked to have it + so, and she forced herself to hope that he would restrain himself + for the future within the bounds of decency.'<a id="footnotetag6" + name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6"><sup>3</sup></a></p> + + <p>In that hope she was soon disappointed. Shane with his + galloglasse returned in glory, his purse lined with money and + honour wreathed about his brows. He told the northern chiefs that + he had gone to England not to lose but to win, and that they must + henceforth submit to his authority, or feel his power. The + O'Donels, relying on English promises, dared to refuse allegiance + to the O'Neill, whereupon, without consulting the lord deputy, + 'he called his men to arms and marched into Tyrconnel, killing, + robbing, and burning in the old style through farm and castle.' + The Irish historians, however, make excuses for O'Neill, + affirming that he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" id= + "page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> was released from his obligations by + the bad faith of the lord deputy. He it was who gave him a safe + conduct to Dublin, that he might take the oath of allegiance + according to promise; but the document was so ingeniously worded + that its meaning might be twisted so as to make him a prisoner. + He was informed of this treachery, and, as Mr. Froude remarks, + 'Shane was too cunning a fish, and had been too lately in the + meshes, to be caught again in so poor a snare.' A most attractive + bait was provided by Sussex in the person of his sister, who had + been brought over to Dublin, and who might be won by the great + northern chief if he would only come up to the viceregal court to + woo her. 'Shane glanced at the tempting morsel with wistful eyes. + Had he trusted himself in the hands of Sussex he would have had a + short shrift for a blessing and a rough nuptial knot about his + neck. At the last moment a little bird carried the tale to his + ear. He had been advertized out of the Pale that the lady was + brought over only to entrap him, and if he came to the deputy he + should never return.' He therefore excused himself by alleging + that his duty to the Queen forbade him to leave the province + while it was in such a disturbed condition, the disturbance being + caused chiefly by his own predatory excursions into the + territories of the O'Donels and Maguires.</p> + + <p>Shane took charge of the affairs of the Church as well as of + the State. The Catholic primate refusing to acknowledge Elizabeth + as the head of the Church, the see was declared vacant, and a + <i>congé d'élire</i> was sent down for the + appointment of 'Mr. Adam Loftus,' an Englishman, who came over as + the lord deputy's chaplain. The answer returned and reported by + Sussex to the Queen was 'that the chapter there, whereof the + greater part were Shane O'Neill's horsemen, were so sparkled and + out of order that they could by no means be assembled for the + election. In the meantime the lord deputy began to apprehend that + O'Neill aspired, not without some hope of success, to the + sovereignty of the whole island. It was found that he was in + correspondence <span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" id= + "page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> with the Pope, and the Queen of + Scots, and the King of Spain. No greater danger, wrote Sussex, + had ever been in Ireland. He implored the Queen not to trifle + with it, declaring that he wished some abler general to take the + command, not from any want of will, 'for he would spend his last + penny and his last drop of blood for her Majesty.' Right and left + Shane was crushing the petty chiefs, who implored the protection + of the Government. Maguire requested the deputy to write to him + in English, not in Latin, because the latter language was well + known, and but few of the Irish had any knowledge of the former, + in which therefore the secrets of their correspondence would be + more safe. Here is a specimen of his English: 'I know well that + within these four days the sayed Shan will come to dystroy me + contrey except your Lordshypp will sette some remedy in the + matter.' He did indeed go down into Fermanagh with 'a great + hoste.' As Maguire refused to submit, Shane 'bygan to wax mad, + and to cawsse his men to bran all his corn and howsses.' He + spared neither church nor sanctuary; three hundred women and + children were piteously murdered, and Maguire himself, clean + banished, as he described it, took refuge with the remnant of his + people in the islands on the lake, whither Shane was making boats + to pursue him. 'Help me, your lordship,' the hunted wretch cried, + in his despair, to Sussex. 'Ye are lyke to make hym the strongest + man of all Erlond, for every man wyll take an exampull by the + gratte lostys; take hyd to yourself by thymes, for he is lyke to + have all the power from this place thill he come to the wallys of + Gallway to rysse against you.'<a id="footnotetag7" name= + "footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7"><sup>4</sup></a></p> + + <p>It is the boast of the Irish that when Shane had subdued all + his opponents, he ruled Tyrone for some time with such order, + 'that if a robbery was committed within his territory, he either + caused the property to be restored, or reimbursed the loser out + of his own treasury.'<a id="footnotetag8" name= + "footnotetag8"></a><a href= + "#footnote8"><sup>5</sup></a></p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page48" id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> + + <p>The perplexity of the Government in this critical emergency is + vividly described by Mr. Froude: 'Elizabeth knew not which way to + turn. Force, treachery, conciliation had been tried successively, + and the Irish problem was more hopeless than ever. In the dense + darkness of the prospects of Ulster there was a solitary gleam of + light. Grown insolent with prosperity, Shane had been dealing too + peremptorily with the Scots; his countess, though compelled to + live with him, and to be the mother of his children, had felt his + brutality and repented of her folly, and perhaps attempted to + escape. In the daytime, when he was abroad marauding, she was + coupled like a hound to a page or a horse-boy, and only released + at night when he returned to his evening orgies. The fierce + Campbells were not men to bear tamely these outrages from a + drunken savage on the sister of their chief, and Sussex conceived + that if the Scots, by any contrivance, were separated from Shane, + they might be used as a whip to scourge him.'</p> + + <p>At length Sussex, determined to crush the arch-rebel, marched + northward in April, 1563, with a mixed force of English and + Irish, ill-armed, ill-supplied, dispirited and almost disloyal. + The diary of the commander-in-chief is, perhaps, the funniest on + record: 'April 6: The army arrived at Armagh. April 8: The army + marches back to Newry to bring up stores and ammunition left + behind. April 11: The army advances again to Armagh, where it + waits for galloglasse and kerne from the Pale. April 14: The + commander-in-chief answers a letter from James M'Connell. April + 15: The army goes upon Shane's cattle, of which it takes enough + to serve it, but would have taken more if it had had + galloglasse.' Next day it returns to Armagh. There it waits three + days for the galloglasse, and then sends back for them to Dublin. + On April 20, again writes M'Connell, because he did not come + according to promise. April 21: The army surveys the Trough + mountains. April 22: The pious commander winds up the glorious + record in these words: <span class="pagenum"><a name="page49" id= + "page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> 'To Armagh with the spoil taken which + would have been much more if we had had galloglasse, and because + St. George even forced me, her Majesty's lieutenant, to return to + divine service that night. April 23: Divine service.' + Subsequently his lordship's extreme piety caused him the loss of + 300 horses, which he naïvely confesses thus: 'Being + Easter time, and he having travelled the week before, and Easter + day till night, thought fit to give Easter Monday to prayer, and + in this time certain churls stole off with the horses.' To this + Mr. Froude adds the pertinent remark: 'The piety which could + neglect practical duty for the outward service of devotion, yet + at the same time could make overtures to Neil Greg to assassinate + his master, requires no very lenient consideration.'</p> + + <p>In connexion with the Irish Church Disestablishment Bill Lord + Elcho proposed Solomon's plan of settling the dispute of the two + mother Churches about Ireland. He would cut the country in two, + establishing Protestantism in the north and Catholicism in the + south. When an experienced member of the House of Commons makes + such a proposition in this age, we should not be surprised that + Sir Thomas Cusack in the year 1563 proposed to Queen Elizabeth + that Ireland should be divided into four provinces, each with a + separate president, either elected by the people or chosen in + compliance with their wishes. O'Neill was to have the north, the + Clanrickards the west, the O'Briens or Desmonds the south, and + thus the English might be allowed the undisturbed enjoyment of + the Pale. This notable scheme for settling the Irish question was + actually adopted by the Queen, and she wrote to Sussex, stating + that, as his expedition to the north had resulted only in giving + fresh strength to the enemy, she 'had decided to come to an end + of the war of Ulster by agreement rather than by force.' To Shane + she was all compliance. He had but to prove himself a good + subject, and he might have any pre-eminence which her Majesty + could grant without doing any other person wrong. 'If he desired + to have a council established at Armagh, he <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page50" id="page50"></a>[pg 50]</span> should + himself be the president of that council; if he wished to drive + the Scots out of Antrim, her own troops would assist in the + expulsion; if he was offended with the garrison in the cathedral, + she would gladly see peace maintained in a manner less expensive + to herself. To the primacy he might name the person most + agreeable to himself, and with the primacy, as a matter of + course, even the form of maintaining the Protestant Church would + be abandoned also. In return for these concessions the Queen + demanded only that Shane, to save her honour, should sue for them + as a favour instead of demanding them as a right. The rebel chief + consented without difficulty to conditions which cost him + nothing, and after an interview with Cusack, O'Neill wrote a + formal apology to Elizabeth, and promised for the future to be + her Majesty's true and faithful subject. Indentures were drawn up + on December 17, in which the Ulster sovereignty was transferred + to him in everything but the name, and the treaty required only + Elizabeth's signature, when a second dark effort was made to cut + the knot of the Irish difficulty.'<a id="footnotetag9" name= + "footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9"><sup>6</sup></a></p> + + <p>This second 'dark effort' was nothing less than an attempt to + murder O'Neill by means of poison. He could not be conquered; he + could not be out-manoeuvred; he could not be assassinated in the + ordinary way. But the resources of Dublin Castle, and of English + ingenuity, were not exhausted. The lord deputy was of course + delighted with the reconciliation which had been effected with + the Ulster prince. What could be more natural than to send him a + present of the choicest wine from the viceregal cellars? + certainly few presents could be more agreeable. Shane and his + household quaffed the delicious beverage freely enough we may be + sure, without the slightest suspicion that there was death in the + cup. But the wine was mingled with poison. Those who drank it + were quickly at the point of death. O'Neill might thank his good + constitution for his recovery from an illness almost mortal. The + crime was traced to an Englishman named Smith, who, if employed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page51" id="page51"></a>[pg + 51]</span> by Lord Sussex, did not betray the guilty secret. Mr. + Froude admits that the suspicion cannot but cling to him that + this second attempt at murder was not made without his + connivance; 'nor,' he adds, 'can Elizabeth herself be wholly + acquitted of responsibility. She professed the loudest + indignation, but she ventured no allusion to his previous + communication with her, and no hint transpires of any previous + displeasure when the proposal had been made openly to herself. + The treachery of an English nobleman, the conduct of the inquiry, + and the anomalous termination of it, would have been incredible + even in Ireland, were not the original correspondence extant, in + which the facts are not denied.'</p> + + <p>O'Neill of course complained loudly to the Queen, whereupon + she directed that a strict investigation should take place, in + order that the guilty parties should be found out and punished, + 'of what condition soever the same should be.' In writing to the + lord deputy she assumed that Smith had been committed to prison + and would be brought to condign punishment. That person, after + many denials, at length confessed his guilt, and said that his + object was to rid his country of a dangerous enemy. This motive + was so good in the eye of the Government that it saved the life + of the culprit. Sir Thomas Cusack, writing to Cecil, March 22, + 1564, says, 'I persuaded O'Neill to forget the matter, whereby no + more talk should grow of it; seeing there is no law to punish the + offender other than by discretion and imprisonment, which O'Neill + would little regard except the party might be executed by death, + and that the law doth not suffer. So as the matter be wisely + pacified, it were well done to leave it.' Shane was probably + aware that Smith was but an instrument, who would be readily + sacrificed as a peace-offering.</p> + + <p>The sketch which Mr. Froude gives of Ulster and its wild + sovereign at this time is admirably picturesque. 'Here then, for + the present, the story will leave Shane safely planted on the + first step of his ambition, in all but the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page52" id="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span> title, + sole monarch of the North. He built himself a fort on an island + in Lough Neagh, which he called <i>Foogh-ni-gall</i>, or, Hate of + Englishmen, and grew rich on the spoils of his enemies, the only + strong man in Ireland. He administered justice after a paternal + fashion, permitting no robbers but himself; when wrong was done + he compelled restitution, or at his own cost redeemed the harm + "to the loser's contentation." Two hundred pipes of wine were + stored in his cellars; 600 men-at-arms fed at his table, as it + were his janissaries; and daily he feasted the beggars at his + gate, saying, it was meet to serve Christ first. Half wolf, half + fox, he lay couched in his Castle of Malepartuis, with his + emissaries at Rome, at Paris, and at Edinburgh. In the morning he + was the subtle pretender to the Irish throne; in the afternoon, + when the wine was in him, he was a dissolute savage, revelling in + sensuality with his unhappy countess, uncoupled from her horseboy + to wait upon his pleasure. He broke loose from time to time to + keep his hand in practice. At Carlingford, for example, he swept + off one day 200 sheep and oxen, while his men violated sixty + women in the town; but Elizabeth looked away and endeavoured not + to see. The English Government had resolved to stir no sleeping + dogs in Ireland till a staff was provided to chastise them if + they would bite. Terence Daniel, the dean of those rough-riding + canons of Armagh, was installed as primate; the Earl of Sussex + was recalled to England; and the new archbishop, unable to + contain his exultation at the blessed day which had dawned upon + his country, wrote to Cecil to say how the millennium had come at + last, glory be to God!'</p> + + <p>As a picture of Irish savage life this is very good. But the + historian has presented a companion picture of English civilised + life, which is not at all inferior. Sir Thomas Wroth and Sir + Nicholas Arnold were sent over to reform the Pale. They were + stern Englishmen, impatient of abuses among their own countrymen, + and having no more sympathy for Irishmen than for wolves. In the + Pale they found that peculation had grown into a custom; the most + barefaced <span class="pagenum"><a name="page53" id= + "page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> frauds had been converted by habit + into rights: and a captain's commission was thought ill-handled + if it did not yield, beyond the pay, 500<i>l.</i> a year. They + received pay for each hundred men, when only sixty were on the + roll. The soldiers, following the example of their leaders, + robbed and ground the peasantry. In fact, the Pale was 'a + weltering sea of corruption—the captains out of credit, the + soldiers mutinous, the English Government hated; every man + seeking his own, and none that which was Christ's.' The + purification of the Pale was left to Arnold, 'a hard, iron, + pitiless man, careful of things and careless of phrases, + untroubled with delicacy, and impervious to Irish enchantments. + The account books were dragged to light, where iniquity in high + places was registered in inexorable figures. The hands of Sir + Henry Ratcliffe, the brother of Sussex, were not found clean. + Arnold sent him to the Castle with the rest of the offenders. + Deep, leading drains were cut through the corrupting mass. The + shaking ground grew firm, and honest healthy human life was again + made possible. With the provinces beyond the Pale, Arnold meddled + little, save where, taking a rough view of the necessities of the + case, he could help the Irish chiefs to destroy each other.'</p> + + <p>To Cecil, Arnold wrote thus: 'I am with all the wild Irish at + the same point I am at with bears and ban-dogs; when I see them + fight, so they fight earnestly indeed, and tug each other well, I + care not who has the worst.' 'Why not, indeed?' asks Mr. Froude; + 'better so than hire assassins! Cecil, with the modesty of + genius, confessed his ignorance of the country, and his inability + to judge; yet, in every opinion which he allowed himself to give, + there was always a certain nobility of tone and sentiment.' + Nobility was scarcely necessary to induce a statesman to revolt + against the policy of Arnold. A little Christianity, nay a slight + touch of humanity, would have sufficed for that purpose. Sussex + was a nobleman, and considered himself, no doubt, a very godly + man, but everyone must admit that, in all heroic qualities, he + was incomparably beneath the uncultured <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page54" id="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> Shane + O'Neill, while in baseness and wickedness he was not far behind + his northern foe, 'half wolf, half fox.' Cecil, however, was a + man of a very different stamp from Sussex. Evidently shocked at + the prevailing English notions about the value of Irish life, he + wrote to Arnold: 'You be of that opinion which many wise men are + of, from which I do not dissent, being an Englishman; but being, + as I am, a Christian man, I am not without some perplexity, to + enjoy of such cruelties.'</p> + + <p>The work of reform, however, did not prove so easy a task. + Arnold's vigour was limited by his powers. The paymasters + continued to cheat the Government by false returns. The + Government allowed the pay to run in arrear, the soldiers + revenged themselves by oppressing and plundering the people; and + 'so came to pass this wonderful phenomenon, that <i>in O'Neill's + country</i> alone in Ireland—defended as it was from + attacks from without, and enriched with the plunder of the + Pale—<i>were the peasantry prosperous, or life or property + secure</i>.' This fact might suggest to the English historian + that the evils of Ireland do not all proceed from blood or race; + and that the Saxon may be placed in circumstances which make him + as false, as dishonest, as lazy, as disordered, as worthless as + the Celt, and that even men of 'gentle blood' may become as base + as their most plebeian servants. Nor did zeal for religious + reformation redeem the defects of the Anglo-Irish rulers. The + Protestant bishops were chiefly agitated by the vestment + controversy. 'Adam Loftus, the titular primate, to whom,' says + Mr. Froude, 'sacked villages, ravished women, and famine-stricken + skeletons crawling about the fields, were matters of everyday + indifference, shook with terror at the mention of a surplice.' + Robert Daly wrote in anguish to Cecil, in dismay at the + countenance to 'Papistry,' and at his own inability to prolong a + persecution which he had happily commenced. An abortive 'devise + for the better government of Ireland' gives us some insight into + the condition of the people. 'No poor persons should be + <i>compelled</i> any more <span class="pagenum"><a name="page55" + id="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> to work or labour by the day, or + otherwise, without meat, drink, wages, or some other allowance + during the time of their labour; no earth tillers, nor any others + inhabiting a dwelling, under any lord, should be distrained or + punished, in body or goods, for the faults of their landlord; nor + any honest man lose life or lands without fair trial by + parliamentary attainder, according to the ancient laws of England + and Ireland.' Surely it was no proof of incurable perversity of + nature, that the Irish peasantry were discontented and + disaffected, under the horrid system of oppression and slavery + here laid before the English Government.</p> + + <p>As remedial measures, it was proposed that a true servant of + God should be placed in every parish, from Cape Clear to the + Giant's Causeway; that the children should be taught the New + Testament and the Psalms in Latin, 'that they, being infants, + might savour of the same in age as an old cask doth;' that there + should be a university for the education of the clergy, 'and such + godly discipline among them that there should be no more + pluralities, no more abuse of patronage, no more neglect, or + idleness, or profligacy.' Mr. Froude's reflection upon this + projected policy is highly characteristic:—</p> + + <p>'Here was an ideal Ireland painted on the retina of some + worthy English minister; but the real Ireland was still the old + place. As it was in the days of Brian Boroihme and the Danes, so + it was in the days of Shane O'Neill and Sir Nicholas Arnold; and + the Queen, who was to found all these fine institutions, cared + chiefly to burden her exchequer no further in the vain effort + <i>to drain the black Irish morass</i>, fed as it was from the + perennial fountains of Irish NATURE.'<a id="footnotetag10" name= + "footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10"><sup>7</sup></a></p> + + <p>The Queen, however, thought it more prudent to let Shane have + his way in Ulster. To oblige him, she would remove the Protestant + primate, Loftus, to Dublin, and appoint his own nominee and + friend, Terence Daniel. The Pope had sent a third archbishop for + the same see, named Creagh; <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page56" id="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> but, when passing through + London, he was arrested, and incarcerated in the Tower, 'where he + lay in great misery, cold, and hunger, without a penny, without + the means of getting his single shirt washed, and without gown or + hose.' At last he made his escape by gliding over the walls into + the Thames. The events of 1565 made the English Government more + than ever anxious to come to terms with the chieftain 'whom they + were powerless to crush.' Since the defeat of the Earl of Sussex, + continues Mr. Froude, 'Shane's influence and strength had been + steadily growing. His return unscathed from London, and the + fierce attitude which he assumed on the instant of his + reappearance in Ulster, convinced the petty leaders that to + resist him longer would only ensure their ruin. O'Donel was an + exile in England, and there remained unsubdued in the North only + the Scottish colonies of Antrim, which were soon to follow with + the rest. O'Neill lay quiet through the winter. With the spring + and the fine weather, when the rivers fell and the ground dried, + he roused himself out of his lair, and with his galloglasse and + kerne, and a few hundred harquebussmen, he dashed suddenly down + upon the Red-shanks, and broke them utterly to pieces. Six or + seven hundred were killed in the field, James M'Connell and his + brother, Sorleyboy, were taken prisoners, and, for the moment, + the whole colony was swept away. James M'Connell, himself badly + wounded in the action, died a few months later, and Shane was + left undisputed sovereign of Ulster.'</p> + + <p>Primate Daniel announced to the Queen this 'glorious victory + over a malicious and dangerous people' who were gradually + fastening on the country; and Sir Thomas Cusack urged that now + was the time to make O'Neill a friend for ever, an advice which + was backed up by the stern Arnold. 'For what else could be done? + The Pale,' he pleaded, 'is poor and unable to defend itself. If + he do fall out before the beginning of next summer, there is + neither outlaw, rebel, murderer, thief, nor any lewd nor + evil-disposed person—of whom God knoweth there is plenty + swarming in every quarter <span class="pagenum"><a name="page57" + id="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> among the wild Irish, yea and in + our own border too—which would not join to do what mischief + they might.'</p> + + <p>But Shane did not wait for further royal overtures. He saw + that with the English Government might was right, and that the + justice of his cause shone out more brightly in proportion to the + increase of his power. Thus encouraged in his course of + aggression and conquest, he seized the Queen's Castles of Newry + and Dundrum. He then marched into Connaught, demanding the + tribute due of old time 'to them that were kings in that realm.' + He exacted pledges of obedience from the western chiefs, and + spoiled O'Rourke's country, and returned to Tyrone driving before + him 4,000 head of cattle. While proceeding at this rate he wrote + soothing and flattering words to the Queen. It was for her + majesty he was fighting; he was chastising her enemies and + breaking stiff-necked chiefs into her yoke; and he begged that + she would not credit any stories which his ill-willers might + spread abroad against him. On the contrary he hoped she would + determine his title and rule without delay, and grant him, in + consideration of his good services, some augmentation of living + in the Pale. Elizabeth, however, excused his conduct, saying 'we + must allow something for his wild bringing-up, and not expect + from him what we should expect from a perfect subject. If he mean + well he shall have all his reasonable requests granted.'</p> + + <p>But there was among Elizabeth's advisers a statesman who felt + that this sort of policy would never do. Sir Henry Sidney, on + being requested to take charge of the Government of Ireland, + urged the absolute necessity of a radical change. The power of + O'Neill, and such rulers as he, must be utterly broken, and that + by force, at whatever cost. And this, he argued, would not only + be sound policy but true economy. The condition of Ireland was + unexampled; free from foreign invasion, the sovereignty of the + Queen not denied, yet the revenue so mean and scanty that 'great + yearly treasures were carried out of the realm of England to + satisfy the stipends of the officers and soldiers required for + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page58" id="page58"></a>[pg + 58]</span> governance of the same.' He must have 10,000<i>l.</i> + or 12,000<i>l.</i> to pay out-standing debts and put the army in + proper condition. As for his own remuneration, the new viceroy, + as he could expect nothing from the Queen, would be content with + permission to export six thousand kerseys and clothes, free of + duty.</p> + + <p>Sir Henry Sidney struck out the only line of policy by which + the English government of Ireland could be made successful or + even possible. He said: 'To go to work by force will be + chargeable, it is true; but if you will give the people justice + and minister law among them, and exercise the sword of the + sovereign, and put away the sword of the subject, <i>omnia + hæc adjicientur vobis</i>—you shall drive the now + man of war to be an husbandman, and he that now liveth like a + lord to live like a servant, and the money now spent in buying + armour, and horses, and waging of war, shall be bestowed in + building of towns and houses. By ending these incessant wars ere + they be aware, you shall bereave them both of force and beggary, + and make them weak and wealthy. Then you can convert the military + service due from the lords into money; then you can take up the + fisheries now left to the French and the Spaniards; then you can + open and work your mines, and the people will be able to grant + you subsidies.'<a id="footnotetag11" name= + "footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11"><sup>8</sup></a> When + the lord deputy arrived in Ireland he found a state of things in + the Pale far worse than he could have imagined. It was 'as it + were overwhelmed with vagabonds; plunder and spoils daily carried + out of it; the people miserable; not two gentlemen in the whole + of it able to lend 20<i>l.</i>; without horse, armour, apparel, + or victual. The soldiers were worse than the people: so + beggarlike as it would abhor a general to look on them; never a + married wife among them, and therefore so allied with Irishwomen + that they betrayed secrets, and could not be trusted on dangerous + service; so insolent as to be intolerable; so rooted in idleness + as there was no hope by correction to amend them.' In Munster a + man might ride twenty or <span class="pagenum"><a name="page59" + id="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> thirty miles and find no houses + standing in a country which he had known as well inhabited as + many counties in England. 'In Ulster,' Sidney wrote, 'there + tyrannizeth the prince of pride; Lucifer was never more puffed up + with pride and ambition than that O'Neill is; he is at present + the only strong and rich man in Ireland, and he is the dangerest + man and most like to bring the whole estate of this land to + subversion and subjugation either to him or to some foreign + prince, that ever was in Ireland.' He invited this Lucifer to + come into the Pale to see him, and Shane at first agreed to meet + him at Dundalk, but on second thoughts he politely declined, on + the ground that the Earl of Sussex had twice attempted to + assassinate him, and but for the Earl of Kildare would have put a + lock upon his hands when he was passing through Dublin to + England. Hence his 'timorous and mistrustful people' would not + trust him any more in English hands. In fact O'Neill despised any + honours the Queen could confer upon him. 'When the wine was in + him he boasted that he was in blood and power better than the + best of their earls, and he would give place to none but his + cousin of Kildare, because he was of his own house. They had made + a wise earl of M'Carthymore, but Shane kept as good a man as he. + Whom was he to trust? Sussex gave him a safe-conduct and then + offered him the courtesy of a handlock. The Queen had told him + herself that, though he had got a safe-conduct to come and go, + the document did not say when he was to go; and, in order to get + away from London, he was obliged to agree to things against his + honour and profit, and he would never perform them while he + lived.' That treachery drove him into war. 'My ancestors,' he + said, 'were kings of Ulster; and Ulster is mine, and shall be + mine. O'Donel shall never come into his country, nor Bagenal into + Newry, nor Kildare into Dundrum, or Lecale. They are now mine. + With this sword I won them, with this sword I will keep them.' + Sidney, indignant at these pretensions, wrote thus to Leicester: + 'No Atila nor Yotila, no Vandal nor Goth that ever was, was more + to be <span class="pagenum"><a name="page60" id="page60"></a>[pg + 60]</span> dreaded for over-running any part of Christendom, than + this man is for over-running and spoiling of Ireland. If it be an + angel of heaven that will say that ever O'Neill will be a good + subject till he be thoroughly chastised, believe him not, but + think him a spirit of error. Surely if the queen do not chastise + him in Ulster, he will chase all hers out of Ireland. Her majesty + must make up her mind to the expense, and chastise this + cannibal.' He therefore demanded money that he might pay the + garrison and get rid of the idle, treacherous, incorrigible + soldiers which were worse than none. Ireland, he said, would be + no small loss to the English crown. It was never so likely to be + lost as then, and he would rather die than that it should be lost + during his government. The queen, however, sent money with the + greatest possible reluctance, and was strangely dissatisfied with + this able and faithful servant, even when his measures were + attended with signal success.</p> + + <p>In the meantime O'Neill zealously espoused the cause of Mary + Queen of Scots. His friendship with Argyle grew closer, and he + proposed that it should be cemented by a marriage. 'The countess' + was to be sent away, and Shane was to be united to the widow of + James M'Connell, whom he had killed—who was another + half-sister of Argyle, and whose daughter he had married already + and divorced. Sidney wrote, that was said to be the earl's + practice; and Mr. Froude, who has celebrated the virtues of Henry + VIII., takes occasion from this facility of divorce to have + another fling at 'Irish nature.' He says:—'The Irish + chiefs, it seemed, three thousand years behind the world, + retained the habits and the moralities of the Greek princes in + the tale of Troy, when the bride of the slaughtered husband was + the willing prize of the conqueror; and when only a rare + Andromache was found to envy the fate of a sister</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>Who had escaped the bed of some victorious lord.'</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>After a brief and brilliant campaign, in which Shane 'swept + round by Lough Erne, swooped on the remaining <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page61" id="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> cattle + of Maguire, and struck terror and admiration into the Irishry,' + he wrote a letter to Charles IX. of France, inviting his + co-operation in expelling the heretics, and bringing back the + country to the holy Roman see. The heretic Saxons, he said, were + the enemies of Almighty God, the enemies of the holy Church of + Rome, the King's enemies, and his. 'The time is come when we all + are confederates in a common bond to drive the invader from our + shores, and we now beseech your Majesty to send us 6,000 + well-armed men. If you will grant our request there will soon be + no Englishmen left alive among us, and we will be your Majesty's + subjects ever more.' This letter was intercepted, and is now + preserved among the Irish MSS.</p> + + <p>Sidney resolved to adopt a new plan of warfare. His campaigns + would not be mere summer forays, mere inroads of devastation + during the few dry weeks of August and September. He would wait + till the harvest was gathered in, place troops in fortresses, and + continue hostilities through the winter. He adopted this course + because 'in the cold Irish springs, the fields were bare, the + cattle were lean, and the weather was so uncertain that neither + man nor horse could bear it, whereas in August <i>food everywhere + was abundant</i>, and the soldiers would have time to become + hardened to their work.' They could winter somewhere on the Bann; + harry Tyrone night and day without remission, and so break Shane + to the ground and ruin him. There was no time to be lost. Maguire + had come into Dublin, reporting that his last cottage was in + ashes, and his last cow driven over the hill into Shane's + country; while Argyle, with the whole disposable force of the + western isles, was expected to join him in summer. O'Neill + himself, after an abortive attempt to entrap Sidney at Dundalk, + made a sudden attack on that town in July; but his men were + beaten back, 'and eighteen heads were left behind to grin + hideously over the gates.' He then returned to Armagh and burned + the cathedral to the ground, to prevent its being again occupied + by an English garrison. He next sent a swift messenger to + Desmond, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page62" id= + "page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> calling for a rising in Munster. 'Now + was the time or never' to set upon the enemies of Ireland. If + Desmond failed, or turned against his country, God would avenge + it on him. But Desmond's reply was an offer to the deputy 'to go + against the rebel with all his power. The Scots also held back.' + Shane offered them all Antrim to join him, all the cattle in the + country, and the release of Sorleyboy from captivity; but Antrim + and its cattle they believed that they could recover for + themselves, and James M'Connell had left a brother Allaster, who + was watching with eager eyes for an opportunity to revenge the + death of his kinsman, and the dishonour with which Shane had + stained his race.</p> + + <p>In the meantime troops and money came over from England, and + on September 17, Colonel Randolph was at the head of an army in + Lough Foyle; and the lord deputy took the field accompanied by + Kildare, the old O'Donel, Shane Maguire, and O'Dogherty. So that + this war against O'Neill was waged for the dispossessed Irish + chiefs as well as for England. Armagh city they found a mere heap + of blackened stones. Marching without obstruction to Ben brook, + one of O'Neill's best and largest houses, which they found + 'utterly burned and razed to the ground,' thence they went on + towards Clogher, 'through pleasant fields, and villages so well + inhabited as no Irish county in the realm was like it.' The + Bishop of Clogher was out with Shane in the field. 'His + well-fattened flock were devoured by Sidney's men as by a flight + of Egyptian locusts.' 'There we stayed,' said Sidney, 'to destroy + the corn; we burned the country for 124 miles compass, and we + found by experience that now was the time of the year to do the + rebel most harm.' But he says not a word of the harm he was doing + to the poor innocent peasantry, whose industry had produced the + crops, to the terrified women and children whom he was thus + consigning to a horrible lingering death by famine. This was a + strange commencement of his own programme to treat the people + with justice.</p> + + <p>The lord deputy expected to meet Randolph at Lifford; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page63" id="page63"></a>[pg + 63]</span> but struck with the singular advantages presented by + Derry, then an island, for a military position, he pitched his + tents there, and set the troops to work in erecting + fortifications. Nothing then stood on the site of the present + city, save a decrepid and deserted monastery of Augustine monks, + which was said to have been built in the time of St. Columba.</p> + + <p>Sidney stayed a few days at Derry, and then, leaving Randolph + with 650 men, 350 pioneers, and provisions for two months, he + marched on to Donegal. This was once a thriving town, inhabited + by English colonists. At the time of Sidney's arrival it was a + pile of ruins, 'in the midst of which, like a wild beast's den, + strewed round with mangled bones, rose the largest and strongest + castle which he had seen in Ireland. It was held by one of + O'Donel's kinsmen, to whom Shane, to attach him to his cause, had + given his sister to wife. At the appearance of the old chief with + the English army, it was immediately surrendered. O'Donel was at + last rewarded for his fidelity and sufferings; and the whole + tribe, with eager protestations of allegiance, gave sureties for + their future loyalty.' Sidney next directed his march to + Ballyshannon, and on by the coast of Sligo. Passing over the bogs + and mountains of Mayo, they came into Roscommon, and then, + 'leaving behind them as fruitful a country as was in England or + Ireland all utterly waste,' the army crossed the Shannon at + Athlone, swimming 'for lack of a bridge.' The results of this + progress are thus summed up by Mr. Froude. 'Twenty castles had + been taken as they went along and left in hands that could be + trusted. In all that long and painful journey Sidney was able to + say that there had not died of sickness but three persons; men + and horses were brought back in full health and strength, while + her majesty's honour was re-established among the Irishry, and + grown to no small veneration—"an expedition comparable only + to Alexander's journey into Bactria," wrote an admirer of Sidney + to Cecil—revealing what to Irish eyes appeared the + magnitude of the difficulty, and forming a measure of the effect + which it produced. The <span class="pagenum"><a name="page64" id= + "page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> English deputy had bearded Shane in + his stronghold, burned his houses, pillaged his people, and had + fastened a body of police in the midst of them, to keep them + waking in the winter nights. He had penetrated the hitherto + impregnable fortresses of mountain and morass; the Irish who had + been faithful to England were again in safe possession of their + lands and homes. The weakest, maddest, and wildest Celts were + made aware that, when the English were once roused to effort, + they could crush them as the lion crushes the jackal.'<a id= + "footnotetag12" name="footnotetag12"></a><a href= + "#footnote12"><sup>9</sup></a></p> + + <p>O'Neill had followed the lord deputy to Lifford, and then + marched on to the Pale, expecting to retaliate upon the invaders + with impunity. But he was encountered by Warren St. Leger, lost + 200 men, and was at first hunted back over the border. He again + returned, however, with 'a main army,' burned several villages, + and in a second fight with St. Leger, compelled the English to + retire, 'for lack of more aid;' but they held together in good + order, and Shane, with the Derry garrison in his rear, durst not + follow far from home in pursuit. 'Before he could revenge himself + on Sidney, before he could stir against the Scots, before he + could strike a blow at O'Donel, he must pluck out the barbed dart + which was fastened in his unguarded side.'</p> + + <p>In order to accomplish this object, he hovered cautiously + about the Foyle, watching for an opportunity to attack the + garrison. But Randolph fell upon him by surprise, and after a + short sharp action, the O'Neills gave way. O'Dogherty with his + Irish horse chased the flying crowd of his countrymen, killing + every person he caught; and Shane lost 400 men, the bravest of + his warriors. The English success was dearly bought, for Randolph + leading the pursuit, was struck by a random shot, and fell dead + from his horse.</p> + + <p>Before the Irish chief could recover from this great disaster, + Sidney 'struck in again beyond Dundalk, burning his farms and + capturing his castles. The Scots came in <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page65" id="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> over + the Bann, wasting the country all along the river side. Allaster + M'Connell, like some chief of Sioux Indians, sent to the captain + of Knockfergus an account of the cattle that he had driven, and + <i>the wives and bairns</i> that he had slain. Like swarms of + angry hornets, these avenging savages drove their stings in the + now maddened and desperate Shane on every point where they could + fasten; while in December the old O'Donel came out over the + mountains from Donegal, and paid back O'Neill with interest for + his stolen wife, his pillaged country, and his own long + imprisonment and exile. The tide of fortune had turned too late + for his own revenge: worn out with his long sufferings, he fell + from his horse, at the head of his people, with the stroke of + death upon him; but before he died, he called his kinsmen about + him, and prayed them to be true to England and their queen, and + Hugh O'Donel, who succeeded to his father's command, went + straight to Derry, and swore allegiance to the English crown.</p> + + <p>'Tyrone was now smitten in all its borders. Magennis was the + last powerful chief who still adhered to Shane's fortunes; the + last week in the year Sidney carried fire and sword through his + country, and left him not a hoof remaining. It was to no purpose + that Shane, bewildered by the rapidity with which disasters were + piling themselves upon him, cried out now for pardon and peace; + the deputy would not answer his letter, and nothing was talked of + but his extirpation by war only.'<a id="footnotetag13" name= + "footnotetag13"></a><a href="#footnote13"><sup>10</sup></a></p> + + <p>The war, however, was interrupted by a singular calamity that + befel the Derry garrison. By the death of their commander left 'a + headless people,' they suffered from want of food and clothing. + They also became the prey of a mysterious disease, against which + no precautions could guard, which no medicine could cure, and by + which strong men were suddenly struck dead. By the middle of + November 'the flux was reigning among them wonderfully;' many of + the best men went away because there was none to stay them. The + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page66" id="page66"></a>[pg + 66]</span> secret of the dreadful malady—something like the + cholera—was discovered in the fact that the soldiers had + built their sleeping quarters over the burial-ground of the + abbey, 'and the clammy vapour had stolen into their lungs and + poisoned them.' The officer who succeeded to the command applied + the most effectual remedy. He led the men at once into the pure + air of the enemies' country, and they returned after a few days + driving before them 700 horses and 1,000 cattle. He assured + Sidney, that with 300 additional men, he could so hunt the rebel, + that ere May was passed, he should not show his face in Ulster. + But the 'Black Death' returned after a brief respite; and, says + Mr. Froude, in the reeking vapour of the charnel-house, it was + indifferent whether its victims returned in triumph from a + stricken field, or were cooped within their walls by hordes of + savage enemies. By the middle of March there were left out of + 1,100 but 300 available to fight. Reinforcements had been raised + at Liverpool, but they were countermanded when on the point of + sailing. The English council was discussing the propriety of + removing the colony to the Bann, when accident finished the work + which the plague had begun, and spared them the trouble of + deliberation. The huts and sheds round the monastery had been + huddled together for the convenience of fortification. At the end + of April, probably after a drying east wind, a fire broke out in + a blacksmith's forge, which spread irresistibly through the + entire range of buildings. The flames at last reached the powder + magazine: thirty men were blown to pieces by the explosion, and + the rest, paralysed by this last addition to their misfortunes, + made no more effort to extinguish the conflagration. St. Loo, + with all that remained of that ill-fated party, watched from + their provision boats in the river the utter destruction of the + settlement which had begun so happily, and then sailed drearily + away to find a refuge in Knockfergus. Such was the fate of the + first efforts for the building of Londonderry; and below its + later glories, as so often happens in this world, lay the bones + of many a hundred <span class="pagenum"><a name="page67" id= + "page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> gallant men who lost their lives in + laying its foundations. Elizabeth, who in the immediate pressure + of calamity resumed at once her noble nature, 'perceiving the + misfortune not to come of treason, but of God's ordinance,' bore + it well; she was willing to do that should be wanting to repair + the loss; and Cecil was able to write cheerfully to Sidney, + telling him to make the best of the accident and let it stimulate + him to fresh exertions.'<a id="footnotetag14" name= + "footnotetag14"></a><a href="#footnote14"><sup>11</sup></a></p> + + <p>In the meantime Shane O'Neill, hard pressed on every side, + earnestly implored the cardinals of Lorraine and Guise, in the + name of their great brother the duke, to bring the + <i>Fleur-de-lys</i> to the rescue of Ireland from the grasp of + the ungodly English. 'Help us,' he cried, blending + <i>Irish-like</i> flattery with entreaty: 'when I was in England, + I saw your noble brother, the Marquis d'Elboeuf, transfix two + stags with a single arrow. If the most Christian king will not + help us, move the pope to help us. I alone in this land sustain + his cause.' To propitiate his holiness, Primate Daniel was + dismissed to the ranks of the army, and Creagh received his + crosier, and was taken into O'Neill's household.</p> + + <p>'All was done,' says the English historian, 'to deserve favour + in earth and heaven, but all was useless. The Pope sat silent or + muttering his anathemas with bated breath. The Guises had work + enough on hand at home to heed the <i>Irish wolf</i>, whom the + English, having in vain attempted to trap or poison, were driving + to bay with more lawful weapons.' His own people, divided and + dispirited, began now to desert the failing cause. In May, by a + concerted movement, the deputy with the light horse of the Pale + overran Tyrone, and robbed the farmers of 3,000 cattle, while the + O'Donels mustered their forces for a great contest with Shane, + now struggling, almost hopelessly, to maintain his supremacy. The + O'Neills and O'Donels met on the banks of the Foyle near Lifford. + The former were superior in number, being about 3,000 men. After + a brief fight 'the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page68" id= + "page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> O'Neills broke and fled; the enemy + was behind them, the river was in front; and when the Irish + battle cries had died away over moor and mountain, but 200 + survived of those fierce troopers, who were to have cleared + Ireland for ever from the presence of the Saxons. For the rest, + the wolves were snarling over their bodies, and the seagulls + whirling over them with scream and cry, as they floated down to + their last resting-place beneath the quiet waters of Lough Foyle. + Shane's foster-brethren, faithful to the last, were all killed; + he himself with half-a-dozen comrades rode for his life, pursued + by the avenging furies. His first desperate intention was to + throw himself at Sidney's feet, <i>with a slave's collar upon his + neck</i>; but his secretary, Neil M'Kevin, persuaded him that his + cause was not yet absolutely without hope. Sorleyboy was still a + prisoner in the castle at Lough Neagh, the Countess of Argyle had + remained with her ravisher through his shifting fortunes, had + continued to bear him children, and notwithstanding his many + infidelities, was still attached to him. M'Kevin told him that + for their sakes, or at their intercession, he might find shelter + and perhaps help among the kindred of the M'Connells.'</p> + + <p>Acting on this advice, O'Neill took his prisoner, 'the + countess, his secretary, and fifty men to the camp of Allaster + M'Connell, in the far extremity of Antrim. He was received with + dissembled gratulatory words.' For two days all went on well, and + an alliance was talked of. But the vengeance of his hosts was + with difficulty suppressed. The great chief who was now in their + power, had slain their leaders in the field, had divorced James + M'Connell's daughter, had kept a high-born Scottish lady as his + mistress, and had asked Argyle to give him for a wife M'Connell's + widow, who, to escape the dishonour, had remained in concealment + at Edinburgh. On the third evening, Monday June 2, when the wine + and the whiskey had gone freely round, and the blood in Shane's + veins had warmed, Gilespie M'Connell, who had watched him from + the first with an ill-boding <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page69" id="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> eye, turned round upon + M'Kevin, and asked scornfully, 'whether it was he who had bruited + abroad that the lady his aunt did offer to come from Scotland to + Ireland to marry with his master?'</p> + + <p>M'Kevin meeting scorn with scorn said, that if his aunt was + Queen of Scotland she might be proud to match with the O'Neill. + 'It is false,' the fierce Scot shouted; 'my aunt is too honest a + woman to match with her husband's murderer.'</p> + + <p>'Shane, who was perhaps drunk, heard the words, and forgetting + where he was, flung back the lie in Gilespie's throat. Gilespie + sprung to his feet, ran out of the tent, and raised the slogan of + the Isles. A hundred dirks flashed into the moonlight, and the + Irish, wherever they could be found, were struck down and + stabbed. Some two or three found their horses and escaped, all + the rest were murdered; and Shane himself, gashed with fifty + wounds, was wrapped in a kern's old shirt, and flung into a pit, + dug hastily among the ruined arches of Glenarm. Even there, what + was left of him was not allowed to rest. Four days later, Piers, + the captain of Knockfergus, hacked the head from the body, and + carried it on a spear's point through Drogheda to Dublin, where, + staked upon a pike, it bleached on the battlements of the castle, + a symbol to the Irish world of the fate of Celtic heroes.'<a id= + "footnotetag15" name="footnotetag15"></a><a href= + "#footnote15"><sup>12</sup></a></p> + + <p>Mr. Froude might have added: Celtic heroes struck down by + Celtic hands. No lord deputy could boast of a victory over Shane + O'Neill in the field. Irish traitors in English pay, Irish clans + moved by vengeance, did the work of England in the destruction of + the great principality of the O'Neills, and it was by + <i>their</i> swords, not by English valour, that Sidney + 'recovered Ireland for the crown of Elizabeth.' Whatever may have + been the faults of Shane O'Neill, and no doubt they were very + great, though not to be judged of by the morality of the + nineteenth century, his talents, his force of character, his + courage and capacity <span class="pagenum"><a name="page70" id= + "page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> as a general, deserved more + favourable notice from Mr. Froude, who, in almost every sentence + of his graphic and splendid descriptions, betrays an animosity to + the Celtic race, very strange in an author so enlightened, and + evincing, with this exception, such generous sympathies. After so + often reviling the great Irish champion by comparing him to all + sorts of wild beasts, the historian thus concludes:—</p> + + <p>'So died Shane O'Neill, one of those champions of Irish + nationality, who under varying features have repeated themselves + in the history of that country with periodic regularity. At once + a <i>drunken ruffian</i>, and a keen and fiery patriot, the + representative in his birth of the line of the ancient kings, the + ideal in his character of all which Irishmen most admired, + regardless in his actions of the laws of God and man, yet the + devoted subject in his creed of the holy Catholic Church; with an + eye which could see far beyond the limits of his own island, and + a tongue which could touch the most passionate chords of the + Irish heart; the like of him has been seen many times in that + island, and the like of him may be seen many times again till the + Ethiopian has changed his skin, and the leopard his spots. + Numbers of his letters remain, to the Queen, to Sussex, to + Sidney, to Cecil, and to foreign princes; far-reaching, full of + pleasant flattery and promises which cost him nothing, but + showing true ability and insight. Sinner though he was, he too in + his turn was sinned against; in the stained page of Irish misrule + there is no second instance in which an English ruler stooped to + treachery, or to the infamy of attempted assassination; and it is + not to be forgotten that Lord Sussex, who has left under his own + hand the evidence of his own baseness, continued a trusted and + favoured councillor of Elizabeth, while Sidney, who fought Shane + and conquered him in the open field, found only suspicion and + hard words.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote4" name="footnote4"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag4">(return)</a> + + <p>See Life of Sir Walter Raleigh.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote5" name="footnote5"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag5">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote6" name="footnote6"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag6">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote7" name="footnote7"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag7">(return)</a> + + <p>Wright's Elizabeth, vol. i. p. 73.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote8" name="footnote8"></a><b>Footnote 5:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag8">(return)</a> + + <p>Haverty's History of Ireland, p. 300.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote9" name="footnote9"></a><b>Footnote 6:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag9">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, vol. viii. p. 48.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote10" name="footnote10"></a><b>Footnote 7:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag10">(return)</a> + + <p>Vol. viii. p. 377.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote11" name="footnote11"></a><b>Footnote 8:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag11">(return)</a> + + <p>Opinions of Sir H. Sidney, Irish MSS., Rolls House; Froude, + p. 385.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote12" name="footnote12"></a><b>Footnote 9:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag12">(return)</a> + + <p>Vol. viii. p. 407.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote13" name="footnote13"></a><b>Footnote 10:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag13">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, p. 413.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote14" name="footnote14"></a><b>Footnote 11:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag14">(return)</a> + + <p>Page 410.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote15" name="footnote15"></a><b>Footnote 12:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag15">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, p. 418, &c.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page71" id= + "page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + <h3>EXTERMINATING WARS.</h3> + + <p>Mr. Froude's magnificent chapter on Ireland, in the eleventh + volume of his history, just published, ought to be studied by + every member of the legislature before parliament meets. If a + nation has a conscience, England must feel remorse for the deeds + done in her name in Ireland; and ought to make amends for them, + if possible. The historian has well described the policy of Queen + Elizabeth. She was at times disposed to forbearance, but 'she + made impossible the obedience she enjoined. Her deputies and her + presidents, too short-sighted to rule with justice, were driven + to cruelty in spite of themselves. It was easier to kill than to + restrain. Death was the only gaoler which their finances could + support, while the Irish in turn lay in wait to retaliate upon + their oppressors, and atrocity begat atrocity in hopeless + continuity.'</p> + + <p>Whenever there was a failing in any enterprise, the queen + conceived 'a great misliking of the whole matter;' but success + covered a multitude of sins. When the Irish were powerful, and + the colony was in danger, she thought it 'a hard matter to + subvert the customs of the people which they had enjoyed, to be + ruled by the captains of their own nation. Let the chiefs sue for + pardon, and submit to her authority, and she would let them have + their seignories, their captaincies, their body-guards, and all + the rest of their dignities, with power of life and death over + their people. But,' says Mr. Froude, 'it was the curse of the + English rule that it never could adhere consistently to any + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page72" id="page72"></a>[pg + 72]</span> definite principle. It threatened, and failed to + execute its threats. It fell back on conciliation, and yet + immediately, by some injustice or cruelty, made reliance on its + good faith impossible.'</p> + + <p>Essex seemed to understand well the nature and motive of the + queen's professions, and he resolved to make some bold attempts + to win back her favour. He had made a sudden attack on Sir Brian + O'Neill of Clandeboye, with troops trained in the wars of the Low + Countries, and in a week he brought him to abject submission, + which he expressed by saying that 'he had gone wickedly astray, + wandering in the wilderness like a blind beast.' But it was the + misfortune of Sir Brian, or M'Phelim, that he still held his own + territory, which had been granted by the queen to Essex. 'The + attempt to deprive him had been relinquished. He had surrendered + his lands, and the queen, at Essex's own intercession, had + reinstated him as tenant under the crown. It seems, however, as + if Essex had his eye still upon the property.' Under such + circumstances, it was easy to assume that O'Neill was still + playing false. So he resolved that he should not be able to do so + any longer. 'He determined to make sure work with so fickle a + people.' He returned to Clandeboye, as if on a friendly visit. + Sir Brian and Lady O'Neill received him with all hospitality. The + Irish Annalists say that they gave him a banquet. They not only + let him off safe, but they accompanied him to his castle at + Belfast. There he was very gracious. A high feast was held in the + hall; and it was late in the night when the noble guest and his + wife retired to their lodging outside the walls. When they were + supposed to be asleep, a company of soldiers surrounded the house + and prepared to break the door. 'The O'Neills flew to arms. The + cry rang through the village, and the people swarmed out to + defend their chief; but surprised, half-armed, and outnumbered, + they were overpowered and cut to pieces. Two hundred men were + killed. The Four Masters add that the women were slain. The + chieftain's wife had female attendants with her, and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page73" id="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> no one + was knowingly spared. The tide being out, a squadron of horse was + sent at daybreak over the water into the "Ardes," from which, in + a few hours, they returned with 3,000 of Sir Brian's cattle, and + with a drove of stud mares, of which the choicest were sent to + Fitzwilliam. Sir Brian himself, his brother, and Lady O'Neill, + were carried as prisoners to Dublin, where they were soon after + executed.'<a id="footnotetag16" name="footnotetag16"></a><a href= + "#footnote16"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>Essex did not miscalculate the probable effect of this + exploit. It raised him high in the estimation of the Anglo-Irish + of the Pale. 'The taint of the country was upon him; he had made + himself no better than themselves, and was the hero of the hour.' + The effect of such conduct and such a spirit in the rulers, may + be imagined. A few weeks later, Sir Edward Fitton wrote: 'I may + say of Ireland, that it is quiet; but if universal oppression of + the mean sort by the great; if murder, robberies, burnings make + an ill commonwealth, then I cannot say we are in a good case ... + Public sentiment in Dublin, however, was unanimous in its + approbation. Essex was the man who would cauterize the + long-standing sores. There was a soldier in Ireland at last who + understood the work that was to be done, and the way to set about + it. Beloved by the soldiers, admirable alike for religion, + nobility, and courtesy, altogether the queen's, and not bewitched + by the factions of the realm, the governor of Ulster had but to + be armed with supreme power, and the long-wished-for conquest of + Ireland would be easily and instantly achieved.'</p> + + <p>These feelings were not unnatural to the party in Dublin, now + represented by the men who recently declared that they rejoiced + in the election of a Fenian convict in Tipperary, and declared + that they would vote for such a candidate in preference to a + loyal man. But how did Queen Elizabeth receive the news of the + treacherous and atrocious massacre at Belfast? She was not + displeased. 'Her occasional disapprobation of severities of this + kind,' says Mr. Froude, 'was confined to cases to which the + attention of Europe <span class="pagenum"><a name="page74" id= + "page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> happened to be especially directed. + She told Essex that he was a great ornament of her nobility, she + wished she had many as ready as he to spend their lives for the + benefit of their country.'</p> + + <p>Thus encouraged by his sovereign, and smarting under the + reproach of cowardice cast on him by Leicester, Essex determined + to render his name illustrious by a still more signal deed of + heroism. After an unprovoked raid on the territories of O'Neill + in Tyrone, carrying off cattle and slaughtering great numbers of + innocent people whom his soldiers hunted down, he perpetrated + another massacre, which is certainly one of the most infamous + recorded in history. A great number of women and children, aged + and sick persons, had fled from the horrors that reigned on the + mainland, and taken refuge in the island of Rathlin. The story of + their tragic fate is admirably told by Mr. Froude:—'The + situation and the difficulty of access had thus long marked + Rathlin as a place of refuge for Scotch or Irish fugitives, and, + besides its natural strength, it was respected as a sanctuary, + having been the abode at one time of St. Columba. A mass of + broken masonry, on a cliff overhanging the sea, is a remnant of + the castle in which Robert Bruce watched the leap of the + legendary spider. To this island, when Essex entered Antrim, + M'Connell and other Scots had sent their wives and children, + their aged and their sick, for safety. On his way through + Carrickfergus, when returning to Dublin, the earl ascertained + that they had not yet been brought back to their homes. The + officer in command of the English garrison (it is painful to + mention the name either of him, or of any man concerned in what + ensued) was John Norris, Lord Norris's second son, so famous + afterwards in the Low Countries, grandson of Sir Henry Norris, + executed for adultery with Anne Boleyn. Three small frigates were + in the harbour. The summer had been hot and windless; the sea was + smooth, there was a light and favourable air from the east; and + Essex directed Norris to take a company of soldiers with him, + cross over, and—'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page75" + id="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> + + <p>What? Bring those women and children, those sick and aged + folk, back to their homes? Essex had made peace by treaty with + the O'Neill. He had killed or chased away every man that could + disturb the peace; and an act of humanity like this would have + had a most conciliatory effect, and ought to recommend the hero + to the queen, who should be supposed to have the heart as well as + the form of a woman.</p> + + <p>No; the order was, to go over '<i>and kill whatever he could + find!</i>' Mr. Froude resumes: 'The run of the Antrim coast was + rapidly and quietly accomplished. Before an alarm could be given, + the English had landed, close to the ruins of the church which + bears St. Columba's name. Bruce's castle was then standing, and + was occupied by a score or two of Scots, who were in charge of + the women. But Norris had brought cannon with him. The weak + defences were speedily destroyed, and after a severe assault, in + which several of the garrison were killed, the chief who was in + command offered to surrender, if he and his people were allowed + to return to Scotland. The conditions were rejected. The Scots + yielded at discretion, and every living creature in the place, + except the chief and his family (who were probably reserved for + ransom), was immediately put to the sword. Two hundred were + killed in the castle. It was then discovered that several hundred + more, chiefly mothers and their little ones, were hidden in the + caves about the shore. There was no remorse, nor even the + faintest shadow of perception that the occasion called for it. + They were hunted out as if they had been seals or otters, and all + destroyed. Sorleyboy and other chiefs, Essex coolly wrote, had + sent their wives and children into the island, "which be all + taken and executed to the number of six hundred. Sorleyboy + himself," he continued, "stood upon the mainland of the Glynnes + and saw the taking of the island, and was likely to have run mad + for sorrow, tearing and tormenting himself, and saying that he + there lost all that he ever had!" The impression left upon the + mind by this horrible story, is increased by the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page76" id="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> + composure with which even the news of it was received. + "Yellow-haired Charley," wrote Essex to the queen, "might tear + himself for his pretty little ones and their <i>dam</i>," but in + Ireland itself the massacre was not specially distinguished in + the general system of atrocity. Essex described it himself as one + of the exploits with which he was most satisfied; and Elizabeth, + in answer to his letters, bade him tell John Norris, "the + executioner of his well-designed enterprise, that she would not + be unmindful of his services."'</p> + + <p>I have transcribed this narrative partly for the sake of the + reflection with which Mr. Froude concludes. He says: 'But though + passed over and unheeded at the time, and lying buried for three + hundred years, the bloody stain comes back to the light again, + not in myth or legend, but in the original account of the + nobleman by whose command the deed was done; and when the history + of England's dealings with Ireland settles at last into its final + shape, that hunt among the caves at Rathlin will not be + forgotten.'<a id="footnotetag17" name= + "footnotetag17"></a><a href="#footnote17"><sup>2</sup></a> It was + for services like these that Essex got the barony of Farney, in + the county Monaghan. He had mortgaged his English estates to the + queen for 10,000<i>l.</i>,and after his plundering expeditions in + Ireland he went home to pay his debts.</p> + + <p>Further on Mr. Froude has another reflection connected with + the death of Essex, supposed to have been poisoned, as his widow + immediately after married Leicester. He says: 'Notwithstanding + Rathlin, Essex was one of the noblest of living Englishmen, and + that such a man could have ordered such a deed, being totally + unconscious of the horror of it, is not the least instructive + feature in the dreadful story.' It is certainly a strange fact + that nearly all the official murderers who ruled in Ireland in + those times were intensely religious, setting to their own class + a most edifying example of piety. Thus, from the first, + Protestantism was presented to the Irish in close connexion with + brutal inhumanity and remorseless cruelty. Essex, when dying, was + described by <span class="pagenum"><a name="page77" id= + "page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> the bystanders as acting 'more like a + divine preacher or heavenly prophet than a man.' His opinion of + the religious character of his countrymen was most unfavourable. + 'The Gospel had been preached to them,' he said, 'but they were + neither Papists nor Protestants—of no religion, but full of + pride and iniquity. There was nothing but infidelity, infidelity, + infidelity!—atheism, atheism!—no religion, no + religion!' What such tiger-like slaughterers of women and + children, such ruthless destroyers, could have meant by religion + is a puzzle for philosophers.</p> + + <p>Sidney reluctantly resumed the office of viceroy in 1575. + Tirlogh O'Neill congratulated the Government on his appointment, + 'wretched Ireland needing not the sword, but sober, temperate, + and humane administration.' Though it was winter, the new deputy + immediately commenced a progress through the provinces. Going + first to Ulster, he saw Sorleyboy, and gave him back Rathlin. He + paid a friendly visit to the O'Neill, who gave him an assurance + of his loyalty. Leinster he found for the most part 'waste, burnt + up and destroyed.' He proceeded by Waterford to Cork. He was + received everywhere with acclamation. 'The wretched people,' says + Mr. Froude, how truly!—'sanguine then, as ever, in the + midst of sorrow, looked on his coming as the inauguration of a + new and happier era.' So, in later times, they looked on the + coming of Chesterfield, and Fitzwilliam, and Anglesey. But the + good angel was quickly chased away by the evil + demon—invoked under the name of the 'Protestant Interest.' + The Munster and the Connaught chiefs all thronged to Sidney's + levées, weary of disaffection, and willing to be loyal, + if their religion were not interfered with, 'detesting their + barbarous lives,'—promising rent and service for their + lands. 'The past was wiped out. Confiscation on the one hand, and + rebellion on the other, were to be heard of no more. A clean page + was turned.' Even the Catholic bishops were tractable, and the + viceroy got 'good and honest juries in Cork, and with their help + twenty-four malefactors were honourably condemned and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page78" id="page78"></a>[pg + 78]</span> hanged.' Enjoying an ovation as he passed on to + Limerick and Galway, he found many grievances to be + redressed—'plenty of burnings, rapes, murders, besides such + spoil in goods and cattle as in number might be counted infinite, + and in quantity innumerable.'</p> + + <p>Sir William Drury was appointed president of Munster; and he + was determined that in his case the magistrate should not bear + the sword in vain. Going round the counties as an itinerant + judge, he gleaned the malefactors Sidney had left, and hanged + forty-three of them in Cork. One he pressed to death for + declining to plead to his indictment. Two M'Sweenys, from Kerry, + were drawn and quartered. At Limerick he hanged forty-two, and at + Kilkenny thirty-six, among which he said were 'some good ones,' + as a sportsman might say, bagging his game. He had a difficulty + with 'a blackamoor and two witches,' against whom he found no + statute of the realm, so he dispatched them 'by natural law.' + Although Jeffreys, at the Bloody Assizes, did not come near + Drury, the latter found it necessary to apologise to the English + Government for the paucity of his victims, saying, 'I have chosen + rather with the snail tenderly to creep, than with the hare + swiftly to run.' With the Government in Ireland, as Mr. Froude + has well remarked, 'the gallows is the only preacher of + righteousness.'</p> + + <p>But the gallows was far too slow, as an instrument of reform + and civilisation, for Malby, president of Connaught; and as + modern evictors in that province and elsewhere have chosen + Christmas as the most appropriate season for pulling down + dwellings, extinguishing domestic fires, and unhousing women and + children, so Malby chose the same blessed season for his + 'improvements' in 1576. It is such a model for dealing with the + Fenians and tenants on the Tory plan, that I transcribe his own + report, which Mr. Froude has found among the Irish MSS. 'At + Christmas,' he wrote, 'I marched into their territory, and + finding courteous dealing with them had like to have cut my + throat, I thought good to take another course; and so with + determination <i>to consume <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page79" id="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> them with fire and sword, + sparing neither old nor young</i>, I entered their mountains. I + burnt all their corn and houses, and committed to the sword all + that could be found, where were slain at that time above sixty of + their best men, and among them the best leaders they had. This + was Shan Burke's country. Then I burnt Ulick Burke's country. In + like manner I assaulted a castle where the garrison surrendered. + I put them to the misericordia of my soldiers. They were all + slain. Thence I went on, sparing none which came in my way, which + cruelty did so amaze their followers, that they could not tell + where to bestow themselves. Shan Burke made means to me to pardon + him and forbear killing of his people. I would not hearken, but + went on my way. The gentlemen of Clanrickard came to me. I found + it was but dallying to win time, so I left Ulick as little corn + and as few houses standing as I left his brother; and what people + was found had as little favour as the other had. <i>It was all + done in rain and frost and storm</i>, journeys in such weather + bringing them the sooner to submission. They are humble enough + now, and will yield to any terms we like to offer them.'</p> + + <p>And so Malby and his soldiers enjoyed a merry Christmas; and + when Walsingham read his letters, giving an account of his + civilising progress, to the Queen, she, too, must have enjoyed a + fresh sensation, a new pleasure amidst the festivities and + gallantries of her brilliant court. Mr. Froude has rendered a + timely service in this Christmas time to the Coercionists, the + Martial Law men, and the Habeas Corpus Suspension men of our own + day. He has shown them their principles at work and carried out + with a vengeance, and with what results! He has admirably + sketched the progress of English rule in Ireland up to that + time—a rule unchanged in principle to the present hour, + though restrained in its operation by the spirit of the age. Mr. + Froude says: 'When the people were quiet, there was the rope for + the malefactors, and death by the natural law for those whom the + law written could not touch. When they broke out, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page80" id="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> there + was the blazing homestead, and death by the sword for all, not + for the armed kerne only, but for the aged and infirm, the + nursing mother and the baby at her breast. These, with ruined + churches, and Irish rogues for ministers,—these, and so far + <i>only</i> these were the symbols of the advance of English + rule; yet even Sidney could not order more and more severity, and + the president of Munster was lost in wonder at the detestation + with which the English name was everywhere regarded. Clanrickard + was sent to Dublin, and the deputy wished to hang him, but he + dared not execute an earl without consulting his mistress, and + Elizabeth's leniency in Ireland, as well as England, was alive + and active towards the great, although it was dead towards the + poor. She could hear without emotion of the massacres at Rathlin + or Slievh Broughty; but the blood of the nobles, who had betrayed + their wretched followers into the rebellion for which they + suffered, was for ever precious in her sight. She forbade Sidney + to touch him.'<a id="footnotetag18" name= + "footnotetag18"></a><a href="#footnote18"><sup>3</sup></a></p> + + <p>Next came the great Desmond Rebellion, by which Munster was + desolated. The Pope had encouraged an expedition against the + heretics in Ireland, and some Spanish forces joined in the + enterprise. It was organised by an English ecclesiastic, named + Sanders, and an exiled Geraldine, named Fitzmaurice of Kerry, + both able and energetic men. The Spaniards landed at Dingle in + 1579. In a few days all Kerry and Limerick were up, and the woods + between Mallow and the Shannon 'were swarming with howling + kerne.' 'The rebellion,' wrote Waterhouse, 'is the most perilous + that ever began in Ireland. Nothing is to be looked for but a + general revolt.' Malby took the command against them, joined by + one of the Burkes, Theobald, who when he saw Fitzmaurice struck + by a ball and staggering in his saddle, rode at him and cut him + down. The Papal standard was unfolded in this battle. Malby then + burnt the Desmonds' country, killing all the human beings he met, + up to the walls of Askeaton. When opportunity offered, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page81" id="page81"></a>[pg + 81]</span> Desmond retaliated by sacking and burning Youghal. For + two days the Geraldines revelled in plunder; they violated the + women and murdered all who could not escape. At length Elizabeth + was roused to the greatness of the danger, her parsimony was + overcome. A larger force was drawn into Ireland than had ever + been assembled there for a century. Ormond, the hereditary enemy + of Desmond, was appointed commander-in-chief; and Burghley, + writing to him in the name of the queen, concluded thus: 'So now + I will merely say, Butler aboo, against all that cry in the new + language—Papa aboo, and God send your hearts' desire to + banish and vanquish those cankered Desmonds!' The war now raged, + and, as usual, the innocent people, the cultivators of the soil, + were the first victims. 'We passed through the rebel countries,' + wrote Pelham, 'in two companies, burning with fire <i>all + habitations, and executing the people</i> wherever we found + them.' Mr. Froude says: '<i>Alone</i> of all the English + commanders he expressed remorse at the work.' Well, if the + creatures they destroyed were horses, dogs, or cats, we should + expect a man of ordinary human feelings to be shocked at the + wholesale butchery. But the beings slaughtered were men and women + and children—Christians found unarmed and defenceless in + their dwellings. Let the English imagine such a war carried on in + Kent or Yorkshire, by Irish invaders, killing in the name of the + Pope. The Irish Annalists say that Pelham and Ormond killed the + blind and the aged, women and children, sick and idiots, sparing + none.</p> + + <p>The English, as usual, had help from an Irish chief in the + work of destruction. Ormond had in his train M'Carthymore, 'who, + believing Desmond's day to be done, hoped, by making himself + useful, to secure a share of the plunder.' Dividing their forces, + Pelham marched on to Dingle, 'destroying as he went, with Ormond + parallel to him on the opposite side of the bay, the two parties + watching each other's course at night across the water by the + flames of the burning cottages!'</p> + + <p>The fleet was waiting at Dingle. There was a merry + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page82" id="page82"></a>[pg + 82]</span> meeting of the officers. 'Here,' says Sir Nicholas + White, 'my lord justice and I gathered cockles for our + supper.'<a id="footnotetag19" name="footnotetag19"></a><a href= + "#footnote19"><sup>4</sup></a> The several hunting parties + compared notes in the evening. Sometimes the sport was bad. On + one occasion Pelham reported that his party had hanged a priest + in the Spanish dress. 'Otherwise,' he says, 'we took small prey, + and killed less people, though we reached many places in our + travel!' At Killarney they found the lakes full of salmon. In one + of the islands there was an abbey, in another a parish church, in + another a castle, 'out of which there came to them a fair lady, + the rejected wife of Lord Fitzmaurice.' Even the soldiers were + struck with the singular loveliness of the scene. 'A fairer + land,' one of them said, 'the sun did never shine upon—pity + to see it lying waste in the hands of traitors.' Mr. Froude, who + deals more justly by the Irish in his last volumes, replies: 'Yet + it was by those traitors that the woods whose beauty they so + admired had been planted and fostered. Irish hands, unaided by + English art or English wealth, had built Muckross and Innisfallen + and Aghadoe, and had raised the castles on whose walls the modern + poet watched the splendour of the sunset.'</p> + + <p>Ormond was the arch-destroyer of his countrymen. In a report + of his services he stated that in this one year 1580, he had put + to the sword 'forty-six captains and leaders, with 800 notorious + traitors and malefactors, <i>and above</i> 4,000 other + people.'<a id="footnotetag20" name="footnotetag20"></a><a href= + "#footnote20"><sup>5</sup></a> In that year the great Desmond + wrote to Philip of Spain that he was a homeless wanderer. 'Every + town, castle, village, farm-house belonging to him or his people + had been destroyed. There was no longer a roof standing in + Munster to shelter him.' Hunted like a wolf through the + mountains, he was at last found sleeping in a hut and killed. In + vain his wife pleaded with Ormond, and threw herself on his + protection. Even she was not spared. Mr. Froude gives an + interesting account of Desmond's last hours. He was hunted down + into the mountains between Tralee and the Atlantic. M'Sweeny had + sheltered him and fed him <span class="pagenum"><a name="page83" + id="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> through the summer, though a large + price was set on his head; and when M'Sweeny was gone, killed by + an Irish dagger, the earl's turn could not be distant. Donell + M'Donell Moriarty had been received to grace by Ormond, and had + promised to deserve his pardon. This man came to the captain of + Castlemayne, gave information of the hiding-place, a band was + sent—half-a-dozen English soldiers and a few Irish kerne, + who stole in the darkness along the path which followed the + stream—the door was dashed in, and the last Earl of Desmond + was killed in his bed.</p> + + <p>Ormond had recourse to a horrible device to extinguish the + embers of the rebellion. It was carrying out to a diabolical + extent the policy of setting one Irishman against another. If the + terror-stricken wretches hoped for pardon, they must deserve it, + by murdering their relations. Accordingly sacks full of the heads + of reputed rebels were brought in daily. Yet concerning him Mr. + Froude makes this singular remark: 'To Ormond the Irish were + human beings with human rights. To the English they were + <i>vermin, to be cleared from off the earth</i> by any means that + offered.'</p> + + <p>Consequently, when it was proposed to make Ormond viceroy, the + Pale was in a ferment. How could any man be fit to represent + English power in Dublin Castle, who regarded the Irish as human + beings! Not less curious is the testimony which the historian + bears to the character of the English exterminators. He says, + 'They were honourable, high-minded men, full of natural + tenderness and gentleness, to every one with whom they were + placed in <i>human relations</i>. The Irish, unfortunately, they + looked upon as savages who had refused peace and protection when + it was offered to them, and were now therefore to be <i>rooted + out and destroyed</i>.' A reformer in 1583, however, suggested a + milder policy. He recommended that 'all Brehons, carraghs, bards, + rhymers, friars, monks, jesuits, pardoners, nuns, and such-like + should be executed by martial law, and that with this clean sweep + the work of death might end, <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page84" id="page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> and a new era be ushered + in with universities and schools, a fixed police, and + agriculture, and good government.'</p> + + <p>When the English had destroyed all the houses and churches, + burnt all the corn, and driven away all the cattle, they were + disgusted at the savage state in which the remnant of the + peasantry lived. A gentleman named Andrew Trollope gave + expression to this feeling thus: 'The common people ate flesh if + they could steal it, if not they lived on shamrock and carrion. + They never served God or went to church; they had no religion and + no manners, but were in all things more barbarous and beast-like + than any other people. No governor shall do good here,' he said, + 'except he show himself a Tamerlane. If hell were open and all + the evil spirits abroad, they could never be worse than these + Irish rogues—rather dogs, and worse than dogs, for dogs do + but after their kind, and they degenerate from all + humanity.'<a id="footnotetag21" name="footnotetag21"></a><a href= + "#footnote21"><sup>6</sup></a></p> + + <p>The population of Ireland was then by slaughter and famine + reduced to about 600,000, one-eighth of the population of + England; but far too many, in the estimation of their English + rulers. Brabason succeeded Malby in Connaught, and surpassed him + in cruelty. The Four Masters say: 'Neither the sanctuary of the + saint, neither the wood nor the forest valley, the town nor the + lawn, was a shelter from this captain and his people, till the + whole territory was destroyed by him.' In the spring of 1582 St. + Leger wrote from Cork: 'This country is so ruined as it is well + near unpeopled by the murders and spoils done by the traitors on + the one side, and by the killing and spoil done by the soldiers + on the other side, together with the great mortality in town and + country, which is such as the like hath never been seen. There + has died by famine only not so few as 30,000 in this province in + less than half a year, besides others that are hanged and + killed.'</p> + + <p>At length the world began to cry shame on England; and Lord + Burghley was obliged to admit that the English in Ireland had + outdone the Spaniards in ferocious and blood-thirsty persecution. + Remonstrating with Sir H. Wallop, <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page85" id="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> ancestor of Lord + Portsmouth, he said that the 'Flemings had not such cause to + rebel against the oppression of the Spaniards, as the Irish + against the tyranny of England.' Wallop defended the Government; + the causes of the rebellion were not to be laid at the door of + England at all. They were these, 'the great affection they + generally bear to the Popish religion, which agreeth with their + humour, that having committed murder, incest, thefts, with all + other execrable offences, by hearing a mass, confessing + themselves to a priest, or obtaining the Pope's pardon, they + persuade themselves that they are forgiven, and, hearing mass on + Sunday or holyday, they think all the week after they may do what + heinous offence soever and it is dispensed withal.' Trollope said + they had no religion. Wallop said they had too much religion. But + their nationality was worse than their creed. Wallop adds, 'They + also much hate our nation, partly through the general mislike or + disdain one nation hath to be governed by another; partly that we + are contrary to them in religion; and lastly, they seek to have + the government among themselves.'</p> + + <p>The last was the worst of all. Elizabeth wished to heal the + wounds of the Irish nation by appointing Ormond lord deputy. He + was a nobleman of Norman descent. His family had been true to + England for centuries. He had commanded her armies during this + exterminating war, and, being a native of the country, he would + be best fitted to carry on the work of conciliation after so much + slaughter. But, says Mr. Froude, 'from every English officer + serving in the country, every English settler, every bishop of + the Anglo-Irish Church, there rose one chorus of remonstrance and + indignation; to them it appeared as a proposal now would appear + in Calcutta to make the Nizam Viceroy of India.'<a id= + "footnotetag22" name="footnotetag22"></a><a href= + "#footnote22"><sup>7</sup></a> Wallop wrote that if he were + appointed, there would be 'no dwelling in the country for any + Englishman.'</p> + + <p>The fear that a merciful policy might be adopted towards + Ireland sorely troubled Wallop and Archbishop Loftus; but + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page86" id="page86"></a>[pg + 86]</span> they were comforted by a great prize—an + archbishop fell into their hands. Dr. Hurley refused to give + information against others. Walsingham suggested that he should + be put to the torture. To him Archbishop Loftus wrote with + unction. 'Not finding that easy method of examination do any + good, we made command to Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Secretary Fenton + to put him to the torture, such as your honour advised us, which + was to <i>toast his feet</i> against the fire with hot boots.' He + confessed something. They asked permission to execute him by + martial law. The queen took a month to consider. She recommended + an ordinary trial for high treason, and if the jury did not do + its duty, they might take the shorter way. She wished for no more + torture, but 'for what was past her majesty accepted in good part + their careful travail, and greatly commended their doings.' The + Irish judges had repeatedly decided that there was no case + against Archbishop Hurley; but on June 19, 1584, Loftus and + Wallop wrote to Walsingham, 'We gave warrant to the + knight-marshal to do execution upon him, which accordingly was + performed, and thereby the realm rid of a most pestilent + member.'<a id="footnotetag23" name="footnotetag23"></a><a href= + "#footnote23"><sup>8</sup></a></p> + + <p>This was the last act of these two lords justices. Sir John + Perrot, the new viceroy, made a speech which sent a ray of hope + athwart the national gloom. It was simply that the people might + thenceforth expect a little justice and protection. He told the + natives that 'as natural-born subjects of her majesty she loved + them as her own people. He wished to be suppressed and + universally abolished throughout the realm the name of a churle + and the crushing of a churle; affirming that, however the former + barbarous times had desired it and nourished it, yet he held it + tyrannous both in name and manner, and therefore would extirpate + it, and use in place of it the titles used in England, namely, + husbandmen, franklins or yeomen.' 'This was so plausible,' wrote + Sir G. Fenton, 'that it was carried throughout the whole realm, + in less time than might be thought credible, if + expressed.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page87" id= + "page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> + + <p>The extirpation of the Munster Geraldines, in the right line, + according to the theory of the 'Undertakers' and the law of + England in general, vested in the queen the 570,000 acres + belonging to the late earl. Proclamation was accordingly made + throughout England, inviting 'younger brothers of good families' + to undertake the plantation of Desmond—each planter to + obtain a certain scope of land, on condition of settling + thereupon so many families—'none of the native Irish to be + admitted' Under these conditions, Sir Christopher Hatton took up + 10,000 acres in Waterford; Sir Walter Raleigh 12,000 acres, + partly in Waterford and partly in Cork; Sir William Harbart, or + Herbert, 13,000 acres in Kerry; Sir Edward Denny 6,000 in the + same county; Sir Warren St. Leger, and Sir Thomas Norris, 6,000 + acres each in Cork; Sir William Courtney 10,000 acres in + Limerick; Sir Edward Fitton 11,500 acres in Tipperary and + Waterford, and Edmund Spenser 3,000 acres in Cork, on the + beautiful Blackwater. The other notable Undertakers were the + Hides, Butchers, Wirths, Berkleys, Trenchards, Thorntons, + Bourchers, Billingsleys, &c. Some of these grants, especially + Raleigh's, fell in the next reign to Richard Boyle, the so-called + '<i>great</i> Earl of Cork '—probably the most pious + hypocrite to be found in the long roll of the 'Munster + Undertakers.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote16" name="footnote16"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag16">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, vol. xi. p. 179.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote17" name="footnote17"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag17">(return)</a> + + <p>History of England, vol. xi. p. 184.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote18" name="footnote18"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag18">(return)</a> + + <p>Vol. xi, p. 197.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote19" name="footnote19"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag19">(return)</a> + + <p>Carew Papers; Froude, vol. xi. p. 225.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote20" name="footnote20"></a><b>Footnote 5:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag20">(return)</a> + + <p>Carew Papers; Froude, vol. xi. p. 225.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote21" name="footnote21"></a><b>Footnote 6:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag21">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, vol. xi. p. 246.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote22" name="footnote22"></a><b>Footnote 7:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag22">(return)</a> + + <p>Ibid. p. 202.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote23" name="footnote23"></a><b>Footnote 8:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag23">(return)</a> + + <p>Froude, vol. xi. p. 264.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page88" id= + "page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + <h3>AN IRISH CRUSADE.</h3> + + <p>In 1602, the Lord Deputy Mountjoy, in obedience to + instructions from the Government in London, marched to the + borders of Ulster with a considerable force, to effect, if he + could, the arrest of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, or to bring + him to terms. Since the defeat of the Irish and Spanish + confederacy at Kinsale, O'Neill comforted himself with the + assurance that Philip III. would send another expedition to + Ireland to retrieve the honour of his flag, and avenge the + humiliation it had sustained, owing to the incompetency or + treachery of Don Juan d'Aquila. That the king was inclined to aid + the Irish there can be no question; 'for Clement VIII., then + reigning in the Vatican, pressed it upon him as a sacred duty, + which he owed to his co-religionists in Ireland, whose efforts to + free themselves from Elizabeth's tyranny, the pontiff pronounced + to be a <i>crusade</i> against the most implacable heretic of the + day.'<a id="footnotetag24" name="footnotetag24"></a><a href= + "#footnote24"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>If Mr. Meehan's authorities may be relied upon, Queen + Elizabeth was, in intention at least, a murderer as well as a + heretic. He states that while she was gasping on her cushions at + Richmond, gazing on the haggard features of death, and vainly + striving to penetrate the opaque veil of the future, she + commanded Secretary Cecil to charge Mountjoy to entrap Tyrone + into a submission, on diminished rank as Baron of Dungannon, and + with lessened territory; or if possible, to have his head, before + engaging <span class="pagenum"><a name="page89" id= + "page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> the royal word. It was to accomplish + either of these objects, that Mountjoy marched to the frontier of + the north. 'Among those employed to murder O'Neill in cold blood, + were Sir Geoffry Fenton, Lord Dunsany, and <i>Henry Oge + O'Neill.</i> Mountjoy bribed one Walker, an Englishman, and a + ruffian calling himself Richard Combus, to make the attempt, but + they all failed.'<a id="footnotetag25" name= + "footnotetag25"></a><a href="#footnote25"><sup>2</sup></a> + Finding it impossible to procure the assassination of 'the sacred + person of O'Neill, who had so many eyes of jealousy about him,' + he wrote to Cecil from Drogheda, that nothing prevented Tyrone + from making his submission but mistrust of his personal safety + and guarantee for maintenance commensurate to his princely rank. + The lords of Elizabeth's privy council empowered Mountjoy to + treat with O'Neill on these terms, and to give him the required + securities. Sir Garret Moore and Sir William Godolphin were + entrusted with a commission to effect this object. But while the + lord deputy, with a brilliant retinue, was feasting at Mellifont, + a monastery bestowed by Henry VIII. on an ancestor of Sir Garret + Moore, by whom it was transformed into a 'fair mansion,' half + palace, half fortress, a courier arrived from England, announcing + the death of the queen. Nevertheless the negotiations were + pressed on in her name, the fact of her decease being carefully + concealed from the Irish. Tyrone had already sent his secretary, + Henry O'Hagan, to announce to the lord deputy that he was about + to come to his presence. Accordingly on March 29, he surrendered + himself to the two commissioners at Tougher, within five miles of + Dungannon. On the following evening he reached Mellifont, when, + being admitted to the lord deputy's presence, 'he knelt, as was + usual on such occasions;' and made penitent submission to her + majesty. Then, being invited to come nearer to the deputy, he + repeated the ceremony, if we may credit Fynes Moryson, in the + same humiliating attitude, thus:—</p> + + <p>'I, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, do absolutely submit myself + to the queen's mercy, imploring her gracious <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page90" id="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> + commiseration, imploring her majesty to mitigate her just + indignation against me. I do avow that the first motives of my + rebellion were neither malice nor ambition; but that I was + induced by fear of my life, to stand upon my guard. I do + therefore most humbly sue her majesty, that she will vouchsafe to + restore to me my former dignity and living. In which state of a + subject, I vow to continue for ever hereafter loyal, in all true + obedience to her royal person, crown, and prerogatives, and to be + in all things as dutifully conformable thereunto as I or any + other nobleman of this realm is bound by the duty of a subject to + his sovereign, utterly renouncing the name and title of O'Neill, + or any other claim which hath not been granted to me by her + majesty. I abjure all foreign power, and all dependency upon any + other potentate but her majesty. I renounce all manner of + dependency upon the King of Spain, or treaty with him or any of + his confederates, and shall be ready to serve her majesty against + him or any of his forces or confederates. I do renounce all + challenge or intermeddling with the Uriaghts, or fostering with + them or other neighbour lords or gentlemen outside my country, or + exacting black-rents of any Uriaghts or bordering lords. I resign + all claim and title to any lands but such as shall now be granted + to me by her majesty's letters patent. Lastly, I will be content + to be advised by her majesty's magistrates here, and will assist + them in anything that may tend to the advancement of her service, + and the peaceable government of this kingdom, the abolishing of + barbarous customs, the clearing of difficult passes, wherein I + will employ the labours of the people of my country in such + places as I shall be directed by her majesty, or the lord deputy + in her name; and I will endeavour for myself and the people of my + country, to erect civil habitations such as shall be of greater + effect to preserve us against thieves, and any force but the + power of the state.'</p> + + <p>To this act of submission Tyrone affixed his sign manual, and + handed it to the deputy, who told him he must write to Philip + III. of Spain, to send home his son Henry, who had <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page91" id="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> gone + with Father M'Cawell to complete his studies in Salamanca. The + deputy also insisted that he should reveal all his negotiations + with the Spanish court, or any other foreign sovereign with whom + he maintained correspondence; and when the earl assured him that + all these requirements should be duly discharged, the lord deputy + in the queen's name promised him her majesty's pardon to himself + and followers, to himself the restoration of his earldom and + blood with new letters patent of all his lands, excepting the + country possessed by Henry Oge O'Neill, and the Fews belonging to + Tirlough Mac Henry O'Neill, both of whom had recently taken + grants of their lands, to be holden immediately from the queen. + It was further covenanted that Tyrone should give 300 acres of + his land to the fort of Charlmont, and 300 more to that of + Mountjoy, as long as it pleased her majesty to garrison said + forts. Tyrone assented to all these conditions, and then received + the accolade from the lord deputy, who, a few months before, had + written to Queen Elizabeth, that he hoped to be able to send her + that ghastliest of all trophies—her great rebel's head!</p> + + <p>On April 4, the lord deputy returned to Dublin accompanied by + the great vassal whom he fancied he had bound in inviolable + loyalty to the English throne. To make assurance doubly sure, the + day after James was proclaimed, Tyrone repeated the absolute + submission made at Mellifont, the name of the sovereign only + being changed. He also despatched a letter to the King of Spain + stating that he had held out as long as he could, in the vain + hope of being succoured by him, and finally when deserted by his + nearest kinsmen and followers, he was enforced as in duty bound + to declare his allegiance to James I., in whose service and + obedience he meant to live and die.</p> + + <p>The importance of this act of submission will appear from a + manifesto issued by O'Neill three years before, dated Dungannon, + November 16, 1599, and subscribed 'O'Neill.' This remarkable + document has been published for the first time by Father + Meehan.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page92" id= + "page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> + + <p>'<i>To the Catholics of the towns in Ireland.</i></p> + + <p>'Using hitherto more than ordinary favour towards all my + countrymen, who generally by profession are Catholics, and that + naturally I am inclined to affect [esteem] you, I have for these + and other considerations abstained my forces from tempting to do + you hindrance, and because I did expect that you would enter into + consideration of the lamentable state of our poor country, most + tyrannically oppressed, and of your own gentle consciences, in + maintaining, relieving and helping the enemies of God and our + country in wars infallibly tending to the promotion of heresy: + But now seeing you are so obstinate in that which hereunto you + continued of necessity, I must use severity against you (whom + otherwise I most entirely love) in reclaiming you by compulsion. + My tolerance and happy victories by God's particular favour + doubtless obtained could work no alteration in your consciences, + notwithstanding the great calamity and misery, whereunto you are + most likely to fall by persevering in that damnable state in + which hereunto you have lived. Having commiseration on you I + thought it good to forewarn you, requesting every of you to come + and join with me against the enemies of God and our poor country. + If the same you do not, I will use means to spoil you of all your + goods, but according to the utmost of my power shall work what I + may to dispossess you of all your lands, because you are the + means whereby wars are maintained against the exaltation of the + Catholic faith. Contrariwise, whosoever it shall be that shall + join with me, upon my conscience, and as to the contrary I shall + answer before God, I will employ myself to the utmost of my power + in their defence and for the extirpation of heresy, the planting + of the Catholic religion, the delivery of our country of infinite + murders, wicked and detestable policies by which this kingdom was + hitherto governed, nourished in obscurity and ignorance, + maintained in barbarity and incivility, and consequently of + infinite evils which were too lamentable to be rehearsed. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page93" id="page93"></a>[pg + 93]</span> And seeing these are motives most laudable before any + men of consideration, and before the Almighty most meritorious, + which is chiefly to be expected, I thought myself in conscience + bound, seeing God hath given me some power to use all means for + the reduction of this our poor afflicted country into the + Catholic faith, which can never be brought to any good pass + without either your destruction or helping hand; hereby + protesting that I neither seek your lands or goods, neither do I + purpose to plant any in your places, if you will adjoin with me; + but will extend what liberties and privileges that heretofore you + have had if it shall stand in my power, giving you to understand + upon my salvation that chiefly and principally I fight for the + Catholic faith to be planted throughout all our poor country, as + well in cities as elsewhere, as manifestly might appear by that I + rejected all other conditions proffered to me this not being + granted. I have already by word of mouth protested, and do now + hereby protest, that if I had to be King of Ireland without + having the Catholic religion which before I mentioned, I would + not the same accept. Take your example by that most Catholic + country, France, whose subjects for defect of Catholic faith did + go against their most natural king, and maintained wars till he + was constrained to profess the Catholic religion, duly submitting + himself to the Apostolic See of Rome, to the which doubtless we + may bring our country, you putting your helping hand with me to + the same. As for myself I protest before God and upon my + salvation I have been proffered oftentimes such conditions as no + man seeking his own private commodity could refuse; but I seeking + the public utility of my native country will prosecute these wars + until that generally religion be planted throughout all Ireland. + So I rest, praying the Almighty to move your flinty hearts to + prefer the commodity and profit of our country, before your own + private ends.'</p> + + <p>As a crusader, the O'Neill was a worthy disciple of the King + of Spain. The Catholics of the south had no wish to engage in a + religious war, but the northern chief aspiring to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page94" id="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> the + sovereignty of the whole island, resolved to reclaim them by + compulsion, seeing that his tolerance and happy victories had + worked no change in their consciences, and they still persevered + in that 'damnable state' in which they had lived. From his entire + love and commiseration he forewarned them that if they did not + come and join him against the enemies of God and 'our poor + country,' he would not only despoil them of all their goods, but + dispossess them of all their lands. The extirpation of heresy, + the planting of the Catholic religion, he declared could never be + brought to any good pass without either the destruction or the + help of the Catholics in the towns of the south and west. He did + not want their lands or goods, nor did he intend to plant others + in their places <i>if they would adjoin with him</i>. Pointing to + the example of France, he vowed that he would prosecute those + wars until the Catholic religion should be planted throughout all + Ireland, praying that God would move their flinty hearts to join + him in this pious and humane enterprise. In those times when + religious wars had been raging on the continent, when the whole + power of Spain was persistently employed to exterminate + Protestants with fire and sword and every species of cruelty, it + is not at all surprising that a chief like O'Neill, leading such + a wild warlike life in Ulster, should persuade himself that he + would be glorifying God and serving his country by destroying the + Catholic inhabitants of the towns, that is all the most civilised + portion of the community, because they would not join him in + robbing and killing the Protestants. But it is not a little + surprising that an enlightened, learned, and liberal Catholic + priest, writing in Dublin in the year 1868, should give his + deliberate sanction to this unchristian and barbarous policy. Yet + Father Meehan writes: 'But no; not even the dint of that + manifesto, <i>with the ring of true steel in its every line</i>, + could strike a spark out of their hearts, for they were + chalky.'<a id="footnotetag26" name="footnotetag26"></a><a href= + "#footnote26"><sup>3</sup></a></p> + + <p>It was very natural that the English Government should act + upon the same principle of intolerance, especially when + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page95" id="page95"></a>[pg + 95]</span> they had the plea of state necessity. They did not yet + go the length of exterminating Catholicity by the means with + which the O'Neill threatened his peaceable and industrious + co-religionists in the towns.</p> + + <p>All they required was that the Catholics should cease to + harbour their priests, and that they should attend the Protestant + churches. Remarking upon the proclamation of Chichester to this + effect Mr. Meehan says:—'Apart from the folly of the king, + who had taken into his head that an entire nation should, at his + bidding, apostatise from the creed of their forefathers, the + publishing such a manifesto in Dungannon, in Donegal, and + elsewhere was a bitter insult to the northern chieftains, whose + wars were <i>crusades</i>,—the natural consequence of + faith,—stimulated by the Roman Pontiffs, assisted by Spain, + then the most Catholic kingdom in the world.' Does not Mr. Meehan + see that crusading is a game at which two can play? And if wars + which were crusades were the natural consequence of the Catholic + faith, were stimulated by the Roman Pontiffs, and assisted by + Spain, for the purpose of destroying the power of England, + everywhere as well as in Ireland, and abolishing the + Reformation,—does it not follow as a necessary consequence + that the English Government must in sheer self-defence have waged + a war of extermination against the Catholic religion, and have + regarded its priests as mortal enemies? No better plea for the + English policy in Ireland was ever offered by any Protestant + writer than this language, intended as a condemnation, by a very + able priest in our own day. It was no doubt extreme folly for + King James I. to expect that a nation, or a single individual, + should apostatise at his bidding; but it was equal folly in the + King of Spain to expect Protestants to apostatise at his bidding; + and if possible still greater folly for O'Neill to expect the + Catholic citizens of Munster to join him in the bloody work of + persecution. It was, then, the Spanish policy stimulated by the + Sovereign Pontiff that was the standing excuse of the cruel + intolerance and rancorous religious animosity which have + continued to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page96" id= + "page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> distract Irish society down to our + own time. Persecution is alien to the Irish race. The malignant + <i>virus</i> imported from Spain poisoned the national blood, + maddened the national brain, and provoked the terrible system of + retaliation that was embodied in the Penal Code, and which, + surviving to our own time, still defends itself by the old + plea—the intrusion of a foreign power attempting to + overrule the government of the country.</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote24" name="footnote24"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag24">(return)</a> + + <p>Fate and Fortunes of the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell. By + the Rev. P.C. Meehan, M.R.I.A.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote25" name="footnote25"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag25">(return)</a> + + <p>See Life and Letters of Florence M'Carthy. By D. M'Carthy, + Esq.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote26" name="footnote26"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag26">(return)</a> + + <p>Page 34.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page97" id= + "page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + <h3>THE LAST OF THE IRISH PRINCES.</h3> + + <p>The accession of James I. produced a delirium of joy in the + Catholics of the south. Their bards had sung that the blood of + the old Celtic monarchs circulated in his veins, their clergy + told them that as James VI. of Scotland he had received supplies + of money from the Roman court, and above all Clement VIII. then + reigning, had sent to congratulate him on his accession, having + been solicited by him to favour his title to the crown of + England, which the Pope guaranteed to do on condition that James + promised not to persecute the Catholics. The consequence was that + the inhabitants of the southern towns rose <i>en masse</i> + without waiting for authority, forced open the gates of the + ancient churches, re-erected the altars and used them for the + public celebration of worship. The lord deputy was startled by + intelligence to this effect from Waterford, Limerick, Cork, + Lismore, Kilkenny, Clonmel, Wexford, &c. The cathedrals, + churches, and oratories were seized by the people and clergy, + Father White, Vicar-Apostolic of Waterford, being the leader in + this movement, going about from city to city for the purpose of + 'hallowing and purifying' the temples which Protestantism had + desecrated.</p> + + <p>The mayors of the cities were rebuked by Mountjoy as seditious + and mutinous in setting up 'the public exercise of the Popish + religion,' and he threatened to encamp speedily before Waterford, + 'to suppress insolences and see peace and obedience maintained.' + The deputy kept his word, and on May 4, 1603, he appeared before + Waterford at the head <span class="pagenum"><a name="page98" id= + "page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> of 5,000 men, officered by Sir R. + Wingfield, and others who had distinguished themselves during + Tyrone's war. 'There is among the family pictures at + Powerscourt,' says Mr. Meehan, 'a portrait of this distinguished + old warrior, whose lineal descendant, the present noble lord, has + always proved most generous to his Catholic tenantry.' The + reverend gentleman gives an amusing sketch of a theological + encounter between the old warrior and Father White and a + Dominican friar, who came forth to the camp under a safe-conduct, + both wearing their clerical habits and preceded by a + cross-bearer. The soldiers jeered at the sacred symbol, and + called it an idol. Father White indignantly resented the outrage, + when Sir Richard Wingfield threatened to put an end to the + controversy by running his sword through the Vicar-Apostolic. + 'The deputy however was a bookish man, at one period of his life + inclined to Catholicity, and he listened patiently to Father + White on the right of resisting or disobeying the natural prince; + but when the latter quoted some passage thereanent in the works + of St. Augustine, Mountjoy caused to be brought to him out of his + tent the identical volume, and showed to the amazement of the + bystanders, that the context explained away all the priest had + asserted.' The noble theologian told Father White that he was a + traitor, worthy of condign punishment for bringing an idol into a + Christian camp and for opening the churches by the Pope's + authority. Father White appeared in the camp a second time that + day, making a most reasonable request. He fell on his knees + before the deputy, begging liberty of conscience, free and open + exercise of religion, protesting that the people would be ready + to resist all foreign invasion were that granted; and finally + beseeching that some of the ruined churches might be given to the + Catholics, who were ready to rebuild them, and pay for them a + yearly rent into his majesty's exchequer. But the deputy was + inexorable, and all he would grant was leave to wear clerical + clothes, and celebrate mass in private houses. Mountjoy entered + Waterford, received from the citizens the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page99" id="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> oath of + allegiance, and made over the city churches to the small section + of Protestants. At the same time he sent despatches to other + towns ordering the authorities to evict the Roman Catholics from + the places of worship. And then proceeding to Cork, and thence + through Cashel to Dublin, he undid all that the clergy had done + with respect to the churches, 'leaving perhaps to future + statesmen,' writes Father Meehan, 'living above the atmosphere of + effete prejudices, the duty of restoring to the Catholics of + Ireland those grand old temples, which were never meant to + accommodate a fragment of its people.'<a id="footnotetag27" name= + "footnotetag27"></a><a href="#footnote27"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>When Mountjoy returned to Dublin he found that he had been + created Lord Lieutenant of Ireland with two-thirds of the + deputy's allowance, Sir George Carew, appointed deputy during his + absence in England, receiving the other third together with his + own pay as treasurer-at-war. Mountjoy was also informed that the + royal pardon had been granted to Tyrone under the great seal, and + that all other grants made to him by the lord deputy had been + confirmed. The king concluded by requesting that he would induce + Tyrone to go with him to London, adding, 'as we think it very + convenient for our service, and require you so to do; and if not + that at least you bring his son.' Along with these instructions + came a protection for O'Neill and his retinue. It was supposed + that James felt grateful to the Ulster chieftain for the services + he had rendered him during the late queen's reign; and it is + stated by Craik that after the victory of the Blackwater, he sent + his secretary O'Hagan to Holyrood, to signify to his majesty that + if he supplied him with money and munitions he would instantly + march on Dublin, proclaim him King of Ireland, and set the crown + upon his head.</p> + + <p>In compliance with the sovereign's request, Mountjoy, with a + brilliant suite, accompanied by Tyrone and Rory O'Donel, embarked + in May 1603, and sailed for Holyhead. But when they had sighted + the coast of Wales, the pinnace was driven back by adverse winds, + and nearly wrecked in a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page100" + id="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> fog at the Skerries. They landed + safe, however, at Beaumaris, whence they rode rapidly to Chester, + where they stopped for the night, and were entertained by the + mayor. The king's protection for the O'Neill was not uncalled + for. Whenever he was recognised in city or hamlet, the populace, + notwithstanding their respect for Mountjoy, the hero of the hour, + pursued the earl with bitter insults, and stoned him as he passed + along. Throughout the whole journey to London, the Welsh and + English women assailed him with their invectives. Not + unnaturally, for 'there was not one among them but could name + some friend or kinsman whose bones lay buried far away in some + wild pass or glen of Ulster, where the object of their + maledictions was more often victor than vanquished.'<a id= + "footnotetag28" name="footnotetag28"></a><a href= + "#footnote28"><sup>2</sup></a> The king, however, gave the Irish + chiefs a gracious reception, having issued a proclamation that he + had restored them to his favour, and that they should be 'of all + men honourably received.' This excited intense disgust amongst + English officers who had been engaged in the Irish wars. Thus Sir + John Harrington, writing to a bishop, said: 'I have lived to see + that damnable rebel, Tyrone, brought to England, honoured and + well liked. Oh, what is there that does not prove the inconstancy + of worldly matters! How I did labour after that knave's + destruction! I adventured perils by sea and land, was near + starving, eat horseflesh in Munster, and all to quell that man, + who now smileth in peace at those who did hazard their lives to + destroy him; and now doeth Tyrone dare us old commanders with his + presence and protection.'</p> + + <p>In fact the favour of the king went to an excess fatal to its + object, by conceding powers incompatible with his own + sovereignty, leading to disorders and violence, and exciting + jealousy and mortal enmity in those who were charged with the + government in Ireland. The lords of the Privy Council, with the + king's consent, gave O'Neill authority for martial law, 'to be + executed upon any offenders that shall live under him, the better + to keep them in obedience.' It was ordered that the king's + garrisons should not meddle <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page101" id="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> with him or his + people. The king also invested O'Donel with all the lands and + rights of ancient time belonging to his house, excepting abbeys + and other spiritual livings, the castle and town of Ballyshannon, + and 1,000 acres adjoining the fishing there. He also received the + style and title of Earl of Tyrconnel, with remainder to his + brother Caffar, the heirs male apparent being created Barons of + Donegal. He was formally installed in Christ Church Cathedral on + the 29th of September following, in presence of Archbishop Loftus + and a number of high officials. Tyrone, however, was dogged by + spies while he was in London, and one Atkinson swore informations + to the effect that he was in the habit of entertaining a Jesuit + named Archer, who was intriguing with the foreign enemies of + England, and who was held by Irish royalists for 'the most bloody + and treacherous traitor, who could divert Tyrone and all the rest + from the king, and thrust them again into actual rebellion.'</p> + + <p>In the meantime, Sir George Carew was pursuing a policy in + Ireland which must of necessity involve the north in fresh + troubles. In his letters to England, he complained that the + country 'so swarmed with priests, Jesuits, seminarists, friars, + and Romish bishops, that if speedy means were not used to free + the kingdom of this wicked rabble, which laboured to draw the + subjects' hearts from their due obedience to their prince, much + mischief would burst forth in very short time. For,' he said, + 'there are here so many of this wicked crew, that are able to + disquiet four of the greatest kingdoms in Christendom. It is high + time they were banished from hence, and none to receive, or aid, + or relieve them. Let the judges and officers be sworn to the + supremacy; let the lawyers go to the church and show conformity, + or not plead at the bar; and then the rest by degrees will + shortly follow.'</p> + + <p>Carew was succeeded as deputy by Sir Arthur Chichester, + descended from a family of great antiquity in Devon. He had + served in Ireland as governor of Carrickfergus, admiral of Lough + Neagh, and commander of the Fort of Mountjoy. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page102" id="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> + Father Meehan describes him as malignant and cruel, with a + physiognomy repulsive and petrifying; a Puritan of the most rigid + character, utterly devoid of sympathy, solely bent on his own + aggrandisement, and seeking it through the plunder and + persecution of the Irish chieftains. That is the Irish view of + his character. How far he deserved it the reader will be able to + judge by his acts. He was evidently a man of strong will, an able + administrator and organiser; and he set himself at once, and + earnestly, to the establishment of law and order in the conquered + territories of the Irish princes. He sent justices of assize + throughout Munster and Connaught, reducing the 'countries or + regions' into shire-ground, abolishing cuttings, cosheries, + spendings, and other customary exactions of the chiefs, by which + a complete revolution was effected. He issued a proclamation, by + the king's order, commanding all the Catholics, under penalties, + to assist at the Church of England service; proscribing priests, + and other ecclesiastical persons ordained by authority from the + see of Home; forbidding parents to send their children to + seminaries beyond the seas, or to keep as private tutors other + than those licensed by the Protestant archbishop or bishop. If + any priest dared to celebrate mass, he was liable to a fine of + 200 marks, and a year's imprisonment; while to join the + <i>Romish</i> Church was to become a traitor, and to be subject + to a like penalty. Churchwardens were to make a monthly report of + persons absent from church, and to whet the zeal of wardens and + constables, for each conviction of offending parties, they were + to have a reward of forty shillings, to be levied out of the + recusant's estate and goods. Catholics might escape these + penalties by quitting the country, and taking the oath of + abjuration, by which they bound themselves to abjure the land and + realm of James, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, + to hasten towards a certain port by the most direct highway, to + diligently seek a passage, and tarry there but one flood and ebb. + According to one form, quoted by Mr. Meehan, the oath concluded + thus: <span class="pagenum"><a name="page103" id= + "page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> 'And, unless I can have it (a + passage) in such a place, I will go every day into the sea up to + my knees, essaying to pass over, so God me help and His holy + judgment.'</p> + + <p>The deputy found some difficulty in bending the consciences of + the Dublin people to the will of the sovereign in matters of + faith; but the said will was to be enforced <i>circa sacra</i> at + all hazards; so he summoned sixteen of the chief citizens and + aldermen before the Privy Council, and censured them for their + recusancy, imprisoned them in the castle during pleasure, + inflicting upon six a fine of 100<i>l.</i> each, and upon three + 50<i>l.</i> each. The king was delighted with this evangelical + method of extending reformed religion in Ireland. Congratulating + his deputy, he expressed a hope that many, by such means, would + be brought to conformity in religion, who would hereafter 'give + thanks to God for being drawn by so gentle a constraint to their + own good.' The 'gentle constraint' was imposed in all directions. + The Privy Council decreed that none but a member of the Church of + England could hold any office under the Crown. The old Catholic + families of the Pale humbly remonstrated, and their chief men + were flung into prison. Sir Patrick Barnwell, their agent, was + sent to London by order of the king, and was forthwith committed + to the Tower for contempt. Henry Usher, then Archbishop of + Armagh, carried out the system of exclusion in his own diocese, + which included the territories of Tyrone. All 'Papists' were + forbidden to assist at mass, on pain of forfeiture of their goods + and imprisonment. In a like manner, the Catholic worship was + prohibited even in the residence of the Earl of Tyrconnel. He and + Tyrone strongly remonstrated against this violation of the royal + word, that they and their people might have liberty for their + worship in private houses. The answer was decided. His majesty + had made up his mind to disallow liberty of worship, and his + people, whether they liked it or not, should repair to their + parish churches.</p> + + <p>In addition to this religious grievance, which excited the + bitterest feelings of discontent, the two earls were subjected + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page104" id="page104"></a>[pg + 104]</span> to the most irritating annoyances. They complained + that their people were plundered by sheriffs, under-sheriffs, + officers, and soldiers; and that even their domestic privacy was + hourly violated, that their remonstrances were unheeded, and + their attempts to obtain legal remedies were frustrated. At the + same time their vassals were encouraged to repudiate their + demands for tribute and rent. Bishop Montgomery of Derry was a + dangerous neighbour to O'Neill. Meeting him one day at Dungannon, + the earl said: 'My lord, you have two or three bishopricks, and + yet you are not content with them, but seek the lands of my + earldom.'</p> + + <p>'My lord,' replied the bishop, 'your earldom is swollen so big + with the lands of the Church, that it will burst if it be not + vented.' If he had confined his venting operations to the chiefs, + and abstained from bleeding the poor people, it would have been + better for Protestantism. For we read that he sent bailiffs + through the diocese of Raphoe, to levy contributions for the + Church. 'For every cow and plough-horse, 4<i>d.</i>; as much out + of every colt and calf, to be paid twice a year; and half-a-crown + a quarter of every shoemaker, carpenter, smith, and weaver in the + whole country; and 8<i>d.</i> a year for every married + couple.'</p> + + <p>This bishop seems to have been greatly impressed with the + 'commodities' of O'Cahan's country, which he describes with much + unction in a letter to the Earl of Salisbury. He said that the + country was 'large, pleasant, and fruitful; twenty-four miles in + length between Lough Foyle and the Bann; and in breadth, from the + sea-coast towards the lower parts of Tyrone, 14 miles.' He states + that O'Cahan was able to assist the Earl of Tyrone, during his + war, with 1,200 foot and 300 horse, the ablest men that Ulster + yielded; and, by the confession of gentlemen of the first + plantation, had oftener put them to their defence than any enemy + they had to do with, not suffering them to cut a bough or build a + cabin without blows. When Tyrone was driven to his fastness, + Glenconkeine, O'Cahan sent him 100 horse and 300 foot, and yet + made good his own country against <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page105" id="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> the army lying round + about him, adding, that his defection 'did undo the earl, who, as + he had his country sure behind him, cared little for anything the + army could do to him.' The bishop was, therefore, very anxious + that Tyrone should not have any estate in O'Cahan's country, + 'since he was of great power to offend or benefit the poor infant + city of Derry, its new bishop and people, cast out far from the + heart and head into the remotest part of Ireland, where life + would be unsafe until the whole region was well settled with + civil subjects. If this be not brought to pass, we may say: + "<i>fuimus Troes,—fuit Ilium</i>."'<a id="footnotetag29" + name="footnotetag29"></a><a href= + "#footnote29"><sup>3</sup></a></p> + + <p>The defection of O'Cahan was, no doubt, a very serious matter + to O'Neill. Their case was referred for adjudication to the lord + deputy, Chichester, before whom they personally pleaded. Their + contradictory statements, and the eagerness of each for the + support of a ruler whom they regarded as a common enemy, accounts + for the facility with which their power was ultimately destroyed. + They at the same time throw much light on the condition of Ulster + before the confiscation of James I., proving that it was by no + means so poor and wild and barren a region as it is generally + represented by modern writers. The two chiefs had a personal + altercation at the council table, and O'Neill so far lost his + temper as to snatch a paper out of the hand of O'Cahan. Whereupon + Sir John Davis remarked: 'I rest assured, in my own conceit, that + I shall live to see Ulster the best reformed province in this + kingdom; and as for yourself, my lord, I hope to live to see you + the best reformed subject in Ireland.' To this the haughty chief + replied with warmth, that he hoped 'the attorney-general would + never see the day when injustice should be done him by + transferring his lands to the Crown, and thence to the bishop, + who was intent on converting the whole territory into his own + pocket.'</p> + + <p>Acting under the advice of the bishop, O'Cahan employed a + skilful hand to draw up a statement of his case, which was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page106" id="page106"></a>[pg + 106]</span> presented on May 2, 1607, in the form of 'the humble + petition of Donald Ballagh O'Cahan, chief of his name,' addressed + to the lord deputy and council. He declared that for 3,000 years + and upwards, he and his ancestors had been possessed of a country + called 'O'Cahan's country,' lying between the river Bann and + Lough Foyle, without paying any rent, or other acknowledgment + thereof to O'Neill, saving that his ancestors were wont to aid + O'Neill twice a year if he had need, with risings of 100 horse + and 300 foot, for which O'Cahan had in return O'Neill's whole + suit of apparel, the horse that he rode upon, and 100 cows in + winter. He also paid 21 cows every year in the name of + <i>Cios'righ</i>, the king's rent, or the king's rent-cess. He + alleged that Queen Elizabeth had granted him his country to be + held immediately from her majesty at the accustomed rent, by + virtue of which he enjoyed it for one whole year without paying, + or being craved payment, of any rent or duty, until the Earl of + Tyrone, on his return from England, alleged that he had got + O'Cahan's country by patent, from the king, who had made him + vassal to Tyrone and his heirs for ever, imposing the annual + payment of 100 cows, with the yearly rent of 200<i>l.</i> He had + also claimed the fishing of the Bann; he preyed yearly upon other + parts of his country, and drew from him his best tenants. He + therefore prayed for the protection of the lord deputy against + these unjust demands and usurpations.</p> + + <p>On the 23rd of the same month, O'Neill made a counter + statement to the following effect: O'Cahan had no estate in the + territory that was by a corruption of speech called O'Cahan's + country; nor did he or any of his ancestors ever hold the said + lands but as tenants at sufferance, servants and followers to the + defendant and his ancestors. His grandfather Con O'Neill was + seised in fee of those lands before he surrendered to Henry + VIII., 'and received yearly, and had thereout, as much rents, + cutting, spending and all other duties as of any other lands + which he had in demesne,' within the province of Ulster and + territory of Tyrone, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page107" id= + "page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> and that after Con's surrender the + territories were all re-granted with the rents, customs, duties, + &c. as before. He was ready to prove that the ancestors of + O'Cahan never enjoyed the premises at any time, but at the will + and sufferance of O'Neill and his ancestors. A few days after, he + despatched a memorial to the king setting forth his grievances, + in which he stated that there were so many that sought to deprive + him of the greatest part of the residue of his territory that + without his majesty's special consideration he should in the end + have nothing to support his 'estate' or rank. For the Lord Bishop + of Derry, not content with the great living the king had bestowed + upon him, sought to have the greater part of the earl's lands, to + which none of his predecessors had ever laid claim. And he also + set on others to question his titles which had never before + before doubted. He therefore humbly besought the king to direct + that new letters patent should be made out re-conveying to him + and his heirs the lands in dispute, being, he said, 'such a + favour as is appointed by your majesty to be extended to such of + your subjects of this kingdom as should be suitors for the same, + amongst whom I will during my life endeavour to deserve to be in + the number of the most faithful, whereunto not only duty, but + also your majesty's great bounty, hath ever obliged me.'</p> + + <p>This was dated at Mellifont on May 26, 1607. It does not + appear that any answer was received to his appeals to the king, + nor is it likely that it served his cause, for it is seldom safe + to appeal from an agent or deputy to the supreme authority. The + Privy Council in Dublin, however, made a report confirming to + some extent the claims put forth by Tyrone. A jury had been + appointed to inquire into the boundaries and limits of the lands + granted by Queen Elizabeth, and they found that they extended + from the river Fuin to Lough Foyle, and from Lough Foyle by the + sea-shore to the Bann, and thence to the east of Lough Neagh. + Within these limits they found that there existed the territory + called O'Cahan's, Glenconkeine and Killetragh, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page108" id="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> + which were not the lands of the O'Neills, '<i>but held by tenants + having estates in them equivalent to estates of freehold</i>.' + The jury could not determine what rents the tenants of said lands + were accustomed to pay, but they found generally that all lands + within the limits of Tyrone, except the lands of the church, + rendered to O'Neill bonnaght or free quarters for armed + retainers, 'rising out, cutting and spending.' The parties, + however, did not abide by the decision of the privy council, but + kept up their contention in the courts of law. It was quite clear + that matters could not remain long in that unsettled state, with + so many adventurers thirsting for the possession of land, which + was lying comparatively idle. It was thought desirable to appoint + a president of Ulster, as there had been a president of Munster. + The Earl of Tyrone applied to the king for the office, evidently + fearing that if Chichester were appointed, he must share the fate + of the Earl of Desmond. On the other hand, it was felt that with + his hereditary pretensions, impracticable temper, and vast + influence with the people, it would be impossible to establish + the English power on a permanent basis until he was got out of + the way. This was not difficult, with unprincipled adventurers + who were watching for opportunities to make their fortunes in + those revolutionary times. Among these was a person named St. + Lawrence, Baron of Howth. This man worked cunningly on the mind + of the lord deputy, insinuating that O'Neill was plotting treason + and preparing for a Spanish invasion. He even went so far as to + write an anonymous letter, revealing an alleged plot of O'Neill's + to assassinate the lord deputy. It was addressed to Sir William + Usher, clerk of the council, and the writer began by saying that + it would show him, though far severed from him in religion, how + near he came home to him in honesty. He was a Catholic, and + professed to reveal what he had heard among Catholic gentlemen, + 'after the strictest conditions of secresy.' The conspirators + were, in the first place, to murder or poison the lord deputy + when he came to Drogheda, 'a place thought apt and secure + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page109" id="page109"></a>[pg + 109]</span> to act the same.' They thought it well to begin with + him, because his authority, wisdom, and valour stood only in the + way of their first attempts. Next after him they were to cut off + Sir Oliver Lambert, whom for his own judgment in the wars, his + sudden resolution, and undertaking spirit, they would not suffer + to live. These two lights thus put out, they would neither fear + nor value any opposite in the kingdom. The small dispersed + garrisons must either through hunger submit themselves to their + mercy, or be penned up as sheep to the shambles. They held the + castle of Dublin for their own, neither manned nor victualled, + and readily surprised. The towns were for them, the country with + them, the great ones abroad prepared to answer the first alarm. + The Jesuits warranted from the Pope and the Catholic king would + do their parts effectually, and Spanish succours would not be + wanting. These secrets greatly troubled the sensitive conscience + of Lord Howth. From the time he was entrusted with them, he said, + 'till I resolved to give you this caveat, my eyelids never + closed, my heart was a fire, my soul suffered a thousand thousand + torments; yet I could not, nor cannot persuade my conscience, in + honesty, to betray my friends, or spill their bloods, when this + timely warning may prevent the mischief.' In conclusion, he said, + 'though I reverence the mass and the Catholic religion equal with + the devoutest of them, I will make the leaders of this dance know + that I prefer my country's good before their busy and ambitious + humours.' It is related of this twenty-second baron of Howth, + known as Sir Christopher St. Lawrence, that having served in + Ulster under Essex, and accompanied him in his flight to England, + he proposed to murder Lord Grey de Wilton, lest he should + prejudice the queen's mind against her former favourite, if he + got access to her presence before him; that he had commanded a + regiment of infantry under Mountjoy, and that when that regiment + was disbanded, he became discontented, not having got either + pension or employment; that having gone as a free lance to the + Low Countries, and failed to advance <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page110" id="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> + himself there as he expected, through the interest of Irish + ecclesiastics, he returned to England, and skulked about the + ante-chambers of Lord Salisbury, waiting upon Providence, when he + hit upon the happy idea of the revelations which he conveyed + under the signature of' A.B.'<a id="footnotetag30" name= + "footnotetag30"></a><a href="#footnote30"><sup>4</sup></a></p> + + <p>After some time he acknowledged the authorship of the letter + privately, but refused to come forth publicly as an informer, nor + was he able to produce any corroboration of the improbable story. + Ultimately, however, when pressed by Chichester, he induced his + friend Baron Devlin to swear an information to the same effect, + revealing certain alleged conversations of O'Neill. In the + meantime St. Lawrence cunningly worked upon the fears of the + earl, giving him to understand that his ruin was determined on, + and that he had better consult his safety, by leaving the + country. It appears that he received intimations to the same + effect from his correspondents in Spain and in London. At all + events, he lost heart, became silent, moody, and low-spirited, + suspecting foul play on the part of the king, who was very urgent + that he should be brought over to London, in which case Tyrone + was led to believe that he would certainly be sent to the Tower, + and probably lose his head. With such apprehensions, he came to + the conclusion that it was idle to struggle any longer against + the stream.</p> + + <p>He had for some weeks been engaged quietly making preparations + for his flight. He had given directions to his steward to collect + in advance one half of his Michaelmas rents, leading the lord + deputy to think that he did so either to provide funds for his + journey to London, or to defray the expenses of his son's + projected marriage with the daughter of Lord Argyle. Meanwhile a + vessel had been purchased by Cu-Connaught Maguire, and Bath, the + captain of this vessel, assured the Earl of Tyrconnel, whom he + met at Ballyshannon, that he also would lose his life or liberty + if he did not abandon the country with O'Neill. On September 8, + Tyrone took leave of the lord deputy, and then spent a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page111" id="page111"></a>[pg + 111]</span> day and night at Mellifont with his friend Sir Garret + Moore, who was specially dear to him as the fosterer of his son + John. The earl took his leave with unusual emotion, and after + giving his blessing according to the Irish fashion to every + member of his friend's household, he and his suite took horse and + rode rapidly by Dundalk, over the Fews to Armagh, where he rested + a few hours, and then proceeded to Creeve, one of his crannoges + or island habitations, where he was joined by his wife and other + members of his family. Sir Oliver Lambert in a communication to + the Irish Government, relating to the affairs of Ulster, made + some interesting allusions to O'Neill. He states that he had + apologised for having appealed to the king in the case between + him and O'Cahan, and said that he felt much grieved in being + called upon so suddenly to go to England, when on account of his + poverty he was not able to furnish himself as became him for such + a journey and for such a presence. In all things else, said Sir + Oliver, 'he seemed very moderate and reasonable, albeit he never + gave over to be a general solicitor in all causes concerning his + country and people however criminal.' He thought the earl had + been much abused by persons who had cunningly terrified, and + diverted him from going to the king; 'or else he had within him a + thousand witnesses testifying that he was as deeply engaged in + these secret treasons as any of the rest, whom they knew or + suspected.' At all events he had received information on the + previous day from his own brother Sir Cormac O'Neill, from the + primate, from Sir Toby Caulfield and others, that the earl had + taken shipping with his lady, the Baron of Dungannon, his eldest + son, and two others of his children, John and Brien, both under + seven years old, the Earl of Tyrconnel, and his son and heir, an + infant, not yet a year old, his brother Caffar O'Donel, and his + son an infant two years old, 'with divers others of their nearest + and trusted followers and servants, as well men as women, to the + number of between thirty and forty persons.'</p> + + <p>The Rev. Mr. Meehan gives graphic details of the flight + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page112" id="page112"></a>[pg + 112]</span> of his two heroes. Arrived at Rathmullen they found + Maguire and Captain Bath laying stores of provisions on board the + ship that had come into Lough Swilly under French colours. Here + they were joined by Rory, Earl of Tyrconnel. At noon on Friday + they all went on board and lifted anchor, but kept close to the + shore waiting for the boats' crews, who were procuring water and + fuel; but they had to wait till long after sunset, when the boats + came with only a small quantity of wood and water. According to a + fatality which makes one Irishman's extremity another Irishman's + opportunity, the foraging party was set upon by M'Sweeny of + Fanad, who churlishly prevented them getting a sufficient supply + of these necessaries. This barbarous conduct is accounted for by + Mr. Meehan, from the fact, that this M'Sweeny had recently taken + a grant of his lands from the crown. At midnight, September 14, + 1607, they spread all sail and made for the open sea, intending, + however, to land on the Island of Arran, off the coast of + Donegal, to provide themselves with more water and fuel. The + entire number of souls on board this small vessel, says O'Keenan + in his narrative, was ninety-nine, having little sea store, and + being otherwise miserably accommodated. Unable to make the island + of Arran, owing to a gale then blowing off the land, and fearing + to be crossed by the king's cruisers, they steered for the + harbour of Corunna in Spain. But for thirteen days, continues + O'Keenan, 'the sea was angry, and the tempest left us no rest; + and the only brief interval of calm we enjoyed, was when O'Neill + took from his neck a golden crucifix containing a relic of the + true cross, and trailed it in the wake of the ship. At that + moment, two poor merlins with wearied pinions sought refuge in + the rigging of our vessel, and were captured for the noble + ladies, who nursed them with tenderest affection.' After being + tempest-tossed for three weeks, they dropped anchor in the + harbour of Quilleboeuf in France, having narrowly escaped + shipwreck, their only remaining provisions being one gallon of + beer and a cask of water. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page113" + id="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> They proceeded to Brussels and + thence to Louvain, where splendid accommodation was provided for + them. In several of the cities through which they passed they + received ovations, their countrymen clerical and military having + prepared for their reception with the greatest zeal and devotion. + The King of Spain was of course friendly, but to avoid giving + offence to King James he discouraged the stay of the exiles in + his dominions, and they found their final resting-place at Rome, + where the two earls were placed upon the Pope's civil list, + which, however, they did not long continue to burden. Tyrconnel + fell a victim to the malaria, and died on July 28, 1608. + 'Sorrowful it was,' say the Four Masters, 'to contemplate his + early eclipse, for he was a generous and hospitable lord, to whom + the patrimony of his ancestors seemed nothing for his feastings + and spending.' His widow received a pension of 300<i>l.</i> a + year out of his forfeited estates. O'Neill survived his brother + earl eight years, having made various attempts to induce the King + of Spain to aid him in the recovery of his patrimony. He died in + 1616, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Sir Francis + Cottington, announcing the event from Madrid, said, 'The Earl of + Tyrone is dead at Rome; by whose death this king saves 500 ducats + every month, for so much pension he had from here, well paid him. + Upon the news of his death, I observed that all the principal + Irish entertained in several parts of this kingdom are repaired + unto this court.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote27" name="footnote27"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag27">(return)</a> + + <p>Page 30.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote28" name="footnote28"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag28">(return)</a> + + <p>Father Meehan.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote29" name="footnote29"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag29">(return)</a> + + <p>Meehan, p. 79.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote30" name="footnote30"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag30">(return)</a> + + <p>Meehan, p. 103.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page114" id= + "page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + <h3>GOVERNMENT APPEALS TO THE PEOPLE.</h3> + + <p>The flight of the earls caused great consternation to the + Irish Government. Letters were immediately despatched to the + local authorities at every port to have a sharp look out for the + fugitives, and to send out vessels to intercept them, should they + be driven back by bad weather to any part of the coast. At the + same time the lord deputy sent a despatch to the Government in + London, deprecating censure for an occurrence so unexpected, and + so much to be regretted, because of the possibility of its + leading to an invasion by the Spaniards. In other respects it was + regarded by the principal members of the Irish Government, and + especially by the officials in Ulster, as a most fortunate + occurrence. For example, Sir Oliver Lambert, in his report to the + lords of the council, already referred to, said:—'But now + these things are fallen out thus, contrary to all expectation or + likelihood, by the providence of God I hope, over this miserable + people, for whose sake it may be he hath sent his majesty this + rare and unlocked for occasion: whereby he may now at length, + with good apprehension and prudent handling, repair an error + which was committed in making these men proprietary lords of so + large a territory, without regard of the poor freeholders' + rights, or of his majesty's service, and the commonwealth's, that + are so much interested in the honest liberty of that sort of men, + which now, in time, I commend unto your lordships' grave + consideration and wisdom, and will come to that which nearest + concerns ourselves and the whole.'</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page115" id="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> + + <p>According to Sir John Davis, in his letter to the first + minister, Lord Salisbury, Tyrone could not be reconciled in his + heart to the English Government, because 'he ever lived like a + free prince, or, rather, like an absolute tyrant, there. The law + of England, and the ministers thereof, were shackles and + handlocks unto him.' He states that <i>after the Irish + manner</i>, he made all the tenants of his land <i>villeins</i>. + 'Therefore to evict any part of that land from him was as + grievous unto him as to pinch away the quick flesh from his body + ... Besides,' the attorney-general added, 'as for us that are + here, we are glad to see the day wherein the countenance and + majesty of the law, as civil government, hath banished Tyrone out + of Ireland, which the best army in Europe, and the expense of two + millions of sterling pounds did not bring to pass. And we hope + his majesty's happy government will work a greater miracle in + this kingdom, than ever St. Patrick did; for St. Patrick did only + banish the poisonous worms, but suffered the men full of poison + to inhabit the land still; but his majesty's blessed genius will + banish all that generation of vipers out of it, and make it, ere + it be long, a right fortunate island.'</p> + + <p>Again, Sir Geoffry Fenton, writing to Salisbury on the same + subject, says, 'And now I am to put your lordship in mind what a + door is open to the king, if the opportunity be taken, and well + converted, not only to pull down for ever these two proud houses + of O'Neill and O'Donel, but also to bring in colonies to plant + both countries, to a great increasing of his majesty's revenues, + and to establish and settle the countries perpetually in the + crown; besides that many well-deserving servitors may be + recompensed in the distribution; a matter to be taken to heart, + for that it reaches somewhat to his majesty's conscience and + honour to see these poor servitors relieved, whom time and the + wars have spent, even unto their later years, and now, by this + commodity, may be stayed and comforted without charges to his + majesty.' This advice was quite in accordance with the views of + the prime minister, who in a letter to Chichester said, 'I do + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page116" id="page116"></a>[pg + 116]</span> think it of great necessity that those countries be + made the king's by this accident; that there be a mixture in the + plantation, the <i>natives</i> made his majesty's tenants of + part, but the rest to be divided among those that will + <i>inhabit</i>; and in no case any man is suffered to embrace + more than is visible he can and will <i>manure</i>. That was an + oversight in the plantation of Munster, where 12,000 acres were + commonly allotted to bankrupts and country gentlemen, that never + knew the disposition of the Irish; so as God forbid that those + who have spent their blood in the service should not of all + others be preferred.' It was because this idea of manuring, i.e. + residence and cultivation, was carried out in Ulster, that the + plantation has proved so successful. But Davis would allow but + small space comparatively to the natives, whom he compared to + weeds which, if too numerous, would choke the wheat. With him the + old inhabitants were simply a nuisance from the highest to the + lowest; and if there were no other way of getting rid of them, he + would no doubt have adopted the plan recommended by Lord Bacon, + who said, 'Some of the chiefest of the Irish families should be + transported to England, and have recompense there for their + possessions in Ireland, till they were cleansed from their blood, + incontinency, and theft, which were not the lapses of particular + persons, but the very laws of the nation.' The Lord Deputy + Chichester, however, agreed thoroughly with his attorney-general, + for he certainly made no more account of rooting out the 'mere + Irish' from their homes than if they were the most noxious kinds + of weeds or vermin. 'If,' said he, writing to Lord Salisbury, 'I + have observed anything during my stay in this kingdom, I may say + it is not <i>lenity</i> and good works that will reclaim the + Irish, but <i>an iron rod</i>, and severity of justice, for the + restraint and punishment of those firebrands of sedition, <i>the + priests</i>; nor can we think of any other remedy but to proclaim + <i>them, and their relievers and harbourers, traitors</i>.'</p> + + <p>Considering that those Englishmen were professedly Christian + rulers, engaged in establishing the reformed <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page117" id="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> + religion, the accounts which they give with perfect coolness of + their operations in this line, are among the most appalling + passages to be met with in the world's history. For instance, the + lord deputy writes: 'I have often said and written, it is + <i>famine that must consume the Irish</i>, as our <i>swords</i> + and other endeavours worked not that, speedy effect which is + expected; <i>hunger</i> would be a better, because a speedier, + weapon to employ against them than the sword.' He spared no means + of destruction, but combined all the most fearful scourges for + the purpose of putting out of existence the race of people whom + God in his anger subjected to his power. Surely the spirit of + cruelty, the genius of destruction, must have been incarnate in + the man who wrote thus: 'I burned all along the Lough (Neagh) + within four miles of Dungannon, and killed 100 people, sparing + none, of what quality, age, or sex soever, besides <i>many burned + to death</i>. We killed man, <i>woman and child</i>, horse, + beast, and whatsoever we could find.'</p> + + <p>At the time of the flight of the earls, however, he was very + anxious about the safety of the kingdom. He was aware that the + people were universally discontented, he had but few troops in + the country, and little or no money in the treasury, so that in + case of a sudden invasion, it was quite possible that the + maddened population would rise and act in their own way upon his + own merciless policy of extermination. He therefore hastened to + issue a proclamation for the purpose of reassuring the + inhabitants of Ulster, and persuading them that they would not + suffer in any way by the desertion of their chiefs. In this + proclamation, headed by 'The <i>Lord Deputy and Counsell</i>,' it + was stated that Tyrone and Tyrconnel and their companions had + lately embarked themselves at Lough Swilly and had secretly and + suddenly departed out of this realm without license or notice. + The Government was as yet uncertain about their purpose or + destination. But inasmuch as the manner of their departure, + considering the quality of their persons, might raise many doubts + in the minds of his majesty's loving subjects <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page118" id="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> in + those parts, and especially the common sort of people inhabiting + the counties of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, who might suppose they were + in danger to suffer prejudice in their <i>lands</i> and goods for + the contempt or offence of the earls,—they were solemnly + assured that they had nothing whatever to fear. The words of the + proclamation on this point are: 'We do therefore in his majesty's + name declare, proclaim, and publish that all and every his + majesty's good and loyal subjects inhabiting those countries of + Tyrone and Tyrconnel shall and may quietly and securely possess + and enjoy all and singular <i>their lands and goods</i> without + the trouble or molestation of any of his majesty's officers or + ministers or any other person or persons whatsoever as long as + they disturb not his majesty's peace, but live as dutiful and + obedient subjects. And forasmuch as the said earls to whom his + majesty, reposing special trust in their loyalty, had committed + the government of the said several countries are now undutifully + departed, therefore his Majesty doth graciously receive all and + every of his said loyal subjects into his own immediate safeguard + and protection, giving them full assurance to defend them and + every of them by his kingly power from all violence or wrong, + which any loose persons among themselves or any foreign force + shall attempt against them. And to that end, we the lord deputy + and council have made choice of certain commissioners as well + Irish as English, residing in the said several countries, not + only to preserve the public peace there, but also to administer + speedy and indifferent justice to all his majesty's loving + subjects in those parts, which shall have any cause of complaint + before them.' All governors, mayors, sheriffs, justices of peace, + provost-marshals, bailiffs, constables, and all other his + majesty's ministers whatsoever were strictly charged to use their + utmost endeavours faithfully and diligently to keep the people in + their duty and obedience to his majesty and the laws of the + realm.</p> + + <p>The assurance thus given that the subjects and tenants of the + absconding princes should securely possess and enjoy their lands + and be protected from all oppression under the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page119" id="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> + sceptre of King James would have been very satisfactory had the + royal promise been realised, but conciliation was then absolutely + necessary, for the lord deputy himself stated that 'the kingdom + had not been in the like danger these hundred years, as we have + but few friends and no means of getting more.' The foregoing + proclamation was issued from Rathfarnham on September 10. On + November 9 following, another proclamation of a general nature + was published and widely circulated in order to justify the + course the Government adopted. According to this document it was + known to all the world 'how infinitely' the fugitive earls had + been obliged to the king for his singular grace and mercy in + giving them free pardon for many heinous and execrable treasons, + above all hope that they could in reason conceive, and also in + restoring the one to his lands and honours justly forfeited, and + in raising the other 'from a very mean estate to the degree and + title of an earl, giving him withal large possessions for the + support of that honour, before either of them had given any proof + of loyalty, or merited the least favour.' Even in the point of + religion, which served as a cloak for all their treasons, they + got no provocation or cause of grievance. For these and other + causes it was announced that his majesty would seize and take + into his hands all the lands and goods of the said fugitives. But + he would, notwithstanding, extend such grace and favour to the + loyal inhabitants of their territories that none of them should + be 'impeached, troubled, or molested in <i>their own lands</i>, + goods, or bodies, they continuing in their loyalty, <i>and + yielding unto his majesty such rents and duties as shall be + agreeable to justice and equity</i>.' This assurance was repeated + again emphatically in these words: 'His most excellent majesty + doth take all the good and loyal inhabitants of the said + countries, together with their wives and children, land and + goods, into his own immediate protection, to defend them in + general against all rebellions and invasions, and to right them + in all their wrongs and oppressions, offered or to be offered + unto them by any person whatsoever, etc.'</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page120" id="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + + <h3>THE CASE OF THE FUGITIVE EARLS.</h3> + + <p>Before proceeding to notice the manner in which these promises + of justice, equity, and protection to the occupiers of the land + were fulfilled, it is well to record here the efforts made by + King James and his ambassador to discredit the fugitive earls on + the Continent, and the case which they made out for themselves in + the statement of wrongs and grievances which they addressed to + the king soon after. There was great alarm in England when news + arrived of the friendly reception accorded to the Irish chiefs by + the continental sovereigns through whose dominions they passed, + and especially by the King of Spain, who was suspected of + intending another invasion of Ireland. Consequently the most + active preparations were made to meet the danger. In every street + of the metropolis drums were beating for recruits, and large + detachments were sent in all possible haste to reinforce the + Irish garrisons. Sir Charles Cornwallis was then English + ambassador at Madrid; and lest his diplomatic skill should not be + up to the mark, James himself sent him special and minute + instructions as to the manner in which he should handle the + delicate subjects he had to bring before the Spanish sovereign. + There has been seldom a better illustration of the saying, that + the use of speech is to conceal thought, than in the + representations which the ambassador was instructed to make about + Irish affairs. Indeed Cornwallis had already shown that he + scarcely needed to be tutored by his sovereign. In a preliminary + despatch he had sent an account of his conversation with Philip + III.'s secretary of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page121" id= + "page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> state about the fugitive earls. He + told him that though they had been guilty of rebellions and + treasons they had not only been pardoned, but loaded with + dignities such as few or none of the king's ancestors had ever + bestowed on any of the Irish nation. He had conferred upon them + an absolute and, 'in a manner, unlimited government in their own + countries, nothing wanting to their ambitions but the name of + kings, and neither crossed in anything concerning their civil + government, nor so much as in act or imagination molested, or in + any sort questioned with, for their consciences and religion.' He + thought therefore that they would never have fled in such a way, + unless they had been drawn to Spain by large promises in the hope + of serving some future turns.</p> + + <p>The secretary listened to this insinuation with much + impatience, and declared solemnly, laying his hand on his breast + with an oath, that of the departure and intention of the earls + there was no more knowledge given to the king or any of his state + than to the ambassador himself. He added that there had been much + consumption of Spanish treasure by supporting strangers who had + come from all parts. In particular they had a bitter taste of + those who had come from James's dominions; and they would have + suffered much more, 'if they had not made a resolute and + determined stop to the running of that fountain and refused to + give ear to many overtures.' The ambassador expressed his + satisfaction at this assurance, and then endeavoured to show how + unworthy those Irish princes were of the least encouragement. + Their flight was the result of madness, they departed without any + occasion of 'earthly distaste' or offence given them by their + sovereign, whose position towards the Irish was very different + from that of the late queen. Elizabeth had employed against their + revolts and rebellions only her own subjects of England, who were + not accustomed either to the diet of that savage country, or to + the bogs, and other retreats which that wild people used. But + now, the king his master, being possessed of Scotland, had in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page122" id="page122"></a>[pg + 122]</span> that country, 'near adjoining to the north part of + Ireland, a people of their own fashion, diet, and disposition, + that could walk their bogs as well as themselves, live with their + food, and were so well practised and accustomed in their own + country to the like, that they were as apt to pull them out of + their dens and withdrawing places, as ferrets to draw rabbits out + of their burrows.' Moreover all other parts of Ireland were now + reduced to such obedience, and so civil a course, and so well + planted with a mixture of English, that there was not a man that + showed a forehead likely to give a frown against his majesty, or + his government. Cornwallis went on to plead the incomparable + virtues of the king his master, among which liberality and + magnificence were not the least. But if he had given largely, it + was upon a good exchange, for he had sowed money, which of itself + can do nothing, and had reaped hearts that can do all. As for the + alleged number of 'groaning Catholics,' he assured the secretary + that there were hardly as many hundreds as the fugitives reckoned + thousands.</p> + + <p>According to his report the minister heard him with great + attention, and at the conclusion protested, that he joined with + him in opinion that those fugitives were dangerous people and + that the Jesuits were turbulent and busy men. He assured him on + the word of a caballero, that his majesty and council had fully + determined never to receive or treat any more of those 'straying + people;' as they had been put to great inconvenience and cost, + how to deliver themselves from those Irish vagabonds, and + continual begging pretenders.</p> + + <p>This despatch, dated October 28, 1607, was crossed on the way + by one from the English minister Salisbury, dated the 27th, + giving the king's instructions 'concerning those men that are + fled into Spain.' Cornwallis was directed not to make matters + worse than they really were, because the end must be good, 'what + insolencies soever the Jesuits and pack of fugitives there might + put on. King James knew that this remnant of the northern Irish + traitors had been as <span class="pagenum"><a name="page123" id= + "page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> full of malice as flesh and blood + could be, no way reformed by the grace received, but rather + sucking poison out of the honey thereof.' He knew also that they + had absolutely given commission to their priests and others to + abandon their sovereign if Spain would entertain their cause. But + this he could not demonstrably prove <i>in foro judicii</i>, + though clear <i>in foro conscientiæ</i>, and therefore + punishment would savour of rigour. So long as things were in that + state his majesty was obliged to suffer adders in his bosom, and + give them means to gather strength to his own prejudice, whereas + now the whole country which they had possessed would be made of + great use both for strength and profit to the king. What follows + should be given in his majesty's own words:—</p> + + <p>'Those poor creatures who knew no kings but those petty lords, + under the burden of whose tyranny they have ever groaned, do now + with great applause desire to be protected by the immediate + power, and to receive correction only from himself, so as if the + council of Spain shall conceive that they have now some great + advantage over this state, where it shall appear what a party + their king may have if he shall like to support it, there may be + this answer: that those Irish without the King of Spain are poor + worms upon earth; and that when the King of Spain shall think it + time to begin with Ireland, the king my master is more like than + Queen Elizabeth was, to find a wholesomer place of the King of + Spain's, where he would be loath to hear of the English, and to + show the Spaniards who shall be sent into Ireland as fair a way + as they were taught before. In which time the more you speak of + the base, insulting, discoursing fugitives, the more proper it + will be for you. In the meantime upon their departure, not a man + hath moved, neither was there these thirty years more universal + obedience than there is now. Amongst the rest of their barbarous + lies I doubt not but they will pretend protection for religion, + and breach of promise with them; wherein you may safely protest + this, that for any, of all those that are gone, there never was + so much as an offer made to search their + consciences.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page124" id= + "page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> + + <p>Not content with the labours of his ambassadors at the various + continental courts, to damage the cause of the Irish earls, the + king issued a proclamation, which was widely dispersed abroad. + His majesty said he thought it better to clear men's judgments + concerning the fugitives, 'not in respect of any worth or value + in these men's persons, being base and rude in their original,' + but to prevent any breach of friendship with other princes. For + this purpose he declared that Tyrone and Tyrconnel had not their + creation or possessions in regard of any lineal or lawful descent + from ancestors of blood or virtue, but were only conferred by the + late queen and himself for some reasons of state. Therefore, he + judged it needless to seek for many arguments 'to confirm + whatsoever should be said of these men's corruption and + falsehood, whose heinous offences remained so fresh in memory + since they declared themselves so very monsters in nature, as + they did not only withdraw themselves from their personal + obedience to their sovereign, but were content to sell over their + native country, to those who stood at that time in the highest + terms of hostility with the crowns of England and Ireland.' + 'Yet,' adds the king, 'to make the absurdity and ingratitude of + the allegation above mentioned so much the more clear to all men + of equal judgment, we do hereby profess in word of a king that + there was never so much as any shadow of molestation, nor purpose + of proceeding in any degree against them for matter concerning + religion:—such being their condition and profession, to + think murder no fault, marriage of no use, nor any man worthy to + be esteemed valiant that did not glory in rapine and oppression, + as we should have thought it an unreasonable thing to trouble + them for any different point in religion, before any man could + perceive by their conversation that they made truly conscience of + any religion. The king thought these declarations sufficient to + disperse and to discredit all such untruths as these contemptible + creatures, so full of infidelity and ingratitude, should + discharge against him and his just and moderate proceedings, and + which should procure unto them no better usage than they would + wish <span class="pagenum"><a name="page125" id="page125"></a>[pg + 125]</span> should be afforded to any such pack of rebels born + their subjects and bound unto them in so many and so great + obligations.'</p> + + <p>Such was the case of the English Government presented to the + world by the king and his ministers. Let us now hear what the + personages so heartily reviled by them had to say for themselves. + The Rev. C.P. Meehan has brought to light the categorical + narratives, which the earls dictated, and which had lain + unpublished among the 'old historic rolls,' in the Public Record + Office, London. These documents are of great historic interest, + as are many other state-papers now first published in his + valuable work.<a id="footnotetag31" name= + "footnotetag31"></a><a href="#footnote31"><sup>1</sup></a> + O'Neill's defence is headed, 'Articles Exhibited by the Earl of + Tyrone to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, declaring certain + Causes of Discontent offered Him, by which he took occasion to + Depart His Country.' The statement is divided into twenty items, + of which the following is the substance: It was proclaimed by + public authority in his manor of Dungannon, that none should hear + mass upon pain of losing his goods and imprisonment, and that no + ecclesiastical person should enjoy any cure or dignity without + swearing the oath of supremacy and embracing the contrary + religion, and those who refused so to do were actually deprived + of their benefices and dignities, in proof of which the earl + referred to the lord deputy's answer to his own petition, and to + the Lord Primate of Ireland, who put the persecuting decree into + execution. The Earl of Devon, then lord-lieutenant, had taken + from him the lands of his ancestors called the Fews, in Armagh, + and given them to other persons. He was deprived of the annual + tribute of sixty cows from Sir Cahir O'Dogherty's country called + Inishowen, which tribute had never been brought into question + till James's reign. The same lord-lieutenant had taken from him + the fishings of the Bann, which always belonged to his ancestors, + and which he was forced to purchase again. Portions of his + territory had been taken 'under colour of church-lands, a thing + never in any man's memory heard of before.' One <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page126" id="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> + Robert Leicester an attorney had got some more of the earl's + land, which he transferred to Captain Leigh. 'So as any captain + or clerk had wanted means, and had no other means or device to + live, might bring the earl in trouble for some part or parcel of + his living, falsely inventing the same, to be concealed or + church-land.' The Archbishop of Armagh and the Bishop of Derry + and Clogher claimed the best part of the earl's whole estate, as + appertaining to their bishoprics, 'which was never moved by any + other predecessors before, other than that they had some + <i>chiefry</i> due to them, in most part of all his living, and + would now have the whole land to themselves as their domain + lands, not content with the benefit of their ancient registers, + which the earl always offered, and was willing to give without + further question. O'Cahan, 'one of the chiefest and principalest + of the earl's tenants, was set upon by certain of his majesty's + privy council, as also by his highness's counsel-at-law, to + withdraw himself and the lands called <i>Iraght-I-Cahan</i> from + the earl, being a great substance of his living;' and this + although O'Cahan had no right to the property except as his + <i>tenant at will</i>, yielding and paying all such rents, dues, + and reservations as the other tenants did. He complained that at + the council table in Dublin it was determined to take two-thirds + of O'Cahan's country from him; and he perceived by what Sir John + Davis said, that they had determined to take the other third + also. They further made claim in his majesty's behalf to four + other parcels of the earl's land, which he named, being the + substance of all that was left, and began their suit for the same + in the court of exchequer. In fine he felt that he could not + assure himself of anything by the letters patent he had from the + king. Whenever he had recourse to law his proceedings were + frustrated by the government; so that he could not get the + benefit of his majesty's laws, or the possession of his lands; + 'and yet any man, of what degree soever, obtained the extremity + of the law with favour against him, in any suit.' Although the + king had allowed him to be lieutenant of his country, yet he had + no more command <span class="pagenum"><a name="page127" id= + "page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> there than his boy; the worst man + that belonged to the sheriff could command more than he, and that + even in the earl's own house. If they wanted to arrest any one in + the house they would not wait till he came out, but burst open + the doors, and 'never do the earl so much honour in any respect + as once to acquaint him therewith, or to send to himself for the + party, though he had been within the house when they would + attempt these things; and if any of the earl's officers would by + his direction order or execute any matter betwixt his own + tenants, with their own mutual consent, they would be driven not + only to restore the same again, but also be first amerced by the + sheriff, and after indicated as felons, and so brought to trial + for their lives for the same; so as the earl in the end could + scarce get any of his servants that would undertake to levy his + rents.' According to law the sheriff should be a resident in the + county, have property there, and be elected by the nobility and + chief gentlemen belonging to it; but the law was set aside by the + lord deputy, who appointed as sheriffs for the counties Tyrone + and Armagh Captain Edmund Leigh and one Marmaduke Whitechurch, + dwelling in the county of Louth, both being retainers, and very + dear friends to the Knight-marshal Bagenal, who was the only man + that urged the earl to his last troubles. Of all these things + 'the earl did eftsoons complain to the lord deputy, and could get + no redress, but did rather fare the worse for his complaints, in + respect they were so little regarded.'</p> + + <p>The earl understanding that earnest suit had been made to his + majesty for the presidentship of Ulster, made bold to write to + the king, humbly beseeching him not to grant any such office to + any person over himself, 'suspecting it would be his overthrow, + as by plain experience he knew the like office to be the utter + overthrow of others of his rank in other provinces within the + realm of Ireland.' He also wrote to the Earl of Salisbury, who + replied that the earl was not to tie his majesty to place or + displace officers at his (the earl's) pleasure in any of his + majesty's kingdoms. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page128" id= + "page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> This was not the earl's meaning, + but it indicated to him pretty plainly that he had no favour to + expect from that quarter. The office was intended for Sir Arthur + Chichester, and he much feared that it would be used for his + destruction without his majesty's privity. Therefore, seeing + himself envied by those who should be his protectors, considering + the misery sustained by others through the oppression of the like + government, he resolved to sacrifice all rather than live under + that yoke.</p> + + <p>The next item is very characteristic. The earl's nephew Brian + M'Art happened to be in the house of Turlough M'Henry, having two + men in his company. Being in a merry humour, some dispute arose + between him and a kinsman of his own, who 'gave the earl's nephew + a blow of a club on the head, and tumbled him to the ground; + whereupon, one of his men standing by and seeing his master down, + did step up with the fellow and gave him some three or four stabs + of a knife, having no other weapon, and the master himself, as it + was said, gave him another, through which means the man came to + his death. Thereupon, the earl's nephew and his two men were + taken and kept in prison till the next sessions holden in the + county Armagh, where his men were tried by a jury of four + innocent and mere ignorant people, having little or no substance, + most of them being bare soldiers and not fit, as well by the + institution of law in matters of that kind as also through their + own insufficiency, to be permitted or elected to the like charge; + and the rest foster-brethren, followers, and very dear friends to + the party slain, that would not spare to spend their lives and + goods to revenge his death. Yet all that notwithstanding were + they allowed, and the trial of these two gentlemen committed to + them, through which means, and the vigorous threatening and + earnest enticements of the judges, they most shamefully condemned + to die, and the jury in a manner forced to find the matter murder + in each of them, and that, not so much for their own offences, as + thinking to make it an evidence against the master, who was in + prison in the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page129" id= + "page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> Castle of Dublin, attending to be + tried the last Michaelmas term, whose death, were it right or + wrong, was much desired by the lord deputy.</p> + + <p>Again, the earl had given his daughter in marriage to O'Cahan + with a portion of goods. After they had lived together for eight + years, O'Cahan was induced to withdraw himself from the earl, and + at the same time, by the procurement of his setters on, he turned + off the earl's daughter, kept her fortune to himself, and married + another. The father appealed to the lord deputy for justice in + vain. He then took proceedings against O'Cahan, at the assizes in + Dungannon. But the defendant produced a warrant from the lord + deputy, forbidding the judges to entertain the question, as it + was one for the Lord Bishop of Derry. The Bishop of Derry, + however, was the chief instigator of the divorce, and therefore + no indifferent judge in the case. Thus the earl's cause was + frustrated, and he could get no manner of justice therein, no + more than he obtained in many other weighty matters that + concerned him. The next complaint is about outrages committed by + one Henry Oge O'Neill, one Henry M'Felemey and others, who at the + instigation of the lord deputy, 'farther to trouble the earl,' + went out as a wood-kerne to rob and spoil the earl and his + nephew, and their tenants. They committed many murders, burnings, + and other mischievous acts, and were always maintained and + manifestly relieved amongst the deputy's tenants and their + friends in Clandeboye, to whom they openly sold the spoils. They + went on so for the space of two years, and the earl could get no + justice, till at length they murdered one of the deputy's own + tenants. Then he saw them prosecuted, and the result was, that + the earl cut them all off within a quarter of a year after. But + the lord deputy was not at all pleased with this. Therefore he + picked up 'a poor rascally knave' and brought him to Dublin, + where he persuaded him to accuse above threescore of the earl's + tenants of relieving rebels with meat, although it was taken from + them by force. For the rebels killed their cattle in <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page130" id="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> the + fields, and left them dead there, not being able to carry them + away; burnt their houses, took what they could of their household + stuff, killed and mangled themselves. 'Yet were they, upon report + of that poor knave, who was himself foremost in doing these + mischiefs, all taken and brought to their trial by law, where + they were, through their innocency, acquitted, to their no small + cost; so as betwixt the professed enemy, and the private envy of + our governors, seeking thereby to advance themselves, there was + no way left for the poor subject to live.'</p> + + <p>One Joice Geverard, a Dutchman, belonging to the deputy, was + taken prisoner on his way from Carrickfergus to Toome, and he was + compelled to pay to his captors a ransom of 30<i>l.</i> For this + the lord deputy assessed 60<i>l.</i> on the county, and appointed + one-half of it to be taken from O'Neil's tenants, being of + another county, and at least twelve miles distant from the scene + of the outrage, perpetrated by a wood-kerne, 'and themselves + being daily killed and spoiled by the said wood-kerne, and never + no redress had to them.' Several outrages and murders perpetrated + by the soldiers are enumerated; but they were such as might have + been expected in a state bordering on civil war, which was then + the condition of the province. If, however, Tyrone is to be + believed, the rulers themselves set the example of disorder. Sir + Henry Folliott, governor of Ballyshannon, in the second year of + his majesty's reign, came with force of arms, and drove away 200 + cows from the earl's tenants, 'and killed a good gentleman, with + many other poor men, women, and children; and besides that, there + died of them above 100 persons with very famine, for want of + their goods; whereof the earl never had redress, although the + said Sir Henry could show no reasonable cause for doing the + same.'</p> + + <p>Finally the earl saw that the lord deputy was very earnest to + aggravate and search out matters against him, touching the + staining of his honour and dignity, scheming to come upon him + with some forged treason, and thereby to bereave him of both his + life and living. The better to compass this <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page131" id="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> he + placed his 'whispering companion,' Captain Leigh, as sheriff in + the county, 'so as to be lurking after the earl, to spy if he + might have any hole in his coat.' Seeing then that the lord + deputy, who should be indifferent, not only to him but to the + whole realm, having the rod in his own power, did seek his + destruction, he esteemed it a strife against the stream for him + to seek to live secure in that kingdom, and therefore of both + evils he did choose the least, and thought it better rather to + forego his country and lands, till he had further known his + majesty's pleasure—to make an honourable escape with his + life and liberty only, than by staying with dishonour and + indignation to lose both life, liberty, and country, which much + in very deed he feared. Indeed the many abuses 'offered' him by + Sir John Davis, 'a man more fit to be a stage player than a + counsel,' and other inferior officers, might be sufficient causes + to provoke any human creature, not only to forego a country, were + it ever so dear to him, but also the whole world, to eschew the + like government. And thus he concludes his appeal to his 'most + dread sovereign:' 'And so referring himself, and the due + consideration of these, and all other his causes, to your + majesty's most royal and princely censure, as his only protector + and defender, against all his adversaries, he most humbly taketh + his leave, and will always, as in bounden duty, pray.'</p> + + <p>The Earl of Tyrconnel's statement contains no less than + forty-four items under the following heading: 'A note, or brief + collection of the several exactions, wrongs, and grievances, as + well spiritual as temporal, wherewith the Earl of Tyrconnel + particularly doth find himself grieved and abused by the king's + law ministers in Ireland, from the first year of his majesty's + reign until this present year of 1607: to be presented to the + king's most excellent majesty.'</p> + + <p><i>Imprimis</i>, all the priests and religious persons + dwelling within the said earl's territories were daily pursued + and persecuted by his majesty's officers. Sir Arthur Chichester + told him, in the presence of divers noblemen and gentlemen, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page132" id="page132"></a>[pg + 132]</span> that he must resolve to go to church, or he would be + forced to go. This was contrary to the toleration which had been + till then enjoyed, and he resolved rather to abandon lands and + living, yea, all the kingdoms of the earth, with the loss of his + life, than to be forced utterly against his conscience to any + such practice.</p> + + <p>When Sir George Carew was lord deputy, Captain Nicholas Pynnar + and Captain Basil Brook, officers of the king's forces at + Lifford, plundered the earl's tenants there, taking from them 150 + cows, besides as many sheep and swine as they pleased. Not + satisfied with this spoil, they most tyrannically stripped 100 + persons of all their apparel. These outrages the earl complained + of 'in humble wise' to the lord deputy, and could find no remedy; + for the same year the garrisons of Lough Foyle, and Ballyshannon + took from the earl's tenants 400 cows for the victualling of the + soldiers; and although the English council wrote to the lord + deputy, requiring him to pay for the cattle in English money, the + payment was never made. When, in pursuance of a promise made to + him by the lord deputy, he appeared before the king, to get new + letters patent of his territories, &c., his property, in + Sligo, Tyrawly, Moylurg, Dartry, Sir Cahir O'Dogherty's country, + and all Sir Nial O'Donel's lands, were excepted and kept from + him, together with the castle of Ballyshannon and 1,000 acres of + land, and the whole salmon-fishing of the river Erne, worth + 800<i>l.</i> a year, 'the same castle being one of the earl's + chieftest mansion houses.' They also took from him 1,000 acres of + his best land, and joined it to the garrison of Lifford for the + king's use, without any compensation. There were seven sheriffs + sent into Tyrconnel, by each of which there was taken out of + every cow and plough-horse 4<i>d.</i>, and as much out of every + colt and calf twice a year, and half-a-crown a quarter of every + shoemaker, carpenter, smith, and weaver in the whole country, and + eight pence a year for every married couple.'</p> + + <p>Sir Nial O'Donel was committed to prison by Tyrconnel, for + usurping the title of O'Donel and taking his herds and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page133" id="page133"></a>[pg + 133]</span> tenants. 'He broke loose from prison and killed some + of his Majesty's subjects. For this the earl prosecuted him under + a special warrant from the lord deputy; but notwithstanding all + this, Carew gave warrants to Captains Pynnar, Brook, and Bingley, + to make reprisals upon the earl's tenants for the pretender's + use. Accordingly three English companies joining with nine score + of Sir Nial's men, seized and carried away 500 cows, 60 mares, 30 + plough-horses, 13 horses, besides food and drink to support the + assailants for six weeks. They were guilty of many other + extortions, the country being extremely poor after the wars, and + 17 of the earl's tenants were hindered from ploughing that + season. A certain horse-boy, who was sentenced to be hanged for + killing one Cusack, was promised his life by Sir George Carew, if + he accused Tyrconnel as having employed him to commit the murder. + The boy did make the accusation, which served no purpose 'but to + accelerate his hanging.' Thus betrayed, he declared at the + gallows, and in the presence of 400 persons, the sheriff of the + county, and the portreve of Trim, he retracted the false + confession. A similar attempt was made with an Englishman, who + was kept a close prisoner without food, drink, or light, in order + to get him to accuse the earl of Cusack's murder. All such, with + many other of the said Carew's cruel and tyrannical proceedings, + the earl showed to the council in England, which promised to give + satisfaction by punishing the said Carew, who at his arrival in + England did rather obtain greater favours than any reprehension + or check of his doings, so as the earl was constrained to take + <i>patience</i> for a full satisfaction of his wrongs.</p> + + <p>Sir Henry Docwra, governor of Derry, levied 100<i>l.</i> off + Tyrconnel's tenants for the building of a church in that city, + but the money was applied by Sir Henry to his own use. Carew + ordered the troops under Sir H. Docwra, Sir H. Folliott, Sir + Ralph Constable, Sir Thomas Roper, and Captain Doddington, to be + quartered for three months upon Tyrconnel's people, 'where they + committed many <span class="pagenum"><a name="page134" id= + "page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> rapes, and used many extortions, + which the earl showed, and could neither get payment for their + victuals nor obtain that they should be punished for their sundry + rapes and extortions.' Indeed there was never a garrison in + Tyrconnel that did not send at their pleasure private soldiers + into the country to fetch, now three beeves, now four, as often + as they liked, until they had taken all; and when the earl + complained, Carew seemed rather to flout him than any way to + right him. Sir H. Folliott's company on one occasion took from + his tenants thirty-eight plough-horses, which were never restored + or paid for; at another time they took twenty-one, and again + fourteen. This being done in the spring of the year the tenants + were hindered from ploughing as before. During a whole year + Folliott took for the use of his own house, regularly every + month, six beeves and six muttons, without any manner of payment. + Captain Doddington and Captain Cole made free with the people's + property in the same manner.</p> + + <p>'All these injuries he laid in a very humble manner before the + lord deputy, but instead of obtaining redress he was dismissed by + him in a scoffing manner, and even a lawyer whom he employed was + threatened by Carew in the following terms:—that he and his + posterity should smart for his doings until the seventh + generation; so that all the earl's business was ever since left + at random, and no lawyer dared plead in his cause.'</p> + + <p>Tyrconnel killed some rebels, and captured their chief, whom + his men carried to Sir H. Folliott to be executed. Sir Henry + offered to spare his life if he could accuse the earl of any + crime that might work his overthrow. He could not, and he was + hanged. In order to settle a dispute between the earl and Sir + Nial, the English <i>protégé</i> and pretender + to the chieftainship, twelve tenants of each were summoned to be + examined by the king's officers in the neighbourhood. 'The earl's + men were not examined, but locked up in a room; and the + vice-governor, upon the false deposition of Sir Nial's men, + directed warrants, and sent <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page135" id="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> soldiers to the number + of 300, to bring all the earl's tenants unto Sir Nial, to the + number of 340 persons, who paid half-a-crown a piece, and + 12<i>d.</i> for every cow and garron, as a fee unto the captains, + whereby they lost their ploughing for the space of twenty-eight + days, the soldiers being in the country all the while. One + Captain Henry Vaughan, being sheriff in the year 1605, got a + warrant to levy 150<i>l.</i> to build a sessions house. He built + the house of timber and wattles. It was not worth 10<i>l</i>, and + it fell in three months. Nevertheless he levied every penny of + the money, and the people had to meet a similar demand the next + year, to build another house. It was a rule with the governors of + the local garrisons to offer his life to every convict about to + be executed, and also a large reward, if he could accuse the earl + of some detestable crime. No less than twenty-seven persons + hanged in Connaught and Tyrone were offered pardon on this + condition. He was at the same sessions called to the bar for + hanging some wood-kerne, although he had authority from the king + to execute martial law. Shortly after, by the lord deputy's + orders, the horse and foot soldiers under Docwra and Folliott + were cessed upon the country, where they for four months + remained, and paid nothing for their charges of horse-meat or + man's meat.' In the year 1606 the lord deputy came to + Ballyshannon, where, being at supper, he demanded of the earl + what right he had to the several territories he claimed. He + replied that his ancestors had possessed them for 1,300 years, + and that the duties, rents, and homages were duly paid during + that time. Whereupon the lord deputy said, 'the earl was unworthy + to have them, he should never enjoy them, the State was sorry to + have left so much in his possession, and he should take heed to + himself or else the deputy would make his pate ache.' The matters + in dispute between him and Sir Nial being referred on that + occasion to the lord deputy, both parties having submitted their + papers for examination, every case was decided against Tyrconnel, + all his challenges frustrated, 300<i>l.</i> damages imposed, and + his <span class="pagenum"><a name="page136" id="page136"></a>[pg + 136]</span> papers burned; while Sir Nial's papers were privately + given back to him. The result was that at the next sessions Sir + Nial had the benefit of all his papers, his opponent having + nothing to show to the contrary. The fishery of Killybegs, worth + 500<i>l.</i> a season, had belonged to Tyrconnel's ancestors for + 1,300 years. But it was taken from him without compensation, by + Sir Henry Folliott and the Bishop of Derry, with the ultimate + sanction of the lord deputy, who confirmed the bishop in + possession 'both for that season and for all times ensuing.' Sir + H. Folliott on one occasion took away for his carriage the horses + that served the earl's house with fuel and wood for fire, 'and + the soldiers, scorning to feed the horses themselves, went into + the earl's house, and forcibly took out one of his boys to lead + them, and ran another in the thigh with a pike for refusing to go + with him.' He had a number of tenants, who held their lands 'by + lease of years for certain rents.' Yet the lord deputy sent + warrants to them, directing them to pay no rents, and requiring + the Governor of Derry 'to raise the country from time to time, + and resist and hinder the earl from taking up his rents.'</p> + + <p>To crown all, when Tyrconnel made a journey into the Pale to + know the reason why he was debarred from his rents, he lodged on + his way in the Abbey of Boyle. He had scarcely arrived there when + the constable of the town, accompanied by twenty soldiers, and + all the churls of the place, surrounded and set fire to the house + where he lay, he having no company within but his page and two + other serving men. 'But it befell, through the singular + providence of Almighty God, whose fatherly care he hath ever + found vigilant over him, that he defended himself and his house + against them all the whole night long, they using on the other + side all their industry and might to fire it, and throwing in of + stones and staves in the earl's face, and running their pikes at + him and swords until they had wounded him, besides his other + bruisings, with stones and staves in six places; they menacing to + kill him, affirming that he was a traitor to the king, and that + it was the best service that could <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page137" id="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span> be rendered to his + majesty to kill him. And that all this is true, Sir Donough + O'Conor, who was taken prisoner by the same men, because he would + not assist them in their <i>facinorous</i> and wicked design of + killing the earl, will justify; but in the morning the earl was + rescued by the country folk, which conveyed him safely out of the + town. And when the earl complained, and showed his wounds unto + the lord deputy, he promised to hang the constable and ensign, + but afterwards did not once deign so much as to examine the + matter or call the delinquents to account, by reason whereof the + earl doth verily persuade himself—which his surmise was + afterwards confirmed in time, by the credible report of + many—that some of the State were sorry for his escape, but + specially Sir Oliver Lambert, who had purposely drawn the plot of + the earl's ruin.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote31" name="footnote31"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag31">(return)</a> + + <p>Page 192.</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>[Transcriber's note: marker for following footnote is missing + in the original]</p>[Footnote: Meehan's Earls of Tyrone and + Tyrconnel, pp. 192-224.] <span class="pagenum"><a name="page138" + id="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + + <h3>THE CONFISCATION OF ULSTER.</h3> + + <p>Sir Toby Caulfield, accompanied by the sheriffs of Tyrone and + Tyrconnel, followed quickly the proclamation of the lord deputy + to the people of Ulster, and took possession of the houses, + goods, and chattels of the fugitive earls. Sir Toby was further + empowered to act as receiver over the estates, taking up the + rents according to the Irish usage until other arrangements could + be made. His inventory of the effects of O'Neill in the castle of + Dungannon is a curious document, showing that according to the + ideas of those times in the matter of furniture 'man wants but + little here below.' The following is a copy of the document taken + from the memorandum roll of the exchequer by the late Mr. + Ferguson. It is headed, '<i>The Earl of Tyrone's goods, viz.</i>' + The spelling is, however, modernised, and ordinary figures + substituted for Roman numerals.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page139" id="page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> + + <table summary="Goods" align="center"> + <caption> + <i>The Earl of Tyrone's Goods, viz.</i> + </caption> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center">£.</td> + + <td align="center"><i>s.</i></td> + + <td align="center"><i>d.</i></td> + + <td align="left"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Small steers, 9 at 10<i>s.</i></td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="left">10</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">60 hogs, at 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></td> + + <td align="right">7</td> + + <td align="right">10</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 long tables, 10<i>s.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 long forms, 5<i>s.</i>; an old bedstead, + 5<i>s.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">An old trunk, 3<i>s.</i>; a long stool, + 12<i>d.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">3 hogsheads of salt, 28<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; + all valued at</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="right">12</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A silk jacket</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">13</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">8 vessels of butter, containing 4-1/2 + barrels</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right">17</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 iron spikes</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A powdering tub</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 old chests</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A frying-pan and a dripping-pan</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">3</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">5 pewter dishes</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A casket, 2<i>d.</i>; a comb and comb case, + 18<i>d.</i></td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">8</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 dozen of trenchers and a basket</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">10</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 eighteen-bar ferris</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A box and 2 drinking glasses</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">3</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A trunk 1; a pair of red taffeta curtains 1; + other pair of green</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â satin curtains</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A brass kettle</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">8</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">'A payer of covyrons'</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 baskets with certain broken earthen dishes + and some waste</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â spices</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Half a pound of white and blue starch</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A vessel with 11 gallons of vinegar</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">3</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">17 pewter dishes</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">15</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">3 glass bottles</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">2 stone jugs, whereof 1 broken</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A little iron pot</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">A great spit</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">6 garrons at 80<i>s.</i> apiece</td> + + <td align="right">9</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">19 stud mares, whereof [some] were claimed + by Nicholas</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Weston, which were restored to him by + warrant, 30<i>l.</i> 9<i>s.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â being proved to be his own, and so + remaineth</td> + + <td align="right">17</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>With respect to rents, Sir Toby Caulfield left a memorandum, + stating that there was no certain portion of Tyrone's land let to + any of his tenants that paid him rent, and that such rents as he + received were paid to him partly in money and partly in victuals, + as oats, oatmeal, butter, hogs, and sheep. The money-rents were + chargeable on all the cows, milch or in calf, which grazed on his + lands, at the rate of a shilling a quarter each. The cows were to + be numbered in May and November by the earl's officers, and 'so + the rents were taken up at said rate for all the cows that were + so numbered, except only the heads and principal men of the + <i>creaghts</i>, as they enabled them to live better than the + common multitude under them, whom they caused to pay the said + rents, which amounted to about twelve hundred sterling Irish a + year.</p> + + <p>'The butter and other provisions were usually paid by those + styled horsemen—O'Hagans, O'Quins, the O'Donnillys, + O'Devolins, and others.' These were a sort of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page140" id="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> + middle men, and to some of them an allowance was made by the + Government. 'Thus for example, Loughlin O'Hagan, formerly + constable of the castle of Dungannon, received in lieu thereof a + portion of his brother Henry's goods, and Henry O'Hagan's wife + and her children had all her husband's goods, at the suit of her + father Sir G. O'Ghy O'Hanlon, who had made a surrender of all his + lands to the crown.'</p> + + <p>The cattle were to be all numbered over the whole territory in + one day, a duty which must have required a great number of men, + and sharp men too; for, if the owners were dishonestly inclined, + and were as active in that kind of work as the peasantry were + during the anti-tithe war in our own time, the cattle could be + driven off into the woods or on to the lands of a neighbouring + lord. However, during the three years that Caulfield was + receiver, the rental amounted to 12,000<i>l.</i> a year, a + remarkable fact considering the enormous destruction of property + that had taken place during the late wars, and the value of money + at that time.</p> + + <p>A similar process was adopted with regard to the property of + O'Donel, and guards were placed in all the castles of the two + chiefs. In order that their territories might pass into the + king's possession by due form of law, the attorney-general, Sir + John Davis, was instructed to draw up a bill of indictment for + treason against the fugitive earls and their adherents. With this + bill he proceeded to Lifford, accompanied by a number of + commissioners, clerks, sheriffs, and a strong detachment of horse + and foot. At Lifford, the county town of Donegal, a jury was + empanelled for the trial of O'Donel, consisting of twenty-three + Irishmen and ten Englishmen. Of this jury Sir Cahir O'Dogherty + was foreman. He was the lord of Inishowen, having the largest + territories in the county next to the Earl of Tyrconnel. The bill + being read in English and Irish, evidence was given, wrote the + attorney-general, 'that their guilty consciences, and fear of + losing their heads, was the cause of their flight.' The jury, + however, had exactly the same sort of difficulty that troubled + the juries in our late Fenian trials about finding the accused + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page141" id="page141"></a>[pg + 141]</span> guilty of compassing the death of the sovereign. But + Sir John laboured to remove their scruples by explaining the + legal technicality, and arguing that, 'whoso would take the + king's crown from his head would likewise, if he could, take his + head from his shoulders; and whoever would not suffer the king to + reign, if it lay in his power, would not suffer the king to + live.' The argument was successful with the jury. In all the + conflicts between the two races, whether on the field of battle + or in the courts of law, the work of England was zealously done + by Celtic agents, who became the eager accusers, the perfidious + betrayers, and sometimes the voluntary assassins of men of their + own name, kindred, and tribe.</p> + + <p>The commissioners next sat at Strabane, a town within two or + three miles of Lifford, where a similar jury was empanelled for + the county Tyrone, to try O'Neill. One of the counts against him + was that he had treasonably taken upon him the name of O'Neill. + In proof of this a document was produced: 'O'Neill bids M'Tuin to + pay 60<i>l.</i>' It was also alleged that he had committed a + number of murders; but his victims, it was alleged, were + criminals ordered for execution in virtue of the power of life + and death with which he had been invested by the queen. He was + found guilty, however; and Henry Oge O'Neill, his kinsman, who + was foreman of the jury, was complimented for his civility and + loyalty, although he belonged to that class concerning which Sir + John afterwards wrote, 'It is as natural for an Irish lord to be + a thief as it is for the devil to be a liar, of whom it was + written, he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning.'</p> + + <p>True bills having been found by the grand juries, proceedings + were taken in the Court of King's Bench to have the fugitive + earls and their followers attainted of high treason. The names + were:—'Hugh earl of Tyrone, Rory earl of Tyrconnel, Caffar + O'Donel, Cu Connaught Maguire, Donel Oge O'Donel, Art Oge, + Cormack O'Neill, Henry O'Neill, Henry Hovenden, Henry O'Hagan, + Moriarty O'Quinn, John Bath, Christopher Plunket, John O'Punty + O'Hagan, Hugh O'Galagher, Carragh O'Galagher, John and Edmund + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page142" id="page142"></a>[pg + 142]</span> M'Davitt, Maurie O'Multully, Donogh O'Brien, M'Mahon, + George Cashel, Teigue O'Keenen, and many other false traitors, + who, by the instigation of the devil, did conspire and plot the + destruction and death of the king, Sir Arthur Chichester, + &c.; and did also conspire to seize by force of arms the + castles of Athlone, Ballyshannon, Duncannon, co. Wexford, + Lifford, co. Donegal, and with that intent did sail away in a + ship, to bring in an army composed of foreigners to invade the + kingdom of Ireland, to put the king to death, and to dispose him + from the style, title, power, and government of the Imperial + crown.'</p> + + <p>The lord deputy and his officers, able, energetic, farseeing + men, working together persistently for the accomplishment of a + well-defined purpose, were drawing the great net of English law + closer and closer around the heads of the Irish clans, who + struggled gallantly and wildly in its fatal meshes. The episode + of Sir Cahir O'Dogherty is a romance. On the death of Sir John + O'Dogherty, the O'Donel, in accordance with Irish custom, caused + his brother Phelim Oge to be inaugurated Prince of Inishowen, + because Cahir, his son, was then only thirteen years of age, too + young to command the sept. But this arrangement did not please + his foster brothers, the M'Davitts, who proposed to Sir Henry + Docwra, governor of Derry, that their youthful chief should be + adopted as the queen's O'Dogherty; and on this condition they + promised that he and they would devote themselves to her + majesty's service. The terms were gladly accepted. Sir Cahir was + trained by Docwra in martial exercises, in the arts of civility, + and in English literature. He was an apt pupil. He grew up strong + and comely; and he so distinguished himself before he was sixteen + years of age in skirmishes with his father's allies, that Sir + Henry wrote of him in the following terms: 'The country was + overgrown with ancient oak and coppice. O'Dogherty was with me, + alighted when I did, kept me company in the greatest heat of the + fight, behaved himself bravely, and with a great deal of love and + affection; so much so, that I <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page143" id="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> recommended him at my + next meeting with the Lord Deputy Mountjoy, for the honour of + knighthood, which was accordingly conferred upon him.' The young + knight went to London, was well received at court, and obtained a + new grant of a large portion of the O'Dogherty's country. He + married a daughter of Lord Gormanstown, a catholic peer of the + Pale, distinguished for loyalty to the English throne, resided + with his bride at his Castle of Elagh, or at Burt, or Buncranna, + keeping princely state, not in the old Irish fashion, but in the + manner of an English nobleman of the period; hunting the red deer + in his forest, hawking, or fishing in the teeming waters of Lough + Foyle, Lough Swilly, and the Atlantic, which poured their + treasures around the promontory of which he was the lord. His + intimate associates were officers and favourites of the king.</p> + + <p>Docwra had given up the government of Derry and retired to + England. He was succeeded by Sir George Paulet, a man of violent + temper. Sir Cahir had sold 3,000 acres of land, which was to be + planted with English; and, in order to perfect the deed of sale, + it was necessary to have the document signed before the governor + of Derry. It had been reported to the lord deputy that Sir Cahir, + not content with his position, intended to leave the country, + probably with the design of joining the fugitive earls in an + attempt to destroy the English power in Ireland. He was therefore + summoned before the lord deputy; and Lord Gormanstown, Thomas + Fitzwilliam of Merrion, and himself, were obliged to give + security that he should not quit Ireland without due notice and + express permission. This restraint had probably irritated his hot + impetuous spirit, and made it difficult for him to exercise due + self-control when he came in contact with the English governor of + Derry, with whom his relations were not improved by the + suspicions now attaching to his loyalty. Accordingly, while the + legal forms of the transfer were being gone through, the young + chief made a remark extremely offensive to Paulet, which was + resented by a blow in the face with his clenched fist. Instead of + returning <span class="pagenum"><a name="page144" id= + "page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> the blow, young O'Dogherty hurried + away to consult the M'Davitts, whose advice was that the insult + he received must be avenged by blood. The affair having been + immediately reported to the lord deputy, who apprehended that + mischief would come of it, he sent a peremptory summons to Sir + Cahir, requiring him to appear in Dublin, 'to free himself of + certain rumours and reports touching disloyal courses into which + he had entered, contrary to his allegiance to the king, and + threatening the overthrow of many of his majesty's subjects.' His + two sureties were also written to, and required to 'bring in his + body.' But O'Dogherty utterly disregarded the lord deputy's + order. Taking counsel with Nial Garve O'Donel, he resolved to + seize Culmore Fort, Castle Doe, and other strong places; and then + march on Derry, and massacre the English settlers in the market + square.</p> + + <p>Towards the close of April, Sir Cahir invited Captain Harte, + governor of Culmore Castle, on the banks of the Foyle, about four + miles from Derry, with his wife and infant child, of which he was + the godfather, to dine with him at his Castle of Elagh.</p> + + <p>The entertainment was sumptuous, and the pleasures of the + table protracted to a late hour. After dinner the host took his + guest into a private apartment, and told him that the blow he had + received from Paulet demanded a bloody revenge. Harte + remonstrated; O'Dogherty's retainers rushed in, and, drawing + their swords and skeines, declared that they would kill his wife + and child in his presence, unless he delivered up the castle of + Culmore. The governor was terrified, but he refused to betray his + trust. Sir Cahir, commanding the armed men to retire, locked the + chamber door, and kept his guest imprisoned there for two hours, + hoping that he would yield when he had time for reflection. But + finding him still inflexible, O'Dogherty grew furious, and vented + his rage in loud and angry words. Mrs. Harte, hearing the + altercation, and suspecting foul play, rushed into the room, and + found Sir Cahir enforcing his appeal with a naked <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page145" id="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span> + sword pointed at her husband's throat. She fell on the floor in a + swoon. Lady O'Dogherty ran to her assistance, raised her up, and + assured her that she knew nothing of her husband's rash design. + The latter then thrust the whole party down-stairs, giving orders + to his men to seize Captain Harte. Meantime, Lady Harte fell on + her knees, imploring mercy, but the only response was an oath + that she and her husband and child should be instantly butchered + if Culmore were not surrendered. What followed shall be related + in the words of Father Meehan: 'Horrified by this menace, she + consented to accompany him and his men to the fort, where they + arrived about midnight. On giving the pass word the gate was + thrown open by the warder, whose suspicions were lulled when Lady + Harte told him that her husband had broken his arm and was then + lying in Sir Cahir's house. The parley was short, and the + followers of Sir Cahir, rushing in to the tower, fell on the + sleeping garrison, slaughtered them in their beds, and then made + their way to an upper apartment where Lady Harte's brother, + recently come from England, was fast asleep. Fearing that he + might get a bloody blanket for his shroud, Lady Harte followed + them into the room, and implored the young man to offer no + resistance to the Irish, who broke open trunks, presses and other + furniture, and seized whatever valuables they could clutch. Her + thoughtfulness saved the lives of her children and her brother; + for as soon as Sir Cahir had armed his followers with matchlocks + and powder out of the magazine, he left a small detachment to + garrison Culmore, and then marched rapidly on Derry, where he + arrived about two o'clock in the morning. Totally unprepared for + such an irruption, the townsfolk were roused from their sleep by + the bagpipes and war-shout of the Clan O'Dogherty, who rushed + into the streets, and made their way to Paulet's house, where Sir + Cahir, still smarting under the indignity of the angry blow, + satisfied his vow of vengeance by causing that unhappy gentleman + to be hacked to death with the pikes and skeines of Owen + O'Dogherty and others of his kindred. After plundering the houses + of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page146" id="page146"></a>[pg + 146]</span> the more opulent inhabitants, seizing such arms as + they could find, and reducing the young town to a heap of ashes, + Sir Cahir led his followers to the palace of Montgomery the + bishop, who fortunately for himself was then absent in Dublin. + Not finding him, they captured his wife, and sent her, under + escort, to Burt Castle, whither Lady O'Dogherty, her + sister-in-law and infant daughter, had gone without warders for + their protection. It was on this occasion that Phelim M'Davitt + got into Montgomery's library and set fire to it, thus destroying + hundreds of valuable volumes, printed and manuscript, a feat for + which he is not censured—we are sorry to have to + acknowledge it—by Philip O'Sullivan in his account of the + fact. Elated by this successful raid, Sir Cahir called off his + followers and proceeded to beleaguer Lifford, where there was a + small garrison of English who could not be induced to surrender, + although suffering severely from want of provisions. Finding all + his attempts to reduce the place ineffectual, he sent for the + small force he had left in Culmore to join the main body of his + partisans, and then marched into M'Swyne Doe's country.'</p> + + <p>Meantime news of these atrocities reached Dublin, and the lord + deputy immediately sent a force of 3,000 men, commanded by Sir + Richard Wingfield, Sir Thomas Roper, and Sir Toby Caulfield, with + instructions to pursue the revolted Irish into their fastnesses + and deal with them summarily. He himself set out to act with the + troops, and on reaching Dundalk published a proclamation, in + which he offered pardon to all who laid down their arms, or would + use them in killing their associates. He took care, however, to + except Phelim M'Davitt from all hope of mercy, consigning him to + be dealt with by a military tribunal. The English force in the + interval had made their way into O'Dogherty's country, and coming + before Culmore, found it abandoned by the Irish, who, unable to + carry off the heavy guns, took the precaution of burying them in + the sea. Burt Castle surrendered without a blow. Wingfield + immediately liberated the inmates, and sent Bishop Montgomery's + wife to her husband, and Lady <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page147" id="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> O'Dogherty, her infant + daughter and sister-in-law, to Dublin Castle. As for Sir Cahir, + instead of going to Castle Doe, he resolved to cross the path of + the English on their march to that place, and coming up with them + in the vicinity of Kilmacrenan, he was shot dead by a soldier. + The death of the young chieftain spread panic among his + followers, most of whom flung away their arms, betook themselves + to flight, and were unmercifully cut down. Sir Cahir's head was + immediately struck off and sent to Dublin, where it was struck + upon a pole at the east gate of the city.</p> + + <p>O'Dogherty's country was now confiscated, and the lord deputy, + Chichester, was rewarded with the greatest portion of his lands. + But what was to be done with the people? In the first instance + they were driven from the rich lowlands along the borders of + Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly, and compelled to take refuge in the + mountain fastnesses which stretched to a vast extent from Moville + westward along the Atlantic coast. But could those 'idle kerne + and swordsmen,' thus punished with loss of lands and home for the + crimes of their chief, be safely trusted to remain anywhere in + the neighbourhood of the new English settlers? Sir John Davis and + Sir Toby Caulfield thought of a plan by which they could get rid + of the danger. The illustrious Gustavus Adolphus was then + fighting the battles of Protestantism against the house of + Austria. In his gallant efforts to sustain the cause of the + Reformation every true Irish Protestant sympathised, and none + more than the members of the Irish Government. To what better + use, then, could the 'loose Irish kerne and swordsmen' of Donegal + be turned than to send them to fight in the army of the King of + Sweden? Accordingly 6,000 of the able-bodied peasantry of + Inishown were shipped off for this service. Sir Toby Caulfield, + founder of the house of Charlemont, was commissioned to muster + the men and have them transported to their destination, being + paid for their keep in the meantime. A portion of his account ran + thus: 'For the dyett of 80 of said soldiers for 16 daies, during + which tyme they were <span class="pagenum"><a name="page148" id= + "page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> kept in prison in Dungannon till + they were sent away, at iiii<sup>d</sup> le peece per diem; allso for dyett + of 72 of said men kept in prison at Armagh till they were sent + away to Swethen, at iiii<sup>d</sup> le peece per diem,' &c., &c. + Caulfield was well rewarded for these services; and Captain + Sandford, married to the niece of the first Earl of Charlemont, + obtained a large grant of land on the same score. This system of + clearing out the righting men among the Irish was continued till + 1629, when the lord deputy, Falkland, wrote that Sir George + Hamilton, a papist, then impressing soldiers in Tyrone and + Antrim, was opposed by one O'Cullinan, a priest, who was rash + enough to advise the people to stay at home and have nothing to + do with the Danish wars. For this he was arrested, committed to + Dublin Castle, tortured and then hanged.</p> + + <p>With regard to the immediate followers of O'Dogherty in his + insane course, many of the most prominent leaders were tried by + court-martial and executed. Others were found guilty by ordinary + course of law. Among these was O'Hanlon, Sir Cahir's + brother-in-law. Pie was hanged at Armagh; and his youthful wife + was found by a soldier, 'stripped of her apparel, in a wood, + where she perished of cold and hunger, being lately before + delivered of a child.' M'Davitt, the firebrand of the rebellion, + was convicted and executed at Derry. At Dungannon Shane, Carragh + O'Cahan was found guilty by 'a jury of his <i>kinsmen</i>' and + executed in the camp, his head being stuck upon the castle of + that place—the castle from which his brother was mainly + instrumental in driving its once potent lord into exile. At the + same place a monk, who was a chief adviser of the arch-rebel, + saved his life and liberty by tearing off his religious habit, + and renouncing his allegiance to the Pope. Father Meehan states + that many of the clergy, secular and regular, of Inishown might + have saved their lives by taking the oath of supremacy. It was a + terrible time in Donegal. No day passed without the killing and + taking of some of the dispersed rebels, one betraying another to + get his own pardon, and the goods of the party betrayed, + according to a proviso in the <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page149" id="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span> deputy's proclamation. + Among the informers was a noble lady, the mother of Hugh Roe + O'Donel and Rory Earl of Tyronnel, who accused Nial Garve, her + own son-in-law, of complicity in O'Dogherty's revolt, for which + she got a grant of some hundreds of acres in the neighbourhood of + Kilmacrenan.</p> + + <p>The insurgent leaders and the dangerous kerne having been + effectually cleared off in various ways, the whole territory of + Inishown was overrun by the king's troops. The lord deputy, Sir + Arthur Chichester, with a numerous retinue, including the + attorney-general, sheriffs, lawyers, provosts-martial, engineers, + and 'geographers,' made a grand 'progress,' and penetrated for + the first time the region which was to become the property of his + family. It was a strange sight to the poor Irish that were + suffered to remain. 'As we passed through the glens and forests,' + wrote Sir John Davis, 'the wild inhabitants did as much wonder to + see the king's deputy as the ghosts in Virgil did to see + Æneas alive in hell.' In this exploring tour a thorough + knowledge of the country was for the first time obtained, and the + attorney-general could report that 'before Michaelmas he would be + ready to present to his majesty a perfect survey of six whole + counties which he now hath in actual possession in the province + of Ulster, of greater extent of land than any prince in Europe + hath in his own hands to dispose of.' A vast field for + plantation! But Sir John Davis cautioned the Government against + the mistakes that caused the failure of former settlements, + saying, that if the number of the Scotch and English who were to + come to Ireland did not much exceed that of the natives, the + latter would quickly 'overgrow them, as weeds overgrow corn.'</p> + + <p>O'Cahan, who was charged with complicity in O'Dogherty's + outbreak, or with being at least a sympathiser, had been + arrested, and was kept, with Nial Garve, a close prisoner in + Dublin Castle. An anonymous pamphleteer celebrated the victories + that had been achieved by the lord deputy, giving to his work the + title, 'The Overthrow of an Irish Rebel,' having for its + frontispiece a tower with portcullis, and the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page150" id="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> + O'Dogherty's head impaled in the central embrazure. The spirit of + the narrative may be inferred from the following passage: 'As for + Tyrone and Co., or Tyrconnel, they are already fled from their + coverts, and I hope they will never return; and for other false + hearts, the chief of note is O'Cahan, Sir Nial Garve, and his two + brothers, with others of their condition. They have holes + provided for them in the castle of Dublin, where I hope they are + safe enough from breeding any cubs to disquiet and prey upon the + flock of honest subjects.'</p> + + <p>O'Cahan and his companion, however, tried to get out of the + hole, although the lord deputy kept twenty men every night to + guard the castle, in addition to the ordinary ward, and two or + three of the guards lay in the same rooms with the prisoners. + Their horses had arrived in town, and all things were in + readiness. But their escape was hindered by the fact that Shane + O'Carolan, who had been acquitted of three indictments, cast + himself out of a window at the top of the castle by the help of + his mantle, which broke before he was half way down; and though + he was presently discovered, yet he escaped about supper time. + 'Surely,' exclaimed the lord deputy, 'these men do go beyond all + nations in the world for desperate escapes!' The prisoners were + subsequently conveyed to the Tower, where they remained many + years closely confined, and where they ended their days. Sir + Allen Apsley, in 1623, made a report of the prisoners then in his + custody, in which he said, 'There is here Sir Nial Garve O'Donel, + a man that was a good subject during the late queen's time, and + did as great service to the state as any man of his nation. He + has been a prisoner here about thirteen years. His offence is + known specially to the Lord Chichester. Naghtan, his son, was + taken from Oxford and committed with his father. I never heard + any offence he did.'</p> + + <p>While O'Cahan was in prison, commissioners sat in his mansion + at Limavaddy, including the Primate Usher, Bishop Montgomery of + Derry, and Sir John Davis. They <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page151" id="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> decided that by the + statute of 11 Elizabeth, which it was supposed had been cancelled + by the king's pardon, all his territory had been granted to the + Earl of Tyrone, and forfeited by his flight. It was, therefore, + confiscated. Although sundry royal and viceregal proclamations + had assured the tenants that they would not be disturbed in their + possessions, on account of the offences of their chiefs, it was + now declared that all O'Cahan's country belonged to the crown, + and that neither he nor those who lived under him had any estate + whatever in the lands. Certain portions of the territory were set + apart for the Church, and handed over to Bishop Montgomery. 'Of + all the fair territory which once was his, Donald Balagh had not + now as much as would afford him a last resting-place near the + sculptured tomb of Cooey-na-gall. O'Cahan got no sympathy, and he + deserved none; for he might have foreseen that the Government to + which he sold himself would cast him off as an outworn tool, when + he could no longer subserve their wicked purposes.'<a id= + "footnotetag32" name="footnotetag32"></a><a href= + "#footnote32"><sup>1</sup></a> 'Thus were the O'Cahans + dispossessed by the colonists of Derry, to whom their broad lands + and teeming rivers were passed, <i>mayhap</i> for ever. Towards + the close of the Cromwellian war in Ireland, the Duchess of + Buckingham, passing through Limavaddy, visited its ancient + castle, then sadly dilapidated, and, entering one of the + apartments, saw an aged woman wrapped in a blanket, and crouching + over a peat fire, which filled the room with reeking smoke. After + gazing at this pitiful spectacle, the duchess asked the miserable + individual her name; when the latter, rising and drawing herself + up to her full height, replied, "I am the wife of the + O'Cahan."'[Father Meehan dedicates his valuable work to the lord + chancellor of Ireland, the Right Hon. Thomas O'Hagan,—the + first Catholic chancellor since the Revolution. Descended from + the O'Hagans, who were hereditary justiciaries and secretaries to + the O'Neill, he is, by universal consent, one of the ablest and + most accomplished judges that ever adorned the Irish Bench. His + ancestors were involved in the fortunes of Tyrone. How strange + that the representative of the judicial and literary clan of + ancient Ulster should now be the head of the Irish + magistracy!]</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote32" name="footnote32"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag32">(return)</a> + + <p>Meehan, p. 317.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page152" id= + "page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> + + <h3>THE PLANTATION OF ULSTER.</h3> + + <p>In the account which the lord deputy gave of the flight of + Tyrone and Tyrconnel, he referred to the mistake that had been + committed in making these men proprietary lords of so large a + territory, '<i>without regard to the poor freeholders' rights, or + of his majesty's service, or the commonwealths, that are so much + interested in the honest liberty of that sort of men</i>.' And he + considered it a providential circumstance that the king had now + an opportunity of repairing that error, and of relieving the + natives from the exactions and tyranny of their former barbarous + lords. How far this change was a benefit to the honest + freeholders and the labouring classes may be seen from the + reports of Sir Toby Caulfield to the lord deputy, as to his + dealings with those people. He complains of his ill success in + the prosecution of the wood-kerne. He had done his best, and all + had turned to nothing. When the news of the plantation came, he + had no hope at all, for the people then said it would be many of + their cases to become wood-kerne themselves out of necessity, 'no + other means being left for them to keep being in this world than + to live as long as they could by scrambling.' They hoped, + however, that so much of the summer being spent before the + commissioners came down, 'so great cruelty would not be showed as + to remove them upon the edge of winter from their houses, and in + the very season when they were employed in making their harvest. + They held discourse among themselves, that if this course had + been taken with them in war time, it had had some colour of + justice; but being <span class="pagenum"><a name="page153" id= + "page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> pardoned, and their land given + them, and they having lived under law ever since, and being ready + to submit themselves to the mercy of the law, for any offence + they can be charged withal, since their pardoning, they conclude + it to be the greatest cruelty that was ever inflicted upon any + people.'</p> + + <p>It is no wonder that Sir Toby was obliged to add to his report + this assurance: 'There is not a more discontented people in + Christendom.' It is difficult to conceive how any people in + Christendom could be contented, treated as they were, according + to this account, which the officer of the Government did not + deny; for surely no people, in any Christian country, were ever + the victims of such flagrant injustice, inflicted by a Government + which promised to relieve them from the cruel exactions of their + barbarous chiefs—a Government, too, solemnly pledged to + protect them in the unmolested enjoyment of their houses and + lands. How little this policy tended to strengthen the Government + appears from a confession made about the same time by the lord + deputy himself. He wrote: 'The hearts of the Irish are against + us: we have only a handful of men in entertainment so ill paid, + that everyone is out of heart, and our resources so discredited, + by borrowing and not repaying, that we cannot take up + 1,000<i>l.</i> in twenty days, if the safety of the kingdom + depended upon it. The Irish are hopeful of the return of the + fugitives, or invasion from foreign parts.'</p> + + <p>But the safety of England, do what she might in the way of + oppression, lay then, as it lay often since, and ever will lie, + in the tendency to division, and the instability of the Celtic + character. The Rev. Mr. Meehan, with all his zeal for Irish + nationality, admits this failing of the people with his usual + candour. He says: 'These traits, so peculiar to the Celtic + character, have been justly stigmatised by a friendly and + observant Italian (the Nuncio Rinuccini) who, some thirty years + after the period of which we are writing, tells us that the + native Irish were behind the rest of Europe in the knowledge of + those things that tended to their material + improvement—indifferent agriculturists, living from hand to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page154" id="page154"></a>[pg + 154]</span> mouth—caring more for the sword than the + plough—good Catholics, though by nature barbarous—and + placing their hopes of deliverance from English rule on foreign + intervention. For this they were constantly straining their eyes + towards France or Spain, and, no matter whence the ally came, + were ever ready to rise in revolt. One virtue, + however—intensest love of country—more or less + redeemed these vices, for so they deserve to be called; but to + establish anything like strict military discipline or + organisation among themselves, it must be avowed they had no + aptitude.' This, says Mr. Meehan, 'to some extent, will account + for the apathy of the Northern Catholics, while the undertakers + were carrying on the gigantic eviction known as the plantation of + Ulster; for, since Sir Cahir O'Dogherty's rebellion till 1615, + there was only one attempt to resist the intruders, an abortive + raid on the city of Derry, for which the meagre annals of that + year tell us, six of the Earl of Tyrone's nearest kinsmen were + put to death. Withal the people of Ulster were full of hope that + O'Neill would return with forces to evict the evicters, but the + farther they advanced into this agreeable perspective, the more + rapidly did its charms disappear.</p> + + <p>The proclamations against wood-kerne present a curious picture + of these 'plantation' times. The lord deputy, in council, + understood that 'many idle kerne, loose and masterless men, and + other disordered persons, did range up and down in sundry parts + of this kingdom, being armed with swords, targets, pikes, shot, + head-pieces, horsemen's staves, and other warlike weapons, to the + great terror of his majesty's well-disposed subjects, upon whom + they had committed many extortions, murders, robberies, and other + outrages. Hence divers proclamations had been published in his + majesty's name, commanding that no person of what condition + soever, travelling on horseback, should presume to carry more + arms than one sword or rapier and dagger; and that no person + travelling on foot should carry any weapons at all. Twenty days + were allowed for giving the <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page155" id="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> arms to the proper + officers. If the proclamation was not obeyed within that time, + the arms were to be seized for the king's use, and the bearers of + them committed to prison.</p> + + <p>On July 21, 1609, a commission was issued by the crown to make + inquisition concerning the forfeited lands in Ulster after the + flight of the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel. The commissioners + included the Lord-Deputy Chichester, the Archbishops of Armagh + and Dublin, Sir John Davis, attorney-general; Sir William + Parsons, surveyor-general, and several other public + functionaries. This work done, King James, acting on the advice + of his prime minister, the Earl of Salisbury, took measures for + the plantation of Ulster, a project earnestly recommended by + statesmen connected with Ireland, and for which the flight of + O'Neill and O'Donel furnished the desired opportunity. The city + of London was thought to be the best quarter to look to for funds + to carry on the plantation. Accordingly, Lord Salisbury had a + conference with the lord mayor, Humphry Weld, Sir John Jolles, + and Sir W. Cockaine, who were well acquainted with Irish affairs. + The result was the publication of 'Motives and Reasons to induce + the City of London to undertake the Plantation in the North of + Ireland.'</p> + + <p>The inducements were of the most tempting character. It is + customary to speak of Ulster, before the plantation, as something + like a desert, out of which the planters created an Eden. But the + picture presented to the Londoners was more like the land which + the Israelitish spies found beyond Jordan—a land flowing + with milk and honey. Among 'the land commodities which the North + of Ireland produceth' were these:—the country was well + watered generally by abundance of springs, brooks, and rivers. + There was plenty of fuel—either wood, or 'good and + wholesome turf.' The land yielded 'store of all necessary for + man's sustenance, in such a measure as may not only maintain + itself, but also furnish the city of London yearly with manifold + provision, especially for their fleets—namely, with beef, + pork, fish, rye, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page156" id= + "page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> bere, peas, and beans.' It was not + only fit for all sorts of husbandry, but it excelled for the + breeding of mares and the increase of cattle; whence the + Londoners might expect 'plenty of butter, cheese, hides, and + tallow,' while English sheep would breed abundantly there. It was + also held to be good in many places for madder, hops, and woad. + It afforded 'fells of all sorts in great quantity, red deer, + foxes, sheep, lambs, rabbits, martins and squirrels,' &c. + Hemp and flax grew more naturally there than elsewhere, which, + being well regarded, would give provision for canvas, cables, + cording, besides thread, linen cloth, and all stuffs made of + linen yarn, 'which are more fine and plentiful there than in all + the rest of the kingdom.' Then there were the best materials of + all sorts for building, with 'the goodliest and largest timber, + that might compare with any in his majesty's dominions;' and, + moreover, the country was 'very plentiful in honey and wax.'</p> + + <p>The sea and the rivers vied with the land in the richness of + their produce. 'The sea fishing of that coast was very plentiful + of all manner of usual sea fish—there being yearly, after + Michaelmas, for taking of herrings, above seven or eight score + sail of his majesty's subjects and strangers for lading, besides + an infinite number of boats for fishing and killing.'</p> + + <p>The corporation were willing to undertake the work of + plantation if the account given of its advantages should prove to + be correct. With the caution of men of business, they wished to + put the glowing representations of the Government to the test of + an investigation by agents of their own. So they sent over 'four + wise, grave, and discreet citizens, to view the situation + proposed for the new colony.' The men selected were John Broad, + goldsmith; Robert Treswell, painter-stainer; John Rowley, draper; + and John Munns, mercer. On their return from their Irish mission + they presented a report to the Court of Common Council, which was + openly read. The report was favourable. A company was to be + formed in London for conducting the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page157" id="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span> + plantation. Corporations were to be founded in Derry and + Coleraine, everything concerning the colony to be managed and + performed in Ireland by the advice and direction of the company + in London. It was agreed between the Privy Council and the City + that the sum of 20,000<i>l.</i> should be levied, 15,000<i>l.</i> + for the intended plantation, and 5,000<i>l.</i> 'for the clearing + of private men's interest in the things demanded.' That 200 + houses should be built in Derry, and room left for 300 more. + 'That 4,000 acres lying on the Derry side, next adjacent to the + wherry, should be laid thereunto—bog and barren mountain to + be no part thereof, but to go as waste for the city; the same to + be done by indifferent commissioners.'</p> + + <p>The royal charters and letters clearly set forth the objects + of the plantation. James I., in the preamble of the charter to + the town of Coleraine, thus described his intentions in disposing + of the forfeited lands to English undertakers: 'Whereas there can + be nothing more worthy of a king to perform than to establish the + true religion of Christ among men hitherto depraved and almost + lost in superstition; to improve and cultivate by art and + industry countries and lands uncultivated and almost desert, and + not only to stock them with honest citizens and inhabitants, but + also to strengthen them with good institutions and ordinances, + whereby they might be more safely defended not only from the + corruption of their morals but from their intestine and domestic + plots and conspiracies, and also from foreign violence: And + whereas the province of Ulster in our realm of Ireland, for many + years past, hath grossly erred from the true religion of Christ + and divine grace, and hath abounded with superstition, insomuch + that for a long time it hath not only been harassed, torn, and + wasted by private and domestic broils but also by foreign arms: + We therefore, deeply and heartily commiserating the wretched + state of the said province, have esteemed it to be a work worthy + of a Christian prince, and of our royal office, to stir up and + recal the same province from superstition, rebellion, calamity, + and poverty, which heretofore have <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page158" id="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span> horribly raged + therein, to religion, obedience, strength, and prosperity. And + whereas our beloved and faithful subjects the mayor and + commonalty and citizens of our city of London, burning with a + flagrant zeal to promote such our pious intention in this behalf, + have undertaken a considerable part of the said plantation in + Ulster, and are making progress therein'.</p> + + <p>King James, having heard very unsatisfactory reports of the + progress of the plantation, wrote a letter to the lord deputy in + 1612, strongly complaining of the neglect of the 'Londoners' to + fulfil the obligations they had voluntarily undertaken. He had + made 'liberal donations of great proportions of those lands to + divers British undertakers and servitors, with favourable tenures + and reservations for their better encouragement; but hitherto + neither the safety of that country, nor the planting of religion + and civility among those rude and barbarous people, which were + the principal motives of that project, and which he expected as + the only fruits and returns of his bounty, had been as yet any + whit materially effected. He was not ignorant how much the real + accomplishment of the plantation concerned the future peace and + safety of that kingdom; but if there was no reason of state to + press it forward, he would yet pursue and effect that object with + the same earnestness, 'merely for the goodness and morality of + it; esteeming the settling of religion, the introducing of + civility, order, and government among a barbarous and unsubjected + people, to be acts of piety and glory, and worthy also a + Christian prince to endeavour.'</p> + + <p>The king therefore ordered that there should be a strict + inquiry into the work done, because 'the Londoners pretended the + expense of great sums of money in that service, and yet the + outward appearance of it was very small.' The lord deputy was + solemnly charged to give him a faithful account without care or + fear to displease any of his subjects, English or Scottish, of + what quality soever.'</p> + + <p>Sir Josias Bodley was the commissioner appointed for this + purpose. He reported very unfavourably, in consequence of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page159" id="page159"></a>[pg + 159]</span> which his majesty called upon the Irish society and + the several companies to give him an account of their + stewardship. He also wrote again to the lord deputy in 1615. The + language the king uses is remarkable, as proving the + <i>trusteeship</i> of the companies. Referring to Bodley's report + he said:—</p> + + <p>'We have examined, viewed, and reviewed, with our own eye, + every part thereof, and find greatly to our discontentment the + slow progression of that plantation; some few only of our British + undertakers, servitors, and natives having as yet proceeded + effectually by the accomplishment of such things in all points as + are required of them by the articles of the plantation; the rest, + and by much the greatest part, having either done nothing at all, + or so little, or, by reason of the slightness thereof, to so + little purpose, that the work seems rather to us to be forgotten + by them, and to perish under their hand, than any whit to be + advanced by them; some having begun to build and not planted, + others begun to plant and not built, and all of them, in general, + retaining the Irish still upon their lands, the avoiding of which + was the fundamental reason of that plantation. We have made a + collection of their names, as we found their endeavours and + negligences noted in the service, which we will retain as a + memorial with us, and they shall be sure to feel the effects of + our favour and disfavour, as there shall be occasion. It is well + known to you that if we had intended only (as it seems most of + them over-greedily have done) our present profit, we might have + converted those large territories to our escheated lands, to the + great improvement of the revenue of our crown there; but we chose + rather, for the safety of that country and the civilizing of that + people, to part with the inheritance of them at extreme + undervalues, and to make a plantation of them; and since we were + merely induced thereunto out of reason of state, we think we may + without any breach of justice make bold with their rights who + have neglected their duties in a service of so much importance + unto us, and by the same law and reason of state resume into + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page160" id="page160"></a>[pg + 160]</span> our hands their lands who have failed to perform, + according to our original intention, the articles of plantation, + and bestow them upon some other men more active and worthy of + them than themselves: and the time is long since expired within + which they were bound to have finished to all purposes their + plantation, so that we want not just provocation to proceed + presently with all rigour against them.'</p> + + <p>He gave them a year to pull up their arrears of work, and in + conclusion said to Chichester: 'My lord, in this service I expect + that zeal and uprightness from you, that you will spare no flesh, + English or Scottish; for no private man's worth is able to + counterbalance the particular safety of a kingdom, which this + plantation, well accomplished, will procure.'</p> + + <p>Two or three years later, Captain Pynnar was sent to survey + the lands that had been granted to the undertakers, and to report + upon the improvements they had effected. A few notices from his + report will give an idea of the state of Ulster at the + commencement of this great social revolution:—</p> + + <p>Armagh was one of the six counties confiscated by James I. The + territory had belonged to the O'Neills, the O'Hanlons, the + O'Carrols, and M'Kanes, whose people were all involved more or + less in the fortunes of the Earl of Tyrone, who wielded sovereign + power over this portion of Ulster. The plantation scheme was said + to be the work of the Privy Council of Ireland, and submitted by + them for the adoption of the English Government. It was part of + the plan that all the lands escheated in each county should be + divided into four parts, whereof two should be subdivided into + proportions consisting of about 1,000 acres a piece; a third part + into proportions of 1,500 acres; and the fourth in proportions of + 2,000 acres. Every proportion was to be made into a parish, a + church was to be erected on it, and the minister endowed with + glebe land. If an incumbent of a parish of 1,000 acres he was to + have sixty; if of 1,500 acres, ninety; and if 2,000 acres, he was + to have 120 acres; and the whole tithes and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page161" id="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> + duties of every parish should be allotted to the incumbent as + well as the glebe. The undertakers were to be of several sorts. + 1st, English and Scotch, who were to plant their proportions with + English and Scotch tenants; 2nd, servitors in Ireland, who might + take English or Scotch tenants at their choice; 3rd, natives of + the county, who were to be freeholders.</p> + + <p>With respect to the disposal of the natives, it was arranged + that the same course should be adopted as in the county of + Tyrone, which was this: some were to be planted upon two of the + small proportions, and upon the glebes; others upon the land of + Sir Art O'Neill's sons and Sir Henry Oge O'Neill's sons, 'and of + such other Irish as shall be thought fit to have any + <i>freeholds</i>; some others upon the portions of such servitors + as are not able to inhabit these lands with English or Scotch + tenants, especially of <i>such as best know how to rule and order + the Irish</i>. But the swordsmen (that is, the armed retainers or + soldiers of the chiefs) are to be transplanted into such other + parts of the kingdom as, by reason of the wastes therein, are + fittest to receive them, namely, into Connaught and some parts of + Munster, where they are to be dispersed, and not planted together + in one place; and such swordsmen, who have not followers or + cattle of their own, to be disposed of in his majesty's service.' + This provision about planting the swordsmen, however, was not + carried out. The whole county of Armagh was found to contain + 77,300 acres of arable and pasture land, which would make 60 + proportions. That county, as well as other parts of ancient + Ireland, was divided into ballyboes, or townlands, tracts of + tillage land surrounding the native villages unenclosed, and held + in <i>rundale</i>, having ranges of pasture for their cattle, + which were herded in common, each owner being entitled to a + certain number of 'collops' in proportion to his arable land. As + these ballyboes were not of equal extent, the English made the + division of land by acres, and erected boundary + fences.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page162" id= + "page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> + + <p>The primate's share in this county was 2,400 acres. The glebes + comprised 4,650 acres; the College of Dublin got 1,200, and the + Free School at Armagh 720; Sir Turlough M'Henry possessed 9,900 + acres, and 4,900 had been granted to Sir Henry Oge O'Neill. After + these deductions, there were for the undertakers 55,620 acres, + making in all forty-two proportions.</p> + + <p>Number one in the survey is the estate of William Brownlow, + Esq., which contained two proportions, making together 2,500 + acres. Pynar reported as follows: 'Upon the proportion of + Ballenemony there is a strong stone house within a good island; + and at Dowcoran there is a very fair house of stone and brick, + with good lyme, and hath a strong bawne of timber and earth with + a pallizado about it. There is now laid in readiness both lyme + and stone, to make a bawne thereof, the which is promised to be + done this summer. He hath made a very fair town, consisting of + forty-two houses, all which are inhabited with English families, + and the streets all paved clean through; also two water-mills and + a wind-mill, all for corn, and he hath store of arms in his + house.'</p> + + <p>Pynar found 'planted and estated' on this territory 57 + families altogether, who were able to furnish 100 men with arms, + there not being one Irish family upon all the land. There was, + however, a number of sub-tenants, which accounts for the fact + that there was 'good store of tillage.' Five of the English + settlers were freeholders, having 120 acres each; and there were + 52 leaseholders, whose farms varied in size from 420 acres to 5; + six of them holding 100 acres and upwards. This was the + foundation of the flourishing town of Lurgan.</p> + + <p>Mr. Obens had 2,000 acres obtained from William Powell, the + first patentee. He had built a bawne of sods with a pallizado of + boards ditched about. Within this there was a 'good fair house of + brick and lyme,' and near it he had built four houses, inhabited + by English families. There were twenty settlers, who with their + under-tenants were able <span class="pagenum"><a name="page163" + id="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> to furnish forty-six armed men. + This was the beginning of Portadown.</p> + + <p>The fourth lot was obtained from the first patentee by Mr. + Cope, who had 3,000 acres. 'He built a bawne of lyme and stone + 180 feet square, 14 feet high, with four flankers; and in three + of them he had built very good lodgings, which were three stories + high.' He erected two water-mills and one wind-mill, and near the + bawne he had built fourteen houses of timber, which were + inhabited by English families. This is now the rich district of + Lough Gall.</p> + + <p>It should be observed here that, in all these crown grants, + the patentees were charged crown rents only for the <i>arable</i> + lands conveyed by their title-deeds, bogs, wastes, mountain, and + unreclaimed lands of every description being thrown in + gratuitously; amounting probably to ten or fifteen times the + quantity of demised ground set down in acres. Lord Lurgan's + agent, Mr. Hancock, at the commencement of his evidence before + the Devon Commission, stated that 'Lord Lurgan is owner of about + 24,600 acres, with a population of 23,800, under the census of + 1841'—that is, by means of original reclamation, drainage, + and other works of agricultural improvement, Mr. Brownlow's 2,500 + acres of the year 1619, had silently grown up to 24,600 acres, + and his hundred swordsmen, or pikemen, the representatives of 57 + families, with a few subordinates, had multiplied to 23,800 + souls. Now Mr. Hancock founds the tenant-right custom upon the + fact that few, if any, of the 'patentees were wealthy;' we may + therefore fairly presume that the <i>settlers built their own + houses, and made their own improvements at their own expense</i>, + contrary to the English practice.' As the population increased, + and 'arable' land became valuable, bogs, wastes, and barren land + were gradually reclaimed and cultivated, through the hard labour + and at the cost of the occupying tenantry, until the possessions + of his descendants have spread over ten times the area nominally + demised by the crown to their progenitor. This process went on + all over the province.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page164" + id="page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> + + <p>Sixteen years passed away, and in the opinion of the + Government the London companies and the Irish Society, instead of + reforming as Irish planters, went on from bad to worse. + Accordingly, in 1631, Charles I. found it necessary to bring them + into the Star Chamber. In a letter to the lords justices he + said:—</p> + + <p>'Our father, of blessed memory, in his wisdom and singular + care, both to fortify and preserve that country of Ireland from + foreign and inward forces, and also for the better establishment + of true religion, justice, civility, and commerce, found it most + necessary to erect British plantations there; and, to that end, + ordained and published many politic and good orders, and for the + encouragement of planters gave them large proportions and + privileges. Above the rest, his grace and favour was most + enlarged to the Londoners, who undertook the plantation of a + considerable part of Ulster, and were specially chosen for their + ability and professed zeal to public works; and yet + advertisements have been given from time to time, not only by + private men, but by all succeeding deputies, and by commissioners + sent from hence and chosen there, and being many of them of our + council, that the <i>Londoners for private lucre</i> have broken + and neglected both their general printed ordinances and other + particular directions given by us and our council here, so as if + they hall escape unpunished all others will be heartened to do + the like, and in the end expose that our kingdom to former + confusions and dangers; for prevention whereof we have, upon + mature advice of our councillors for those causes, caused them to + be questioned in our high court of Star-chamber here, whence + commission is now sent to examine witnesses, upon + interrogatories, for discovery of the truth; and because we + understand that the Londoners heretofore prevailed with some, + from whom we expected better service, that in the return of the + last commission many things agreed under the hands of most + commissioners were not accordingly certified: Now that our + service may not surfer by like partiality, we will and require + you to have an especial eye to <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page165" id="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> this business; and + take care that this commission be faithfully executed, and that + no practice or indirect means be used, either to delay the return + or to frustrate the ends of truth in every interrogatory.'</p> + + <p>This proceeding on the part of the crown was ascribed to the + influence of Bishop Bramhall, who had come over with Lord + Strafford as his chaplain. The result was, that in 1632 the whole + county of Londonderry was sequestrated, and the rents levied for + the king's use, the Bishop of Derry being appointed receiver and + authorised to make leases. The lord chancellor, with the + concurrence of the other judges, decreed that the letters patent + should be surrendered and cancelled. This decree was duly + executed.</p> + + <p>Cromwell reinstated the companies in their possessions, and + Charles II., instead of reversing the forfeiture, granted a new + charter. This charter founded a system of protection and + corporate exclusiveness, the most perfect perhaps that ever + existed in the three kingdoms. He began by constituting + Londonderry a county, and Derry city a corporation—to be + called Londonderry. He named the aldermen and burgesses, who were + to hold their offices during their natural lives. He placed both + the county and city under the control of 'the Irish Society,' + which was then definitely formed. He appointed Sir Thomas Adams + first governor, and John Saunders, deputy governor. He also + appointed the twenty-four assistants, all citizens of London. He + invested the society with full power 'to send orders and + directions from, this kingdom of England into the said realm of + Ireland, by letters or otherwise, for the ordering, directing, + and disposing of all and all manner of matters and things + whatsoever of and concerning the same plantation, or the + disposition or government thereof. The grant of property was most + comprehensive:—</p> + + <p>'We also will, and, by these presents for us, our heirs and + successors, do give, grant, and confirm to the said society of + the governor and assistants [London] of the new plantation in + Ulster within the realm of Ireland, and their successors: + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page166" id="page166"></a>[pg + 166]</span> 'All that the city, fort, and town of Derry, and all + edifices and structures thereof, with the appurtenances, in the + county of the city of Derry aforesaid, in the province of Ulster, + in our realm of Ireland; and also the whole island of Derry, with + the appurtenances, and all lands and the whole ground within the + island of Derry aforesaid, in the said county of the city of + Derry, otherwise Londonderry, within the province of Ulster, in + our aforesaid realm of Ireland. And also all those lands next + adjacent to the said city or town of Derry, lying and being on or + towards the west part of the river of Loughfoyle, containing by + estimation four thousand acres, besides bog and barren mountains, + which said bog and barren mountains may be had and used as waste + to the same city belonging. And also all that portion and + proportion of land by the general survey of all the lands in the + aforesaid late county of Coleraine, now Londonderry, heretofore + taken, called the great proportion of Boughtbegg, lying and being + in the barony or precinct of Coleraine, now Londonderry, within + the province of Ulster aforesaid, in our said realm of Ireland; + that is to say, all lands, tenements, and other hereditaments, + called and known by the names, and situate, lying, and being in + or within the several towns, villages, hamlets, places, + balliboes, or parcels of land following, that is to say: + Hacketbegg, being two balliboes of land; Aglakightagh, being two + balliboes of land; Altybryan, being one balliboe of land; + Bratbooly, being one balliboe of land; Hackmoore, being one + balliboe of land; Tirecurrin, being one balliboe of land; + Edermale, being one balliboe of land; Lennagorran, being one + balliboe of land; Knockmult, being one balliboe of land; + Boughtmore, being one balliboe of land; Boughtbegg, being one + balliboe of land, &c.</p> + + <p>'We will also, and by these presents for us, our heirs and + successors, do grant and confirm to the said society of the + governor and assistants [London] of the new plantation in Ulster, + and their successors, that they and their successors, and also + all their assigns, deputies, ministers, and servants shall and + may have full liberty of fishing, hawking, and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page167" id="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> + fowling in all the places, tenements, shores, and coasts + aforesaid, at their will and pleasure.</p> + + <p>'And that it shall and may be lawful to and for them and every + of them to draw and dry their nets, and pack the fishes there + taken upon any part of the shores and coasts aforesaid where they + shall fish; and the salmons and other fishes there taken to take + thence and carry away without any impediment, contradiction, or + molestation of us or others whomsoever, wheresoever it shall + happen to be done.</p> + + <p>'And that in like manner they may have the several fishings + and fowlings within the city of Londonderry aforesaid, and in all + lands and tenements before mentioned to be granted and confirmed + to the said society of the governor and assistants [London] of + the new plantation in Ulster and their successors, and in the + river and water of Loughfoile, to the ebb of the sea, and in the + river or water of Bann to Loughneagh.'</p> + + <p>The grants were made without any reservation in favour of the + tenants or the old inhabitants, saving some portions of land + given by letters patent by his grandfather to 'certain <i>Irish + gentlemen</i> in the said county of Londonderry, heretofore + inhabiting and residing, and who were heretofore made + freeholders, and their successors, under a small yearly rent,' + which was to be paid to the Irish Society. Even the Irish + gentlemen were not allowed to hold their ancient inheritance + directly under the crown. I am informed that there is but one + Roman Catholic landed gentleman now remaining in the whole + province of Ulster.</p> + + <p>The Londoners had extraordinary privileges as traders. They + had free quarters in every port throughout the kingdom, while + they treated all but the members of their own body as + 'foreigners.' They knew nothing of reciprocity:—'And + further we will, and, by these presents for us, our heirs and + successors, do grant and confirm to the said mayor and commonalty + and citizens of our city of Londonderry aforesaid, that all + citizens of the said city of Londonderry and liberty of the same + (as much as in us is) be for ever quit <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page168" id="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> and + free, and all their things throughout all Ireland, of all tolls, + wharfage, murage, anchorage, beaconage, pavage, pontage, piccage, + stallage, passage, and lestage, and of all other tolls and + duties.'</p> + + <p>The 'foreigners,' including all his majesty's subjects but the + favoured few within the walls of Derry, were forbidden to buy or + sell, or practise any trade in this sanctuary of freedom and + head-centre of 'civility.' 'And that merchants and others which + are not of the freedom of the city of Londonderry aforesaid shall + not sell by retail any wines or other wares whatsoever within the + same city of Londonderry, the suburbs, liberties, or franchises + of the same, upon pain of forfeiture for the things so bought, or + the value thereof, to the use of the mayor and commonalty and + citizens of the city of Londonderry aforesaid. And also that no + person being a foreigner from the freedom of the city aforesaid + shall use or exercise within the same city, liberties or suburbs + of the same, any art, mystery, or manual occupation whatsoever, + to make his gain and profit thereof, upon pain of forfeiture of + forty shillings for every time wherein such person shall use or + exercise within the said city of Londonderry, liberties, and + suburbs of the same, any art, mystery, or manual occupation as + aforesaid.'</p> + + <p>Foreigners were not allowed to buy from or sell to foreigners, + and there was to be no market for the accommodation of the + unprivileged inhabitants within seven miles of the city.</p> + + <p>Similar exclusive privileges were conferred upon the + corporation of Coleraine. Such was the system established by the + City of London in its model communities in Ireland—normal + schools of freedom, fountains of civilising and Christianising + influences which were to reclaim and convert the barbarous and + superstitious natives into loyal subjects and enlightened + Protestants! What the natives beheld in Londonderry was, in fact, + a royal organisation of selfishness, bigotry, and monopoly, of + the most intensely exclusive and repulsive character. In one + sense the Londoners in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page169" + id="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> Derry showed that they + peculiarly prized the blessings of civilisation, for they kept + them all to themselves. The fountain was flowing in the most + tempting manner before the thirsty Irish, but let them dare to + drink of it at their peril! A fine which no Irishman was then + able to pay must be the penalty for every attempt at + civilisation!</p> + + <p>The representatives of Derry and Coleraine were not only + elected without cost, but paid for their attendance in + Parliament.</p> + + <p>From the very beginning, the greatest possible care was taken + to keep out the Irish. The society, in 1615, sent precepts to all + the companies requiring each of them to send one or two artisans, + with their families, into Ulster, to settle there; and directions + were also given, in order that Derry might not in future be + peopled with Irish, that twelve Christ's Hospital and other poor + children should be sent there as apprentices and servants, and + the inhabitants were to be prohibited from taking Irish + apprentices. Directions were also given to the companies, to + repair the churches on their several proportions, and furnish the + ministers with a bible, common-prayer book, and a communion cup. + The trades which the society recommended as proper to introduce + into Ulster were, weavers of common cloth, fustians, and new + stuffs, felt-makers and trimmers of hats, and hat-band makers, + locksmiths and farriers, tanners and fellmongers, iron makers, + glass-makers, pewterers, coast fishermen, turners, basket-makers, + tallow-chandlers, dyers, and curriers.</p> + + <p>The Christ's Hospital children arrived safe, and became the + precious seed of the 'prentice boys.</p> + + <p>In 1629 the following return was made of the total + disbursements by the Londoners in Derry from January 2, 1609, to + this year:—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page170" id= + "page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center">£</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For 77-1/2 houses at 140<i>l.</i> a + house</td> + + <td align="right">10,850</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For 33 houses at 80<i>l.</i> a house</td> + + <td align="right">2,680</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For the Lord Bishop's house</td> + + <td align="right">500</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For the walls and fortifications</td> + + <td align="right">8,357</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For digging the ditch and filling earth for + the rampire</td> + + <td align="right">1,500</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For levelling earth to lay the rampire</td> + + <td align="right">500</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For building a faggot quay at the + water-gate</td> + + <td align="right">100</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For two quays at the lime kilns</td> + + <td align="right">10</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For the building of the town house</td> + + <td align="right">500</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For the quays at the ferry</td> + + <td align="right">60</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For carriage and mounting the ordnance</td> + + <td align="right">40</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For arms</td> + + <td align="right">558</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For a guardhouse</td> + + <td align="right">50</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For the platforms for bulwarks</td> + + <td align="right">300</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For some work done at the old church</td> + + <td align="right">40</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For some work done at the town pike</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For sinking 22 cellars, and sundry of the + houses not done</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â at first, at 20<i>s.</i> cellar, one with + another</td> + + <td align="right">440</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">For the building of lime kilns</td> + + <td align="right">120</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">26,611</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">______</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Sum total, as given in the Commissioners' + account</td> + + <td align="right">27,197</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>The exclusive and protective system utterly failed to + accomplish its purpose in keeping out the Irish.</p> + + <p>Sir Thomas Phillips made a muster-roll in 1622, in which he + gives 110 as the number of settlers in the city of Derry capable + of bearing arms. There are but two Irish names in the + list—Ermine M'Swine, and James Doherty. The first, from his + Christian name, seemed to have been of mixed blood, the son of a + judge, which would account for his orthodoxy. But his presence + might have reminded the citizens unpleasantly of the Irish + battle-axes. Never were greater pains taken to keep a community + pure than within the sacred precincts of the Derry walls; and + never was Protestantism more tenderly fostered by the + state—so far as secular advantages could do it. The natives + were treated as 'foreigners.' No trade was permitted except by + the chartered British. They were free of tolls all over the land, + and for their sake restrictions were placed on everybody that + could in any way interfere with their worldly interests. So + complete was the system of exclusion kept up by the English + Government and the London corporation, in this grand experiment + for planting religion and civility among a barbarous people, + that, so late as the year 1708, the Derry <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page171" id="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> + corporation considered itself nothing more or less than <i>a + branch of the City of London</i>! In that year they sent an + address to the Irish Society, to be presented through them to the + queen. 'In this address they stated themselves to be a branch of + the City of London. The secretary was ordered to wait upon the + lord lieutenant of Ireland with the address and entreat the + favour of his lordship's advice concerning the presenting of the + same to her majesty.' A few days after it was announced that the + address had been graciously received, and published in the + <i>Gazette</i>.</p> + + <p>The Irish were kept out of the enclosed part of the city till + a late period. In the memory of the present generation there was + no Catholic house within the walls, and I believe it is not much + longer since the Catholic servants within the sacred enclosure + were obliged to go outside at night to sleep among their + kinsfolk. The English garrison did not multiply very fast. In + 1626 there were only 109 families in the city, of which five were + families of soldiers liable to be removed. Archbishop King stated + that in 1690 the whole of the population of the parish, including + the Donegal part, was about 700.</p> + + <p>But the irrepressible Irish increased and multiplied around + the walls with alarming rapidity. The tide of native population + rose steadily against the ramparts of exclusion, and could no + more be kept back than the tide in the Foyle. In the general + census of 1800 there were no returns from Derry. But in 1814 it + was stated in a report by the deputation from the Irish Society, + that the population amounted at that time to 14,087 persons. This + must have included the suburbs. In the census of 1821 the city + was found to have 9,313 inhabitants. The city and suburbs + together contained 16,971.</p> + + <p>The report of the commissioners of public instruction in 1831 + made a startling disclosure as to the effect of the system of + exclusion in this 'branch of the City of London.' In the parish + of Templemore (part of) there were—</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page172" id="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left">Members of the Established Church</td> + + <td align="right">3,166</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Presbyterians</td> + + <td align="right">5,811</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Roman Catholics</td> + + <td align="right">9,838</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>The report of 1834 gave the Roman Catholics, 10,299; the + Presbyterians, 6,083; and the Church only 3,314.</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left">The figures now are—Catholics</td> + + <td align="right">12,036</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Protestants of all denominations</td> + + <td align="right">8,839</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Majority of Irish and Catholics in this</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â 'branch of the City of London'</td> + + <td align="right">3,197</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>This majority is about equal to the whole number which the + exclusive system, with all its 'protection' and 'bounties,' could + produce for the Established Church in the course of two + centuries! If the Irish had been admitted to the Pale of English + civilisation, and instructed in the industrial arts by the + settlers, the results with respect to religion might have been + very different. In the long run the Church of Rome has been the + greatest gainer by coercion. Derry has been a miniature + representation of the Establishment. The 'prentice boys, like + their betters, must yield to the spirit of the age, and submit + with the best grace they can to the rule of religious + equality.</p> + + <p>The plantation was, however, wonderfully successful on the + whole. In thirty years, towns, fortresses, factories, arose, + pastures, ploughed up, were converted into broad corn-fields, + orchards, gardens, hedges, &c. were planted. How did this + happen? 'The answer is that it sprang from the security of tenure + which the plantation settlement supplied. The landlords were in + every case bound to make fixed estates to their tenants at the + risk of sequestration and forfeiture. Hence their power of + selling their plantation rights and improvements. This is the + origin of Ulster tenant-right.'</p> + + <p>Yet the work went on slowly enough in some districts. The + viceroy, Chichester, was not neglected in the distribution of the + spoils. He not only got the O'Dogherty's country, Innishown, but + a large tract in Antrim, including the towns of Carrickfergus and + Belfast. An English tourist <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page173" id="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> travelling that way in + 1635 gives a quaint description of the country in that transition + period:—</p> + + <p>On July 5 he landed at Carrickfergus, where he found that Lord + Chichester had a stately house, 'or rather like a prince's + palace.' In Belfast, he said, my Lord Chichester had another + <i>daintie</i>, stately palace, which, indeed, was the glory and + beauty of the town. And there were also <i>daintie</i> orchards, + gardens, and walks planted. The Bishop of Dromore, to whom the + town of Dromore entirely belonged, lived there in a 'little + timber house.' He was not given to hospitality, for though his + chaplain was a Manchester man, named Leigh, he allowed his + English visitor to stop at an inn over the way. 'This,' wrote the + tourist, 'is a very dear house, 8<i>d.</i> ordinary for + ourselves, 6<i>d.</i> for our servants, and we were overcharged + in <i>beere</i>.' The way thence to Newry was most difficult for + a stranger to find out. 'Therein he wandered, and, being lost, + fell among the Irish <i>touns</i>.' The Irish houses were the + poorest cabins he had seen, erected in the middle of fields and + grounds which they farmed and rented. 'This,' he added, 'is a + wild country, not inhabited, planted, nor enclosed.' He gave an + Irishman 'a groat' to bring him into the way, yet he led him, + like a villein, directly out of the way, and so left him in the + lurch.</p> + + <p>Leaving Belfast, this Englishman said: 'Near hereunto, Mr. + Arthur Hill, son and heir of Sir Moyses Hill, hath a brave + plantation, which he holds by lease, and which has still forty + years to come. The plantation, it is said, doth yield him + 1,000<i>l.</i> per annum. Many Lancashire and Cheshire men are + here planted. They sit upon a rack-rent, and pay 5<i>s.</i> or + 6<i>s.</i> for good ploughing land, which now is clothed with + excellent good <i>corne</i>.'</p> + + <p>According to the Down survey, made twenty-two years later, + Dromore had not improved: 'There are no buildings in this parish; + only Dromore, it being a market town, hath some old thatched + houses and a ruined church standing in it. What other buildings + are in the parish are nothing but removeable + <i>creaghts</i>.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page174" id= + "page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> + + <p>To the economist and the legislator, the most interesting + portions of the state papers of the 16th and 17th centuries are, + undoubtedly, those which tell us how the people lived, how they + were employed, housed, and fed, what measure of happiness fell to + their lot, and what were the causes that affected their welfare, + that made them contented and loyal, or miserable and disaffected. + Contemporary authors, who deal with social phenomena, are also + read with special interest for the same reason. They present + pictures of society in their own time, and enable us to conceive + the sort of life our forefathers led, and to estimate, at least + in a rough way, what they did for posterity.</p> + + <p>Harris was moved to write his 'History of Down' by indignation + at the misrepresentations of the English press of his day. They + had the audacity to say that 'the Irish people were uncivilised, + rude, and barbarous; that they delighted in butter + <i>tempered</i> with oatmeal, and sometimes flesh without bread, + which they ate raw, having first pressed the blood out of it; and + drank down large draughts of usquebaugh for digestion, reserving + their little corn for the horses; that their dress and habits + were no less barbarous; that cattle was their chief wealth; that + they counted it no infamy to commit robberies, and that in their + view violence and murder were in no way displeasing to God; that + the country was overgrown with woods, which abounded in wolves + and other voracious animals,' &c. It was, no doubt, very + provoking that such stories should be repeated 130 years after + the plantation of Ulster, and Harris undertook, with laudable + patriotism, to show 'how far this description of Ireland was + removed from the truth, from the present state of only one county + in the kingdom.' The information which the well-informed writer + gives is most valuable, and very much to the purpose of our + present inquiry.</p> + + <p>More than half the arable ground was then (in 1745) under + tillage, affording great quantities of oats, some rye and wheat, + and 'plenty of barley,' commonly called English <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page175" id="page175"></a>[pg 175]</span> or + spring barley, making excellent malt liquor, which of late, by + means of drying the grain with Kilkenny coals, was exceedingly + improved. The ale made in the county was distinguished for its + fine colour and flavour. The people found the benefit of '<i>a + sufficient tillage</i>, being not obliged to take up with the + poor unwholesome diet which the commonalty of Munster and + Connaught had been forced to in the late years of scarcity; and + sickness and mortality were not near so great as in other + provinces of the kingdom.'</p> + + <p>Yet the county Down seemed very unfavourable for tillage. The + economists of our time, perhaps our viceroys too, would say it + was only fit for bullocks and sheep. It was 'naturally coarse, + and full of hills; the air was sharp and cold in winter, with + earlier frosts than in the south, the soil inclined to + <i>wood</i>, unless constantly ploughed and kept open, and the + low grounds degenerated into morass or bog where the drains were + neglected. Yet, by the constant labour and industry of the + inhabitants, the morass grounds had of late, by burning and + proper management, produced surprisingly large crops of rye and + oats. Coarse lands, manured with lime, had answered the farmers' + views in wheat, and yielded a great produce, and wherever marl + was found there was great store of barley. The staple commodity + of the county was linen, due care of which manufacture brought + great wealth among the people. Consequently the county was + observed to be 'populous and flourishing, though it did not + become amenable to the laws till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, + nor fully till the reign of James I.' The English habit, + language, and manners almost universally prevailed. 'Irish,' says + Harris, 'can be heard only among the inferior rank of <i>Irish + Papists</i>, and even that little diminishes every day, by the + great desire the poor natives have that their children should be + taught to read and write in the English tongue in the Charter, or + other English Protestant schools, to which they willingly send + them.' The author exults in the progress of Protestantism. There + were but two Catholic gentlemen in the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page176" id="page176"></a>[pg 176]</span> + county who had estates, and their income was very moderate. When + the priests were registered in 1704 there were but thirty in the + county. In 1733 the books of the hearth-money collectors + showed—</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left">Protestant families in the county Down</td> + + <td align="right">14,000</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Catholic families</td> + + <td align="right">5,210</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Total Protestants, reckoning five a + family</td> + + <td align="right">70,300</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Total Catholics</td> + + <td align="right">26,050</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">______</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Protestant majority</td> + + <td align="right">44,250</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>Our author, who was an excellent Protestant of the 18th + century type, with boundless faith in the moral influence of the + Charter schools, would be greatly distressed if he could have + lived in these degenerate days, and seen the last religious + census, which gives the following figures for the county of + Down:—</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left">Protestants of all denominations</td> + + <td align="right">202,026</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Catholics</td> + + <td align="right">97,240</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">_______</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Total population</td> + + <td align="right">299,266</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>The total number of souls in the county in the year 1733 was + 96,350. These figures show that the population was more than + trebled in 130 years, and that the Catholics have increased + nearly fourfold.</p> + + <p>The history of the Hertfort estate illustrates every phase of + the tenant-right question. It contains 66,000 acres, and + comprises the barony of Upper Massereene, part of the barony of + Upper Belfast, in the county of Antrim, and part of the baronies + of Castlereagh and Lower Iveagh, in the county of Down; + consisting altogether of no less than 140 townlands. It extends + from Dunmurry to Lough Neagh, a distance of about fourteen miles + as the crow flies. When the Devon commission made its inquiry, + the population upon this estate amounted to about 50,000. It + contains mountain land, and the mountains are particularly wet, + because, unlike the mountains in other parts of the country, the + substratum is a stiff retentive clay. At that time there was not + a spot of mountain or bog upon Lord Hertfort's <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page177" id="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span> + estate that was not let by the acre. About one-third of the land + is of first-rate quality; there are 15,000 or 16,000 acres of + mountain, and about the same quantity of land of medium + quality.</p> + + <p>In the early part of Elizabeth's reign this property formed a + section of the immense territory ruled over by the O'Neills. One + of these princes was called the Captain of <i>Kill-Ultagh</i>. In + those times, when might was right, this redoubtable chief levied + heavy contributions on the settlers, partly in retaliation for + aggressions and outrages perpetrated by the English upon his own + people. The queen, with the view of effecting a reconciliation, + requested the lord deputy, Sir H. Sidney, to pay the Irish chief + a visit. He did so, but his welcome was by no means gratifying. + In fact, O'Neill would not condescend to receive him at all. His + reason for exhibiting a want of hospitality so un-Irish was + this:—He said his 'home had been pillaged, his lands swept + of their cattle, and his vassals shot like wild animals.' The + lord deputy, in his notes of the northern tour, written in + October, 1585, says:—'I came to Kill-Ultagh, which I found + rich and plentiful, after the manner of these countries. But the + captain was proud and insolent; he would not come to me, nor have + I apt reason to visit him as I would. But he shall be paid for + this before long; I will not remain in his debt.' The 'apt + reason' for carrying out this threat soon occurred. Tyrone had + once more taken the field against the queen; the captain joined + his relative; all his property was consequently forfeited, and + handed over to Sir Fulke Conway, a Welsh soldier of some + celebrity. Sir Fulke died in 1626, and his brother, who was a + favourite of Charles I., succeeded to the estate, to which his + royal patron added the lands of Derryvolgie, thus making him lord + of nearly 70,000 statute acres of the broad lands of Down and + Antrim. The Conways brought over a number of English and Welsh + families, who settled on the estate, and intermarrying with the + natives, a race of sturdy yeomen soon sprang up. The Conways were + good landlords, and greatly beloved by the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page178" id="page178"></a>[pg 178]</span> + people. With the addition made to the property the king conferred + upon the fortunate recipient of his bounty the title of Baron. At + the close of 1627, Lord Conway began the erection of a castle + (finished in 1630) on a picturesque mount overlooking the Lagan, + and commanding a view of the hills of Down. During the struggles + of 1641 the castle was burned down, together with the greater + part of the town, which up to this time was called Lisnagarvah, + but thenceforth it received the name of Lisburn. Very little, + however, had been done by the settlers when the outbreak + occurred, for an English traveller in 1635 remarked that 'neither + the town nor the country thereabouts was <i>planted</i>, being + almost all woods and moorish.' About a month after the breaking + out of the rebellion the king's forces, under Sir George Rawdon, + obtained a signal victory over the Irish commanded by Sir Phelim + O'Neill, Sir Con M'Guinness, and General Plunket. In 1662 the + town obtained a charter of incorporation from Charles II., and + sent two members to the Irish parliament, the church being at the + same time made the cathedral for Down and Connor. The Conway + estates passed to the Seymours in this way. Popham Seymour, Esq., + was the son of Sir Edward Seymour, fourth baronet, described by + Bishop Burnet as 'the ablest man of his party, the first speaker + of the House of Commons that was not bred to the law; a graceful + man, bold and quick, and of high birth, being the elder branch of + the Seymour family.' Popham Seymour inherited the estates of the + Earl of Conway, who was his cousin, under a will dated August 19, + 1683, and assumed in consequence the surname of Conway. This + gentleman died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother + Francis, who was raised to the peerage in 1703 by the title of + Baron Conway, of Kill-Ultagh, county Antrim. His eldest son, the + second baron, was created Viscount Beauchamp and Earl of Hertfort + in 1750. In 1765 he was Viceroy of Ireland, and in 1793 he was + created Marquis of Hertfort. The present peer, born in the year + 1800, is the fourth marquis, having succeeded his father in + 1842.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page179" id= + "page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> + + <p>Lisburn is classic ground. It represents all sorts of historic + interest. On this hill, now called the Castle Gardens, the + Captain of Kill-Ultagh mustered his galloglasse. Here, amid the + flames of the burning town, was fought a decisive battle between + the English and the Irish, one of the Irish chiefs in that + encounter being the ancestor of the restorer of St. Patrick's + Cathedral. The battle lasted till near midnight, when the Irish + were put to flight, leaving behind them dead and wounded thrice + the number of the entire garrison. Here, on this mount, stood + William III. in June, 1690. I saw in the church the monument of + Jeremy Taylor, and the pulpit from which the most eloquent of + bishops delivered his immortal sermons. I saw the tablet erected + by his mother to the memory of Nicholson, the young hero of + Delhi, and those of several other natives of Lisburn who have + contributed, by their genius and courage, to promote the fame and + power of England. Among the rest Lieutenant Dobbs, who was killed + in an encounter with Paul Jones, the American pirate, in + Carrickfergus Bay.</p> + + <p>I received a hospitable welcome from a loyal gentleman in the + house which was the residence of General Munroe, the hero of '98, + and saw the spot in the square where he was hanged in view of his + own windows. But I confess that none of the monuments of the past + excited so much interest in my mind as the house of Louis + Crommelin, the Huguenot refugee, who founded the linen + manufacture at Lisburn. That house is now occupied by Mr. Hugh + M'Call, author of 'Our Staple Manufactures,' who worthily + represents the intelligence, the public spirit, and patriotism of + the English and French settlers, with a dash of the Irish ardour, + a combination of elements which perhaps produces the best + 'staple' of character. I stood upon the identical oak floor upon + which old Crommelin planned and worked, and in the grave-yard Mr. + M'Call deciphered for me the almost obliterated inscriptions, + recording the deaths of various members of the Crommelin family. + Their leader, Louis himself, died in July, 1727, aged 75 + years.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page180" id= + "page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> + + <p>The revocation of the Edict of Nantes drove three quarters of + a million of Protestants out of France. A great number settled in + London, where they established the arts of silk-weaving in + Spitalfields and of fancy jewellery in St. Giles's. About 6,000 + fled to Ireland, of whom many settled in Dublin, where they + commenced the silk manufacture, and where one of them, La Touche, + opened the first banking establishment. Wherever they settled + they were missionaries of industry, and examples of perseverance + and success in skilled labour, as well as integrity in commerce. + Many of those exiles settled in Lisburn, and the colony was + subsequently joined by Louis Crommelin, a native of Armandcourt + near St. Quentin, where for several centuries his forefathers had + carried on the flaxen manufacture on their own extensive + possessions in the province of Picardy. Foreseeing the storm of + persecution, the family had removed to Holland, and, at the + personal request of the Prince of Orange, Louis came over to take + charge of the colonies of his countrymen, which had been + established in different parts of Ireland. The linen trade had + flourished in this country from the earliest times. Linen formed, + down to the reign of Elizabeth, almost the only dress of the + population, from the king down—saffron-coloured, and worn + in immense flowing robes, occasionally wrapped in various forms + round the body. Lord Stafford had exerted himself strenuously to + improve the fabric by the forcible introduction of better looms; + but little had been done in this direction till the Huguenots + came and brought their own looms, suited for the manufacture of + fine fabrics. Mark Dupre, Nicholas de la Cherois, Obre, Rochet, + Bouchoir, St. Clair, and others, whose ashes lie beside the + Lisburn Cathedral and in the neighbouring churchyards, and many + of whose descendants still survive among the gentry and + manufacturers of Down and Antrim, were, with Crommelin, the chief + promoters of the linen trade which has wrought such wonders in + the province of Ulster. Lord Conway granted the Lisburn colonists + a site for a place of worship, which was known as <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page181" id="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> the + French Church, and stood on the ground now occupied by the + Court-house in Castle Street. The Government paid 60<i>l.</i> a + year to their first minister, Charles de la Valade, who was + succeeded by his relative, the Rev. Saumarez du Bourdieu, + distinguished as a divine and a historian. His father was + chaplain to the famous Schomberg, and when he fell from his horse + mortally wounded the reverend gentleman carried him in his arms + to the spot on which he died a short time after. Talent was + hereditary in this family, the Rev. John du Bourdieu, rector of + Annahilt, was author of the Statistical Surveys of Down and + Antrim, published by the Royal Dublin Society. Referring to his + ancestors he says that his father had been fifty-six years + minister of the French Church in Lisburn. Mr. M'Call states that, + for some time before his death in 1812, he held the living of + Lambeg, the members of the French Church having by that time + merged into union with the congregation of the Lisburn Cathedral. + A similar process took place in Dublin, Portarlington, and + elsewhere, the descendants of the Huguenots becoming zealous + members of the Established Church.</p> + + <p>Du Bourdieu informs us that Louis Crommelin obtained a patent + for carrying on and improving the linen manufacture, with a grant + of 800<i>l.</i> per annum, as interest of 10,000<i>l.</i>, to be + advanced by him as a capital for carrying on the same; + 200<i>l.</i> per annum for his trouble; 120<i>l.</i> per annum + for three assistants; and 160<i>l.</i> for the support of the + chaplain. Mr. M'Call, in his book, copies the following note of + payments made by the Government from 1704 to 1708:—</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">£</td> + + <td align="right"><i>s.</i></td> + + <td align="right"><i>d.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Louis Crommelin, as overseer of linen + manufacture</td> + + <td align="right">470</td> + + <td align="right">19</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">W. Crommelin, salary and rent of Kilkenny + factory</td> + + <td align="right">451</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + + <td align="right">7</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Louis Crommelin, to repay him for sums + advanced to</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â flax dressers and reed makers, and for + services of</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â French ministers</td> + + <td align="right">2,225</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Louis Crommelin, for individual expenses and + for sums</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â paid Thomas Turner, of Lurgan, for buying + flax-seed</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â and printing reports</td> + + <td align="right">993</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Louis Crommelin, three years' pension</td> + + <td align="right">600</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">French minister's two years' pension</td> + + <td align="right">120</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Total</td> + + <td align="right">£4,860</td> + + <td align="right">9</td> + + <td align="right">7</td> + </tr> + </table><span class="pagenum"><a name="page182" id= + "page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> + + <p>It should be mentioned, that when the owner of Lisburn, then + Earl of Hertfort, held the office of lord lieutenant in 1765, + with his son, Viscount Beauchamp, as chief secretary, he rendered + very valuable services to the linen trade, and was a liberal + patron of the damask manufacture, which arrived at a degree of + perfection hitherto unequalled, in the hands of Mr. William + Coulson, founder of the great establishment of that name which + still flourishes in Lisburn, and from whom not only the court of + St. James's but foreign courts also received their table linen. + Du Bourdieu mentions that Lisburn and Lurgan were the great + markets for cambrics—the name given to cloth of this + description, which was then above five shillings a yard; under + that price it was called lawn. In that neighbourhood cambric had + been made which sold for 1<i>l.</i> 2<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> a yard + unbleached. The principal manufacturing establishments in + addition to Messrs. Coulsons' are those of the Messrs. Richardson + and Co. and the Messrs. Barbour.</p> + + <p>Lord Dufferin has written the ablest defence of the Irish + landlords that has ever appeared. In that masterly work he says: + 'But though a dealer in land and a payer of wages, I am above all + things an Irishman, and as an Irishman I rejoice in any + circumstance which tends to strengthen the independence of the + tenant farmer, or to add to the comfort of the labourer's + existence.' If titles and possessions implied the inheritance of + religion and blood, Lord Dufferin ought indeed to be 'Irish of + the Irish' as the men of Ulster in the olden times proudly called + themselves. On the railroad from Belfast to Bangor there is a + station constructed with singular beauty, like the castellated + entrance to a baronial hall, and on the elaborately chiselled + stone we read 'Clandeboye.' Under the railway from Graypoint on + Belfast Lough runs a carriage-drive two miles long, to the famous + seat of the O'Neills, where his lordship's mansion is situated, + enclosed among aged trees, remembrancers of the past. Perhaps, + there is no combination of names in the kingdom more suggestive + of the barbaric power of the middle ages and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page183" id="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> the + most refined culture of modern civilisation. The avenue, kept + like a garden walk, with a flourishing plantation on each side, + was cut through some of the best farms on the estate, and must + have been a work of great expense. Taking this in connection with + other costly improvements, among which are several picturesque + buildings for the residence of workmen—model lodging-houses + resembling fancy villas at the seaside—we can understand + how his lordship, within the last fifteen years, has paid away in + wages of labour the immense sum of 60,000<i>l.</i>, at the rate + of 4,000<i>l.</i> a year.</p> + + <p>The Abbot of Bangor never gave employment like that. William + O'Donnon, the last of the line, was found in the thirty-second + year of Henry VIII. to be possessed of thirty-one townlands in + Ards and Upper Clandeboye, the grange of Earbeg in the county + Antrim, the two Copeland Islands, the tithes of the island of + Raghery, three rectories in Antrim, three in Down, and a townland + in the Isle of Man. The abbey, some of the walls of which still + remain, adjoining the parish church, was built early in the + twelfth century. We are informed by Archdall, that it had so gone + to ruin in 1469 through the neglect of the abbot, that he was + evicted by order of Pope Paul II., who commanded that the friars + of the third order of St. Francis should immediately take + possession of it, which was accordingly done, says Wadding, by + Father Nicholas of that order. The whole of the possessions were + granted by James I. to James Viscount Clandeboye.</p> + + <p>Bangor was one of the most celebrated schools in Ireland when + this island was said to have been 'the <i>quiet</i> abode of + learning and sanctity.' As to the quiet, I could never make out + at what period it existed, nor how the 'thousands' of students at + Bangor could have been supported. The Danes came occasionally up + the lough and murdered the monks <i>en masse</i>, plundering the + shrines. But the greatest scourges of the monasteries in Down and + elsewhere were, not the foreign pagans and pirates, but the + professedly Christian chiefs of their own country. It appears, + therefore, that <span class="pagenum"><a name="page184" id= + "page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> neither the Irish clergy nor the + people have much reason to regret the flight of the Celtic + princes and nobles, who were utterly unable to fulfil the duties + of a government; and who did little or nothing but consume what + the industry of the peasants, under unparalleled difficulties, + produced. The people of Clandeboye and Dufferin might have been + proud that their chief received 40<i>l.</i> a year as a tribute + or blackmail from Lecale, that he might abstain from visiting the + settlers there with his galloglasse; but Lord Dufferin, the + successor of the O'Neill of Clandeboye, spends among the + peasantry of the present day 4,000<i>l.</i> a year in wages. And + how different is the lot of the people! Not dwelling in wattled + huts under the oaks of the primeval forest, but in neat slated + houses, with whitewashed walls, looking so bright and pretty in + the sunshine, like snowdrops in the distant landscape. On the + hill between Bangor and Newtownards, Lord Dufferin has erected a + beautiful tower, from which, reclining on his couch, he can see + the country to an immense extent, from the mountains of Antrim to + the mountains of Mourne, Strangford Lough, Belfast Lough, the + Antrim coast, and Portpatrick at the other side of the Channel, + all spread out before him like a coloured map.</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page185" id="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + + <h3>THE REBELLION OF 1641.</h3> + + <p>The Rebellion of 1641—generally called a + 'massacre'—was undoubtedly a struggle on the part of the + exiled nobles and clergy and the evicted peasants to get + possession of their estates and farms, which had been occupied by + the British settlers for nearly a generation. They might probably + have continued to occupy them in peace, but for the fanaticism of + the lords justices, Sir John Parsons and Sir John Borlace. It was + reported and believed that, at a public entertainment in Dublin, + Parsons declared that in twelve months no more Catholics should + be seen in that country. The English Puritans and Scottish + Covenanters were determined never to lay down their arms till + they had made an end of Popery. Pym, the celebrated Puritan + leader, avowed that the policy of his party was not to leave a + priest alive in the land. Meantime, the Irish chiefs were busy + intriguing at Rome, Madrid, Paris, and other continental + capitals, clamouring for an invasion of Ireland, to restore + monarchy and Catholicity—to expel the English planters from + the forfeited lands. Philip III. of Spain encouraged these + aspirations. He had an Irish legion under the command of Henry + O'Neill, son of the fugitive Earl of Tyrone. It was reported + that, in 1630 there were in the service of the Archduchess, in + the Spanish Netherlands alone, 100 Irish officers able to command + companies, and 20 fit to be colonels. There were many others at + Lisbon, Florence, Milan, and Naples. They had in readiness 5,000 + or 6,000 stand of arms laid up at Antwerp, bought out of the + deduction of their monthly <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page186" id="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span> pay. The banished + ecclesiastics formed at every court a most efficient diplomatic + corps, the chief of these intriguers being the celebrated Luke + Wadding. Religious wars were popular in those times, and the + invasion of Ireland would be like a crusade against heresy. But + with the Irish chiefs the ruling passion was to get possession of + their homes and their lands. The most active spirit among these + was Roger, or Rory O'Moore, a man of high character, great + ability, handsome person, and fascinating manners. With him were + associated Conor Maguire, Costelloe M'Mahon, and Thorlough + O'Neill, Sir Phelim O'Neill, Sir Con Magennis, Colonel Hugh + M'Mahon, and the Rev. Dr. Heber M'Mahon. O'Moore visited the + country, went through the several provinces, and, by + communicating with the chiefs personally, organised the + conspiracy to expel the British and recover the kingdom for + Charles II. and the Pope.</p> + + <p>The plan agreed upon by the confederates was this:—A + rising when the harvest was gathered in; a simultaneous attack on + all the English fortresses; the surprise of Dublin Castle, said + to contain arms for 12,000 men; and to obtain for these objects + all possible aid, in officers, men, and arms, from the Continent. + The rising took place on the night of October 22, 1641. It might + have been completely successful if the Castle of Dublin had been + seized. It seemed an easy prey, for it was guarded only by a few + pensioners and forty halberdiers, who would be quickly + overpowered. But the plot was made known to the lords justices by + an informer when on the eve of execution.</p> + + <p>Sir Phelim O'Neill was one of those 'Irish gentlemen' who, by + royal favour, were permitted to retain some portions of their + ancient patrimonies. At this time he was in possession of + thirty-eight townlands in the barony of Dungannon, county Tyrone, + containing 23,000 acres, then estimated to be worth + 1,600<i>l.</i> a-year, equal to some 10,000<i>l.</i> of our + money. Charles Boulton held by lease from the same chief 600 + acres, at a yearly rent of 29<i>l.</i> for sixty years, in + consideration of a fine of 1,000<i>l.</i> In 1641 this property + yielded a profit rent <span class="pagenum"><a name="page187" id= + "page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> of 150<i>l.</i> a year. Three + townlands in the same barony were claimed by George Rawden of + Lisnagarvagh, as leased to him by Sir Phelim under the rent of + 100<i>l.</i>, estimated to be worth 50<i>l.</i> per annum.</p> + + <p>Sir Phelim might, therefore, have been content, so far as + property was concerned. But, setting aside patriotism, religion, + and ambition, it is likely enough that he distrusted the + Government, and feared the doom pronounced in Dublin Castle + against all the gentlemen of his creed and race. At all events he + put himself at the head of the insurrection in Ulster. He and the + officers under his command, on the night of the 22nd, surprised + and captured the forts of Charlemont and Mountjoy. The towns of + Dungannon, Newry, Carrickmacross, Castleblaney, Tandragee fell + into the hands of the insurgents, while the O'Reillys and + Maguires overran Cavan and Fermanagh. Sir Conor Magennis wrote + from Newry to the Government officers in Down: 'We are for our + lives and liberties. We desire no blood to be shed; but, if you + mean to shed our blood, be sure we shall be as ready as you for + that purpose.' And Sir Phelim O'Neill issued the following + proclamation:—</p> + + <p>'These are to intimate and make known unto all persons + whatsoever, in and through the whole country, the true intent and + meaning of us whose names are hereunto subscribed: 1. That the + first assembling of us is nowise intended against our sovereign + lord the king, nor hurt of any of his subjects, either English or + Scotch; but only for the defence and libertie of ourselves and + the Irish natives of this kingdom. And we further declare that + whatsoever hurt hitherto hath been done to any person shall be + presently repaired; and we will that every person forthwith, + after proclamation hereof, make their speedy repaire unto their + own houses, under paine of death, that no further hurt be done + unto any one under the like paine, and that this be proclaimed in + all places.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'PHELIM O'NEILL.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'At Dungannon, the 23rd October, 1641.'</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page188" id= + "page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> + + <p>It is easy for an insurgent chief to give such orders to a + tumultuous mass of excited, vindictive, and drunken men, but not + so easy to enforce them. The common notion among Protestants, + however, that a midnight massacre of all the Protestant settlers + was intended, or attempted, is certainly unfounded. Though + horrible outrages were committed on both sides, the number of + them has been greatly exaggerated. Mr. Prendergast quotes some + contemporary authorities, which seem to be decisive on this + point. In the same year was published by 'G.S., minister of God's + word in Ireland,' 'A Brief Declaration of the Barbarous and + Inhuman Dealings of the Northern Irish Rebels ...; written to + excite the English Nation to relieve our poor Wives and Children + that have escaped the Rebels' savage Cruelties.'</p> + + <p>This author says, it was the intention of the Irish to + massacre all the English. On Saturday they were to disarm them; + on Sunday to seize all their cattle and goods; on Monday, at the + watchword 'Skeane,' they were to cut all the English throats. The + former they executed; the third only (that is the massacre) they + failed in.</p> + + <p>That the massacre rested hitherto in intention only is further + evident from the proclamation of the lords justices of February + 8, 1642; for, while offering large sums for the heads of the + chief northern gentlemen in arms (Sir Phelim O'Neill's name + heading the list with a thousand pounds), the lords justices + state that the massacre had failed. Many thousands had been + robbed and spoiled, dispossessed of house and lands, many + murdered on the spot; but the chief part of their plots (so the + proclamation states), and amongst them a universal massacre, had + been disappointed.</p> + + <p>But, says Mr. Prendergast, after Lord Ormond and Sir Simon + Harcourt, with the English forces, in the month of April, 1642, + had burned the houses of the gentry in the Pale, and committed + slaughters of unarmed men, and the Scotch forces, in the same + month, after beating off Sir Phelim O'Neill's army at Newry, + drowned and shot men, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page189" id= + "page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> women, and priests, in that town, + who had surrendered on condition of mercy, then it was that some + of Sir Phelim O'Neill's wild followers in revenge, and in fear of + the advancing army, massacred their prisoners in some of the + towns in Tyrone. The subsequent cruelties were not on one side + only, and were magnified to render the Irish detestable, so as to + make it impossible for the king to seek their aid without ruining + his cause utterly in England. The story of the massacre, invented + to serve the politics of the hour, has been since kept up for the + purposes of interest. No inventions could be too monstrous that + served to strengthen the possession of Irish confiscated + lands.</p> + + <p>'A True Relation of the Proceedings of the Scots and English + Forces in the North of Ireland,' published in 1642, states that + on Monday, May 5, the common soldiers, without direction from the + general-major, took some eighteen of the Irish women of the town + [Newry], stripped them naked, threw them into the river, and + drowned them, shooting some in the water. More had suffered so, + but that some of the common soldiers were made examples of.</p> + + <p>'A Levite's Lamentation,' published at the same time, thus + refers to those atrocities: 'Mr. Griffin, Mr. Bartly, Mr. + Starkey, all of Ardmagh, and murdered by these bloudsuckers on + the sixth of May. For, about the fourth of May, as I take it, we + put neare fourty of them to death upon the bridge of the Newry, + amongst which were two of the Pope's pedlers, two seminary + priests, in return of which they slaughtered many prisoners in + their custody.'</p> + + <p>A curious illustration of the spirit of that age is given in + the fact that an English officer threw up his commission in + disgust, because the Bishop of Meath, in a sermon delivered in + Christ Church, Dublin, in 1642, pleaded for mercy to Irish women + and children.</p> + + <p>The unfortunate settlers fled panic-stricken from their homes, + leaving behind their goods, and, in many cases, their clothes; + delicate women with little children, weary and footsore, hurried + on to some place of refuge. In Cavan they <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page190" id="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> + crowded the house of the illustrious Bishop Bedell, at Kilmore. + Enniskillen, Derry, Lisburn, Belfast, Carrickfergus, with some + isolated castles, were still held by the English garrisons, and + in these the Protestant fugitives found succour and protection. + Before their flight they were in such terror that, according to + the Rev. Dr. Maxwell, rector of Tynan, for three nights no cock + was heard to crow, no dog to bark. The city of London sent four + ships to Londonderry with all kinds of provisions, clothing, and + accoutrements for several companies of foot, and abundance of + ammunition. The twelve chief companies sent each two pieces of + ordnance. No doubt these liberal and seasonable supplies + contributed materially to keep the city from yielding to the + insurgent forces by which it was besieged.</p> + + <p>Meantime the Government in Dublin lost not a moment in taking + the most effectual measures for crushing the rebellion. Lord + Ormond, as lieutenant-general, had soon at his disposal 12,000 + men, with a fine train of field artillery, provided by Strafford + for his campaign in the north of England. The king, who was in + Scotland, procured the dispatch of 1,500 men to Ulster; and + authorised Lords Chichester and Clandeboye to raise regiments + among their tenants. Thus the 'Scottish army' was increased to + about 5,000 foot, with cavalry in proportion. The Irish, on the + other hand, were ill-provided with arms and ammunition. They were + not even provided with pikes, for they had not time to make them. + The military officers counted upon did not appear, though they + had promised to be on the field at fourteen days' notice. Rory + O'Moore, like 'Meagher of the sword' in 1848, had never seen + service; and Sir Phelim O'Neill, like Smith O'Brien, was only a + civilian when he assumed the high-sounding title of 'Lord General + of the Catholic army in Ulster.' He also took the title of 'the + O'Neill.' The massacre of a large number of Catholics by the + Carrickfergus garrison, driving them over the cliffs into the sea + at the point of the bayonet, madly excited the Irish thirst for + blood. Mr. Darcy Magee admits that, from this date forward + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page191" id="page191"></a>[pg + 191]</span> till the arrival of Owen Roe O'Neill, the war assumed + a ferocity of character foreign to the nature of O'Moore, + O'Reilly, and Magennis. 'That Sir Phelim permitted, if he did not + in his gusts of stormy passion instigate, those acts of cruelty + which have stained his otherwise honourable conduct, is too true; + but he stood alone among his confederates in that crime, and that + crime stands alone in his character. Brave to rashness and + disinterested to excess, few rebel chiefs ever made a more heroic + end out of a more deplorable beginning.' The same eulogy would + equally apply to many of the English generals. Cruelty was their + only crime. The Irish rulers of those times, if not taken by + surprise, felt at the outbreak of open rebellion much as the army + feels at the breaking out of a war, in some country where plenty + of prize money can be won, where the looting will be rich and the + promotion rapid. Relying with confidence on the power of England + and the force of discipline, they knew that the active defenders + of the Government would be victorious in the end, and that their + rewards would be estates. The more rebellions, the more forfeited + territory, the more opportunities to implicate, ruin, and despoil + the principal men of the hated race. The most sober writer, + dealing with such facts, cannot help stirring men's blood while + recording the deeds of the heroes who founded the English system + of government in Ireland, and secured to themselves immense + tracts of its most fertile soil. What then must be the effect of + the eloquent and impassioned denunciations of such writers as Mr. + Butt, Mr. A.M. Sullivan, and Mr. John Mitchell, not to speak of + the 'national press'? Yet the most fiery patriot utters nothing + stronger on the English rule in Ireland than what the Irish may + read in the works of the greatest statesmen and most profound + thinkers in England. The evil is in the facts, and the facts + cannot be suppressed because they are the roots of our present + difficulties. Mr. Darcy Magee, one of the most moderate of Irish + historians, writing far away from his native land, not long + before he fell by the bullet of <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page192" id="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span> the assassin—a + martyr to his loyalty—sketches the preliminaries of + confiscation at the commencement of this civil war.</p> + + <p>In Munster, their chief instruments were the aged Earl of + Cork, still insatiable as ever for other men's possessions, and + the president, St. Leger: in Leinster, Sir Charles Coote. Lord + Cork prepared 1,100 indictments against men of property in his + province, which he sent to the speaker of the Long Parliament, + with an urgent request that they might be returned to him, with + authority to proceed against the parties named as outlaws. In + Leinster, 4,000 similar indictments were found in the course of + two days by the free use of the rack with witnesses. Sir John + Read, an officer of the king's bedchamber, and Mr. Barnwall of + Kilbrue, a gentleman of threescore and six, were among those who + underwent the torture. When these were the proceedings of the + tribunals in peaceable cities, we may imagine what must have been + the excesses of the soldiery in the open country. In the south, + Sir William St. Leger directed a series of murderous raids upon + the peasantry of Cork, which at length produced their natural + effect. Lord Muskerry and other leading recusants, who had + offered their services to maintain the peace of the province, + were driven by an insulting refusal to combine for their own + protection. The 1,100 indictments of Lord Cork soon swelled their + ranks, and the capture of the ancient city of Cashel, by Philip + O'Dwyer, announced the insurrection of the south. Waterford soon + after opened its gates to Colonel Edmund Butler; Wexford declared + for the Catholic cause, and Kilkenny surrendered to Lord + Mountgarret. In Wicklow, Coote's troopers committed murders such + as had not been equalled since the days of the pagan Northmen. + Little children were carried aloft writhing on the pikes of these + barbarians, whose worthy commander confessed that 'he liked such + frolics.' Neither age nor sex was spared, and an ecclesiastic was + especially certain of instant death. Fathers Higgins and White of + Naas, in Kildare, were given up by Coote to these 'lambs,' + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page193" id="page193"></a>[pg + 193]</span> though, each had been granted a safe-conduct by his + superior officer, Lord Ormond. And these murders were taking + place at the very time when the Franciscans and Jesuits of Cashel + were protecting Dr. Pullen, the Protestant chancellor of that + cathedral and other Protestant prisoners; while also the castle + of Cloughouter, in Cavan, the residence of Bishop Bedell, was + crowded with Protestant fugitives, all of whom were carefully + guarded by the chivalrous Philip O'Reilly.</p> + + <p>In Ulster, by the end of April, there were 19,000 troops, + regulars and volunteers, in the garrison or in the field. Newry + was taken by Monroe and Chichester. Magennis was obliged to + abandon Down, and McMahon Monaghan; Sir Phelim was driven to burn + Armagh and Dungannon and to take his last stand at Charlemont. In + a severe action with Sir Robert and Sir William Stewart, he had + displayed his usual courage with better than his usual fortune, + which, perhaps, we may attribute to the presence with him of Sir + Alexander McDonnell, brother to Lord Antrim, the famous + <i>Colkitto</i> of the Irish and Scottish wars. But the severest + defeat which the confederates had was in the heart of Leinster, + at the hamlet of Kilrush, within four miles of Athy. Lord Ormond, + returning from a second reinforcement of Naas and other Kildare + forts, at the head, by English account, of 4,000 men, found on + April 13 the Catholics of the midland counties, under Lords + Mountgarrett, Ikerrin, and Dunboyne, Sir Morgan Cavenagh, Rory + O'Moore, and Hugh O'Byrne, drawn up, by his report 8,000 strong, + to dispute his passage. With Ormond were the Lord Dillon, Lord + Brabazon, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir Charles Coote, and Sir T. + Lucas. The combat was short but murderous. The confederates left + 700 men, including Sir Morgan Cavenagh and some other officers, + dead on the field; the remainder retreated in disorder, and + Ormond, with an inconsiderable diminution of numbers, returned in + triumph to Dublin. For this victory the Long Parliament, in a + moment of enthusiasm, voted the lieutenant-general a jewel worth + 500<i>l.</i> If any satisfaction could be <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page194" id="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> + derived from such an incident, the violent death of their most + ruthless enemy, Sir Charles Coote, might have afforded the + Catholics some consolation. That merciless soldier, after the + combat at Kilrush, had been employed in reinforcing Birr and + relieving the castle of Geashill, which the Lady Letitia of + Offally held against the neighbouring tribe of O'Dempsey. On his + return from this service he made a foray against a Catholic + force, which had mustered in the neighbourhood of Trim; here, on + the night of the 7th of May, heading a sally of his troop, he + fell by a musket shot—not without suspicion of being fired + from his own ranks. His son and namesake, who imitated him in all + things, was ennobled at the Restoration by the title of the Earl + of Mountrath.</p> + + <p>The Long Parliament would not trust the king with an army in + Ireland. They consequently took the work of subjugation into + their own hands. Having confiscated 2,500,000 acres of Irish + land, they offered it as security to 'adventurers' who would + advance money to meet the cost of the war. In February, 1642, the + House of Commons received a petition 'of divers well affected' to + it, offering to raise and maintain forces at their own charge + 'against the rebels of Ireland, and afterwards to receive their + recompense out of the rebels' estates.' Under the act 'for the + speedy reducing of the rebels' the adventurers were to carry over + a brigade of 5,000 foot and 500 horse, and to have the right of + appointing their own officers. And they were to have estates + given to them at the following rates: 1,000 acres for + 200<i>l.</i> in Ulster, for 300<i>l.</i> in Connaught, for + 450<i>l.</i> in Munster, and 600<i>l.</i> in Leinster. The rates + per acre were 4<i>s.</i>, 6<i>s.</i>, 8<i>s.</i>, and 12<i>s.</i> + in those provinces respectively.</p> + + <p>The nature of the war, and the spirit in which it was + conducted, may be inferred from the sort of weapons issued from + the military stores. These included scythes with handles and + rings, reaping-hooks, whetstones, and rubstones. They were + intended for cutting down the growing corn, that the people might + be starved into submission, or forced to quit the country. The + commissary of stores was <span class="pagenum"><a name="page195" + id="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> ordered to issue Bibles to the + troops, one Bible for every file, that they might learn from the + Old Testament the sin and danger of sparing idolaters.</p> + + <p>The rebellion in Ulster had almost collapsed before the end of + the year. The tens of thousands who had rushed to the standard of + Sir P. O'Neill were now reduced to a number of weak and + disorganised collections of armed men taking shelter in the + woods. The English garrisons scoured the neighbouring counties + with little opposition, and where they met any they gave no + quarter. Sir William Cole, ancestor of the Earl of Enniskillen, + proudly boasted of his achievement in having 7,000 of the rebels + famished to death within a circuit of a few miles of his + garrison. Lord Enniskillen is an excellent landlord, but the + descendants of the remnant of the natives on his estate do not + forget how the family obtained its wealth and honours. The + Government, however, seemed to have good reason to congratulate + itself that the war was over with the Irish. To these Sir Phelim + O'Neill had shown that there is something in a name: but if the + name does not represent real worth and fitness for the work + undertaken, it is but a shadow. It was so in Sir Phelim's + O'Neill's case. Though he had courage, he was a poor general. But + another hero of the same name soon appeared to redeem the honour + of his race, and to show what the right man can do. At a moment + when the national cause seemed to be lost, when the Celtic + population in Ulster were meditating a wholesale emigration to + the Scottish Highlands—'a word of magic effect was + whispered from the sea-coast to the interior.' Colonel Owen Roe + O'Neill had arrived off Donegal with a single ship, a single + company of veterans, 100 officers, and a quantity of ammunition. + He landed at Doe Castle, proceeded to the fort of Charlemont, met + the heads of the clans at Clones in Monaghan, was elected + general-in-chief of the Catholic forces, and at once set about + organising an army. The Catholics of the whole kingdom had joined + a confederation, which held its meetings at Kilkenny. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page196" id="page196"></a>[pg + 196]</span> A general assembly was convened for October 23, 1642. + The peerage was represented by fourteen lords and eleven bishops. + Generals were appointed for each of the other provinces, Preston + for Leinster, Barry for Munster, and Burke for Connaught. With + the Anglo-Irish portion of the confederacy the war was Catholic, + and the object religious liberty. With them there was no + antipathy or animosity to the English. There was the Pope's + Nuncio and his party, thinking most of papal interests, and there + was the national party, who had been, or were likely to be, made + landless. The king, then at Oxford, was importuned by the + confederation on the one side and the Puritans on the other; one + petitioning for freedom of worship, the other for the suppression + of popery. Pending these appeals there was a long cessation + between the Irish belligerents.</p> + + <p>Ormond had amused the confederates with negotiations for a + permanent peace and settlement, from spring till midsummer, when + Charles, dissatisfied with these endless delays, dispatched to + Ireland a more hopeful ambassador. This was Herbert, Earl of + Glamorgan, one of the few Catholics remaining among the English + nobility, son and heir to the Marquis of Worcester, and + son-in-law to Henry O'Brien, Earl of Thomond. Of a family + devoutly attached to the royal cause, to which it is said they + had contributed not less than 200,000<i>l.</i>, Glamorgan's + religion, his rank, his Irish connections, the intimate + confidence of the king which he was known to possess, all marked + out his embassy as one of the utmost importance.</p> + + <p>The earl arrived in Dublin about August 1, and, after an + interview with Ormond, proceeded to Kilkenny. On the 28th of that + month, preliminary articles were agreed to and signed by the earl + on behalf of the king, and by Lords Montgarrett and Muskerry on + behalf of the confederates. It was necessary, it seems, to get + the concurrence of the Viceroy to these terms, and accordingly + the negotiators on both sides repaired to Dublin. Here Ormond + contrived to detain them ten long weeks in discussions on the + articles relating to religion; it was the 12th of November when + they <span class="pagenum"><a name="page197" id="page197"></a>[pg + 197]</span> returned to Kilkenny, with a much modified treaty. On + the next day, the 13th, the new Papal Nuncio, a prelate who, by + his rank, his eloquence, and his imprudence, was destined to + exercise a powerful influence on the Catholic councils, made his + public entry into that city.</p> + + <p>This personage was John Baptist Rinuccini, Archbishop of Fermo + in the marches of Ancona, which see he had preferred to the more + exalted dignity of Florence.</p> + + <p>From Limerick, borne along on his litter, such was the + feebleness of his health, he advanced by slow stages to Kilkenny, + escorted by a guard of honour, despatched on that duty by the + supreme council.</p> + + <p>The pomp and splendour of his public entry into the Catholic + capital was a striking spectacle. The previous night he slept at + a village three miles from the city, for which he set out early + on the morning of November 13, escorted by his guard and a vast + multitude of the people. Five delegates from the supreme council + accompanied him. A band of fifty students, mounted on horseback, + met him on the way, and their leader, crowned with laurel, + recited some congratulatory Latin verses. At the city gate he + left the litter and mounted a horse richly housed; here the + procession of the clergy and the city guilds awaited him: at the + market cross, a Latin oration was delivered in his honour, to + which he graciously replied in the same language. From the cross + he was escorted to the cathedral, at the door of which he was + received by the aged bishop, Dr. David Rothe. At the high altar + he intonated the <i>Te Deum</i>, and gave the multitude the + apostolic benediction. Then he was conducted to his lodgings, + where he was soon waited upon by Lord Muskerry and General + Preston, who brought him to Kilkenny Castle, where, in the great + gallery, which elicited even a Florentine's admiration, he was + received in stately formality by the president of the + council—Lord Mountgarrett. Another Latin oration on the + nature of his embassy was delivered by the Nuncio, responded to + by Heber, Bishop of Clogher, and so the ceremony of reception + ended.<a id="footnotetag33" name="footnotetag33"></a><a href= + "#footnote33"><sup>1</sup></a></p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page198" id="page198"></a>[pg 198]</span> + + <p>After a long time spent in negotiations, the celebrated + Glamorgan treaty was signed by Ormond for the king, and Lord + Muskerry and the other commissioners for the confederates. It + conceded, in fact, all the most essential claims of the + Irish—equal rights as to property, in the army, in the + universities, and at the bar; gave them seats in both houses and + on the bench; authorised a special commission of oyer and + terminer, composed wholly of confederates; and declared that 'the + independency of the parliament of Ireland on that of England' + should be decided by declaration of both houses 'agreeably to the + laws of the kingdom of Ireland.' In short, this final form of + Glamorgan's treaty gave the Irish Catholics, in 1646, all that + was subsequently obtained, either for the church or the country, + in 1782, 1793, or 1829. 'Though some conditions were omitted, to + which Rinuccini and a majority of the prelates attached + importance, Glamorgan's treaty was, upon the whole, a charter + upon which a free church and a free people might well have stood, + as the fundamental law of their religious and civil + liberties.'</p> + + <p>General O'Neill was greatly annoyed at these delays. Political + events in England swayed the destiny of Ireland then as now. The + poor vacillating, double-dealing king was delivered to the + Puritans, tried, and executed. But before Cromwell came to smash + the confederation and everything papal in Ireland, the Irish + chief gladdened the hearts of his countrymen by the glorious + victory of Benburb, one of the most memorable in Irish + history.</p> + + <p>In a naturally strong position, the Irish, for four hours, + received and repulsed the various charges of the Puritan horse. + Then as the sun began to descend, pouring its rays upon the + enemy, O'Neill led his whole force—five thousand men + against eight—to the attack. One terrible onset swept away + every trace of resistance. There were counted on the field 3,243 + of the Covenanters, and of the Catholics but 70 killed and 100 + wounded. Lord Ardes, and 21 Scottish officers, 32 standards, + 1,500 draught horses, and all the guns and tents, were captured. + Monroe fled to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page199" id= + "page199"></a>[pg 199]</span> Lisburn and thence to + Carrickfergus, where he shut himself up till he could obtain + reinforcements. O'Neill forwarded the captured colours to the + Nuncio at Limerick, by whom they were solemnly placed in the + choir of St. Mary's Cathedral, and afterwards, at the request of + Pope Innocent, sent to Rome. The <i>Te Deum</i> was chanted in + the confederate capital; penitential psalms were sung in the + northern fortresses. 'The Lord of Hosts,' wrote Monroe, 'has + rubbed shame on our faces till once we are humbled.' O'Neill + emblazoned the cross and keys on his banner with the Red Hand of + Ulster, and openly resumed the title originally chosen by his + adherents at Clones, 'the Catholic Army.'</p> + + <p>The stage of Irish politics now presented the most + extraordinary complications political and military. The + confederation was occupied with endless debates and dissensions. + Commanders changed positions so rapidly, the several causes for + which men had been fighting became so confused in the + unaccountable scene-shifting, giving glimpses now of the king, + now of the commonwealth, and now of the pope, that no one knew + what to do, or what was to be the end. The nuncio went home in + disgust that his blessings and his curses, which he dispensed + with equal liberality, had so little effect.</p> + + <p>At length appeared an actor who gave a terrible unity to the + drama of Irish politics. Cromwell left London in July 1649, 'in a + coach drawn by six gallant Flanders mares,' and made a grand + progress to Bristol. He landed at Ring's End, near Dublin, on + August 14. He entered the city in procession and addressed the + people from 'a convenient place,' accompanied by his son Henry, + Blake, Jones, Ireton, Ludlow, Hardress, Waller, and others. The + history of Cromwell's military exploits in Ireland is well known. + I pass on, therefore, to notice the effects of the war on the + condition of the people.</p> + + <p>As usual, in such cases, the destruction of the crops and + other provisions by the soldiers, brought evil to the conquerors + as well as to their victims. There had been a fifteen + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page200" id="page200"></a>[pg + 200]</span> years' war in Ulster, when James I. ascended the + throne, and it left the country waste and desolate. Sir John + Davis, his attorney-general, asserted the unquestionable fact + that perpetual war had been continued between the two nations for + 'four hundred and odd years,' and had always for its object to + 'root out the Irish.' James was to put an end to this war, and, + as we have seen, the lord deputy promised the people 'estates' in + their holdings. The effect of this promise, as recorded by Davis, + is remarkable. 'He thus made it a year of jubilee to the poor + inhabitants, because every man was to return to his own house, + and be restored to his ancient possessions, and they all went + home rejoicing.'</p> + + <p>Poor people! they soon saw the folly of putting their trust in + princes. Now, after a seven years' war, the nation was again + visited with famine, and the country converted into a wilderness. + Three-fourths of the cattle had been destroyed; and the + commissioners for Ireland reported to the council in England in + 1651, that four parts in five of the best and most fertile land + in Ireland lay waste and uninhabited, stating that they had + encouraged the Irish to till the land, promising them the + enjoyment of the crops. They had also given orders 'for enforcing + those that were removed to the mountains to return.' The soldiers + were employed to till the lands round their posts. Corn had to be + imported to Dublin from Wales. So scarce was meat that a widow + was obliged to petition the authorities for permission to kill a + lamb; and she was 'permitted and lycensed to kill and dresse so + much lambe as shall be necessary for her own eating, not + exceeding three lambes for this whole year, notwithstanding any + declaration of the said Commissioners of Parliament to the + contrary.'<a id="footnotetag34" name="footnotetag34"></a><a href= + "#footnote34"><sup>2</sup></a> This privilege was granted to Mrs. + Buckley in consideration of 'her old age and weakness of body.' + In 1654 the Irish revenue from all sources was only + 198,000<i>l.</i>, while the cost of the army was 500,000<i>l.</i> + A sort of conditional amnesty was granted from necessity, pending + the decision of Parliament, and on May 12, 1652, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page201" id="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> the + Leinster army of the Irish surrendered on terms signed at + Kilkenny, which were adopted successively by the other principal + armies between that time and the September following, when the + Ulster forces surrendered. By these Kilkenny articles, all except + those who were guilty of the first blood were received into + protection on laying down their arms; those who should not be + satisfied with the conclusions the Parliament might come to + concerning the Irish nation, and should desire to transport + themselves with their men to serve any foreign state in amity + with the Parliament, should have liberty to treat with their + agents for that purpose. But the Commissioners undertook + faithfully to mediate with the Parliament that they might enjoy + such a remnant of their lands as might make their lives + comfortable at home, or be enabled to emigrate.</p> + + <p>The Cromwellian administration in Ireland effected a + revolution unparalleled in history. Its proceedings have been + well summarised by Mr. Darcy Magee:—</p> + + <p>The Long Parliament, still dragging out its days under the + shadow of Cromwell's great name, declared in its session of 1652 + the rebellion in Ireland 'subdued and ended,' and proceeded to + legislate for that kingdom as a conquered country. On August 12 + they passed their Act of Settlement, the authorship of which was + attributed to Lord Orrery, in this respect the worthy son of the + first Earl of Cork. Under this act there were four chief + descriptions of persons whose status was thus settled: 1. All + ecclesiastics and royalist proprietors were exempted from pardon + of life or estate. 2. All royalist commissioned officers were + condemned to banishment, and the forfeit of two-thirds of their + property, one-third being retained for the support of their wives + and children. 3. Those who had not been in arms, but could be + shown, by a parliamentary commission, to have manifested 'a + constant, good affection' to the war, were to forfeit one-third + of their estates, and receive 'an equivalent' for the remaining + two-thirds west of the Shannon. 4. All husbandmen and others of + the inferior <span class="pagenum"><a name="page202" id= + "page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> sort, 'not possessed of lands or + goods exceeding the value of 10<i>l.</i>,' were to have a free + pardon, on condition also of transporting themselves across the + Shannon.</p> + + <p>This last condition of the Cromwellian settlement + distinguished it, in our annals, from every other proscription of + the native population formerly attempted. The great river of + Ireland, rising in the mountains of Leitrim, nearly severs the + five western counties from the rest of the kingdom. The province + thus set apart, though one of the largest in superficial extent, + had also the largest proportion of waste and water, mountain and + moorland. The new inhabitants were there to congregate from all + the other provinces before the first day of May, 1654, under + penalty of outlawry and all its consequences; and when there, + they were not to appear within two miles of the Shannon, or four + miles of the sea. A rigorous passport system, to evade which was + death without form of trial, completed this settlement, the + design of which was to shut up the remaining Catholic inhabitants + from all intercourse with mankind, and all communion with the + other inhabitants of their own country.</p> + + <p>A new survey of the whole kingdom was also ordered, under the + direction of Dr. William Petty, the fortunate economist who + founded the house of Lansdowne. By him the surface of the kingdom + was estimated at 10,500,000 plantation acres, three of which were + deducted for waste and water. Of the remainder, above 5,000,000 + were in Catholic hands, in 1641; 300,000 were church and college + lands; and 2,000,000 were in possession of the Protestant + settlers of the reigns of James and Elizabeth. Under the + Protectorate, 5,000,000 acres were confiscated; this enormous + spoil, two-thirds of the whole island, went to the soldiers and + adventurers who had served against the Irish, or had contributed + to the military chest, since 1641—except 700,000 acres + given in 'exchange' to the banished in Clare and Connaught; and + 1,200,000 confirmed to 'innocent Papists.' Such was the complete + uprooting of the ancient tenantry or clansmen from their original + holdings, that, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page203" id= + "page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> during the survey, orders of + parliament were issued to bring back individuals from Connaught + to point out the boundaries of parishes in Munster. It cannot be + imputed among the sins so freely laid to the historical account + of the native legislature, that an Irish parliament had any share + in sanctioning this universal spoliation. Cromwell anticipated + the union of the kingdoms by 150 years, when he summoned, in + 1653, that assembly over which 'Praise-God Barebones' presided; + members for Ireland and Scotland sat on the same benches with the + commons of England. Oliver's first deputy in the government of + Ireland was his son-in-law Fleetwood, who had married the widow + of Ireton; but his real representative was his fourth son Henry + Cromwell, commander-in-chief of the army. In 1657, the title of + lord deputy was transferred from Fleetwood to Henry, who united + the supreme civil and military authority in his own person until + the eve of the restoration, of which he became an active + partisan. We may thus properly embrace the five years of the + Protectorate as a period of Henry Cromwell's administration.</p> + + <p>In the absence of a parliament, the government of Ireland was + vested in the deputy, the commander-in-chief, and four + commissioners, Ludlow, Corbett, Jones, and Weaver. There was, + moreover, a high court of justice, which perambulated the + kingdom, and exercised an absolute authority over life and + property greater than even Strafford's Court of Star Chamber had + pretended to. Over this court presided Lord Lowther, assisted by + Mr. Justice Donnellan, by Cooke, solicitor to the parliament on + the trial of King Charles, and the regicide Reynolds. By this + court, Sir Phelim O'Neill, Viscount Mayo, and Colonels O'Toole + and Bagnall were condemned and executed; children of both sexes + were captured by thousands, and sold as slaves to the + tobacco-planters of Virginia and the West Indies. Sir William + Petty states that 6,000 boys and girls were sent to those + islands. The number, of all ages, thus transported, was estimated + at 100,000 souls. As to the 'swordsmen' who <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page204" id="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> had + been trained to fighting, Petty, in his <i>Political Anatomy</i>, + records that 'the chiefest and most eminentest of the nobility + and many of the gentry had taken conditions from the King of + Spain, and had transported 40,000 of the most active, spirited + men, most acquainted with the dangers and discipline of war.' The + chief commissioners in Dublin had despatched assistant + commissioners to the provinces. The distribution which they made + of the soil was nearly as complete as that of Canaan among the + Israelites; and this was the model which the Puritans had always + before their minds. Where a miserable residue of the population + was required to till the land for its new owners, they were + tolerated as the Gibeonites had been by Joshua. Irish gentlemen + who had obtained pardons were obliged to wear a distinctive mark + on their dress on pain of death. Persons of inferior rank were + distinguished by a black spot on the right cheek. Wanting this, + their punishment was the branding-iron or the gallows.</p> + + <p>No vestige of the Catholic religion was allowed to exist. + Catholic lawyers and schoolmasters were silenced. All + ecclesiastics were slain like the priests of Baal. Three bishops + and 300 of the inferior clergy thus perished. The bedridden + Bishop of Kilmore was the only native clergyman permitted to + survive. If, in mountain recesses or caves, a few peasants were + detected at mass, they were smoked out and shot.</p> + + <p>Thus England got rid of a race concerning which Mr. + Prendergast found this contemporary testimony in a MS. in Trinity + College library, Dublin, dated 1615:—</p> + + <p>'There lives not a people more hardy, active, and painful ... + neither is there any will endure the miseries of warre, as + famine, watching, heat, cold, wet, travel, and the like, so + naturally and with such facility and courage that they do. The + Prince of Orange's excellency uses often publiquely to deliver + that the Irish are souldiers the first day of their birth. The + famous Henry IV., late king of France, said there would prove no + nation so resolute martial men as they, would they be ruly and + not too headstrong. And Sir <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page205" id="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> John Norris was wont + to ascribe this particular to that nation above others, that he + never beheld so few of any country as of Irish that were idiots + and cowards, which is very notable.'</p> + + <p>At the end of 1653, the parliament made a division of the + spoil among the conquerors and the adventurers; and, on September + 26, an act was passed for the new planting of Ireland by English. + The Government reserved for itself the towns, the church lands, + and the tithes, the established church, hierarchy and all, having + been utterly abolished. The four counties of Dublin, Kildare, + Carlow, and Cork were also reserved. The amount due to the + adventurers was 360,000<i>l.</i> This they divided into three + lots, of which 110,000<i>l.</i> was to be satisfied in Munster, + 205,000<i>l.</i> in Leinster, and 45,000<i>l.</i> in Ulster, and + the moiety of ten counties was charged with their + payment—Waterford, Limerick, and Tipperary, in Munster; + Meath, Westmeath, King's and Queen's Counties, in Leinster; and + Antrim, Down, and Armagh, in Ulster. But, as all was required by + the Adventurers Act to be done by lot, a lottery was appointed to + be held in Grocers' Hall, London, for July 20, 1653, to begin at + 8 o'clock in the morning, when lots should be first drawn in + which province each adventurer was to be satisfied, not exceeding + the specified amounts in any province; lots were to be drawn, + secondly, to ascertain in which of the ten counties each + adventurer was to receive his land—the lots not to exceed + in Westmeath 70,000<i>l.</i>, in Tipperary 60,000<i>l.</i>, in + Meath 55,000<i>l.</i>, in King's and Queen's Counties + 40,000<i>l.</i> each, in Limerick 30,000<i>l.</i>, in Waterford + 20,000<i>l.</i>, in Antrim, Down, and Armagh 15,000<i>l.</i> + each. And, as it was thought it would be a great encouragement to + the adventurers (who were for the most part merchants and + tradesmen), about to plant in so wild and dangerous a country, + not yet subdued, to have soldier planters near them, these ten + counties, when surveyed (which was directed to be done + immediately, and returned to the committee for the lottery at + Grocers' Hall), were to be divided, each county by baronies, into + two <span class="pagenum"><a name="page206" id="page206"></a>[pg + 206]</span> moieties, as equally as might be, without dividing + any barony. A lot was then to be drawn by the adventurers, and by + some officer appointed by the Lord General Cromwell on behalf of + the soldiery, to ascertain which baronies in the ten counties + should be for the adventurers, and which for the soldiers.</p> + + <p>The rest of Ireland, except Connaught, was to be set out + amongst the officers and soldiers for their arrears, amounting to + 1,550,000<i>l.</i>, and to satisfy debts of money or provisions + due for supplies advanced to the army of the commonwealth + amounting to 1,750,000<i>l.</i> Connaught being by the parliament + reserved and appointed for the habitation of the Irish nation, + all English and Protestants having lands there, who should desire + to remove out of Connaught into the provinces inhabited by the + English, were to receive estates in the English parts, of equal + value, in exchange.</p> + + <p>The next thing was to clear out the remnant of the + inhabitants, and the overture to this performance was the + following merciful proclamation:—</p> + + <p>'The Parliament of the Commonwealth of England having by one + act lately passed (entitled an Act for the Settling of Ireland) + declared that <i>it is not their intention to extirpate this + whole nation</i>, but that mercy and pardon for life and estate + be extended to all husbandmen, plowmen, labourers, artificers, + and others of the inferior sort, in such manner as in and by the + said Act is set forth: for the better execution of the said Act, + and that timely notice may be given to all persons therein + concerned, it is ordered that the Governor and Commissioners of + Revenue, or any two or more of them, within every precinct in + this nation, do cause the said Act of Parliament with this + present declaration to be published and proclaimed in their + respective precincts <i>by beat of drumme and sound of + trumpett</i>, on some markett day, within tenn days after the + same shall come unto them within their respective precincts.</p> + + <p>'Dated at the Castle of Kilkenny, this 11th October, 1652.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'EDMUND LUDLOW, MILES CORBET,</p> + + <p>'JOHN JONES, R. WEAVER.'</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page207" id= + "page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> + + <p>A letter from Dublin, dated December 21, 1654, four days + before Christmas, says the 'transplantation is now far advanced, + the men being gone to prepare their new habitations in Connaught. + Their wives and children and dependants have been, and are, + packing away after them apace, and all are to be gone by the 1st + of March next.' In another letter the writer + <i>naïvely</i> remarks, 'It is the nature of this people + to be rebellious, and they have been so much the more disposed to + it, having been highly exasperated to it by the transplanting + work.' The temper of the settlers towards the natives may be + inferred from a petition to the lord deputy and council of + Ireland, praying for the enforcement of the original order + requiring the removal of all the Irish nation into Connaught, + except boys of fourteen and girls of twelve. 'For we humbly + conceive,' say the petitioners, 'that the proclamation for + transplanting only the proprietors, and such as have been in + arms, will neither answer the end of safety nor what else is + aimed at thereby. For the first purpose of the transplantation is + to prevent those of natural principles' (i.e. of natural + affections) 'becoming one with these Irish, as well in affinity + as idolatry, as many thousands did who came over in Elizabeth's + time, many of which have had a deep hand in all the late murders + and massacres. And shall we join in affinity,' they ask, 'with a + people of these abominations? Would not the Lord be angry with us + till He consumes us, having said—"the land which ye go to + possess is an unclean land, because of the filthiness of the + people who dwell therein. Ye shall not, therefore, give your sons + to their daughters, nor take their daughters to your sons," as it + is in Ezra ix. 11, 12, 14. "Nay, ye shall surely root them out, + lest they cause you to forsake the Lord your God." Deut. c. vii. + &c.'</p> + + <p>In this way they hoped that 'honest men' would be encouraged + to come and live amongst them, because the other three provinces + (that is, all the island but Connaught) would be free of + 'tories,' when there was none left to harbour or relieve them. + They would have made a clean <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page208" id="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> sweep of Munster, + Leinster, and Ulster, so that 'the saints' might inherit the land + without molestation. If any Protestant friends of the Irish + objected to this thorough mode of effecting the work of Irish + regeneration, Colonel Lawrence 'doubted not but God would enable + that authority yet in being to let out that dram of rebellious + bloud, and cure that fit of sullenness their advocate speaks + of.'</p> + + <p>The commissioners appointed to effect the transplantation were + painfully conscious of their unworthiness to perform so holy a + work, and Were overwhelmed with a sense of their weakness in the + midst of such tremendous difficulties, so that they were + constrained to say: 'The child is now come to the birth, and much + is desired and expected, but there is no strength to bring + forth.' They therefore fasted and humbled themselves before the + Lord, inviting the officers of the army to join them in lifting + up prayers, 'with strong crying and tears, to Him to whom nothing + is too strong, that His servants, whom He had called forth in + this day to act in these great transactions, might be made + faithful, and carried on by His own outstretched arm, against all + opposition and difficulty, to do what was pleasing in His + sight.'</p> + + <p>It is true they had this consolation, 'that the chiefest and + eminentest of the nobility and many of the gentry had taken + conditions from the king of Spain, and had transported 40,000 of + the most active, spirited men, most acquainted with the dangers + and discipline of war.' The priests were all banished. The + remaining part of the whole nation was scarce one-sixth of what + they were at the beginning of the war, so great a devastation had + God and man brought upon that land; and that handful of natives + left were poor labourers, simple creatures, whose sole design was + to live and maintain their families.'</p> + + <p>Of course there were many exceptions to this rule. There were + some of the upper classes remaining, described in the + certificates which all the emigrants were obliged to procure, + like Sir Nicholas Comyn, of Limerick, 'who was numb at one side + of his body of a dead palsy, accompanied <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page209" id="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span> only + by his lady, Catherine Comyn, aged thirty-five years, + flaxen-haired, middle stature; and one maid servant, Honor + M'Namara, aged twenty years, brown hair, middle stature, having + no substance,' &c. From Tipperary went forth James, Lord + Dunboyne, with 21 followers, and having 4 cows, 10 garrons, and 2 + swine. Dame Catherine Morris, 35 followers, 10 cows, 16 garrons, + 19 goats, 2 swine. Lady Mary Hamilton, of Roscrea, with 45 + persons, 40 cows, 30 garrons, 46 sheep, 2 goats. Pierce, Lord + Viscount Ikerrin, with 17 persons, having 16 acres of winter + corn, 4 cows, 5 garrons, 14 sheep, 2 swine, &c. There were + other noblemen, lords of the Pale, descended from illustrious + English ancestors, the Fitzgeralds, the Butlers, the Plunkets, + the Barnwells, the Dillons, the Cheevers, the Cusacks, &c., + who petitioned, praying that their flight might not be in the + winter, or alleging that their wives and children were sick, that + their cattle were unfit to drive, or that they had crops to get + in. To them dispensations were granted, provided the husbands and + parents were in Connaught building huts, &c., and that not + more than one or two servants remained behind to look after the + respective herds and flocks, and to attend to the gathering in + and threshing of the corn. And some few, such as John Talbot de + Malahide, got a pass for safe travelling from Connaught to come + back, in order to dispose of their corn and goods, giving + security to return within the time limited. If they did not + return they got this warning in the month of March—that the + officers had resolved to fill the jails with them, 'by which this + bloody people will know that they (the officers) are not + degenerated from English principles. Though I presume we should + be very tender of hanging any except leading men, yet we shall + make no scruple of sending them to the West Indies,' &c. + Accordingly when the time came, all the remaining crops were + seized and sold; there was a general arrest of all + 'transplantable persons. All over the three provinces, men and + women were hauled out of their beds in the dead hour of night to + prison, till the jails <span class="pagenum"><a name="page210" + id="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> were choked.' In order to + further expedite the removal of the nobility and gentry, a + court-martial sat in St. Patrick's Cathedral, and ordered the + lingering delinquents, who shrunk from going to Connaught, to be + hanged, with a placard on the breast and back of each + victim—'<i>For not transplanting.'</i></p> + + <p>Scully's conduct at Ballycohy, was universally execrated. But + what did he attempt to do? Just what the Cromwellian officers did + at the end of a horrid civil war 200 years ago, with this + difference in favour of Cromwell, that Scully did not purpose to + 'transplant,' He would simply uproot, leaving the uprooted to + perish on the highway. His conduct was as barbarous as that of + the Cromwellian officers. But what of Scully? He is nothing. The + all-important fact is, that, in playing a part worse than + Cromwellian, he, <i>acting according to English law, was + supported by all the power of the state</i>; and if the men who + defended their homes against his attack had been arrested and + convicted, Irish judges would have consigned them to the gallows; + and they might, as in the Cromwellian case, have ordered a + placard to be put on their persons:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>'FOR NOT TRANSPLANTING!'</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>In fact the Cromwellian commissioners did nothing more than + carry out fully the <i>principles</i> of our present land code. + Nine-tenths of the soil of Ireland are held by tenants at will. + It is constantly argued in the leading organs of English opinion, + that the power of the landlords to resume possession of their + estates, and turn them into pastures, evicting all the tenants, + is <i>essential</i> to the rights of property. This has been said + in connection with the great absentee proprietors. According to + this theory of proprietorship, the only one recognised by law, + Lord Lansdowne may legally spread desolation over a large part of + Kerry; Lord Fitzwilliam may send the ploughshare of ruin through + the hearths of half the county Wicklow; Lord Digby, in the King's + County, may restore to the bog of Allen vast tracts reclaimed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page211" id="page211"></a>[pg + 211]</span> during many generations by the labour of his tenants; + and Lord Hertfort may convert into a wilderness the district + which the descendants of the English settlers have converted into + the garden of Ulster. If any or all of those noblemen took a + fancy, like Colonel Bernard of Kinnitty or Mr. Allen Pollok, to + become graziers and cattle-jobbers on a gigantic scale, the + Government would be compelled to place the military power of the + state at their disposal, to evict the whole population in the + queen's name, to drive all the families away from their homes, to + demolish their dwellings, and turn them adrift on the highway, + without one shilling compensation. Villages, schools, churches + would all disappear from the landscape; and, when the grouse + season arrived, the noble owner might bring over a party of + English friends to see his '<i>improvements!</i>' The right of + conquest so cruelly exercised by the Cromwellians is in this year + of grace <i>a legal right</i>; and its exercise is a mere + question of expediency and discretion. There is not a landlord in + Ireland who may not be a Scully if he wishes. It is not law or + justice, it is not British power, that prevents the enactment of + Cromwellian scenes of desolation in every county of that + unfortunate country. It is self-interest, with humanity, in the + hearts of good men, and the dread of assassination in the hearts + of bad men, that prevent at the present moment the immolation of + the Irish people to the Moloch of territorial despotism. It is + the effort to render impossible those human sacrifices, those + holocausts of Christian households, that the priests of feudal + landlordism denounce so frantically with loud cries of + '<i>confiscation</i>.'</p> + + <p>The 'graces' promised by Charles I. in 1628 demonstrate the + real wretchedness of the country to which they were deceitfully + offered, and from which they were treacherously withdrawn. From + them we learn that the Government soldiers were a terror to more + than the king's enemies, that the king's rents were collected at + the sword's point, and that numerous monopolies and oppressive + taxes impoverished the country. There was little security for + estates in any <span class="pagenum"><a name="page212" id= + "page212"></a>[pg 212]</span> part of Ireland, and none at all + for estates in Connaught. No man could sue out livery for his + lands without first taking the oath of the royal supremacy. The + soldiers enjoyed an immunity in the perpetration of even capital + crimes, for the civil power could not touch them. Those who were + married, or had their children baptized, by Roman Catholic + priests, were liable to fine and censure. The Protestant bishops + and clergy were in great favour and had enormous privileges. The + patentees of dissolved religious houses claimed exemption from + various assessments. The ministers of the Established Church were + entitled to the aid of the Government in exacting reparation for + clandestine exercises of spiritual jurisdiction by Roman Catholic + priests, and actually appear to have kept private prisons of + their own. They exacted tithes from Roman Catholics of everything + titheable. The eels of the rivers and lakes, the fishes of the + sea paid them toll. The dead furnished the mortuary fees to the + 'alien church' in the shape of the best clothes which the + wardrobe of the defunct afforded. The government of Wentworth, + better known as the Earl of Strafford, is highly praised by high + churchmen and admirers of Laud, but was execrated by the Irish, + who failed to appreciate the mercies of his star-chamber court, + or to recognise the justice of his fining juries who returned + disagreeable verdicts. The list of grievances, transmitted by the + Irish House of Peers in 1641 to the English Government, cannot be + regarded as altogether visionary, for it was vouched by the names + of lords, spiritual and temporal, whose attachment to the English + interest was undoubted. The lord chancellor (Loftus), the + archbishop of Dublin (Bulkeley), the bishops of Meath, Clogher, + and Killala were no rebels, and yet they protested against the + grievances inflicted on Ireland by the tyranny of Strafford. + According to these contemporary witnesses, the Irish nobles had + been taxed beyond all proportion to the English nobles; Irish + peers had been sent to prison although not impeached of treason + or any capital offence; the deputy had managed to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page213" id="page213"></a>[pg 213]</span> keep + all proxies of peers in the hands of his creatures, and thus to + sway the Upper House to his will; the trade of the kingdom had + been destroyed; and the 'graces' of 1628 had been denied to the + nation, or clogged by provisoes which rendered them a mockery. + And yet, in the face of such evidence of misery and + misgovernment, the Archbishop of Dublin asserted in a charge to + his clergy, that 'all contemporary writers agree in describing + the flourishing condition of the island, and its rapid advance in + civilisation and wealth, when all its improvement was brought to + an end by the catastrophe of the Irish rebellion of + 1641'—the very year in which the Irish Houses of Lords and + Commons agreed in depicting the condition of Ireland as utterly + miserable!</p> + + <p>But Archbishop Trench not only contradicts the authentic + contemporary records, in picturing as halcyon days one of the + most wretched periods of Irish history, but also wrongfully + represents one of the saddest episodes of that history. He + reminded his clergy 'that the number of Protestants who were + massacred by the Roman Catholics during the rebellion was, by the + most moderate estimate, set down as 40,000.' His grace seems to + have been unacquainted with the contemporary evidence collected + by the Protestant historian Warner, who examined the depositions + of 1641, on which the story of the massacre was based, and found + the estimate of those who perished in the so-called massacre to + have been enormously exaggerated. He calculated the number of + those killed, 'upon evidence collected within two years after the + rebellion broke out,' at 4,028, besides 8,000 said to have + perished through bad usage. The parliament commissioners in + Dublin, writing in 1652 to the commissioners in England, say + that, 'besides 848 families, there were killed, hanged, burned, + and drowned 6,062. Thus there were two estimates—one of + 12,000, the other of 10,000—each of which was far lower + than the estimate of 40,000, which his grace calls 'the most + moderate.' It turns out, moreover, that the argument based by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page214" id="page214"></a>[pg + 214]</span> Archbishop Trench on the false estimate of those said + to have been massacred, is wholly worthless for the purpose + intended by his grace. The disproportion of Protestants to Roman + Catholics, which appears by the census of 1861, cannot be + accounted for by the statistics of 1641—be those statistics + true or false. For the proportion of Protestants to Roman + Catholics was higher in 1672—thirty years after the alleged + massacre—than in 1861. The Protestants in 1672, according + to Sir W. Petty, numbered 300,000, and the Roman Catholics + 800,000; while in 1861 there were found in Ireland only 1,293,702 + Protestants of all denominations to 4,505,265 Roman Catholics. It + follows from these figures, as has been already remarked by Dr. + Maziere Brady, that there has been a relative decrease of + Protestants, as compared with Roman Catholics, of 395,772 + persons. And this relative decrease was in no way + affected—inasmuch as it took place since the year + 1672—by the alleged massacre of 1641.</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote33" name="footnote33"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag33">(return)</a> + + <p>Darcy Magee, vol. ii. p. 128.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote34" name="footnote34"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag34">(return)</a> + + <p>Prendergast, the Cromwellian Settlement, p. 16.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page215" id= + "page215"></a>[pg 215]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + + <h3>THE PURITAN PLANTATION.</h3> + + <p>It is a fearful thing to undertake the destruction of a nation + by slaughter, starvation, and banishment. When we read of such + enormities, perpetrated by some 'scourge of God,' in heathen + lands and distant ages, we are horrified, and we thank Providence + that it is our lot to be born in a Christian country. But what + must the world think of our Christianity when they read of the + things that, in a most Bible-reading age, Englishmen did in + Ireland?</p> + + <p>The work of transplanting was slow, difficult, and intensely + painful to the Irish, for Connaught was bleak, sterile, and + desolate, and the weather was inclement. The natural protectors + of many families had been killed or banished, and the women and + children clung with frantic fondness to their old homes. But for + the feelings of such afflicted ones the conquerors had no + sympathy. On the contrary, they believed that God, angry at their + lingering, sent his judgments as a punishment. Mr. Prendergast + has published a number of letters, written at the time by the + English authorities and others, from which some interesting + matters may be gleaned. The town of Cashel had got a dispensation + to remain. 'But,' says the writer, 'the Lord, who is a jealous + God, and more knowing of, as well as jealous against their + iniquity than we, by a fire on the 23rd inst. hath burned down + the whole town in little less than a quarter of an hour, except a + few houses that a few English lived in,' &c. In consequence + of the delay, the Irish began to break <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page216" id="page216"></a>[pg 216]</span> into + 'torying' (plundering). 'The tories fly out and increase. What + strange people, not to starve in peace.' To be inclined to + plunder under such circumstances, with so gracious a Government, + must be held to be a proof of great natural depravity, as well as + of a peculiar incapacity to respect, or even to understand, the + rights of property.</p> + + <p>At length, however, the land was ready for the enjoyment of + the officers and soldiers. On August 20, 1655, the lord deputy, + Fleetwood, thus addressed one of the officers:—</p> + + <p>'Sir,—In pursuance of his highness's command, the + council here with myself and chief officers of the army having + concluded about disbanding part of the army, in order to + lessening the present charge, it is fit that your troope be one. + And, accordingly, I desire you would march such as are willing to + plant of them into the barony of Shelmaliere, in the county of + Wexford, at or before the first day of September, where you shall + be put into possession of your lands, for your arrears, according + to the rates agreed on by the committee and agents. As also you + shall have, upon the place wherein you are, so much money as + shall answer the present three months' arrear due to you and your + men, but to continue no longer the pay of the army than upon the + muster of this August. The sooner you march your men the better; + thereby you will be enabled to make provision for the winter.' + After some sweetening hints that they will be perhaps paid + hereafter as a militia he concludes:—</p> + + <p>'And great is your mercy, that after all your hardships and + difficulties you may sit down, and, if the Lord give His + blessing, may reape some fruits of your past services. Do not + think it a blemish or underrating of your past services, that you + are now disbanded; but look upon it as of the Lord's appointing, + and with cheerfulness submit thereunto; and the blessing of the + Lord be upon you all, and keep you in His fear, and give you + hearts to observe your past experience of signal appearances. And + that this fear may be seen in your hearts, and that you may be + kept from the sins and pollutions which God hath so eminently + witnessed <span class="pagenum"><a name="page217" id= + "page217"></a>[pg 217]</span> against in those whose possessions + you are to take up, is the desire of him who is</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Your very affectionate friend, to love and serve you,</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'CHARLES FLEETWOOD.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>He congratulated them that, 'having by the blessing of God + obtained their peace, they might sit down in the enjoyment of the + enemies' fields and houses, which they planted not nor built not. + They had no reason to repent their services, considering how + great an issue God had given.' Yet many refused to settle, and + sold their debentures to their officers. What could they do with + the farms? They had no horses or ploughs, no cattle to stock the + land, no labourers to till it. Above all, they had no women. + Flogging was the punishment for amours with Irish girls, and + marriage with the idolatrous race was forbidden under heavy + penalties. Hence the soldiers pretended that their wives were + converted to Protestantism. But this was to be tested by a strict + examination of each as to the state of her soul, and the means by + which she had been enlightened. If she did not stand the test, + her husband was degraded in rank, and, if disbanded, he was + liable to be sent to Connaught with the fair seducer. The charms + of the Irish women, however, proved irresistible, and the hearts + of the pious rulers were sorely troubled by this danger.</p> + + <p>'In 1652, amongst the first plans for paying the army their + arrears in land, it was suggested there should be a law that any + officers or soldiers marrying Irishwomen should lose their + commands, forfeit their arrears, and be made incapable of + inheriting lands in Ireland. No such provision, however, was + introduced into the act, because it provided against this danger + more effectually by ordering the women to transplant, together + with the whole nation, to Connaught. Those in authority, however, + ought never to have let the English officers and soldiers come in + contact with the Irishwomen, or should have ordered another army + of young Englishwomen over, if they did not intend this provision + to be <span class="pagenum"><a name="page218" id= + "page218"></a>[pg 218]</span> nugatory. Planted in a wasted + country, amongst the former owners and their families, with + little to do but to make love, and no lips to make love to but + Irish, love or marriage must follow between them as necessarily + as a geometrical conclusion follows from the premises. For there + were but few who (in the language of a Cromwellian patriot),</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">——'rather than turne</p> + + <p>From English principles, would sooner burne;</p> + + <p>And rather than marrie an Irish wife,</p> + + <p>Would batchellers remain for tearme of life.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>About forty years after the Cromwellian Settlement, and just + seven years after the Battle of the Boyne, the following was + written: 'We cannot so much wonder at this [the quick + "degenerating" of the English of Ireland], when we consider how + many there are of the children of Oliver's soldiers in Ireland + who cannot speak one word of English. And (which is strange) the + same may be said of some of the children of King William's + soldiers who came but t'other day into the country. This + misfortune is owing to the marrying Irishwomen for want of + English, who come not over in so great numbers as are requisite. + 'Tis sure that no Englishman in Ireland knows what his children + may be as things are now; they cannot well live in the country + without growing Irish; for none take such care as Sir Jerome + Alexander [second justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland from + 1661 to his death in 1670], who left his estate to his daughter, + but made the gift void if she married any Irishman;' Sir Jerome + including in this term 'any lord of Ireland, any archbishop, + bishop, prelate, any baronet, knight, esquire, or gentleman of + Irish extraction or descent, born and bred in Ireland, or having + his relations and means of subsistence there,' and expressly, of + course, any 'Papist.'—'True Way to render Ireland happy and + secure; or, a Discourse, wherein 'tis shown that 'tis the + interest both of England and Ireland to encourage foreign + Protestants to plant in Ireland; in a letter to the Hon. Robert + Molesworth.'<a id="footnotetag35" name= + "footnotetag35"></a><a href= + "#footnote35"><sup>1</sup></a></p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page219" id="page219"></a>[pg 219]</span> + + <p>The impossibility of getting a sufficient number of settlers + from England to cultivate the land, produce food, and render the + estates worth holding, led to some fraudulent transactions for + the benefit of the natives who were 'loath to leave.' The + officers in various counties got general orders giving + dispensations from the necessity of planting with English + tenants, and liberty to take Irish, provided they were not + proprietors or swordsmen. But the proprietors who had established + friendships with their conquerors secretly became tenants under + them to parts of their former estates, ensuring thereby the + connivance of their new landlords against their transplantation. + On June 1, 1655, the commissioners for the affairs of Ireland + (Fleetwood, lord deputy, one of them), being then at Limerick, + discovered this fraud, and issued a peremptory order revoking all + former dispensations for English proprietors to plant with Irish + tenants; and they enjoined upon the governor of Limerick and all + other officers the removing of the proprietors thus sheltered and + their families into Connaught, on or before that day three weeks. + But, happily, says Mr. Prendergast, all penal laws against a + nation are difficult of execution. The officers still connived + with many of the poor Irish gentry and sheltered them, which + caused Fleetwood, then commander of the parliament forces in + Ireland, upon his return to Dublin, and within a fortnight after + the prescribed limit for their removal was expired, to thunder + forth from Dublin Castle a severe reprimand to all officers thus + offending. Their neglect to search for and apprehend the + transplantable proprietors was denounced as a great dishonour and + breach of discipline of the army; and their entertaining any of + them as tenants was declared a hindrance to the planting of + Ireland with English Protestants. 'I do therefore,' the order + continued, 'hereby order and declare, that if any officer or + soldier under my command shall offend by neglect of his duty in + searching for and apprehending all such persons as by the + declaration of November 30, 1654, are to transplant themselves + into Connaught; or by entertaining them as <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page220" id="page220"></a>[pg 220]</span> + tenants on his lands, or as servants under him, he shall be + punished by the articles of war as negligent of his duty, + according to the demerit of such his neglect.'</p> + + <p>The English parliament resolved to clear out the population of + all the principal cities and seaport towns, though nearly all + founded and inhabited by Danes or English, and men of English + descent. In order to raise funds for the war, the following towns + were offered to English merchants for sale at the prices + annexed:—Limerick, with 12,000 acres contiguous, for + 30,000<i>l.</i>, and a rent of 625<i>l.</i> payable to the state; + Waterford, with 1,500 acres contiguous, at the same rate; Galway, + with 10,000 acres, for 7,500<i>l.</i>, and a rent of + 520<i>l.</i>; Wexford, with 6,000 acres, for 5,000<i>l.</i>, and + a rent of 156<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i></p> + + <p>There were no bidders; but still the Government adhered to its + determination to clear out the Irish, and supply their place with + a new English population. Artisans were excepted, but strictly + limited in number, each case being particularly described and + registered, while dispensations were granted to certain useful + persons, on the petition of the settlers who needed their + services.</p> + + <p>On July 8 in the same year, the governor of Clonmel was + authorised to grant dispensations to forty-three persons in a + list annexed, or as many of them as he should think fit, being + artificers and workmen, to stay for such time as he might judge + convenient, the whole time not to exceed March 25, 1655. On June + 5, 1654, the governor of Dublin was authorised to grant licences + to such inhabitants to continue in the city (notwithstanding the + declaration for all Irish to quit) as he should judge convenient, + the licences to contain the name, age, colour of hair, + countenance, and stature of every such person; and the licence + not to exceed twenty days, and the cause of their stay to be + inserted in each licence. Petitions went up from the old native + inhabitants of Limerick; from the fishermen of Limerick; from the + mayor and inhabitants of Cashel, who were all ordered to + transplant; but, notwithstanding these orders, many of them + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page221" id="page221"></a>[pg + 221]</span> still clung about the towns, sheltered by the + English, who found the benefit of their services.</p> + + <p>The deserted cities of course fell speedily into ruins. Lord + Inchiquin, president of Munster, put many artisans, menial + servants, grooms, &c. in the houses, to take care of them in + Cork; still about 3,000 good houses in that city, and as many in + Youghal, out of which the owners had been driven, were destroyed + by the soldiers, who used the timber for fuel. The council + addressed the following letter to Secretary Thurloe:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Dublin Castle, March 4, 1656.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>'Right Honourable,—The council, having lately taken into + their most serious consideration what may be most for the + security of this country, and the encouragement of the English to + come over and plant here, did think fitt that all Popish + recusants, as wel proprietors as others, whose habitations are in + any port-towns, walled-towns, or garrisons, and who did not + before the 15th of September 1643 (being the time mentioned in + the act of 1653 for the encouragement of adventurers and + soldiers), and ever since profess the Protestant religion, should + remove themselves and their families out of all such places, and + two miles at the least distant therefrom, before the 20th of May + next; and being desirous that the English people may take notice, + that by this means there will be both security and conveniency of + habitation for such as shall be willing to come over as planters, + they have commanded me to send you the enclosed declaration, and + to desire you that you will take some course, whereby it may be + made known unto the people for their encouragement to come over + and plant in this country.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Your humble servant,</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'THOMAS HERBERT, Clerk of the Council.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>On July 23, 1655, the inhabitants of Galway were commanded to + quit the town for ever by the 1st of November following, the + owners of houses getting compensation at eight years' + purchase.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page222" id= + "page222"></a>[pg 222]</span> + + <p>'On October 30, this order was executed. All the inhabitants, + except the sick and bedrid, were at once banished, to provide + accommodation for English Protestants, whose integrity to the + state should entitle them to be trusted in a place of such + importance; and Sir Charles Coote, on November 7, received the + thanks of the Government for clearing the town, with a request + that he would remove the sick and bedrid as soon as the season + might permit, and take care that the houses while empty were not + spoiled by the soldiery. The town was thus made ready for the + English. There was a large debt of 10,000<i>l.</i>, due to + Liverpool for their loss and suffering for the good cause. The + eminent deservings and losses of the city of Gloucester also had + induced the parliament to order them 10,000<i>l.</i>, to be + satisfied in forfeited lands in Ireland. The commissioners of + Ireland now offered forfeited houses in Galway, rated at ten + years' purchase, to the inhabitants of Liverpool and Gloucester, + to satisfy their respective debts, and they were both to arrange + about the planting of it with English Protestants. To induce them + to accept the proposal, the commissioners enlarged upon the + advantages of Galway. It lay open for trade with Spain, the + Straits, the West Indies, and other places; no town or port in + the three nations, London excepted, was more considerable. It had + many noble uniform buildings of marble, though many of the houses + had become ruinous by reason of the war, and the waste done by + the impoverished English dwelling there. No Irish were permitted + to live in the city, nor within three miles of it. If it were + only properly inhabited by English, it might have a more hopeful + gain by trade than when it was in the hands of the Irish that + lived there. There never was a better opportunity of undertaking + a plantation and settling manufacturers there than the present, + and they suggested that it might become another Derry.'<a id= + "footnotetag36" name="footnotetag36"></a><a href= + "#footnote36"><sup>2</sup></a></p> + + <p>Some writers, sickened with the state of things in Ireland, + and impatient of the inaction of our rulers, and of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page223" id="page223"></a>[pg + 223]</span> tedious forms of constitutional government, have + exclaimed: 'Oh for one day of Oliver Cromwell!' Well, Ireland had + him and his worthy officers for many years. They had + opportunities, which never can be hoped for again, of rooting out + the Irish and their religion. '<i>Thorough</i>' was their word. + They dared everything, and shrunk from no consequences. They + found Dublin full of Catholics; and on June 19, 1651, Mr. John + Hewson had the felicity of making the following report on the + state of religion in the Irish metropolis:—</p> + + <p>'Mr. Winter, a godly man, came with the commissioners, and + they flock to hear him with great desire; besides, there is in + Dublin, since January last, about 750 Papists forsaken their + priests and the masse, and attends the public ordinances, I + having appointed Mr. Chambers, a minister, to instruct them at + his own house once a week. They all repaire to him with much + affection, and desireth satisfaction. And though Dublin hath + formerly swarmed with Papists, I know none (now) there but one, + who is a chirurgeon, and a peaceable man. It is much hoped the + glad tidings of salvation will be acceptable in Ireland, and that + this savage people may see the salvation of God.'</p> + + <p>Political economists tell us that when population is greatly + thinned by war, or pestilence, or famine, Nature hastens to fill + up the void by the extraordinary fecundity of those who remain. + The Irish must have multiplied very fast in Connaught during the + Commonwealth; and the mixture of Saxon and Celtic blood resulting + from the union of the Cromwellian soldiers with the daughters of + the land must have produced a numerous as well as a very vigorous + breed in Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford, Cork, East and + West Meath, King's and Queen's Counties, and Tyrone. But these + were not 'wholly a right seed.' This was to be found only in the + union of English with English, newly arrived from the land of the + free. The more precious this seed was, the more care there should + be in bringing it into the field. This matter constituted one of + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page224" id="page224"></a>[pg + 224]</span> great difficulties of the plantation. There were + plenty of Irish midwives: they might have been affectionate and + careful, possibly skilful; but if they had any good quality, the + council could not see it. On the contrary, it gave them credit + for many bad qualities, the worst of all being their idolatry and + disloyalty. It was really dreadful to think of English mothers + and their infants being at the mercy of Irish nurses. + Consequently, after much deliberation, and 'laying the matter + before the Lord' in prayer, it was resolved to bring over a state + nurse from England, and to her special care were to be entrusted + all the <i>accouchements</i> in the city of Dublin. Endowed with + such a monopoly, it was natural enough that she should be an + object of envy and dislike to those midwives whom she had + supplanted. She was therefore annoyed and insulted while passing + through the streets. To put a stop to these outrages, a + proclamation was issued from Dublin Castle for her special + protection, which began thus:—</p> + + <p><i>By the Commissioners of Parliament for the Affairs of + Ireland</i>.</p> + + <p>'Whereas we are informed by divers persons of repute and + godliness, that Mrs. Jane Preswick hath, through the blessing of + God, been very successful within Dublin and parts about, through + the carefull and skillfull discharge of her midwife's duty, and + instrumental to helpe sundry poore women who needed her helpe, + which bathe abounded to the comfourte and preservation of many + English women, who (being come into a strange country) had + otherwise been destitute of due helpe, and necessitated to expose + their lives to the mercy of Irish midwives, ignorant in the + profession, and bearing little good will to any of the English + nation, which being duly considered, we thought fitt to evidence + this our acceptance thereof, and willingness that a person so + eminently qualified for publique good and so well reported of for + piety and knowledge in her art should receive encouragement and + protection,' &c.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page225" + id="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> + + <p>Cromwell and his ministers did not hesitate about applying + heroic remedies for what they conceived to be grievances. The + Irish parliament was abolished, like the Irish churches, the + Irish cities, and everything else that could be called Irish, + except the thing for which they fought—<i>the land</i>, + which was to be Irish no more. The new England which the + Protector established in the Island of Saints was represented, + like Scotland, in the united parliament at + Westminster—which first assembled in 1657. In that + parliament, Major Morgan represented the county of Wicklow. In + speaking against some proposed taxation for Ireland, he said, + among other things, the country was under very heavy charges for + rewards paid for the destruction of three beasts—the wolf, + the priest, and the tory. 'We have three beasts to destroy,' he + said, 'that lay burdens upon us. The first is a wolf, on whom we + lay 5<i>l.</i> a head if a dog, and 10<i>l.</i> if a bitch. The + second beast is a priest, on whose head we lay 10<i>l.</i>; if he + be eminent, more. The third beast is a tory, on whose head, if he + be a public tory, we lay 20<i>l.</i>; and 40<i>s.</i> on a + private tory. Your army cannot catch them: the Irish bring them + in; brothers and cousins cut one another's throats.'</p> + + <p>In May, 1653, the council issued the following printed + declaration. 'Upon serious consideration had of the great + multitudes of poore swarming in all parts of this nacion, + occasioned by the devastation of the country, and by the habits + of licentiousness and idleness which the generality of the people + have acquired in the time of this rebellion; insomuch that + frequently some are found feeding on carrion and + weeds,—some starved in the highways, and many times poor + children who have lost their parents, or have been deserted by + them, are found exposed to and some of them fed upon <i>by + ravening wolves and other beasts and birds of prey.</i>'</p> + + <p>No wonder the wolves multiplied and became very bold, when + they fed upon such dainty fare as Irish children! By what + infatuation, by what diabolical fanaticism were those rulers + persuaded that they were doing God a service, or discharging + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page226" id="page226"></a>[pg + 226]</span> the functions of a Government, in carrying out such a + policy, and consigning human beings to such a fate!</p> + + <p>By a printed declaration of June 29, 1653, published July 1, + 1656,<a id="footnotetag37" name="footnotetag37"></a><a href= + "#footnote37"><sup>3</sup></a> the commanders of the various + districts were to appoint days and times for hunting the wolf; + and persons destroying wolves and bringing their heads to the + commissioners of the revenue of the precinct were to receive for + the head of a bitch wolf, 6 <i>l</i>; of a dog wolf, 5 <i>l</i>; + for the head of every cub that preyed by himself, 40<i>s.</i>; + and for the head of every sucking cub, 10 <i>s</i>: The + assessments on several counties to reimburse the treasury for + these advances became, as appears from Major Morgan's speech, a + serious charge. In corroboration it appears that in March, 1655, + there was due from the precinct of Galway 243<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> + 4<i>d.</i> for rewards paid on this account. But the most curious + evidence of their numbers is that lands lying only nine miles + north of Dublin were leased by the state in the year 1653, under + conditions of keeping a hunting establishment with a pack of wolf + hounds for killing the wolves, part of the rent to be discounted + in wolves' heads, at the rate in the declaration of June 29, + 1653. Under this lease Captain Edward Piers was to have all the + state lands in the barony of Dunboyne in the county of Meath, + valued at 543<i>l.</i> 8<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, at a rent greater + by 100<i>l.</i> a year than they then yielded in rent and + contribution, for five years from May 1 following, on the terms + of maintaining at Dublin and Dunboyne three wolf-dogs, two + English mastiffs, a pack of hounds of sixteen couple (three + whereof to hunt the wolf only), a knowing huntsman, and two men + and one boy. Captain Piers was to bring to the commissioners of + revenue at Dublin a stipulated number of wolf-heads in the first + year and a diminishing number every year; but for every wolf-head + whereby he fell short of the stipulated number, 5<i>l.</i> was to + be defalked from his salary.<a id="footnotetag38" name= + "footnotetag38"></a><a href= + "#footnote38"><sup>4</sup></a></p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page227" id="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span> + + <p>Twenty pounds was paid for the discovery of a priest, the + second 'burdensome beast,' and to harbour him was death. Again I + avail myself of the researches of Mr. Prendergast, to give a few + orders on this subject.</p> + + <p>'<i>August</i> 4, 1654.—Ordered, on the petition of + Roger Begs, priest, now prisoner in Dublin, setting forth his + miserable condition by being nine months in prison, and desiring + liberty to go among his friends into the country for some relief; + that he be released upon giving sufficient security that within + four months he do transport himself to foreign parts, beyond the + seas, never to return, and that during that time he do not + exercise any part of his priestly functions, nor move from where + he shall choose to reside my above five miles, without + permission. Ordered, same date, on the petition of William Shiel, + priest, that the said William Shiel being old, lame, and weak, + and not able to travel without crutches, he be permitted to + reside in Connaught where the Governor of Athlone shall see + fitting, provided, however, he do not remove one mile beyond the + appointed place without licence, nor use his priestly + function.'</p> + + <p>At first the place of transportation was Spain. + Thus:—'<i>February</i> 1, 1653. Ordered that the Governor + of Dublin take effectual course whereby the priests now in the + several prisons of Dublin be forthwith shipped with the party + going for Spain; and that they be delivered to the officers on + shipboard for that purpose: care to be taken that, under the + colour of exportation, they be not permitted to go into the + country.'</p> + + <p>'<i>May</i> 29, 1654.—Upon reading the petition of the + Popish priests now in the jails of Dublin; ordered, that the + Governor of Dublin take security of such persons as shall + undertake the transportation of them, that they shall with the + first opportunity be shipped for some parts in amity with the + Commonwealth, provided the five pounds for each of the said + priests due to the persons that took them, pursuant to the tenor + of a declaration dated January 6, 1653, be first paid or + secured.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page228" id= + "page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> + + <p>The commissioners give reasons for this policy, which are + identical with what we hear constantly repeated at the present + day in Ireland and England and in most of the newspapers + conducted by Protestants. For two centuries the burden of all + comments on Irish affairs is 'the country would be happy but for + priests and agitators.' 'Hang or banish the priests!' cry some + very amiable and respectable persons, 'and then we shall have + peace.' 'We can make nothing of those priests,' says the + improving landlord, or agent, 'they will not look us straight in + the face.'</p> + + <p>On December 8, 1655, in a letter from the commissioners to the + Governor of Barbadoes, advising him of the approach of a ship + with a cargo of proprietors deprived of their lands, and then + seized for not transplanting, or banished for having no visible + means of support, they add that amongst them were three priests; + and the commissioners particularly desire they may be so employed + as they may not return again where that sort of people are able + to do much mischief, having so great an influence over the Popish + Irish, and alienating their affections from the present + Government. 'Yet these penalties did not daunt them, or prevent + their recourse to Ireland. In consequence of the great increase + of priests towards the close of the year 1655, a general arrest + by the justices of the peace was ordered, under which, in April, + 1656, the prisons in every part of Ireland seem to have been + filled to overflowing. On May 3, the governors of the respective + precincts were ordered to send them with sufficient guards from + garrison to garrison to Carrickfergus, to be there put on board + such ship as should sail with the first opportunity for the + Barbadoes. One may imagine the pains of this toilsome journey by + the petition of one of them. Paul Cashin, an aged priest, + apprehended at Maryborough, and sent to Philipstown on the way to + Carrickfergus, there fell desperately sick, and, being also + extremely aged, was in danger of perishing in restraint for want + of friends and means of relief. On August 27, 1656, the + commissioners, having ascertained the truth of his petition, + ordered him <span class="pagenum"><a name="page229" id= + "page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> sixpence a day during his sickness; + and (in answer probably to this poor prisoner's prayer to be + spared from transportation) their order directed that it should + be continued to him in his travel thence (after his recovery) to + Carrickfergus, in order to his transportation to the + Barbadoes.'</p> + + <p>At Carrickfergus the horrors of approaching exile seem to have + shaken the firmness of some of them; for on September 23, 1656, + Colonel Cooper, who had the charge of the prison, reporting that + several would under their hands renounce the Pope's supremacy, + and frequent the Protestant meetings and no other, he was + directed to dispense with the transportation, if they could give + good Protestant security for the sincerity of their + professions.</p> + + <p>As for the third beast—the tory, the following extract + gives an idea of the class to which he belonged, or, rather, from + which he sprang.</p> + + <p>'And whereas the children, grandchildren, brothers, nephews, + uncles, and next pretended heirs of the persons attainted, do + remain in the provinces of Leinster, Ulster, and Munster, having + little or no visible estates or subsistence, but living only and + coshering upon the common sort of people who were tenants to or + followers of the respective ancestors of such persons, waiting an + opportunity, as may justly be supposed, to massacre and destroy + the English who, as adventurers or souldiers, or their tenants, + are set down to plant upon the several lands and estates of the + persons so attainted,' they are to transplant or be transported + to the English plantations in America.'<a id="footnotetag39" + name="footnotetag39"></a><a href= + "#footnote39"><sup>5</sup></a></p> + + <p>No wonder that Mr. Prendergast exclaims:—</p> + + <p>'But how must the feelings of national hatred have been + heightened, by seeing every where crowds of such unfortunates, + their brothers, cousins, kinsmen, and by beholding the whole + country given up a prey to hungry insolent soldiers and + adventurers from England, mocking their wrongs, and triumphing in + their own irresistible power!'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page230" id="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> + + <p>Every possible mode of repression that has been devised at the + present time as a remedy for Ribbonism was then tried with + unflinching determination. John Symonds, an English settler, was + murdered near the garrison town of Timolin, in the county + Kildare. All the Irish inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood + were immediately transported to Connaught as a punishment for the + crime. A few months after two more settlers were murdered at + Lackagh.</p> + + <p>'All the Irish in the townland of Lackagh were seized; four of + them by sentence of court-martial were hanged for the murder, or + for not preventing it; and all the rest, thirty-seven in number, + including two priests, were on November 27 delivered to the + captain of the "Wexford" frigate, to take to Waterford, there to + be handed over to Mr. Norton, a Bristol merchant, to be sold as + bond slaves to the sugar-planters in the Barbadoes. Among these + were Mrs. Margery Fitzgerald, of the age of fourscore years, and + her husband, Mr. Henry Fitzgerald of Lackagh; although (as it + afterwards appeared) the tories had by their frequent robberies + much infested that gentleman and his tenants—discovery that + seems to have been made only after the king's restoration.'</p> + + <p>The penalties against the tories themselves were to allow them + no quarter when caught, and to set a price upon their heads. The + ordinary price for the head of a tory was 40<i>s.</i>; for + leaders of tories, or distinguished men, it varied from + 5<i>l.</i> to 30<i>l.</i></p> + + <p>'But,' continues Mr. Prendergast, 'a more effective way of + suppressing tories seems to have been to induce them, as already + mentioned, to betray or murder one another—a measure + continued after the Restoration, during the absence of + parliaments, by acts and orders of state, and re-enacted by the + first parliament summoned after the Revolution, when in that and + the following reigns almost every provision of the rule of the + parliament of England in Ireland was re-enacted by the + parliaments of Ireland, composed of the soldiers and adventurers + of Cromwell's day, or new <span class="pagenum"><a name="page231" + id="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> English and Scotch capitalists. + In 1695 any tory killing two other tories proclaimed and on their + keeping was entitled to pardon—a measure which put such + distrust and alarm among their bands on finding one of their + number so killed, that it became difficult to kill a second. + Therefore, in 1718, it was declared sufficient qualification for + pardon for a tory to kill one of his fellow-tories. This law was + continued in 1755 for twenty-one years, and only expired in 1776. + Tory-hunting and tory-murdering thus became common pursuits. No + wonder, therefore, after so lengthened an existence, to find + traces of the tories in our household words. Few, however, are + now aware that the well-known Irish nursery rhymes have so truly + historical a foundation:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Ho! brother Teig, what is your story?'</p> + + <p>'I went to the wood and shot a tory:'</p> + + <p>'I went to the wood, and shot another;'</p> + + <p>'Was it the same, or was it his brother?'</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'I hunted him in, and I hunted him out,</p> + + <p>Three times through the bog, and about and about;</p> + + <p>Till out of a bush I spied his head,</p> + + <p>So I levelled my gun and shot him dead.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>After the war of 1688, the tories received fresh accessions, + and, a great part of the kingdom being left waste and desolate, + they betook themselves to these wilds, and greatly discouraged + the replanting of the kingdom by their frequent murders of the + new Scotch and English planters; the Irish 'choosing rather' (so + runs the language of the act) 'to suffer strangers to be robbed + and despoiled, than to apprehend or convict the offenders.' In + order, therefore, for the better encouragement of strangers to + plant and inhabit the kingdom, any persons presented as tories, + by the gentlemen of a county, and proclaimed as such by the lord + lieutenant, might be shot as outlaws and traitors; and any + persons harbouring them were to be guilty of high treason.<a id= + "footnotetag40" name="footnotetag40"></a><a href= + "#footnote40"><sup>6</sup></a> Rewards were offered for the + taking or killing of them; and the inhabitants of the barony, of + the ancient native race, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page232" + id="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> were to make satisfaction for + all robberies and spoils. If persons were maimed or dismembered + by tories, they were to be compensated by 10<i>l.</i>; and the + families of persons murdered were to receive 30<i>l.</i>'</p> + + <p>The Restoration at length brought relief and enlargement to + the imprisoned Irish nation. They rushed across the Shannon to + see their old homes; they returned to the desolated cities, full + of hope that the king for whom they had suffered so much would + reward their loyalty, by giving them back their + inheritances—the 'just satisfaction' promised at Breda to + those who had been unfairly deprived of their estates. The Ulster + Presbyterians also counted on his gratitude for their devotion to + his cause, notwithstanding the wrongs inflicted on them by + Strafford and the bishops in the name of his father. But they + were equally doomed to disappointment. Coote and Broghill reigned + in Dublin Castle as lords justices. The first parliament + assembled in Dublin for twenty years, contained an overwhelming + majority of undertakers, adventurers, and Puritan representatives + of boroughs, from which all the Catholic electors had been + excluded. 'The Protestant interest,' a phrase of tremendous + potency in the subsequent history of Ireland, counted 198 members + against 64 Catholics in the Commons, and in the Lords 72 against + 21 peers. A court was established under an act of parliament in + Dublin, to try the claims of 'nocent' and 'innocent' proprietors. + The judges, who were Englishmen, declared in their first session + that 168 were innocent to 19 nocent. The Protestant interest was + alarmed; and, through the influence of Ormond, then lord + lieutenant, the duration of the court was limited, and when it + was compelled to close its labours, only 800 out of 3,000 cases + had been decided. If the proportions of nocent and innocent were + the same, an immense number of innocent persons were deprived of + their property. In 1675, fifteen years after the Restoration, the + English settlers were in possession of 4,500,000 acres, while the + old owners retained 2,250,000 acres. By an act passed in 1665, it + was declared <span class="pagenum"><a name="page233" id= + "page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> that no Papist, who had not already + been adjudged innocent, should ever be entitled to claim any + lands or settlements.'</p> + + <p>Any movement on the part of the Roman Catholics during this + reign, and indeed, ever since, always raised an alarm of the + 'Protestant interest' in danger. While the panic lasted the + Catholics were subjected to cruel restrictions and privations. + Thus Ormond, by proclamation, prohibited Catholics from entering + the castle of Dublin, or any other fortress; from holding fairs + or markets within the walls of fortified towns, and from carrying + arms to such places. By another proclamation, he ordered all the + <i>relatives</i> of known 'tories' to be arrested and banished + the kingdom, within fourteen days, unless such tories were killed + or surrendered within that time. There was one tory for whose + arrest all ordinary means failed. This was the celebrated Redmond + O'Hanlon, still one of the most popular heroes with the Irish + peasantry. He was known on the continent as Count O'Hanlon, and + was the brother of the owner of Tandragee, now the pretty Irish + seat of the Duke of Manchester. As no one would betray this + outlaw, who levied heavy contributions from the settlers in + Ulster, it was alleged and believed that the viceroy hired a + relative to shoot him. 'Count O'Hanlon,' says Mr. D. Magee, 'a + gentleman of ancient lineage, as accomplished as Orrery, or + Ossory, was indeed an outlaw to the code then in force; but the + stain of his cowardly assassination must for ever blot the + princely escutcheon of James, Duke of Ormond.'<a id= + "footnotetag41" name="footnotetag41"></a><a href= + "#footnote41"><sup>7</sup></a></p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote35" name="footnote35"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag35">(return)</a> + + <p>Cromwellian Settlement, p. 130.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote36" name="footnote36"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag36">(return)</a> + + <p>The Cromwellian Settlement.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote37" name="footnote37"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag37">(return)</a> + + <p>A/84, p. 255. Republished 7th July, 1656.—'Book of + Printed Declarations of the Commissioners for the Affairs of + Ireland.' British Museum.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote38" name="footnote38"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag38">(return)</a> + + <p>Cromwellian Settlement, p. 154.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote39" name="footnote39"></a><b>Footnote 5:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag39">(return)</a> + + <p>Act for Attainder of the Rebels in Ireland, passed 1656. + Scobell's 'Acts and Ordinances.'</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote40" name="footnote40"></a><b>Footnote 6:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag40">(return)</a> + + <p>The Cromwellian Settlement, p. 163, &c.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote41" name="footnote41"></a><b>Footnote 7:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag41">(return)</a> + + <p>See 'The Tory War of Ulster,' by John P. Prendergast, author + of 'The Cromwellian Settlement.' This pamphlet abounds in the + most curious information, collected from judicial records, + descriptive of Ireland from the Restoration to the + Revolution—A.D. 1660-1690.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page234" id= + "page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + + <h3>THE PENAL CODE, A NEW SYSTEM OF LAND-WAR.</h3> + + <p>The accession of James II. was well calculated to have an + intoxicating effect on the Irish race. He was a Catholic, he + undertook to effect a counter-reformation. He would restore the + national hierarchy to the position from which it had been dragged + down and trampled under the feet of the Cromwellians. He would + give back to the Irish gentry and nobility their estates; and to + effect this glorious revolution, he relied upon the faith and + valour of the Irish. The Protestant militia were disarmed, a + Catholic army was formed; the corporations were thrown open to + Catholics. Dublin and other corporations, which refused to + surrender their exclusive charters, were summarily deprived of + their privileges; Catholic mayors and sheriffs, escorted by + troops, went in state to their places of worship. The Protestant + chancellor was dismissed to make way for a Catholic, Baron Rice. + The plate of Trinity College was seized as public property. The + Protestants, thoroughly alarmed by these arbitrary proceedings, + fled to England in thousands. Many went to Holland and joined the + army of the Prince of Orange. Dreadful stories were circulated of + an intended invasion of England by wild Irish regiments under + Tyrconnel. There was a rumour of another massacre of the English, + and of the proposed repeal of the act of settlement. Protestants + who could not cross the channel fled to Enniskillen and to Derry, + which closed its gates and prepared for its memorable siege. + James, who had fled to France, plucked up courage to go to + Ireland, and make a stand there in defence of his crown. His + progress from Kinsale to Dublin was an ovation. Fifteen royal + chaplains scattered <span class="pagenum"><a name="page235" id= + "page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> blessings around him; Gaelic songs + and dances amused him; he was flattered in Latin orations, and + conducted to his capital under triumphal arches. In Dublin the + trades turned out with new banners; two harpers played at the + gate by which he entered; the clergy in their robes chanted as + they went: and forty young girls, dressed in white, danced the + ancient <i>rinka</i>, scattering flowers on the newly sanded + streets. Tyrconnell, now a duke, the judges, the mayor and the + corporation, completed the procession, which moved beneath arches + of evergreens, and windows hung with 'tapestry and cloth of + arras.' The recorder delivered to his majesty the keys of the + city, and the Catholic primate, Dominick Maguire, waited in his + robes to conduct him to the royal chapel, where the <i>Te + Deum</i> was sung. On that day the green flag floated from the + main tower of the castle, bearing the motto, 'Now or + never—now and for ever.'</p> + + <p>The followers of James, according to Grattan, 'though papists, + were not slaves. They wrung a constitution from King James before + they accompanied him to the field.' A constitution wrung from + such a man was not worth much. His parliament passed an act for + establishing liberty of conscience, and ordering every man to pay + tithes to his own clergy only, with some other measures of + relief. But he began to play the despot very soon. The Commons + voted him the large subsidy of 20,000<i>l.</i> He doubled the + amount by his own mere motion. He established a bank, and by his + own authority decreed a bank monopoly. He debased the coinage, + and fixed the prices of merchandise by his own will. He appointed + a provost and librarian in Trinity College without the consent of + the senate, and attempted to force fellows and scholars on the + university contrary to the statutes. The events which followed + are well known to all readers of English history. Our concern is + with their effects on the land question.</p> + + <p>One of the measures passed by this parliament was an act + repealing the act of settlement. But, soon after the Revolution, + measures were taken to render that settlement firmer than ever. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page236" id="page236"></a>[pg + 236]</span> A commission was appointed to enquire into the + forfeited estates; and the consequence was that 1,060,792 acres + were declared escheated to the crown. In 1695 King William, in + his speech, read to the Irish parliament, assured them that he + was intent upon the firm settlement of Ireland upon a Protestant + basis. He kept his word, for when he died there did not remain in + the hands of Catholics one-sixth of the land which their + grandfathers held, even after the passing of the act of + settlement. The acts passed for securing the Protestant interest + formed the series known as the penal code, which was in force for + the whole of the eighteenth century. It answered its purpose + effectually; it reduced the nation to a state of poverty, + degradation, and slavishness of spirit unparalleled in the + history of Christendom, while it made the small dominant class a + prodigy of political and religious tyranny. Never was an + aristocracy, as a body, more hardened in selfishness, more + insolent in spirit; never was a church more negligent of duty, + more intensely and ostentatiously secular. Both church and state + reeked with corruption.</p> + + <p>The plan adopted for degrading the Catholics, and reducing all + to one plebeian level, was most ingenious. The ingenuity indeed + may be said to be Satanic, for it debased its victims morally as + well as socially and physically. It worked by means of treachery, + covetousness, perfidy, and the perversion of all natural + affections. The trail of the serpent was over the whole system. + For example, when the last Duke of Ormond arrived as lord + lieutenant in 1703, the Commons waited on him with a bill 'for + discouraging the further growth of Popery,' which became law, + having met his decided approval. This act provided that if the + son of a Catholic became a Protestant, the father should be + incapable of selling or mortgaging his estate, or disposing of + any portion of it by will. If a child ever so young professed to + be a Protestant, it was to be taken from its parents, and placed + under the guardianship of the nearest Protestant relation.</p> + + <p>The sixth clause renders Papists incapable of purchasing + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page237" id="page237"></a>[pg + 237]</span> any manors, tenements, hereditaments, or any rents or + profits arising out of the same, or of holding any lease of + lives, or other lease whatever, for any term exceeding thirty-one + years. And with respect even to such limited leases, it further + enacts, that if a Papist should hold a farm producing a profit + greater than <i>one-third of the amount of the rent</i>, his + right to such should immediately cease, and pass over entirely to + the first Protestant who should discover the rate of profit. The + seventh clause prohibits Papists from succeeding to the + properties or estates of their Protestant relations. By the tenth + clause, the estate of a Papist, not having a Protestant heir, is + ordered to be gavelled, or divided in equal shares between + <i>all</i> his children. The sixteenth and twenty-fourth clauses + impose the oath of abjuration, and the sacramental test, as a + qualification for office, and for voting at elections. The + twenty-third clause deprives the Catholics of Limerick and Galway + of the protection secured to them by the articles of the treaty + of Limerick. The twenty-fifth clause vests in the crown all + advowsons possessed by Papists.</p> + + <p>A further act was passed, in 1709, imposing additional + penalties. The first clause declares that no Papist shall be + capable of holding an annuity for life. The third provides, that + the child of a Papist, on conforming, shall at once receive an + annuity from his father; and that the chancellor shall compel the + father to discover, upon oath, the full value of his estate, real + and personal, and thereupon make an order for the support of such + conforming child or children, and for securing such a share of + the property, after the father's death, as the court shall think + fit. The fourteenth and fifteenth clauses secure jointures to + Popish wives who shall conform. The sixteenth prohibits a Papist + from teaching, even as assistant to a Protestant master. The + eighteenth gives a salary of 30<i>l.</i> per annum to Popish + priests who shall conform. The twentieth provides rewards for the + discovery of Popish prelates, priests, and teachers, according to + the following whimsical scale:—For discovering an + archbishop, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page238" id= + "page238"></a>[pg 238]</span> bishop, vicar-general, or other + person, exercising any foreign ecclesiastical jurisdiction, + 50<i>l.</i>; for discovering each regular clergyman, and each + secular clergyman, not registered, 20<i>l.</i>; and for + discovering each Popish schoolmaster or usher, 10<i>l.</i></p> + + <p>In judging the Irish peasantry, we should try to estimate the + effects of such a system on any people for more than a century. + It will account for the farmer's habit of concealing his + prosperity, and keeping up the appearance of poverty, even if he + had not reason for it in the felonious spirit of appropriation + still subsisting under legal sanction. We are too apt to place to + the account of race or religion the results of malignant or + blundering legislation. We are not without examples of such + results in England itself.</p> + + <p>In the winter of 1831-2, a very startling state of things was + presented. In a period of great general prosperity, that portion + of England in which the poor laws had their most extensive + operation, and in which by much the largest expenditure of + poor-rates had been made, was the scene of daily riot and nightly + incendiarism. There were ninety-three parishes in four counties, + of which the population was 113,147, and the poor-law expenditure + 81,978<i>l.</i>, or 14<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i> per head; and there + were eighty parishes in three other counties, the population of + which was 105,728, and the poor-law expenditure 30,820<i>l.</i>, + or 5<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> a head. In the counties in which the + poor-law expenditure was large, the industry and skill of the + labourers were passing away, the connection between the master + and servant had become precarious, the unmarried were defrauded + of their fair earnings, and riots and incendiarism prevailed. In + the counties where the expenditure was comparatively small, there + was scarcely any instance of disorder; mutual attachment existed + between the workman and his employer; the intelligence, skill, + and good conduct of the labourers were unimpaired, or increased. + This striking social contrast was only a specimen of what + prevailed throughout large districts, and generally throughout + the south and north of England, and it proved that, either + through the inherent vice of the <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page239" id="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> system, or gross + mal-administration in the southern counties, the poor-law had the + most demoralising effect upon the working classes, while it was + rapidly eating up the capital upon which the employment of labour + depended. This fact was placed beyond question by a commission of + enquiry, which was composed of individuals distinguished by their + interest in the subject, and their intimate knowledge of its + principles and details. Its labours were continued incessantly + for two years. Witnesses most competent to give information were + summoned from different parts of the country. The commissioners + had before them documentary evidence of every kind calculated to + throw light on the subject. They personally visited localities, + and examined the actual operation of the system on the spot; and + when they could not go themselves, they called to their aid + assistant commissioners, some of whom extended their enquiries + into Scotland, Guernsey, France, and Flanders; while they also + collected a vast mass of interesting evidence from our + ambassadors and diplomatic agents in different countries of + Europe and America. It was upon the report of this commission of + enquiry that the act was founded for the amendment and better + administration of the laws relating to the poor in England and + Wales (4 and 5 William IV., cap. 76). A more solid foundation for + a legislative enactment could scarcely be found. The importance + of the subject fully warranted all the expense and labour by + which it was obtained.</p> + + <p>One of the most astounding facts established by the enquiry + was the wide-spread demoralisation which had developed itself in + certain districts. Home had lost its sanctity. The ties that bind + parents and children were loosened, and natural affection gave + place to intense selfishness, which often manifested itself in + the most brutal manner. Workmen grew lazy and dishonest. Young + women lost the virtue which is not only the point of honour with + their sex, but the chief support of all other virtues. Not only + women of the working classes, but in some cases even <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page240" id="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> + substantial farmers' daughters, and sometimes those who were + themselves the actual owners of property, had their illegitimate + children as charges on the parish, regularly deducting the cost + of their maintenance from their poor-rate, neither they nor their + relatives feeling that to do so was any disgrace. The system must + have been fearfully vicious that produced such depravation of + moral feeling, and such a shocking want of self-respect.</p> + + <p>Dr. Burn has given a graphic sketch of the duties of an + overseer under the old poor-law system in England. 'His office is + to keep an extraordinary watch to prevent people from coming to + inhabit without certificates; to fly to the justices to remove + them. Not to let anyone have a farm of 10<i>l.</i> a year. To + warn the parishioners, if they would have servants, to hire them + by the month, the week, or the day, rather than by any way that + can give them a settlement; or if they do hire them for a year, + then to endeavour to pick a quarrel with them before the year's + end, and so to get rid of them. To maintain their poor as cheaply + as they possibly can, and not to lay out twopence in prospect of + any future good, but only to serve the present necessity. To + bargain with some sturdy person to take them by the lump, who yet + is not intended to take them, but to hang over them <i>in + terrorem</i>, if they shall complain to the justices for want of + maintenance. To send them out into the country a begging. To bind + out poor children apprentices, no matter to whom, or to what + trade; but to take special care that the master live in another + parish. To move heaven and earth if any dispute happen about a + settlement; and, in that particular, to invert the general rule, + and stick at no expense. To pull down cottages: <i>to drive out + as many inhabitants, and admit as few, as they possibly can; that + is, to depopulate the parish, in order to lessen the + poor's-rate</i>. To be generous, indeed, sometimes, in giving a + portion with the mother of a bastard child to the reputed father, + on condition that he will marry her, or with a poor widow, + <i>always provided that the husband</i> be settled elsewhere; or + if a poor <span class="pagenum"><a name="page241" id= + "page241"></a>[pg 241]</span> man with a large family happen to + be industrious, they will charitably assist him in taking a farm + in some neighbouring parish, and give him 10<i>l.</i> to pay his + first year's rent with, that they may thus for ever get rid of + him and his progeny.'</p> + + <p>The effect of this system was actually to depopulate many + parishes. The author of a pamphlet on the subject, Mr. Alcock, + stated that the gentlemen were led by this system to adopt all + sorts of expedients to hinder the poor from marrying, to + discharge servants in their last quarter, to evict small tenants, + and pull down cottages; so that several parishes were in a manner + depopulated, while England complained of a want of useful hands + for agriculture, manufactories, for the land and sea service. + 'When the minister marries a couple,' he said, 'he rightly prays + that they may be fruitful in the procreation of children; but + most of the parishioners pray for the very contrary, and perhaps + complain of him for marrying persons, that, should they have a + family of children, might likewise become chargeable.' Arthur + Young also described the operation of the law in his time, in + clearing off the people, and causing universally 'an open war + against cottages.' Gentlemen bought them up whenever they had an + opportunity, and immediately levelled them with the ground, lest + they should become 'nests of beggars' brats.' The removal of a + cottage often drove the industrious labourer from a parish where + he could earn 15<i>s.</i> a week, to one where he could earn but + 10<i>s.</i> As many as thirty or forty families were sent off by + removals in one day. Thus, as among the Scotch labourers of the + present day, marriage was discouraged; the peasantry were cleared + off the land, and increasing immorality was the necessary + consequence.</p> + + <p>There was another change in the old system, by which the + interests of the influential classes were made to run in favour + of the 'beggars' nests,' which were soon at a premium. The + labourer was to be paid, not for the value of his labour, but + according to the number of his family; the prices of <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page242" id="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> + provisions being fixed by authority, and the guardians making up + the difference between what the wages would buy and what the + family required.</p> + + <p>The allowance scales issued from time to time were framed on + the principle that every labourer should have a gallon loaf of + standard wheaten bread weekly for every member of his family, and + one over. The effect of this was, that a man with six children, + who got 9<i>s.</i> a week wages, required nine gallon loaves, or + 13<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week, so that he had a pension of + 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> over his wages. Another man, with a wife + and five children, so idle and disorderly that no one would + employ him, was entitled to eight gallon loaves for their + maintenance, so that he had 12<i>s.</i> a week to support him. + The increase of allowance according to the number of children + acted as a direct bounty upon marriage. The report of the + Committee of the House of Commons on labourers' wages, printed in + 1824, describes the effect of this allowance system in paralysing + the industry of the poor. 'It is obvious,' remarked the + committee, 'that a disinclination to work must be the consequence + of so vicious a system. He whose subsistence is secure without + work, and who cannot obtain more than a mere sufficiency by the + hardest work, will naturally be an idle and careless labourer. + Frequently the work done by four or five such labourers does not + amount to what might easily be performed by a single labourer at + task work. A surplus population is encouraged: men who receive + but a small pittance know that they have only to marry and that + pittance will be increased proportionally to the number of their + children. When complaining of their allowance, they frequently + say, "We will marry, and then you must maintain us." This system + secures subsistence to all; to the idle as well as the + industrious; to the profligate as well as the sober; and, as far + as human interests are concerned, all inducements to obtain a + good character are taken away. The effects have corresponded with + the cause: able-bodied men are found slovenly at their work, and + dissolute in their hours of relaxation; a <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page243" id="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> + father is negligent of his children, the children do not think it + necessary to contribute to the support of their parents; the + employer and employed are engaged in personal quarrels; and the + pauper, always relieved, is always discontented. Crime advances + with increasing boldness; and the parts of the country where this + system prevails are, in spite of our gaols and our laws, filled + with poachers and thieves.' Mr. Hodges, chairman of the West Kent + quarter sessions, in his evidence before the emigration + committee, said, 'Formerly, working people usually stayed in + service till they were twenty-five, thirty, and thirty-five years + of age, before they married; whereas they now married frequently + under age. Formerly, these persons had saved 40<i>l.</i> and + 50<i>l.</i> before they married, and they were never burdensome + to the parish; now, they have not saved a shilling before their + marriage, and become immediately burdensome.'</p> + + <p>The farmers were not so discontented with this allowance + system as might be supposed, because a great part of the burden + was cast upon other shoulders. The tax was laid indiscrimately + upon all fixed property; so that the occupiers of villas, + shopkeepers, merchants, and others who did not employ labourers, + had to pay a portion of the wages for those that did. The farmers + were in this way led to encourage a system which fraudently + imposed a heavy burden upon others, and which, by degrading the + labourers, and multiplying their numbers beyond the real demand + for them, must, if allowed to run its full course, have + ultimately overspread the whole country with the most abject + poverty and wretchedness.</p> + + <p>There was another interest created which tended to increase + the evil. In the counties of Suffolk, Sussex, Kent, and generally + through all the south of England, relief was given in the shape + of house accommodation, or free dwellings for the poor. The + parish officers were in the habit of paying the rent of the + cottages; the rent was therefore high and sure, and consequently + persons who had small pieces of ground were induced to cover them + with those buildings. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page244" id= + "page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> On this subject Mr. Hodges, the + gentleman already referred to, remarks: 'I cannot forbear urging + again that any measure having for its object the relief of the + parishes from their over population, must of necessity become + perfectly useless, unless the act of parliament contains some + regulations with respect to the erecting and maintaining of + cottages. I am quite satisfied that the erecting of cottages has + been a most serious evil throughout the country. The getting of + the cottage tempts young people of seventeen and eighteen years + of age, and even younger, to marry. It is notorious that almost + numberless cottages have been built by persons speculating on the + parish rates for their rents.'</p> + + <p>The evils of this system had reached their height in the years + 1831-2. That was a time when the public mind was bent upon + reforms of all sorts, without waiting for the admission from the + Tories that the grievances of which the nation complained were + 'proved abuses.' The reformers were determined no longer to + tolerate the state of things, in which the discontent of the + labouring classes was proportioned to the money disbursed in + poor-rates, or in voluntary charities; in which the young were + trained in idleness, ignorance, and vice—the able-bodied + maintained in sluggish and sensual indolence—the aged and + more respectable exposed to all the misery incident to dwelling + in such society as that of a large workhouse without discipline + or classification—the whole body of inmates subsisting on + food far exceeding both in kind and amount, not merely the diet + of the independent labourer, but that of the majority of the + persons who contributed to their support. The farmer paid + 10<i>s.</i> in the pound in poor-rates, and was in addition + compelled to employ supernumerary labourers not required on his + farm, at a cost of from 100<i>l.</i> to 250<i>l.</i> a year; the + labourer had no need to hasten himself to seek work, or to please + his master, or to put a restraint upon his temper, having all the + slave's security for support, without the slave's liability to + punishment. The parish paid parents for nursing their little + children, and children for supporting their aged parents, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page245" id="page245"></a>[pg + 245]</span> thereby destroying in both parties all feelings of + natural affection and all sense of Christian duty.</p> + + <p>I hope I shall be excused in giving, from a former work of my + own, these home illustrations to prove that bad laws can degrade + and demoralize a people in a comparatively short time, in spite + of race and creed and public opinion; and that, where class + interests are involved, the most sacred rights of humanity are + trampled in the mire of corruption. Even now the pauperism + resulting of necessity from the large-farm system is degrading + the English people, and threatening to rot away the foundations + of society. On this subject I am glad to find a complete + corroboration of my own conclusions in a work by one of the + ablest and most enlightened Christian ministers in England, the + Rev. Dr. Rigg. He says:—</p> + + <p>'Notwithstanding a basis of manly, honest, and often generous + qualities, the common character of all the uneducated and + unelevated classes of the English labouring population includes, + as marked and obvious features, improvidence, distrust of their + superiors, discontent at their social position, and a predominant + passion for gross animal gratification. Of this general character + we regard the rude, heavy, unhopeful English peasant, who knows + no indulgence or relaxation but that of the ale-house, and lives + equally without content and without ambition, as affording the + fundamental type, which, like all other things English, possesses + a marked individuality. It differs decidedly from the Irish type + of peasant degradation. Something of this may be due to the + effect of race. The Kelt and the Saxon may be expected to differ. + Yet we think but little stress is to be laid upon this. There is, + probably, much more Keltic blood in the southern and western + counties of England, and, also, more Saxon blood in some of the + southern and even western parts of Ireland, than has been + generally supposed. We apprehend that a Saxon population, under + the same conditions as the southern and western Irish peasantry, + would have grown up into very much the same sort of people as the + Irish have been; while a Keltic population, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page246" id="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> + exposed to the same influences, through successive generations, + as the midland and southern peasantry of England, would not have + been essentially different at the present day from the actual + cultivators of the soil.</p> + + <p>'The Irish peasant is poorer and yet more reckless than the + Englishman; but he is not so sullen or so spiritless. His body is + not so muscular or so strongly-set as that of the Anglo-Saxon + husbandman, on whose frame the hard and unintermitted toil of + thirty generations has stamped its unmistakable impress, and, + correspondently, he is a less persevering and less vigorous + labourer; but, as a general rule, his stature is taller and his + step far more free and elastic than that of the sturdy but slow + and stunted labourer of our southern counties. There are wild + mountainous districts of the west, indeed, in which the lowest + type of the Irish peasantry is found, that must be taken as + exceptions to our general statement; and as many from those + regions cross the Channel to tramp through England in the complex + character of mendicant labourers, no doubt some have received + from them an impression as to the Irish peasantry very different + from what our observations are intended to convey. But no one can + have travelled through the south of Ireland without having + noticed what we state. The Tipperary and Kilkenny peasantry are + proverbially tall; Connemara has been famed for its "giants," and + many of both sexes throughout the south, are, spite of their + rags, fine figures, and graceful in their movements. While + looking at them, we have ceased to wonder at what has been + regarded as no better than the arch-agitator's blarney, when he + spoke of the Irish as the "finest pisantry in the world;" and we + have even felt saddened as we mentally contrasted with what we + saw before us the bearing and appearance of our own southern + labourers. For the tattered Irish peasant, living in a mud hovel, + is, after all, a gentleman in his bearing; whereas there is + generally either a cringing servility or a sullen doggedness in + the demeanour of the south Saxon labourer. The Irishman is, + besides, far more intelligent and <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page247" id="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> ready-witted than the + Saxon husbandman. The fact is that the Irishman, if underfed, has + not been overworked. His life has not been one of unceasing and + oppressive labour. Nor has his condition been one of perpetual + servitude. With all his poverty, he has been, to a considerable + extent, his own master. Half-starved, or satisfying his appetite + on light and innutritious fare,—far worse housed and clad + than the poorest English labourer, often, indeed, almost + half-naked,—oppressed by middle-men, exactors of rack-rent; + with all this the Irish cottier has been, from father to son, and + from generation to generation, <i>a tenant, and not merely a day + labourer</i>.'<a id="footnotetag42" name= + "footnotetag42"></a><a href="#footnote42"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote42" name="footnote42"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag42">(return)</a> + + <p>'Essays for the Times, on Ecclesiastical and Social + Subjects,' by James H. Rigg, D.D. London, 1866.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page248" id= + "page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + + <h3>ULSTER IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</h3> + + <p>Let us, then, endeavour to get rid of the pernicious delusions + about race and religion in dealing with this Irish land question. + Identity of race and substantial agreement in religion did not + prevent the Ulster landlords from uprooting their tenants when + they fancied it was their interest to banish them—to + substitute grazing for tillage, and cattle for a most industrious + and orderly peasantry.</p> + + <p>The letters of Primate Boulter contain much valuable + information on the state of Ulster in the last century, and + furnish apt illustrations of the land question, which, I fancy, + will be new and startling to many readers. Boulter was lord + primate of Ireland from 1724 to 1738. He was thirteen times one + of the lords justices. As an Englishman and a good churchman, he + took care of the English interests and of the establishment. The + letters were written in confidence to Sir Robert Walpole and + other ministers of state, and were evidently not intended for + publication. An address 'to the reader' from some friend, states + truly that they give among other things an impartial account of + 'the distressed state of the kingdom for want of <i>tillage</i>, + the vast sums of money sent out of the nation for corn, flour, + &c., the dismal calamities thereon, the want of trade and the + regulation of the English and other coins, to the very great + distress of all the manufacturers,' &c. They show that he was + a man of sound judgment, public-spirited, and very moderate and + impartial for the times in which he lived. His evidence with + regard to the relations of landlord and tenant in Ulster is + exceedingly valuable at the present moment. Lord Dufferin could + not <span class="pagenum"><a name="page249" id="page249"></a>[pg + 249]</span> have read the letters when he wrote his book; + otherwise I should think his apology for the landlords of the + last century would have been considerably modified.</p> + + <p>Primate Boulter repeatedly complained to Walpole, the Duke of + Newcastle, and other ministers, that the Ulster farmers were + deserting the country in large numbers, emigrating to the United + States, then British colonies, to the West Indies, or to any + country where they hoped to get the means of living, in many + cases binding themselves to work for a number of years <i>as + slaves</i> in payment of their passage out. The desire to quit + the country of their birth is described by the primate as a + mania. Writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1728 he + says:—'We are under great trouble here about a frenzy that + has taken hold of very great numbers to leave this country for + the West Indies, and we are endeavouring to learn what may be the + reasons of it, and the proper remedies.' Two or three weeks later + he reported to the Duke of Newcastle that for several years past + some agents from the colonies in America, and several masters of + ships, had gone about the country 'and deluded the people with + stories of great plenty and estates to be had for going for in + those parts of the world.' During the previous summer more than + 3,000 men, women, and children had been shipped for the West + Indies. Of these, not more than one in ten were men of substance. + The rest hired themselves for their passage, or contracted with + masters of ships for four years' servitude, 'selling themselves + as servants for their subsistence.' The whole north was in a + ferment, people every day engaging one another to go next year to + the West Indies. 'The humour,' says the primate, 'has spread like + a contagious distemper, and the people will hardly hear anybody + that tries to cure them of their madness. The worst is that it + affects only <i>Protestants</i>, and reigns chiefly in the North, + which is the seat of our linen manufacture.'</p> + + <p>As the Protestant people, the descendants of the English and + Scotch who had settled in the country in the full assurance that + they were building homes for their posterity, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page250" id="page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> were + thus deserting those homes in such multitudes, their pastors sent + a memorial to the lord lieutenant, setting forth the grievances + which they believed to be the cause of the desertion. On this + memorial the primate wrote comments to the English Government, + and, in doing so, he stated some astounding facts as to the + treatment of the people by their landlords. He was a cautious + man, thoroughly acquainted with the facts, and writing under a + sense of great responsibility. In order to understand some of + those facts, we should bear in mind that the landlords had laid + down large portions of their estates in pasture, to avoid the + payment of tithes, and that this burden was thrown entirely upon + the tenants who tilled the land. Now, let my readers mark what + the primate states as to their condition. He says:—'If a + landlord takes too great a portion of the profits of a farm for + his share by way of rent (as the tithe will light on the tenant's + share), the tenant will be impoverished; but then it is not the + tithe, but the increased rent that undoes the farmer. And, + indeed, in this country, where I fear the tenant hardly ever has + more than one-third of the profits he makes of his farm for his + share, and too often but a <i>fourth</i>, or, perhaps, a <i>fifth + part</i>, as the tenant's share is charged with the tithe, his + case is, no doubt, hard, but it is plain from what side the + hardship arises.' What the gentlemen wanted to be at, according + to the primate, was, that they might go on raising their rents, + and that the clergy should receive their old payments. He admits, + however, that the tenants were sometimes cited to the + ecclesiastical courts, and if they failed to appear there, they + stood excommunicated; and he adds, 'possibly when a writ <i>de + excommunicato capiendo</i> is taken out, and they find they have + 7<i>l.</i> or 8<i>l.</i> to pay, <i>they run away</i>, for the + greatest part of the occupiers of the land here are so poor, that + an extraordinary stroke of 8<i>l.</i> or 10<i>l.</i> falling on + them is certain ruin to them.' He further states that, to his own + knowledge, many of the clergy had chosen rather to lose their + 'small dues' than to be at a certain great expense in getting + them, 'and at an <span class="pagenum"><a name="page251" id= + "page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> uncertainty whether the farmer + would not at last <i>run away without paying anything</i>.'</p> + + <p>Such was the condition of the Protestants of Ulster during the + era of the penal code; and it is a curious fact that it was the + Presbyterians and not the Catholics that were forced by the + exactions of the Protestant landlords and the clergy to run away + from the country which their forefathers had been brought over to + civilize. But there was another fact connected with the condition + of Ulster which I dare say will be almost incredible to many + readers. The tenantry, so cruelly rack-rented and impoverished, + were reduced by two or three bad seasons to a state bordering + upon famine. There was little or no corn in the province. The + primate set on foot a subscription in Dublin, to which he himself + contributed very liberally. The object was to buy food to supply + the necessities of the north, and to put a stop to 'the great + desertion' they had been threatened with. He hoped that the + landlords would 'do <i>their</i> part by remitting some arrears, + or making some abatement of their rents.' As many of the tenants + had eaten the oats they should have sowed their lands with, he + expected the landlords would have the good sense to furnish them + with seed; if not, a great deal of land would lie waste that + year. And where were the provisions got? Partly in Munster, where + corn was very cheap and abundant. But the people of Cork, + Limerick, Waterford, and Clonmel objected to have their + provisions sent away, although they were in some places 'as cheap + again as in the north; but where dearest, at least one-third part + cheaper.' Riotous mobs broke open the store-houses and cellars, + setting what price they pleased upon the provisions. And, what + between those riots and the prevalence of easterly winds, three + weeks elapsed before the 3,000<i>l.</i> worth of oats, oatmeal, + and potatoes could be got down to relieve the famishing people of + the north, which then seemed black enough, even to its own + inhabitants. Hence the humane primate was obliged to write: 'The + humour of going to America still continues, and the scarcity + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page252" id="page252"></a>[pg + 252]</span> of provisions certainly makes many quit us. There are + now seven ships at Belfast that are carrying off 1,000 passengers + thither, and if we knew how to stop them, as most of them can + neither get victuals nor work at home, it would be cruel to do + it.'</p> + + <p>The Presbyterian clergy suffered greatly from the + impoverishment of their people. Several of them who had been + receiving a stipend of 50<i>l.</i> a year, had their incomes + reduced to less than 15<i>l.</i> In their distress they appealed + to the primate, and, staunch churchman as he was, they found in + him a kind and earnest advocate. Writing to Sir Robert Walpole, + on March 31, 1729, he pleaded for the restoration of 400<i>l.</i> + a year, which had been given to the non-conforming clergy of + Ireland from the privy purse, in addition to the 1,200<i>l.</i> + royal bounty, which, it appears, had been suspended for two + years, owing to the death of the late king. 'They are sensible,' + said his grace, 'there is nothing due to them, nor do they make + any such claim; but as the calamities of this kingdom are at + present very great, and by the desertion of many of their people + to America, and the poverty of the greatest part of the rest, + their contributions, particularly in the north, are very much + fallen off, it would be a great instance of his majesty's + goodness if he would consider their present distress.' In our own + days a Presbyterian minister would be considered to deserve well + of his country if he emigrated to America, and took with him as + many of the people as he could induce to forsake their native + land. But what was the great plea which Primate Boulter urged on + the English Minister on behalf of the Presbyterian clergy of his + day? It was, that they had exerted their influence to prevent + emigration. 'It is,' he said, 'but doing them justice to affirm + that they are very well affected to his majesty and his royal + family, and by the best enquiries I could make, do their best + endeavours to keep their congregations from deserting the + country, not more than one or two of the younger ministers having + anyways encouraged the humour now prevailing here. And his + majesty's goodness in giving them some extraordinary <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page253" id="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span> + relief on this occasion of their present great distress would + undoubtedly make them <i>more active to retain their people + here</i>. I cannot help mentioning on this occasion that, what + with scarceness of corn in the north, <i>and the loss of all + credit there</i>, and by the numbers that go, or talk of going, + to America, and with the disturbances in the south, this kingdom + is at present in a deplorable condition.'</p> + + <p>In a statement previously made to the Bishop of London, the + Irish primate earnestly solicited his correspondent to use his + influence to prevent the Irish landlords from passing a law to + strip the established clergy of their rights with respect to the + tithe of agistment. They had entered into a general combination, + and formed a stock purse to resist the payment of tithe, except + by the poor tenants who tilled the soil, a remarkable contrast to + the zeal of the landlords of our own time in defending church + property against 'spoliation' by the imperial legislature, and to + the liberality with which many of them are now contributing to + the Sustentation Fund. How shall we account for the change? Is it + that the landlords of the present day are more righteous than + their grandfathers? Or is it that the same principle of + self-interest which led the proprietors of past times to grind + the tenantry and rob the Church, now operates in forms more + consistent with piety and humanity, and by its subtle influence + illustrates the maxim of the poet—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Self-love and social is the same.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>However that may be, the primate contented himself in this + letter with a defence of the Church, in which he admitted matters + of real grievance, merely alluding to other grievances, 'such as + raising the rents unreasonably, the oppression by justices of the + peace, seneschals, and other officers in the country.'</p> + + <p>From the pictures of the times he presents we should not be + surprised at his statement to the Duke of Newcastle, that the + people who went to America made great complaints of the + oppressions they suffered, and said that those oppressions + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page254" id="page254"></a>[pg + 254]</span> were one reason of their going. When he went on his + visitation, in 1726, he 'met all the roads full of whole families + that had left their homes to beg abroad,' having consumed their + stock of potatoes two months before the usual time. During the + previous year many hundreds had perished of famine. What was the + cause of this misery, this desolating process going on over the + plains of Ulster? The archbishop accounts for it by stating that + many persons had let large tracts of land, from 3,000 to 4,000 + acres, which were stocked with cattle, and had no other + inhabitants on their land than so many cottiers as were necessary + to look after their sheep and black cattle, '<i>so that, in some + of the finest counties, in many places there is neither house nor + cornfield to be seen in ten or fifteen miles' travelling</i>, and + daily in some counties many gentlemen, as their leases fall into + their hands, tie up their tenants from tillage; and this is one + of the main causes why so many venture to go into foreign service + at the hazard of their lives if taken, because they cannot get + land to till at home.'</p> + + <p>My readers should remember that the industrious, law-abiding, + bible-loving, God-fearing people, who were thus driven by + oppression from the fair fields of Ulster, which they had + cultivated, and the dwellings which they had erected, to make way + for sheep and cattle—because it was supposed by the + landlords that sheep and cattle paid better—were the + descendants of British settlers who came to the country under a + royal guarantee <i>of freeholds and permanent tenures</i>. Let + them picture to their minds this fine race of honest, godly + people, rack-rented, crushed, evicted, heart-broken—men, + women, and children—Protestants, Saxons, cast out to perish + as the refuse of the earth, by a set of landed proprietors of + their own race and creed; and learn from this most instructive + fact that, if any body of men has the power of making laws to + promote its own interest, no instincts of humanity, no dictates + of religion, no restraints of conscience can be relied upon to + keep them from acting with ruthless barbarity, and doing more to + ruin their country than a foreign invader <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page255" id="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> + could accomplish by letting loose upon it his brutal soldiers. + How much more earnestly would Boulter have pleaded with the prime + minister of England on behalf of the wretched people of Ulster if + he could have foreseen that ere long those Presbyterian + emigrants, with the sense of injustice and cruel wrong burning in + their hearts, would be found fighting under the banner of + American independence—the bravest and fiercest soldiers of + freedom which the British troops encountered in the American war. + History is continually repeating itself, yet how vainly are its + lessons taught! The same legal power of extermination is still + possessed by the Irish landlords after sixty-nine years of + imperial legislation. Our hardy, industrious people, naturally as + well disposed to royalty as any people in the world, are still + crowding emigrant ships in all our ports, deserting their country + with the same bitter feelings that animated the Ulster men a + century ago, hating our Government with a mortal hatred, and + ready to fight against it under a foreign flag! We have no + Primate Boulter now in the Protestant hierarchy to plead the + cause of an unprotected tenantry; but we have the press, which + can concentrate upon the subject the irresistible force of public + opinion.</p> + + <p>As a churchman, Primate Boulter naturally regarded the land + question in its bearings on the interests of the Establishment. + Writing to Sir Robert Walpole in 1737 he said that he had in vain + represented to the landlords that, by destroying the tithe of + agistment, they naturally discouraged tillage, lessened the + number of people, and raised the price of provisions. By running + into cattle they caused the young men to enlist in foreign + service for bread, there being no employment for them at home, + 'where two or three hands can look after some hundreds of acres + stocked with cattle.' And by this means, said the primate, 'a + great part of our churches are neglected; in many places five, + six, or seven parishes bestowed on one incumbent, who, perhaps, + with all his tithes, scarce gets 100<i>l.</i> a year.' But there + was at that time a member of the Irish House of Commons who was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page256" id="page256"></a>[pg + 256]</span> capable of taking a more enlarged view of the Irish + question. This was Mr. Arthur Dobbs, who belonged to an old and + honourable Ulster family—the author of a book on the + 'North-west Passage to India,' and of a very valuable work on the + 'Trade of Great Britain and Ireland.' He was intimately + acquainted with the working of the Irish land system, for he had + been many years agent of the Hertfort estate, one of the largest + in Ireland. There is among Boulter's letters an introduction of + Mr. Dobbs to Sir Robert Walpole, recommending him as a person of + good sense, who had applied himself to the improvement of trade, + and to the making of our colonies in America of more advantage + than they had hitherto been. He was afterwards made Governor of + North Carolina. I have mentioned these facts in the hope of + securing the attention of landlords and statesmen to the + following passage from his book accounting for the deplorable + condition of the province of Ulster at that time, and the + emigration of its industrious and wealth-producing inhabitants. + In my humble opinion it furnishes irresistible arguments in + favour of a measure which should settle the Irish land question + in such a manner that it would speak to the people of Ireland in + the words of holy writ: 'And they shall build houses, and inhabit + them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. + They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant + and another eat.' Mr. Dobbs says:—</p> + + <p>'How can a tenant improve his land when he is convinced that, + after all his care and toil, his improvements will be overrated, + and he will be obliged to shift for himself? Let us place + ourselves in his situation and see if we should think it + reasonable to improve for another, if those improvements would be + the very cause of our being removed from the enjoyment of them. I + believe we should not. Industry and improvements go very heavily + on when we think we are not to have the property in either. What + can be expected, then, from covenants to improve and plant, when + the person to do it knows he is to have <i>no property in + them</i>? <span class="pagenum"><a name="page257" id= + "page257"></a>[pg 257]</span> There will be no concern or care + taken to preserve them, and they will run to ruin as fast as made + or planted. What was it induced so many of the commonalty lately + to go to America but high rents, bad seasons, and want of good + tenures, or a permanent property in their land? This kept them + poor and low, and they scarce had sufficient credit to procure + necessaries to subsist or till their ground. They never had + anything to store, all was from hand to mouth; so one or two bad + crops broke them. Others found their stock dwindling and decaying + visibly, and so removed before all was gone, while they had as + much left as would pay their passage, and had little more than + what would carry them to the American shore.</p> + + <p>'This, it may be allowed, was the occasion of the poor farmers + going who had their rents lately raised. But it may be objected + that was not the reason why rich farmers went, and those who had + several years in beneficial leases still unexpired, who sold + their bargains and removed with their effects. But it is plain + they all went for the same reason; for these last, from <i>daily + examples before them</i>, saw the present occupiers dispossessed + of their lands at the expiration of their leases, and no + preference given to them; so they expected it would soon be their + own case, to avoid which, and make the most of the years still + unexpired, they sold, and carried their assets with them to + procure a settlement in a country where they had reason to expect + a permanent property.'</p> + + <p>It is a curious fact that sentiments very similar were + published by one of Cromwell's officers about a century before. + The plea which he put forth for the Irish tenant in the + dedication of his work on Ireland to the Protector, has been + repeated ever since by the tenants, but repeated in vain: Captain + Bligh, the officer alluded to, said: 'The first prejudice is, + that if a tenant be at ever so great pains or cost for the + improvement of his land, he doth thereby but occasion a greater + rack-rent upon himself, or else invests his landlord with his + cost and labour <i>gratis</i>, or at least lies at his landlord's + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page258" id="page258"></a>[pg + 258]</span> mercy for requital; which occasions a neglect of all + good husbandry, to his own, the land, the landlord, and the + commonwealth's suffering.' Now, this, I humbly conceive, might be + removed, if there were a law enacted, by which every landlord + should be obliged either to give him reasonable allowance for his + clear improvement, or else suffer him <i>or his</i> to enjoy it + so much longer or till he hath had a proportionable + requital.'</p> + + <p>But although Primate Boulter protested against the conduct of + the landlords—all Episcopalians—who were ruining the + church as well as the country, the established clergy, as a body, + were always on the side of the oppressors.</p> + + <p>The Test Act placed the Presbyterians, like the Papists, in + the position of an inferior race. 'In the city of Londonderry + alone, which Presbyterian valour had defended, ten out of twelve + aldermen, and twenty out of twenty-four burgesses, were thrust + out of the corporation by that act, which placed an odious mark + of infamy upon at least one-half the inhabitants of the kingdom.' + Presbyterians could not legally keep a common school. The + <i>Edinburgh Review</i> says: 'All the settlements, from first to + last, had the effect of making the cause of the church and the + cause of the landlords really one. During the worst days of + landlord oppression it never identified itself with the interests + of the people, but uniformly sustained the power and privileges + of the landlords.'</p> + + <p>It was vain to expect justice from the Irish parliament. The + people of Ireland never were governed exclusively, or at all, by + her own Sovereign, her own Lords, and her own Commons. Ireland + was 'in the custody of England,' just as much before the Union as + during the last sixty-seven years. Even during the few brief + years of her spasmodic 'independence,' the mass of the nation + formed no part of the 'Commons of Ireland.' It was still, as it + always had been, a sham parliament—a body representing the + colonial aristocracy—acting as undertakers for the + Government of England, for whose interest exclusively this island + was to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page259" id= + "page259"></a>[pg 259]</span> be ruled. Provided this result was + secured, it did not matter much, at the other side of the + Channel, how the Irish people were treated. Indeed, they were not + recognised as the people of Ireland, or any part thereof. Even + philosophic liberals, like Lord Charlemont, were shocked at the + idea of a Papist getting into the Irish House of Commons; and the + volunteer system was shattered by this insane animosity of the + ruling race against the subject nation. The antipathy was as + strong as the antipathy between the whites and the negroes in the + West Indies and the United States. Hence the remorseless spirit + in which atrocities were perpetrated in 1798. Mr. Daunt has shown + that a large proportion of the Irish House of Lords consisted of + men who were English to all intents and purposes—many of + them by birth, and many by residence, and, no doubt, they always + came over with reluctance to what Lord Chancellor Clare called + 'our damnable country.' It may be that in some years after the + abolition of the Establishment—after some experience of the + <i>régime</i> of religious equality—the two races + in this island will learn to act together so harmoniously as to + give a fair promise that they could be safely trusted with + self-legislation. But the '<i>self</i>' must be one body animated + by one spirit; not two bodies, chained together, irritated by the + contact, fiercely struggling against one another, eternally + reproaching one another about the mutual wrongs of the past, and + not unfrequently coming to blows, like implacable duellists shut + up in a small room, each determined to kill or be killed. If + England were to let go her hold even now, something like this + would be the Irish 'situation.' The abiding force of this + antipathy, in the full light of Christianity, is awful.</p> + + <p>In his 'Life, Letters, and Speeches of Lord Plunket,' the Hon. + David Plunket states that, when his grandfather entered the Irish + parliament, 'the English Government had nearly abandoned the + <i>sham</i> of treating the Irish parliament as an independent + legislature; the treasury benches were filled with placemen and + pensioners. All efforts tending to <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page260" id="page260"></a>[pg 260]</span> reform of parliament + or concession to the Catholics had been given up as useless. + Grattan and some of his immediate followers had seceded from an + assembly too degraded to appreciate their motives, or to be + influenced by their example; and whatever remained of + independence in the House of Commons ministers still laboured to + bring under their control. Scarcely thirty votes appeared in + opposition on the most important divisions, while Government + could at any time readily whip a majority of 100.'</p> + + <p>According to a Government return made in 1784, by Pitt's + direction, 116 nomination seats were divided between some 25 + proprietors. Lord Shannon returned no less than 16 members, and + the great family of Ponsonby returned 14; Lord Hillsborough, 9, + the Duke of Leinster, 7, and the Castle itself 12. Eighty-six + seats were <i>let out</i> by the owners, in consideration of + titles, offices, and pensions. No less than 44 seats were + occupied by placemen, 32 by gentlemen who had promises of + pensions, 12 by gentlemen who stood out for higher prices from + Government. The regular opposition appears to have been limited + to 82 votes, of which 30 belonged to Whig nominees, and the rest + to the popular party.</p> + + <p>It is, then, easy to account for the state of public feeling + which Mr. Plunket, with these facts and figures before him, so + well describes. He says truly that if it were possible to appeal + to the country under these circumstances, the people would not + have responded. 'Gloomy and desperate, they had lost all + confidence in their parliament, and looked to other quarters for + deliverance from the <i>intolerable tyranny</i> under which they + suffered. There can be no doubt that this anarchy and disgrace + were in a great degree the result of a misgovernment, ancient and + recent, <i>which seems to have been always adopted with a view to + bring out strongly the worst elements of the Irish character</i>; + but it was at that time said, and no doubt believed by the + Opposition, that the ministry of the day had deliberately planned + and accomplished the disorganisation of the Irish people and + their <span class="pagenum"><a name="page261" id= + "page261"></a>[pg 261]</span> parliament, in order to enable them + to carry out their favourite project of the Union.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Plunket, after describing the classes of 'representatives' + that his grandfather had to deal with in the Irish House of + Commons, further says: 'It is true that this corrupt assembly + cannot fairly be looked upon as the mirror of national character + and national honour. The members of the majority who voted for + the Union <i>were not</i> the representatives of the people, + <i>but the hired servants of the Minister, for the Parliament had + been packed for the purpose</i>.'</p> + + <p>Towards the close of the century, however, the French + Revolution, the American war, and the volunteer movement, had + begun to cause some faint stirring of national life in the inert + mass of the Roman Catholic population, which the penal code had + '<i>dis-boned</i>.' Up to this time they were not even thought of + in the calculations of politicians. According to Dean Swift, + Papists counted no more in politics than the women and children. + Macaulay uses a still more contemptuous comparison to express the + estimate in which they were held in those times, saying, that + their lords and masters would as soon have consulted their + poultry and swine on any political question. Nevertheless, during + the excitement of the volunteer movement, some of the poor Celts + began to raise their heads, and presumed to put the question to + the most liberal portion of the ruling race—'Are we not + men? Have not we also some rights?' The appeal was responded to + in the Irish parliament, and in 1793 the elective franchise was + conceded to Roman Catholics. It was the first concession, and the + least that could be granted. But the bare proposal excited the + utmost indignation in the Tory party, and especially in the + Dublin corporation, where the Orange spirit was rampant. That + body adopted an address to the Protestants of Ireland, which + bears a remarkable resemblance in its spirit and style to + addresses lately issued by Protestant Defence Associations. Both + speak in the kindest terms of their Roman Catholic + fellow-subjects, disclaim all intention of depriving them of any + advantages they <span class="pagenum"><a name="page262" id= + "page262"></a>[pg 262]</span> enjoy under our glorious + constitution, declaring that their objects are purely + <i>defensive</i>, and that they want merely to guard that + constitution against the aggressions of the Papacy quite as much + for the sake of Roman Catholics as for the sake of Protestants. + 'Countrymen and friends,' said the Dublin Tories, seventy-five + years ago, 'the firm and manly support which we received from you + when we stood forward in defence of the Protestant Ascendancy, + deserves our warmest thanks. We hoped that the sense of the + Protestants of Ireland, declared upon that occasion, would have + convinced our Roman Catholic fellow-subjects that the pursuit of + political power was for them a vain pursuit; for, though the + liberal and enlightened mind of the Protestant receives pleasure + at seeing the Catholic exercise his religion with freedom, enjoy + his property in security, and possess the highest degree of + personal liberty, yet, experience has taught us that, without the + ruin of the Protestant establishment, the Catholic cannot be + allowed the smallest influence in the state.'</p> + + <p>Those men were as thoroughly convinced as their descendants, + who protest against concession to-day, that all our Protestant + institutions would go to perdition, if Papists, although then + mere serfs, were allowed to vote for members of parliament. They + were equally puzzled to know why Roman Catholics were + discontented, or what more their masters could reasonably do for + them to add to the enviable happiness of their lot. 'We entreat + you,' the Dublin corporation said to their Protestant brethren + throughout the country—'we entreat you to join with us in + using every honest means of persuading the Roman Catholics to + rest content with the most perfect toleration of their religion, + the fullest security of their property, and the most complete + personal liberty; but, by no means, now or hereafter, to attempt + any interference in the government of the kingdom, as such + interference would be incompatible with the Protestant + Ascendancy, which we have resolved with our lives and fortunes to + maintain.' Lest any doubt should exist as to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page263" id="page263"></a>[pg 263]</span> what + they meant by 'Protestant Ascendancy,' they expressly defined it. + They resolved that it consisted in a Protestant King of Ireland; + a Protestant Parliament, Protestant electors and Government; + Protestant benches of justice; a Protestant hierarchy; the army + and the revenue, through all their branches and details, + Protestant; and this system supported by a connection with the + Protestant realm of Britain.</p> + + <p>The power of the political franchise to elevate a degraded + people, to convert slaves into men, is exhibited before the eyes + of the present generation in the Southern States of America; even + where differences of race and colour are most marked, and where + the strongest natural antipathies are to be overcome. We may + judge from this what must have been the effect of this concession + on the Irish Celts. The forty-shilling freeholders very soon + became objects of consideration with their landlords, who were + anxious to extend their political influence in their respective + counties, for the representation of which the great proprietors + had many a fierce contest. The abolition of this franchise by the + Emancipation Act made that measure a grievance instead of a + relief to the peasantry, for the landlords were now as anxious to + get rid of the small holders as they had been to increase them so + long as they served their political purpose. It was one of the + great drawbacks which deprived emancipation of the healing effect + it would otherwise have produced. If—as Pitt + intended—that measure had formed part of the Union + arrangements; if the forty-shilling freeholders had been spared, + and the priesthood had been endowed, we should never have had an + agitation for repeal or even for the separation of the church + from the state. Pitt's plan of the Union included the abolition + of Protestant Ascendancy.</p> + + <p>Edmund Burke, in one of his letters on Ireland, said: 'A word + has been lately struck in the mint of the castle of Dublin. + Thence it was conveyed to the Tholsel, or city hall, where having + passed the touch of the corporation, so respectably stamped and + vouched, it soon became current in parliament, and was carried + back by the speaker of the <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page264" id="page264"></a>[pg 264]</span> House of Commons, in + great pomp, as an offering of homage from whence it came. That + word is Ascendancy. The word is not absolutely new.' He then + gives its various meanings, and first shows what it does + <i>not</i> signify in the new sense. Not influence obtained by + love or reverence, or by superior management and dexterity; not + an authority derived from wisdom or virtue, promoting the + happiness and freedom of the Roman Catholic people; not by + flattering them, or by a skilful adaptation to their humours and + passions. It means nothing of all these. Burke then shows what it + does mean. 'New ascendancy is old mastership. It is neither more + nor less than the resolution of one sect of people in Ireland to + consider themselves the sole citizens in the commonwealth, and to + keep a dominion over the rest, by reducing them to absolute + slavery under a military power; and thus fortified in their + power, to divide the public estate, which is the result of + general contribution, as a military booty, solely among + themselves. This ascendancy, by being a <i>Protestant</i> + ascendancy, does not better it, from a combination of a note or + two more in this anti-harmonic scale. By the use that is + frequently made of the term, and the policy that is grafted on + it, the name Protestant becomes nothing more or better than the + name of a persecuting faction, with a relation of some sort of + theological hostility to others, but without any sort of + ascertained tenets of its own, upon the ground of which it + persecutes other men; for the patrons of this Protestant + ascendancy neither do nor can, by anything positive, define or + describe what they mean by the word Protestant.... The whole is + nothing but pure and perfect malice. It is indeed a perfection in + that kind, belonging to beings of a higher order than man, and to + them we ought to leave it.... Let three millions of people but + abandon all that they and their ancestors have been taught to + believe sacred, and to forswear it publicly in terms the most + degrading, and nothing more is required of them.... The word + <i>Protestant</i> is the charm that locks up in a dungeon of + servitude three millions of people.</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page265" id="page265"></a>[pg 265]</span> + + <p>Every thoughtful reader of the debates in parliament on the + state of Ireland, must have been struck with the difference of + opinion between the Liberals and the Conservatives, as to the + facts of the case. A still more violent difference was presented + in the British parliament, in the year 1797, when there were + great debates in both houses on the subject, and when the facts + were still more glaring, one of them being that the reign of + terror established by the Irish Government prevented the press + from reporting the maddening atrocities which the ruling faction + was daily perpetrating against the mass of the king's subjects. + The debate arose in the Lords, on a motion by Lord Moira for an + address to the king on the state of Ireland. He described the + horrors of which he had been recently a witness, but softened the + recital, lest he should shock his hearers too much. Orange + loyalty was then licensed and let loose upon the defenceless + Roman Catholic population in Ulster. Lord Gosford's description + of the scenes of desolation in his own county, Armagh, is well + known. He did what he could to prevent the burning of Roman + Catholic houses, and the personal injuries inflicted upon the + unfortunate inhabitants, while their Orange neighbours chased + them out of the country, giving them Cromwell's alternative. But + his mercy injured his reputation, and he felt obliged to protest + solemnly that he was a loyal man, and that he wished to uphold + Protestant ascendancy in Ireland as much as any of his accusers. + He only asked that the poor Catholic should be allowed to live in + peace. In the debate referred to, Lord Moira declared that + ninety-one householders had been banished from one of his own + estates; and many of them wounded in their persons. The + discontent, he said, was not confined to one sect. He ascribed + the state of things to the recall of Lord Fitzwilliam, which + crushed the hopes of the Catholics, and gave unbounded licence to + the yeomanry, who were empowered to act with a vigour beyond the + law; to turn out, banish, or kill the king's subjects, on mere + suspicion, often prompted by private malice, and having no + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page266" id="page266"></a>[pg + 266]</span> better warrant than anonymous information. But for + all this the Irish parliament and the new reactionary viceroy + freely granted acts of indemnity. According to Earl Fitzwilliam + 'whole parishes, baronies, and even counties, were declared to be + out of the king's peace.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Fox brought forward a similar motion in the House of + Commons, pleading the cause of justice and humanity in a noble + speech, and boldly affirming principles of government for + Ireland, which Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Chichester Fortescue, and Mr. + Bright are now endeavouring to have carried out by the imperial + parliament after seventy years of concession, extorted by three + rebellions. Mr. Fox expressed his abhorrence of 'the truly + diabolical maxim' of '<i>Divide el impera</i>,' by which the + government of Ireland was conducted. He hoped that the discontent + which threatened the separation of Ireland would be dissipated + without the necessity of war. 'But now,' he said, 'the extremity + of rigour has been tried—the severity of despotism has been + let loose—and the Government is driven to that state when + the laws are not to be put into execution, but to be superseded.' + The motion was seconded by Sir Francis Burdett, who said: + 'Whoever has seen Ireland, has seen a country where the fields + are desolated, and the prisons overflowing with the victims of + oppression—has seen the shocking contrast between a + profligate, extravagant Government, and an enslaved and + impoverished people.' The motion was rejected by a majority of + 136. Lord Moira made a last and an almost despairing appeal on + November 22, in the same year. In his speech he said: 'I have + seen in that country a marked distinction made between the + English and the Irish. I have seen troops that have been sent + full of this prejudice, that every inhabitant of that kingdom is + a rebel to the British Government. I have seen the most wanton + insults practised upon men of all ranks and conditions. I have + seen the most grievous oppression exercised, in consequence of a + presumption that the person who was the unfortunate object of + such oppression was in hostility to the Government; and yet that + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page267" id="page267"></a>[pg + 267]</span> has been done in a part of the country as quiet and + as free from disturbance as the city of London. He who states + these things should be prepared with proofs. I am prepared with + them.' He then went into a number of horrifying details, and + concluded as follows: 'You say that the Irish are insensible to + the benefits of the British constitution, and you withhold all + these benefits from them. You goad them with harsh and cruel + punishments, and a general infliction of insult is thrown upon + the kingdom. I have seen, my lords, a conquered country held by + military force; <i>but never did I see in any conquered country + such a tone of insult as has been adopted by Great Britain + towards Ireland</i>. I have made a last effort. I acquit my + conscience; I have done my duty.'</p> + + <p>In subsequent debates, the following sentiments were uttered + by the leading Whig statesmen of the day: 'The treatment of + Ireland,' said Mr. Fox, 'was such as to harrow up the soul. It + was shocking to think that a nation of brothers was thus to be + trampled on like the most remote colony of conquered + strangers.... The Irish people have been scourged by the iron + hand of oppression, and subjected to the horrors of military + execution, and are now in a situation too dreadful for the mind + to contemplate without dismay. After the inhuman dragooning and + horrible executions, the recital of which makes the blood run + cold—after so much military cruelty, not in one, but in + almost every part of the country—is it possible for this + administration to procure unanimity in Ireland?' On March 22, + 1798, the Duke of Bedford moved an address to the king, asking + him to change his ministers, and alluding to the state of + Ireland, as it was before the breaking out of the Rebellion. He + said: 'Were I to enter into a detail of the atrocities which have + been committed in Ireland, the picture would appal the stoutest + heart. It could be proved that the most shocking cruelties have + been perpetrated; but what could be expected if men kept in + strict discipline were all at once allowed to give loose to their + fury and their passions?'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page268" id="page268"></a>[pg 268]</span> + + <p>Lord Holland was persuaded that his majesty's ministers could + not tranquillise Ireland even by conciliation. 'How could they + conciliate whose concessions are always known to be the + concessions of weakness and of fear, and who never granted to the + Irish—the most generous people upon earth,—anything + without a struggle or resistance?' Lord William Russell, in June + following, said: 'A man's loyalty was to be estimated by the + desire he testified to imbrue his hands in his brother's blood.' + Sheridan asked: 'After being betrayed, duped, + insulted—disappointed in their dearest hopes, and again + thrown into the hands of the rulers they detested and despised, + was it impossible they should feel emotions of indignation? The + struggle is not one of partial disaffection, but it is a contest + between the people and the Government.' Mr. Tierney said: 'It was + certain the people were in arms against the Government, nor was + it easy to conceive how—having been scourged, burnt, and + massacred—they could have any other feeling than aversion + to that Government.'</p> + + <p>Every motion on the subject in both houses was rejected by + overwhelming majorities. So little impression did the reports of + the appalling facts which were of daily occurrence in Ireland + make upon that Tory Government, that the speeches of ministers + read exactly like the speeches of Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Hardy, Lord + Mayo, and Mr. Warren, in the past session. Lord Grenville, the + home secretary, professed the most profound respect for the + independence of the Irish parliament, and he could not think of + interfering in the least with its privileges, however the empire + might suffer from its excesses. 'The motion of Lord Moira was not + only unnecessary, it was highly mischievous.' He dwelt on the + improved state of Ireland, and the tranquillity of the people. If + there were partial excesses on the part of the military, they + were unavoidable, and could only be deplored. 'He was unable to + discern what should alienate the affections of Ireland. For the + whole space of thirty years his majesty's Government had been + distinguished by the same uniform <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page269" id="page269"></a>[pg 269]</span> tenderness of regard, + by the same undeviating adherence to the mild principles of a + conciliatory system.... If any cruelties had been practised, they + must have been resisted by a high-spirited people. Were there no + courts of justice? The conduct of the lord lieutenant was highly + commendable. The system recommended by Lord Moira would only tend + to villify the Irish Government.' Then came the fatal + announcement which sounded the death-knell of thousands of the + Irish people, and caused the destruction of millions' worth of + property. The home secretary said: 'The contrary system must, + therefore, be persevered in; and to the spirited exertions of the + British military should we owe the preservation of Irish laws, of + Irish property, and of Irish lives!'</p> + + <p>To this the Marquis of Downshire added 'that he was not afraid + of the effects of coercion. Every concession had been made that + could be made towards Ireland. Every Catholic was as free as the + safety of the state would admit. Were the Catholics to have an + equal share in the government with the Protestants, the + Government and the country would be lost.'</p> + + <p>I will conclude by quoting the remarks of Mr. Fox, referred to + above: 'If you do not allay their discontent, there is no way but + force to keep them in obedience. Can you convince them by the + musket that their principles are false? Can you prove to them by + the bayonet that their pretensions are unjust? Can you + demonstrate to them by martial law that they enjoy the blessings + of a free constitution? No, it is said, but they may be deterred + from the prosecution of the objects which you have determined to + refuse. But on what is this founded? On the history of Ireland + itself? No; for the history of Ireland proves that, though + repeatedly subdued, it could not be kept in awe by force; and the + late examples will prove the effect which severity may be + expected to produce.... I would therefore concede; and if I found + I had not conceded enough, I would concede more. I know of no way + of governing <span class="pagenum"><a name="page270" id= + "page270"></a>[pg 270]</span> mankind, but by conciliating + them.... My wish is that the whole people of Ireland should have + the same principles, the same system, the same operation of + government. ... I would have the whole Irish government regulated + by Irish notions and Irish prejudices; and I firmly believe, + according to an Irish expression, the more she is under Irish + government, the more she will be bound to English interests. ... + I say, therefore, try conciliation, but do not have recourse to + arms.' He warned and implored in vain. The Union had been + determined on; and it was thought that it could be effected only + after the prostration of civil war, into which, therefore, the + unfortunate people were goaded.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page271" id="page271"></a>[pg 271]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + + <h3>POVERTY AND COERCION.</h3> + + <p>We are now in the nineteenth century, without any relief for + the Irish peasantry. The rebellion of '98, so cruelly crushed, + left an abiding sense of terror in the hearts of the Roman + Catholic population. Their condition was one of almost hopeless + prostration. The Union was effected without the promised relief + from their religious disabilities which was to be one of its + essential conditions. The established church was secured, the + rights of property were secured, but there was no security for + the mass of the people. Domestic politics were almost forgotten + in the gigantic struggle with Napoleon, which exhausted the + energies of the empire. Any signs of political life that showed + themselves in Ireland were connected with Catholic emancipation, + and the visit of George IV., in 1820, held forth promises of + relief which excited unbounded joy. The king loved his Irish + subjects, and would never miss an opportunity of realising the + good wishes for their happiness which he had so often and so + fervently expressed to his Whig friends, when he was Prince + Regent. O'Connell's agitation commenced soon after, and in nine + years after the royal visit emancipation was extorted by the + dread of civil war, frankly avowed by the Duke of Wellington and + Sir Robert Peel. But this boon left the masses nearly where they + had been, only more conscious of their power, and more determined + to use it, in the removal of their grievances.</p> + + <p>Lord Redesdale, writing to Lord Eldon in 1821, said:—'In + England the machine goes on almost of itself, and therefore + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page272" id="page272"></a>[pg + 272]</span> a bad driver may manage it tolerably well. It is not + so in Ireland. The country requires great exertion to bring it + into a state of order and submission to law. The whole + population—high and low, rich and poor, Catholic and + Protestant—must all be brought to obedience to law; all + must be taught to look up to the law for protection. The gentry + are ready enough to attend grand juries, to obtain presentments + for their own benefit, but they desert the quarter-sessions of + the peace. The first act of a constable in arresting must not be + to knock down the prisoner; and many, many reforms must be made, + which only can be effected by a judicious and able Government + <i>on the spot</i>. Ireland, in its present state, cannot be + governed in England. If insubordination compels you to give, how + are you to retain by law what you propose to maintain while + insubordination remains? It can only be by establishing + completely the empire of the law.'</p> + + <p>Sir Archibald Alison ascribed the unhappy relations of classes + in Ireland to what he calls 'the atrocious system of + confiscation, which, in conformity with feudal usages, the + victors introduced on every occasion of rebellion against their + authority.' Sir George Nicholls has shown, in his valuable + history of the Irish poor law, that as early as 1310 the + parliament assembled at Kilkenny resolved that none should keep + Irish, or kern, in time of peace to live upon the poor of the + country; 'but those which will have them shall keep them at their + own charges, so that the free tenants and farmers be not charged + with them.' And 130 years afterwards, the parliament assembled in + Dublin declared that divers of the English were in the habit of + maintaining sundry thieves, robbers, and rebels, and that they + were to be adjudged traitors for so doing, and suffer + accordingly. In 1450, this class of depredators had increased + very much, and by their 'thefts and manslaughters caused the land + to fall into decay, poverty wasting it every day more and more; + whereupon it was ordained that it should be lawful for every + liege man to kill or take notorious thieves, and <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page273" id="page273"></a>[pg 273]</span> + thieves found robbing, spoiling, or breaking houses; and that + every man that kills or takes any such thieves shall have one + penny of every plough, and one farthing of every cottage within + the barony where the manslaughter is done, for every thief.' + These extracts show a very barbarous state of society, but Sir + George Nicholls remarks that at the same period the condition of + England and Scotland was very similar, save only that that of + Ireland was aggravated by the civil conflicts between the + colonists and the natives. There were some efforts made in + Ireland, by various enactments, to put down this evil, and to + provide employment for the large numbers that were disposed to + prey upon the industry of their neighbours, by robbery, beggary, + and destruction of property. But while there was a legal + provision made for the poor in England, there was none in + Ireland, where the people were, <i>en masse</i>, deprived of the + means of self-support by the action of the Government. Hence, so + late as the year 1836, the poor-law commissioners reported to the + following effect:—</p> + + <p>It appeared that in Great Britain the agricultural families + constituted little more than a fourth, whilst in Ireland they + constituted about two-thirds, of the whole population; that there + were in Great Britain, in 1831, 1,055,982 agricultural labourers; + in Ireland, 1,131,715, although the cultivated land of Great + Britain amounted to about 34,250,000 acres and that of Ireland + only to about 14,600,000. So that there were in Ireland about + five agricultural labourers for every two that there were for the + same quantity of land in Great Britain. It further appeared that + the agricultural progress of Great Britain was more than four + times that of Ireland; in which agricultural wages varied from + sixpence to one shilling a day; the average of the country being + about eightpence-halfpenny; and that the earnings of the + labourers came, on an average of the whole class, to from two + shillings to two and sixpence a week or thereabouts for the year + round. Thus circumstanced, the commissioners observed, 'It is + impossible for the able-bodied in general to provide <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page274" id="page274"></a>[pg 274]</span> + against sickness or the temporary absence of employment, or + against old age, or the destitution of their widows and children + in the contingent event of their own premature decease. A great + portion of them are, it is said, insufficiently provided with the + commonest necessaries of life. Their habitations are wretched + hovels, several of a family sleep together on straw, or upon the + bare ground, sometimes with a blanket, sometimes even without so + much to cover them; their food commonly consists of dry potatoes, + and with these they are at times so scantily supplied as to be + obliged to stint themselves to one spare meal in the day. There + are even instances of persons being driven by hunger to seek + sustenance in wild herbs. They sometimes get a herring or a + little milk, but they never get meat except at Christmas, Easter, + and Shrovetide. Some go in search of employment to Great Britain, + during the harvest; others wander through Ireland with the same + view. The wives and children of many are occasionally obliged to + beg; but they do so reluctantly and with shame, and in general go + to a distance from home, that they may not be known. Mendicity, + too, is the sole resource of the aged and impotent of the poorer + classes in general, when children or relatives are unable to + support them. To it, therefore, crowds are driven for the means + of existence, and the knowledge that such is the fact leads to an + indiscriminate giving of alms, which encourages idleness, + imposture, and general crime.' Such was the wretched condition of + the great body of the labouring classes in Ireland; 'and with + these facts before us,' the commissioners say, 'we cannot + hesitate to state that we consider remedial measures requisite to + ameliorate the condition of the Irish poor. What those measures + should be is a question complicated, and involving considerations + of the deepest importance to the whole body of the people, both + in Ireland and Great Britain.'</p> + + <p>Sir George Nicholls, who had been an English poor-law + commissioner, was sent over to Ireland to make preliminary + enquiries. He found that the Irish peasantry had generally + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page275" id="page275"></a>[pg + 275]</span> an appearance of apathy and depression, seen in their + mode of living, their habitations, their dress and conduct; they + seemed to have no pride, no emulation, to be heedless of the + present and careless of the future. They did not strive to + improve their appearance or add to their comforts: their cabins + were slovenly, smoky, dirty, almost without furniture, or any + article of convenience or common decency. The woman and her + children were seen seated on the floor, surrounded by pigs and + poultry: the man lounging at the door, which could be approached + only through mud and filth: the former too slatternly to sweep + the dirt and offal from the door, the latter too lazy to make a + dry footway, though the materials were close at hand. If the + mother were asked why she did not keep herself and her children + clean with a stream of water running near the cabin, her answer + invariably was—Sure, how can we help it? We are so poor.' + The husband made the same reply, while smoking his pipe at the + fire or basking in the sunshine. Sir George Nicholls rightly + concluded that poverty was not the sole cause of this state of + things. He found them also remarkable for their desultory and + reckless habits. Though their crops were rotting in the fields + from excessive wet, and every moment of sunshine should be taken + advantage of, yet if there was a market, a fair, or a funeral, a + horse-race, a fight, or a wedding, forgetting everything else, + they would hurry off to the scene of excitement. Working for + wages was rare and uncertain, and hence arose a disregard of the + value of time, a desultory, sauntering habit, without industry or + steadiness of application. 'Such,' he proceeds, 'is too generally + the character and such the habits of the Irish peasantry; and it + may not be uninstructive to mark the resemblance which these bear + to the character and habits of the English peasantry in the + pauperised districts, under the abuses of the old poor law. + Mendicancy and indiscriminate almsgiving have produced in Ireland + results similar to what indiscriminate relief produced in + England—the like reckless disregard of the future, the like + idle and disorderly conduct, and the same proneness <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page276" id="page276"></a>[pg 276]</span> to + outrage having then characterised the English pauper labourer + which are now too generally the characteristics of the Irish + peasant. An abuse of a good law caused the evil in the one case, + and a removal of that abuse is now rapidly effecting a remedy. In + the other case the evil appears to have arisen rather from the + want than the abuse of a law; but the corrective for both will, I + believe, be found to be essentially the same.'</p> + + <p>The expectation that such a neglected people, made wretched by + bad land laws, should be loyal, was surely unreasonable. For + them, it might be said, there was no Government, no protection, + no encouragement. There could not be more tempting materials for + agitators to work upon. Lord Cloncurry vividly sketches the state + of things resulting from the want of principle and earnestness + among politicians in dealing with Irish questions at that + time.</p> + + <p>'From the Union up to the year 1829, the type of British + colonial government was the order of the day. The Protestants + were upheld as a superior caste, and paid in power and official + emoluments for their services in the army of occupation. During + the second viceroyalty of Lord Anglesea, an effort was made by + him to evoke the energies of the whole nation for its own + regeneration. That effort was defeated by the conjoint influence + of the cowardice of the English cabinet, the petulance of Mr. + Stanley, and the unseasonable violence and selfishness of the + lately emancipated popular leaders. Upon Lord Anglesea's recall + the modern Whig model of statemanship was set up and followed: + popular grievances were allowed to remain unredressed; the + discontent and violence engendered by those grievances were used + from time to time for party purposes; the people were hung and + bayoneted when their roused passions exceeded the due measure of + factious requirement; and the state patronage was employed to + stimulate and to reward a staff of demagogues, by whom the masses + were alternately excited to madness, and betrayed, according to + the necessities of the English factions. When Russells and Greys + were out or in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page277" id= + "page277"></a>[pg 277]</span> danger, there were free promises of + equal laws and privileges and franchises for oppressed Ireland; + the minister expectant or trembling for his place, spoke loudly + of justice and compensation, of fraternity and freedom. To these + key-notes the place-hunting demagogue pitched his brawling. His + talk was of pike-making, and sword-fleshing, and monster + marching. The simple people were goaded into a madness, the end + whereof was for them suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the + hulks, and the gallows; for their stimulators, silk gowns and + commissionerships and seats on the bench. Under this treatment + the public mind became debauched; the lower classes, forced to + bear the charges of agitation, as well as to suffer its + penalties, lost all faith in their social future; they saw not + and looked not beyond the momentary excitement of a procession or + a monster meeting.'</p> + + <p>Sir Robert Peel, when introducing the Emancipation Bill, had + to confess the utter failure of the coercive policy which had + been so persistently pursued. He showed that Ireland had been + governed, since the Union, almost invariably by coercive acts. + There was always some political organisation antagonistic to the + British Government. The Catholic Association had just been + suppressed; but another would soon spring out of its ashes, if + the Catholic question were not settled. Mr. O'Connell had boasted + that he could drive a coach-and-six through the former act for + its suppression; and Lord Eldon had engaged to drive 'the meanest + conveyance, even a donkey cart, through the act of 1829.' The new + member for Oxford (Sir Robert Inglis) also stated that + twenty-three counties in Ireland were prepared to follow the + example of Clare. 'What will you do,' asked Sir Robert Peel, + 'with that power, that tremendous power, which the elective + franchise, exercised under the control of religion, at this + moment confers upon the Roman Catholics? What will you do with + the thirty or forty seats that will be claimed in Ireland by the + persevering efforts of the agitators, directed by the Catholic + Association, and carried out by the agency of every priest and + bishop in Ireland?' If <span class="pagenum"><a name="page278" + id="page278"></a>[pg 278]</span> Parliament began to recede there + could be no limit to the retrogression. Such a course would + produce a reaction, violent in proportion to the hopes that had + been excited. Fresh rigours would become necessary; the + re-enactment of the penal code would not be sufficient. They must + abolish trial by jury, or, at least, incapacitate Catholics from + sitting on juries. 2,000,000 of Protestants must have a complete + monopoly of power and privilege in a country which contained + 5,000,000 of Catholics, who were in most of the country four to + one—in some districts twenty to one—of the + Protestants. True, there were difficulties in the way of a + settlement. 'But,' asked Sir Robert Peel, 'what great measure, + which has stamped its name upon the era, has ever been carried + without difficulty?</p> + + <p>At the present moment there is a loud cry in the English press + for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and for the old + remedy, coercion. Those who raise the cry would do well to read + Mr. Shiel's speech at the Clare election in 1828. He + said:—</p> + + <p>'We have put a great engine into action, and applied the + entire force of that powerful machinery which the law has placed + under our control. We are masters of the passions of the people, + and we have employed our dominion with a terrible effect. But, + sir, do you, or does any man here, imagine that we could have + acquired this formidable ability to sunder the strongest ties by + which the different classes of society are fastened, unless we + found the materials of excitement in the state of society itself? + Do you think that Daniel O'Connell has himself, and by the single + powers of his own mind, unaided by any external co-operation, + brought the country to this great crisis of agitation? Mr. + O'Connell, with all his talent for excitation, would have been + utterly powerless and incapable, unless he had been allied with a + great conspirator against the public peace; and I will tell you + who that confederate is—it is the law of the land itself + that has been Mr. O'Connell's main associate, and that ought to + be denounced as the mighty agitator of Ireland. The rod + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page279" id="page279"></a>[pg + 279]</span> of oppression is the wand of this enchanter, and the + book of his spells is the penal code? Break the wand of this + political Prospero, and take from him the volume of his magic, + and he will evoke the spirits which are now under his control no + longer. But why should I have recourse to illustration, which may + be accounted fantastical, in order to elucidate what is in itself + so plain and obvious? Protestant gentlemen, who do me the honour + to listen to me, look, I pray you, a little dispassionately at + the real causes of the events which have taken place amongst + you.... In no other country, except in this, would such a + revolution have been effected. Wherefore? Because in no other + country are the people divided by the law from their superiors, + and cast into the hands of a set of men who are supplied with the + means of national excitement by the system of government under + which we live. Surely, no man can believe that such an anomalous + body as the Catholic Association could exist excepting in a + community that has been alienated from the state by the state + itself. The discontent and the resentment of 7,000,000 of the + population have generated that domestic government which sways + public opinion, and uses the national passions as the instruments + of its will. It would be utterly impossible, if there were no + exasperating distinctions amongst us, to create any artificial + causes of discontent. Let men declaim for a century, and if they + have no real grievance their harangues will be empty sound and + idle air. But when what they tell the people is true—when + they are sustained by substantial facts, effects are produced of + which what has taken place at this election is only an example. + The whole body of the people having been previously excited, the + moment any incident such as this election occurs, all the popular + passions start simultaneously up, and bear down every obstacle + before them. Do not, therefore, be surprised that the peasantry + should throw off their allegiance when they are under the + operation of emotions which it would be wonderful if they could + resist. The feeling by which they are actuated would make them + not only vote against their <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page280" id="page280"></a>[pg 280]</span> landlord, but would + make them scale the batteries of a fortress, and mount the + breach; and, gentlemen, give me leave to ask you whether, after + due reflection upon the motives by which your vassals (for so + they are accounted) are governed, you will be disposed to + exercise any measure of severity in their regard?'</p> + + <p>The greatest warrior of the age rebuked the men who cried in + that day that the sword should be the arbiter of the Irish + question; and Sir Robert Peel, in his own vindication of the + Emancipation Act, said:—</p> + + <p>'I well know that there are those upon whom such + considerations as these to which I have been adverting will make + but a faint impression. Their answer to all such appeals is the + short, in their opinion the conclusive, declaration—" The + Protestant constitution in church and state must be maintained at + all hazards, and by any means; the maintenance of it is a + question of principle, and every concession or compromise is the + sacrifice of principle to a low and vulgar expediency." This is + easily said; but how was Ireland to be governed? How was the + Protestant constitution in church and state to be maintained in + that part of the empire? Again I can anticipate the + reply—"By the overwhelming sense of the people of Great + Britain; by the application, if necessary, of physical force for + the maintenance of authority; by the employment of the organised + strength of government, the police and the military, to enforce + obedience to the law." I deliberately affirm that a minister of + the crown, responsible at the time of which I am speaking for the + public peace and the public welfare, would have grossly and + scandalously neglected his duty if he had failed to consider + whether it might not be possible that the fever of political and + religious excitement which was quickening the pulse and + fluttering the bosom of the whole Catholic population—which + had inspired the serf of Clare with the resolution and energy of + a free man—which had, in the twinkling of an eye, made all + considerations of personal gratitude, ancient family connection, + local preferences, the fear of worldly <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page281" id="page281"></a>[pg 281]</span> + injury, the hope of worldly advantage, subordinate to the + all-absorbing sense of religious obligation and public + duty—whether, I say, it might not be possible that the + contagion of that feverish excitement might spread beyond the + barriers which, under ordinary circumstances, the habits of + military obedience and the strictness of military discipline + opposed to all such external influences.'</p> + + <p>The officer who commanded the military force in Clare during + the election, testified, as the result of his observation there, + that, even in the constabulary and the army, the sympathies of a + common cause, political and religious, could not be altogether + repressed, and that implicit reliance could not long be placed on + the effect of discipline and the duty of obedience. On July 20, + Lord Anglesea wrote as follows:—</p> + + <p>'We hear occasionally of the Catholic soldiers being + ill-disposed, and entirely under the influence of the priests. + One regiment of infantry is said to be divided into Orange and + Catholic factions. It is certain that, on July 12, the guard at + the castle had Orange lilies about them.' On July 26, the viceroy + wrote another letter, from which the following is an + extract:—'The priests are using very inflammatory language, + and are certainly working upon the Catholics of the army. I think + it important that the depôts of Irish recruits should be + gradually removed, under the appearance of being required to join + their regiments, and that whatever regiments are sent here should + be those of Scotland, or, at all events, of men not recruited + from the south of Ireland. I desired Sir John Byng to convey this + opinion to Lord Hill.'</p> + + <p>Emancipation was carried, and the people were disaffected + still. And why should they not be disaffected still? Emancipation + had done nothing for them. The farmers were still at the mercy of + the landlords, whose pride they humbled at the hustings of Clare + and Waterford. They were still tormented by the tithe-proctor + seizing the tenth of all that their labour produced on the land. + The labourers were still wretched, deprived of the forty-shilling + freehold, which <span class="pagenum"><a name="page282" id= + "page282"></a>[pg 282]</span> protected them from the horrors of + eviction and of transportation in a floating hell across the + Atlantic. I well remember the celebrated anti-tithe war in 1831, + as well as the system by which it was provoked, and I can bear + witness to the accuracy of the following description of the + tithe-proctor by Henry Grattan. He said:—</p> + + <p>'The use of the tithe-farmer is to get from the parishioners + what the parson would be ashamed to demand, and so enable the + parson to absent himself from his duty. The powers of the + tithe-farmer are summary laws and ecclesiastical courts; his + livelihood is extortion; his rank in society is generally the + lowest; and his occupation is to pounce on the poor in the name + of the Lord! He is a species of wolf left by the shepherd to take + care of the flock in his absence.' A single tithe-proctor had on + one occasion processed 1,100 persons for tithes, nearly all of + the lower order of farmers or peasants, the expense of each + process being about 8<i>s.</i> They had heard of opinions + delivered in parliament, on the platform, and from the press by + Protestant statesmen of the highest consideration, that it was a + cruel oppression to extort in that manner from the majority of + the tillers of the soil the tenth of its produce, in order to + support the clergy of another church, who, in many cases, had no + flocks, or only a few followers, who were well able to pay for + their own religious instruction. The system would be intolerable + even were the state clergy the pastors of the majority; but as + the proportion between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics + was in many parts as one to ten, and in some as one to twenty, + the injustice necessarily involved in the mode of levying the + impost was aggravated a hundredfold. It would be scarcely + possible to devise any mode of levying an impost more + exasperating, which came home to the bosoms of men with more + irritating, humiliating, and maddening power, and which violated + more recklessly men's natural sense of justice. If a plan were + devised for the purpose of driving men into insurrection, nothing + could be more effectual than the tithe-proctor <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page283" id="page283"></a>[pg 283]</span> + system. Besides, it tended directly to the impoverishment of the + country, retarding agricultural improvement and limiting + production. If a man kept all his land in pasture, he escaped the + impost; but the moment he tilled it, he was subjected to a tax of + ten per cent. on the gross produce. The valuation being made by + the tithe-proctor—a man whose interest it was to defraud + both the tenant and the parson—the consequence was, that + the gentry and the large farmers, to a great extent, evaded the + tax, and left the small occupiers to bear nearly the whole + burden; they even avoided mowing the meadows in some cases, + because then they should pay tithe for the hay.</p> + + <p>There was besides a tax called church cess, levied by + Protestants in vestry meetings upon Roman Catholics for cleaning + the church, ringing the bell, washing the minister's surplice, + purchasing bread and wine for the communion, and paying the + salary of the parish clerk. This tax was felt to be a direct and + flagrant violation of the rights of conscience, and of the + principles of the British constitution; and against it there was + a determined opposition, which manifested itself in tumultuous + and violent assemblages at the parish churches all over the + country on Easter Monday, when the rector or his curate, as + chairman of the meeting, came into angry collision with flocks + who disowned him, and denounced him as a tyrant, a persecutor, + and a robber.</p> + + <p>But the tithe impost was the one most grievously felt, and at + last the peasantry resolved to resist it by force.</p> + + <p>Nothing could be more violent than the contrasts presented at + this time in the social life of Ireland. On the one side there + was a rapid succession of atrocities and tragedies fearful to + contemplate: the bailiffs, constabulary, and military driving + away cattle, sheep, pigs, and geese to be sold by public auction, + to pay the minister who had no congregation to whom he could + preach the gospel; the cattle-prisons or 'pounds' surrounded by + high walls, but uncovered, wet and dirty, crowded with all sorts + of animals, cold and starved, and uttering doleful sounds; the + driving <span class="pagenum"><a name="page284" id= + "page284"></a>[pg 284]</span> away of the animals in the night + from one farm to another to avoid seizures; the auctions without + bidders, in the midst of groaning and jeering multitudes; the + slaughter of policemen, and in some instances of clergymen, with + fiendish expressions of hatred and yells of triumph; the mingling + of fierce passions with the strongest natural affections; the + exultation in murder as if it were a glorious deed of war; the + Roman Catholic press and platform almost justifying those deeds + of outrage and blood; the mass of the Roman Catholic population + sustaining this insurrection against the law with their support + and sympathy and prayers, as if it were a holy war, in which the + victims were martyrs. On the other side were presented pictures + which excited the deepest interest of the Protestant community + throughout the United Kingdom. We behold the clergyman and his + family in the glebe-house, lately the abode of plenty, comfort, + and elegance, a model of domestic happiness and gentlemanly life; + but the income of the rector fell off, till he was bereft of + nearly all his means. In order to procure the necessaries of life + for his family, he was obliged to part with the cows that gave + milk for his household, the horse and car, which were necessary + in the remote place where his glebe-house was situated, and + everything that could be spared, till at length he was obliged to + make his greatest sacrifice, and to send his books—the dear + and valued companions of his life—to Dublin, to be sold by + auction. His boys could no longer be respectably clad, his wife + and daughters were obliged to part with their jewellery and all + their superfluities. There was no longer wine or medicine, that + the mother was accustomed to dispense kindly and liberally to the + poor around her, in their sickness and sorrow, without + distinction of creed.</p> + + <p>The glebe, which once presented an aspect of so much comfort + and ease and affluence, now looked bare and desolate and void of + life. But for the contributions of Christian friends at a + distance, many of those once happy little centres of Christian + civilisation—those well-springs of consolation to the + afflicted—must have been abandoned to the overwhelming + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page285" id="page285"></a>[pg + 285]</span> sand of desolation swept upon them by the hurricane + of the anti-tithe agitation.</p> + + <p>During this desperate struggle, force was employed on several + occasions with fatal effect. At Newtownbarry, in the county of + Wexford, some cattle were impounded by a tithe-proctor. The + peasantry assembled in large numbers to rescue them, when they + came into collision with the yeomanry, who fired, killing twelve + persons. It was a market day, and a placard was posted on the + walls: 'There will be an end of church plunder; your pot, + blanket, and pig will not hereafter be sold by auction to support + in luxury, idleness, and ease persons who endeavour to make it + appear that it is essential to the peace and prosperity of the + country and your eternal salvation, while the most of you are + starving. Attend to an auction of your neighbours' cattle.' At + Carrickshock there was a fearful tragedy. A number of writs + against defaulters were issued by the court of exchequer, and + entrusted to the care of process-servers, who, guarded by a + strong body of police, proceeded on their mission with secrecy + and dispatch. Bonfires along the surrounding hills, however, and + shrill whistles soon convinced them that the people were not + unprepared for their visitors. But the yeomanry pushed boldly on. + Suddenly an immense assemblage of peasantry, armed with scythes + and pitchforks, poured down upon them. A terrible hand-to-hand + struggle ensued, and in the course of a few moments eighteen of + the police, including the commanding officer, were slaughtered. + The remainder consulted safety and fled, marking the course of + their retreat by the blood that trickled from their wounds. A + coroner's jury pronounced this deed of death as 'wilful murder' + against some persons unknown. A large government reward was + offered, but it failed to produce a single conviction. At + Castlepollard, in Westmeath, on the occasion of an attempted + rescue, the chief constable was knocked down. The police fired, + and nine or ten persons were killed. One of the most lamentable + of these conflicts occurred at Gurtroe, near Rathcormac, in the + county of Cork. Archdeacon <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page286" id="page286"></a>[pg 286]</span> Ryder brought a number + of the military to recover the tithes of a farm belonging to a + widow named Ryan. The assembled people resisted, the military + were ordered to fire, eight persons were killed and thirteen + wounded; and among the killed was the widow's son.</p> + + <p>These disorders appealed with irresistible force to the + Government and the legislature, to put an end to a system fraught + with so much evil, and threatening the utter disruption of + society in Ireland. In the first place, something must be done to + meet the wants of the destitute clergy and their families. + Accordingly, Lord Stanley brought in a bill, in May 1832, + authorising the lord lieutenant of Ireland to advance + 60,000<i>l.</i> as a fund for the payment of the clergy, who were + unable to collect their tithes for the year 1831. This measure + was designed to meet the present necessity, and was only a + preliminary to the promised settlement of the tithe question. It + was therefore passed quickly through both Houses, and became law + on June 1. But the money thus advanced was not placed on the + consolidated fund.</p> + + <p>The Government took upon itself the collection of the arrears + of tithes for that one year. It was a maxim with Lord Stanley + that the people should be made to respect the law; that they + should not be allowed to trample upon it with impunity. The + odious task thus assumed, produced a state of unparalleled + excitement. The people were driven to frenzy, instead of being + frightened by the chief secretary becoming + tithe-collector-general, and the army being employed in its + collection. They knew that the king's speech had recommended the + settlement of the tithe question. They had heard of the evidence + of Bishop Doyle and other champions, exposing what they believed + to be the iniquity of the tithe system. They had seen the + condemnation of it in the testimony of the Protestant Archbishop + of Dublin, who declared his conviction that it could not be + collected except at the point of the bayonet, and by keeping up a + chronic war between the Government and the Roman Catholic people. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page287" id="page287"></a>[pg + 287]</span> They had been told that parliamentary committees had + recommended the complete extinction of tithes, and their + commutation into a rent-charge. Their own leaders had everywhere + resolved:—</p> + + <p>'That it was a glaring wrong to compel an impoverished + Catholic people to support in pampered luxury the richest clergy + in the world—a clergy from whom, the Catholics do not + experience even the return of common gratitude—a clergy + who, in times past, opposed to the last the political freedom of + the Irish people, and at the present day are opposed to reform + and a liberal scheme of education for their countrymen. The + ministers of the God of charity should not, by misapplication of + all the tithes to their own private uses, thus deprive the poor + of their patrimony; nor should ministers of peace adhere with + such desperate tenacity to a system fraught with dissension, + hatred, and ill-will.' The first proceeding of the Government to + recover the tithes, under the act of June 1, was therefore the + signal for general war. Bonfires blazed upon the hills, the + rallying sounds of horns were heard along the valleys, and the + mustering tread of thousands upon the roads, hurrying to the + scene of a seizure or an auction. It was a bloody campaign; there + was considerable loss of life, and the Church and the Government + thus became more obnoxious to the people than ever. Lord Stanley + being the commander-in-chief on one side, and Mr. O'Connell on + the other, the contest was embittered by their personal + antipathies. It was found that the amount of the arrears for the + year 1831 was 104,285<i>l.</i>, and that the whole amount which + the Government was able to levy, after putting forth its strength + in every possible way, was 12,000<i>l.</i>, the cost of + collection being 15,000<i>l.</i>, so the Government was not able + to raise as much money as would pay the expenses of the campaign. + This was how Lord Stanley illustrated his favourite sentiment + that the people should be made to respect the law. But the + Liberal party among the Protestants fully sympathised with the + anti-tithe recusants.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page288" + id="page288"></a>[pg 288]</span> + + <p>Of course the Government did not persevere in prosecutions + from which no parties but the lawyers reaped any advantage; + consequently, all processes under the existing law were + abandoned. It was found that, after paying to the clergy the + arrears of 1831 and 1832, and what would be due in 1833, about a + million sterling would be required, and this sum was provided by + an issue of exchequer bills. The reimbursement of the advance was + to be effected by a land tax. Together with these temporary + arrangements to meet the exigency of the case, for the payment of + the clergy and the pacification of Ireland, an act was passed to + render tithe composition in Ireland compulsory and permanent. But + Ireland was not yet pacified.<a id="footnotetag43" name= + "footnotetag43"></a><a href="#footnote43"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote43" name="footnote43"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag43">(return)</a> + + <p>The foregoing sketch of the tithe war was written by the + author seven years ago for Cassell's <i>History of England</i>, + from which it is now extracted.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page289" id= + "page289"></a>[pg 289]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + + <h3>THE FAMINE.</h3> + + <p>It had often been predicted by writers on the state of + Ireland, that, owing to the rottenness at the foundation of the + social fabric, it would come down with a crash some day. The + facts reported by the census commissioners of 1841 showed that + this consummation could not be far off. Out of a population of + 8,000,000, there were 3,700,000 above the age of five years who + could neither read nor write; while nearly three millions and a + half lived in mud cabins, badly thatched with straw, having each + but one room, and often without either a window or a chimney. + These figures indicate a mass of ignorance and poverty, which + could not be contemplated without alarm, and the subject was, + therefore, constantly pressed upon the attention of parliament. + As usual in cases of difficulty, the Government, feeling that + something should be done, and not knowing what to do, appointed + in 1845 a commission to enquire into the relations between + landlords and tenants, and the condition of the working classes. + At the head of this commission was the Earl of Devon, a + benevolent nobleman, whose sympathies were on the side of the + people. Captain Kennedy, the secretary to the commissioners, + published a digest of the report of the evidence, which presented + the facts in a readable form, and was the means of diffusing a + large amount of authentic information on the state of Ireland. + The commissioners travelled through the country, held courts of + enquiry, and examined witnesses of all classes. As the result of + their extensive intercourse with the farming <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page290" id="page290"></a>[pg 290]</span> + classes, and their own observations, they were enabled to state + that in almost every part of Ireland unequivocal symptoms of + improvement, in spite of many embarrassing and counteracting + circumstances, continually presented themselves to the view, and + that there existed a very general and increasing spirit and + desire for the promotion of such improvement, from which the most + beneficial results might fairly be expected.</p> + + <p>Indeed, speaking of the country generally, they add: 'With + some exceptions, which are unfortunately too notorious, we + believe that at no former period did so active a spirit of + improvement prevail; nor could well directed measures for the + attainment of that object have been proposed with a better + prospect of success than at the present moment.'</p> + + <p>But this improvement produced no sensible effect upon the + condition of the labouring people. However brightly the sun of + prosperity might gild the eminences of society, the darkness of + misery and despair settled upon the masses below. The + commissioners proceed: 'A reference to the evidence of most of + the witnesses will show that the agricultural labourer of Ireland + continues to suffer the greatest privations and hardships; that + he continues to depend upon casual and precarious employment for + subsistence; that he is still badly housed, badly fed, badly + clothed, and badly paid for his labour. Our personal experience + and observation during our enquiry have afforded us a melancholy + confirmation of these statements; and we cannot forbear + expressing our strong sense of the patient endurance which the + labouring classes have generally exhibited under sufferings + greater, we believe, than the people of any other country in + Europe have to sustain.' It was deeply felt that the well-being + of the whole United Kingdom depended upon the removal of the + causes of this misery and degradation; for if the Irish people + were not elevated, the English working classes must be brought + down to their level. The facility of travelling afforded by + railways and steam-boats caused such constant intercourse between + England and Ireland, that Irish ignorance, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page291" id="page291"></a>[pg 291]</span> + beggary, and disease, with all their contagion, physical and + moral, would be found intermingling with the British population. + It would be impossible to prevent the half-starved Irish + peasantry from crossing the Channel, and seeking employment, even + at low wages, and forming a pestiferous Irish quarter in every + town and city. The question, then, was felt to be one whose + settlement would brook no further delay.</p> + + <p>It was found that the potato was almost the only food of the + Irish millions, and that it formed their chief means of obtaining + the other necessaries of life. A large portion of this crop was + grown under the system, to which the poorest of the peasantry + were obliged to have recourse, notwithstanding the minute + subdivision of land. There were in 1841, 691,000 farms in Ireland + exceeding one acre in extent. Nearly one half of these were under + five acres each. The number of proprietors in fee was estimated + at 8,000—a smaller number, in proportion to the extent of + territory, than in any other country of Western Europe except + Spain. In Connaught, several proprietors had 100,000 acres each, + the proportion of small farms being greater there than in the + rest of Ireland. The total number of farms in the province was + 155,842, and of these 100,254 consisted of from one to five + acres. If all the proprietors were resident among their tenantry, + and were in a position to encourage their industry and care for + their welfare, matters would not have been so bad; but most of + the large landowners were absentees. It frequently happened that + the large estates were held in strict limitation, and they were + nearly all heavily encumbered. The owners preferred living in + England or on the Continent, having let their lands on long + leases, or in perpetuity to 'middlemen,' who sublet them for as + high rents as they could get. Their tenants again sublet, so that + it frequently happened that two, three, or four landlords + intervened between the proprietor and the occupying tenant, each + deriving an interest from the land. The head landlord, therefore, + though <span class="pagenum"><a name="page292" id= + "page292"></a>[pg 292]</span> ever so well disposed, had no power + whatever to help the occupying tenants generally, and of those + who had the power very few felt disposed. There were extensive + districts without a single resident proprietor.</p> + + <p>For a few weeks after the blight of the potato crop in 1846 + the cottiers and small farmers managed to eke out a subsistence + by the sale of their pigs and any little effects they had. But + pigs, fowl, furniture, and clothing soon went, one after another, + to satisfy the cravings of hunger. The better class of farmers + lived upon their corn and cattle; but they were obliged to + dismiss their servants, and this numerous class became the first + victims of starvation; for when they were turned off, they were + refused admission by their relations, who had not the means of + feeding them. Tailors, shoemakers, and other artisans who worked + for the lower orders, lost their employment, and became destitute + also. While the means of support failed upon every side, and food + rose to such enormous prices that everything that could possibly + be eaten was economised, so that the starving dogs were drowned + from compassion, the famine steadily advanced from the west and + south to the east and north, till it involved the whole + population in its crushing grasp. It was painfully interesting to + mark the progress of the visitation, even in those parts of the + country where its ravages were least felt. The small farmer had + only his corn, designed for rent and seed: he was obliged to take + it to the mill to ward off starvation. The children of the poor, + placed on short allowance, were suffering fearfully from hunger. + Mothers, heart-broken and worn down to skeletons, were seen on + certain days proceeding in groups to some distant depôt, + where Indian meal was to be had at reduced prices, but still + double that of the ordinary market. As they returned to their + children, with their little bags on their heads, a faint joy lit + up their famine-stricken features.</p> + + <p>When the visitors entered a village their first question was: + 'How many deaths?' '<i>The hunger is upon us</i>,' was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page293" id="page293"></a>[pg + 293]</span> everywhere the cry; and involuntarily they found + themselves regarding this hunger as they would an epidemic, + looking upon starvation as a disease. In fact, as they passed + along, their wonder was, not that the people died, but that they + lived; and Mr. W.G. Forster, in his report, said: 'I have no + doubt whatever, that in any other country the mortality would + have been far greater; and that many lives have been prolonged, + perhaps saved, by the long apprenticeship to want in which the + Irish peasant has been trained, and by that lovely, touching + charity which prompts him to share his scanty meal with his + starving neighbour. But the springs of this charity must be + rapidly dried up. Like a scourge of locusts, <i>the hunger</i> + daily sweeps over fresh districts, eating up all before it. One + class after another is falling into the same abyss of + ruin.'<a id="footnotetag44" name="footnotetag44"></a><a href= + "#footnote44"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>The same benevolent gentleman describes the domestic scenes he + saw in Connaught, where the poor Celts were carried off in + thousands:—</p> + + <p>'We entered a cabin. Stretched in one dark corner, scarcely + visible from the smoke and rags that covered them, were three + children huddled together, lying there because they were too weak + to rise, pale and ghastly; their little limbs, on removing a + portion of the covering, perfectly emaciated; eyes sunk, voice + gone, and evidently in the last stage of actual starvation. + Crouched over the turf embers was another form, wild and all but + naked, scarcely human in appearance. It stirred not nor noticed + us. On some straw, soddened upon the ground, moaning piteously, + was a shrivelled old woman, imploring us to give her something, + baring her limbs partly to show how the skin hung loose from her + bones, as soon as she attracted our attention. Above her, on + something like a ledge, was a young woman with sunken cheeks, a + mother, I have no doubt, who scarcely raised her eyes in answer + to our enquiries; but pressed her hand upon her forehead, with a + look of unutterable anguish and despair. Many cases were widows, + whose <span class="pagenum"><a name="page294" id= + "page294"></a>[pg 294]</span> husbands had been recently taken + off by the fever, and thus their only pittance obtained from the + public works was entirely cut off. In many the husbands or sons + were prostrate under that horrid disease—the result of + long-continued famine and low living—in which first the + limbs and then the body swell most frightfully, and finally + burst. We entered upwards of fifty of these tenements. The scene + was invariably the same, differing in little but the manner of + the sufferers, or of the groups occupying the several corners + within. The whole number was often not to be distinguished, until + the eye having adapted itself to the darkness, they were pointed + out, or were heard, or some filthy bundle of rags and straw was + seen to move. Perhaps the poor children presented the most + piteous and heart-rending spectacle. Many were too weak to stand, + their little limbs attenuated, except where the frightful + swellings had taken the place of previous emaciation. Every + infantile expression had entirely departed; and, in some reason + and intelligence had evidently flown. Many were remnants of + families, crowded together in one cabin; orphaned little + relatives taken in by the equally destitute, and even + strangers—for these poor people are kind to each other, + even to the end. In one cabin was a sister, just dying, lying + beside her little brother, just dead. I have worse than this to + relate; but it is useless to multiply details, and they are, in + fact, unfit.'</p> + + <p>In December, 1846, Father Mathew wrote to Mr. Trevelyan, then + secretary of the treasury, that men, women, and children were + gradually wasting away. They filled their stomachs with + cabbage-leaves, turnip-tops, &c., to appease the cravings of + hunger. There were then more than 5,000 half-starved wretches + from the country begging in the streets of Cork. When utterly + exhausted, they crawled to the workhouse to die. The average of + deaths in that union was then over a hundred a week.</p> + + <p>From December 27, in 1846, to the middle of April, in 1847, + the number of human beings that died in the Cork <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page295" id="page295"></a>[pg 295]</span> + workhouse was 2,130! And in the third week of the following month + the free interments in the Mathew cemetery had risen to + 277—as many as sixty-seven having been buried in one day. + The destruction of human life in other workhouses of Ireland kept + pace with the appalling mortality in the Cork workhouse. + According to official returns, it had reached in April the weekly + average of twenty-five per 1,000 inmates; the actual number of + deaths being 2,706 for the week ending April 3, and 2,613 in the + following week. Yet the number of inmates in the Irish workhouses + was but 104,455 on April 10.</p> + + <p>The size of the unions was a great impediment to the working + of the poor law. They were three times the extent of the + corresponding divisions in England. In Munster and Connaught, + where there was the greatest amount of destitution, and the least + amount of local agency available for its relief, the unions were + much larger than in the more favoured provinces of Ulster and + Leinster. The union of Ballina comprised a region of upwards of + half a million acres, and within its desert tracts the famine + assumed its most appalling form, the workhouse being more than + forty miles distant from some of the sufferers. As a measure of + precaution, the Government had secretly imported and stored a + large quantity of Indian corn, as a cheap substitute for the + potato, which would have served the purpose much better had the + people been instructed in the best modes of cooking it. It was + placed in commissariat, along depôts the western coast + of the island, where the people were not likely to be supplied on + reasonable terms through the ordinary channels of trade. The + public works consisted principally of roads, on which, the men + were employed as a sort of supplement to the poor law. Half the + cost was a free grant from the treasury, and the other half was + charged upon the barony in which the works were undertaken. The + expense incurred under the 'Labour Rate Act, 9 and 10 Viet. c. + 107,' amounted to 4,766,789<i>l.</i> It was almost universally + admitted, when the pressure was over, that the system of public + works adopted <span class="pagenum"><a name="page296" id= + "page296"></a>[pg 296]</span> was a great mistake; and it seems + wonderful that such grievous blunders could have been made with + so many able statesmen and political economists at the head of + affairs and in the service of the Government. The public works + undertaken consisted in the breaking up of good roads to level + hills and fill hollows, and the opening of new roads in places + where they were not required—works which the people felt to + be useless, and at which they laboured only under strong + compulsion, being obliged to walk to them in all weathers for + miles, in order to earn the price of a breakfast of Indian meal. + Had the labour thus comparatively wasted been devoted to the + draining, sub-soiling, and fencing of the farms, connected with a + comprehensive system of arterial drainage, immense and lasting + benefit to the country would have been the result, especially as + works so well calculated to ameliorate the soil, and guard + against the moisture of the climate, might have been connected + with a system of instruction in agricultural matters of which the + peasantry stood so much in need, and to the removal of the gross + ignorance which had so largely contributed to bring about the + famine. As it was, enormous sums were wasted. Much needless + hardship was inflicted on the starving people in compelling them + to work in frost and rain when they were scarcely able to walk, + and, after all the vast outlay, very few traces of it remained in + permanent improvements on the face of the country. The system of + government relief works failed chiefly through the same + difficulty which impeded every mode of relief, whether public or + private—namely, the want of machinery to work it. It was + impossible suddenly to procure an efficient staff of officers for + an undertaking of such enormous magnitude—the employment of + a whole people. The overseers were necessarily selected in haste; + many of them were corrupt, and encouraged the misconduct of the + labourers. In many cases the relief committees, unable to prevent + maladministration, yielded to the torrent of corruption, and + individual members only sought to benefit their own dependants. + The people everywhere flocked to the public works; labourers, + cottiers, artisans, fishermen, <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page297" id="page297"></a>[pg 297]</span> farmers, men, women, + and children—all, whether destitute or not, sought for a + share of the public money. In such a crowd, it was almost + impossible to discriminate properly. They congregated in masses + on the roads, idling under the name of work, the really destitute + often unheeded and unrelieved because they had no friend to + recommend them. All the ordinary employments were neglected; + there was no fishing, no gathering of sea-weed, no collecting of + manure. The men who had employment feared to lose it by absenting + themselves for any other object; those unemployed spent their + time in seeking to obtain it. The whole industry of the country + seemed to be engaged in road-making. It became absolutely + necessary to put an end to it, or the cultivation of the land + would be neglected. Works undertaken on the spur of the moment, + not because they were needful, but merely to employ the people, + were in many cases ill chosen, and the execution equally + defective. The labourers, desirous to protract their employment, + were only anxious to give as little labour as possible, in which + their overlookers or gangers in many cases heartily agreed. The + favouritism, the intimidation, the wholesale jobbing practised in + many cases were shockingly demoralising.</p> + + <p>In order to induce the people to attend to their ordinary + spring work, and put in the crops, it was found necessary to + adopt the plan of distributing free rations. On March 20, + therefore, a reduction of twenty per cent. of the numbers + employed on the works took place, and the process of reduction + went on until the new system of gratuitous relief was brought + into full operation. The authority under which this was + administered was called the 'Temporary Relief Act,' which came + into full operation in the month of July, when the destitution + was at its height, and three millions of people received their + daily rations. Sir John Burgoyne truly describes this as 'the + grandest attempt ever made to grapple with famine over a whole + country.' Never in the history of the world were so many persons + fed in such a manner by the public bounty. It was a most anxious + time—a time of tremendous labour and responsibility to + those <span class="pagenum"><a name="page298" id= + "page298"></a>[pg 298]</span> who had the direction of this vast + machinery. A member of the Board of Works thus describes the + feeling which no doubt pervaded most of those that were + officially connected with the administration of relief: 'I hope + never to see such a winter and spring again. I can truly say, in + looking back upon it even now, that it appears to me not a + succession of weeks and days, but one long continuous day, with + occasional intervals of night-mare sleep. Rest one could never + have, when one felt that in every minute lost a score of men + might die.' Mr. Trevelyan was then secretary of the treasury, and + it was well that a man so enlightened, energetic, and benevolent + occupied the post at such a time. He was indefatigable in his + efforts to mitigate the calamity, and he wrote an interesting + account of 'The Irish Crisis' in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>. + Having presented the dark side of the picture in faithfully + recording the abuses that had prevailed, it is right to give Mr. + Trevelyan's testimony as to the conduct of the relief committees + during this supreme hour of the nation's agony. 'It is a fact + very honourable to Ireland that among upwards of 2,000 local + bodies to whom advances were made under this act, there is not + one to which, so far as the Government is informed, any suspicion + of embezzlement attaches.'</p> + + <p>The following statement of the numbers receiving rations, and + the total expenditure under the act in each of the four + provinces, compared with the amount of population, and the annual + value assessed for poor-rate, may serve to illustrate the + comparative means and destitution of each province:—</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center">Population</td> + + <td align="center">Valuation</td> + + <td align="center">Greatest</td> + + <td align="center">Total</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center">Number of</td> + + <td align="center">Expenditure</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center">Rations given</td> + + <td align="center"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center">out</td> + + <td align="center"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center">£</td> + + <td align="center"></td> + + <td align="center">£</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Ulster</td> + + <td align="right">2,386,373</td> + + <td align="right">3,320,133</td> + + <td align="right">346,517</td> + + <td align="right">170,508</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Leinster</td> + + <td align="right">1,973,731</td> + + <td align="right">4,624,542</td> + + <td align="right">450,606</td> + + <td align="right">308,068</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Munster</td> + + <td align="right">2,396,161</td> + + <td align="right">1,465,643</td> + + <td align="right">1,013,826</td> + + <td align="right">671,554</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Connaught</td> + + <td align="right">1,418,859</td> + + <td align="right">1,465,643</td> + + <td align="right">745,652</td> + + <td align="right">526,048</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="left">—————</td> + + <td align="left">—————</td> + + <td align="left">—————</td> + + <td align="left">————</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">8,175,124</td> + + <td align="right">13,187,421</td> + + <td align="right">2,556,601</td> + + <td align="right">1,676,268</td> + </tr> + </table><span class="pagenum"><a name="page299" id= + "page299"></a>[pg 299]</span> + + <p>Private benevolence did wonders in this crisis. The British + Association raised and distributed 269,302<i>l.</i> The queen's + letter, ordering collections in the English churches, produced + 200,738<i>l.</i> But the bounty of the United States of America + transcended everything. The supplies sent across the Atlantic + were on a scale unparalleled in the history of the world.</p> + + <p>Meetings were held in Philadelphia, Washington, New York, and + other cities, in quick succession, presided over by the first men + in the country. All through the States the citizens evinced an + intense interest, and a noble generosity worthy of the great + Republic. The railway companies carried free of charge all + packages marked 'Ireland.' Public carriers undertook the + gratuitous delivery of packages intended for the relief of Irish + distress. Storage to any extent was offered on the same terms. + Ships of war, without their guns, came to the Irish shores on a + mission of peace and mercy, freighted with food for British + subjects. Cargo after cargo followed in rapid succession, until + nearly 100 separate shipments had arrived, our Government having + consented to pay the freight of all donations of food forwarded + from America, which amounted in the whole to 33,000<i>l.</i> The + quantity of American food consigned to the care of the Society of + Friends was nearly 10,000 tons, the value of which was about + 100,000<i>l.</i> In addition to all this, the Americans remitted + to the Friends' Committee 16,000<i>l.</i> in money. They also + sent 642 packages of clothing, the precise value of which could + not be ascertained. There was a very large amount of remittances + sent to Ireland, during the famine, by the Irish in the United + States. Unfortunately, there are no records of those remittances + prior to 1848; but since that time we are enabled to ascertain a + large portion of them, though not the whole, and their amount is + something astonishing. The following statement of sums remitted + by emigrants in America to their families in Ireland, was printed + by order of Parliament:—During <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page300" id="page300"></a>[pg 300]</span> the + years 1848, 460,180<i>l.</i>; 1849, 540,619<i>l.</i>; 1850, + 957,087<i>l.</i>; 1851, 990,811<i>l.</i></p> + + <p>The arrival of the American ships naturally excited great + interest at the various ports. 'On Monday, April 13,' writes Mr. + Maguire, 'a noble sight might be witnessed in Cork + harbour—the sun shining its welcome on the entrance of the + unarmed war-ship Jamieson, sailing in under a cloud of snowy + canvas, her great hold laden with bread-stuffs for the starving + people of Ireland. It was a sight that brought tears to many an + eye, and prayers of gratitude to many a heart. It was one of + those things which one nation remembers of another long after the + day of sorrow has passed. Upon the warm and generous people to + whom America literally broke bread and sent life, this act of + fraternal charity, so gracefully and impressively offered, + naturally produced a profound and lasting impression, the + influence of which is felt at this moment.'</p> + + <p>The clergy, Protestant and Roman Catholic, almost the only + resident gentry in several of the destitute districts, worked + together on the committees with commendable zeal, diligence, and + unanimity. Among the Roman Catholic clergy, Father Mathew was at + that time by far the most influential and popular. The masses of + the peasantry regarded him as almost an inspired apostle. During + the famine months, he exerted himself with wonderful energy and + prudence, first, in his correspondence with different members of + the Government, earnestly recommending and urging the speedy + adoption of measures of relief; and next, in commending those + measures to the people, dissuading the hungry from acts of + violence, and preaching submission and resignation under that + heavy dispensation of Providence. Of this there are ample proofs + in the letters published by Mr. Maguire, M.P. 'It is not to + harrow your feelings, dear Mr. Trevelyan,' he wrote, 'I tell this + tale of woe. No; but to excite your sympathy in behalf of our + miserable peasantry. It is rumoured that the capitalists in the + corn and flour trade are endeavouring to induce the Government + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page301" id="page301"></a>[pg + 301]</span> not to protect the people from famine, but to leave + them at their mercy. I consider this a cruel and unjustifiable + interference. I am so unhappy at the prospect before us, and so + horror-struck by the apprehension of our destitute people falling + into the ruthless hands of the corn and flour traders, that I + risk becoming troublesome, rather than not lay my humble opinions + before you.' Again: 'I hail with delight the humane, the + admirable measures for relief announced by my Lord John Russell; + they have given universal satisfaction. But of what avail will + all this be, unless the wise precautions of Government will + enable the toiling workman, after exhausting his vigour during a + long day to earn a shilling, to purchase with that shilling a + sufficiency of daily food for his generally large and helpless + family?' Father Mathew earnestly pleaded for out-door relief, in + preference to the workhouse, foreseeing the danger of sundering + the domestic bonds, which operate so powerfully as moral + restraints in Ireland. The beautiful picture which he drew of the + Irish peasant's home in his native land was not too highly + coloured, as applied to the great majority of the + people:—'The bonds of blood and affinity, dissoluble by + death alone, associate in the cabins of the Irish peasantry, not + only the husband, wife, and children, but the aged parents and + the married couple and their destitute relatives, even to the + third and fourth degree of kindred. God forbid that political + economists should dissolve these ties! should violate these + beautiful charities of nature and the gospel! I have often found + my heart throb with delight when I beheld three or four + generations seated around the humble board and blazing hearth; + and I offered a silent prayer to the great Father of all that the + gloomy gates of the workhouse should never separate those whom + such tender social chains so fondly link together.'</p> + + <p>The following is a tabular view of the whole amount of + voluntary contributions during the Irish famine, which deserves a + permanent record for the credit of our common + humanity:—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page302" id= + "page302"></a>[pg 302]</span> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center">£</td> + + <td align="center"><i>s.</i></td> + + <td align="center"><i>d.</i></td> + + <td align="center">£</td> + + <td align="center"><i>s.</i></td> + + <td align="center"><i>d.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Local contributions officially reported</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â in 1846</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">104,689</td> + + <td align="right">18</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Local contributions officially reported</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â in 1847</td> + + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">199,569</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">British Relief Association, total + received</td> + + <td align="right">470,041</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â say five-sixths for Ireland</td> + + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">391,700</td> + + <td align="right">17</td> + + <td align="right">8</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">General Central Relief Committee,</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â College Green</td> + + <td align="right">83,934</td> + + <td align="right">17</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Less received from British Relief</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Association</td> + + <td align="right">20,190</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">_______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">63,744</td> + + <td align="right">17</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Irish Relief Association, Sackville</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Street</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">42,446</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Relief Committee of the Society of</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Friends, London</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">42,905</td> + + <td align="right">12</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Central Relief Committee of the</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Society of Friends, Dublin</td> + + <td align="right">198,313</td> + + <td align="right">15</td> + + <td align="right">3</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Less received from Committee of the</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Society of Friends in London,</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â and interest</td> + + <td align="right">39,249</td> + + <td align="right">19</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">_______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">159,063</td> + + <td align="right">15</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Indian Relief Fund</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">13,919</td> + + <td align="right">15</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">National Club, London</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">19,929</td> + + <td align="right">12</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Wesleyan Methodist Relief Fund,</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â London</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">20,056</td> + + <td align="right">14</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Irish Evangelical Society, London</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">9,264</td> + + <td align="right">9</td> + + <td align="right">9</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Baptists' Relief Fund, London</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">6,141</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Ladies' Irish Clothing Society, London</td> + + <td align="right">9,533</td> + + <td align="right">4</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Less received from British Association, + &c.</td> + + <td align="right">5,324</td> + + <td align="right">12</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">_______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">4,208</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Ladies' Relief Association for Ireland</td> + + <td align="right">19,584</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">9</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Less received from Irish Relief</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Association and for sales of</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â manufactures</td> + + <td align="right">7,659</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + + <td align="right">7</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">_______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">11,924</td> + + <td align="right">14</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Ladies' Industrial Society for + encouragement</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â of labour among the peasantry</td> + + <td align="right">1,968</td> + + <td align="right">12</td> + + <td align="right">8</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Less received from Irish Relief</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Association</td> + + <td align="right">1,500</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">_______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">468</td> + + <td align="right">12</td> + + <td align="right">8</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Belfast Ladies' Association for the</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â relief of Irish Distress</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">2,617</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Belfast Ladies' Industrial Association</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â for Connaught</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">4,615</td> + + <td align="right">16</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">There were also two collections in</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â Belfast for general purposes, the</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â amount of which exceeded</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">10,000</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote44" name="footnote44"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag44">(return)</a> + + <p>Transactions during the Famine in Ireland, Appendix III.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page303" id= + "page303"></a>[pg 303]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + + <h3>TENANT-RIGHT IN ULSTER.</h3> + + <p>The Earl of Granard has taken a leading part in the movement + for the settling of the land question, having presided at two + great meetings in the counties in which he has large estates, + Wexford and Longford, supported on each occasion by influential + landlords. He was the first of his class to propose that the + question should be settled on the basis of tenant-right, by + legalising and extending the Ulster custom. A reference to this + custom has been frequently made recently, in discussions on the + platform and in the press. I have studied the history of that + province with care; and I have during the year 1869 gone through + several of its counties with the special object of inquiring how + the tenant-right operates, and whether, and to what extent, it + affords the requisite security to the cultivators of the soil; + and it may be of some service that I should give here the result + of my enquiries.</p> + + <p>Of the six counties confiscated and planted in Ulster, + Londonderry, as I have already remarked, was allotted to the + London companies. The aspect of their estates, is on the whole, + very pleasing. In the midst of each there is a small town, built + in the form of a square, with a market-house and a town-hall in + the centre, and streets running off at each side. There are + almost invariably three substantial and handsome places of + worship—the parish church, always best and most prominent, + the presbyterian meeting-house, and the catholic chapel, with + nice manses for the ministers, all built wholly or in part by + grants from the companies.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page304" id="page304"></a>[pg 304]</span> + + <p>Complaints were constantly made against the Irish Society for + its neglect of its trust, for refusing to give proper building + leases, and for wasting the funds placed at its disposal for + public purposes. The details are curious and interesting, + throwing much light on the social history of the times. The whole + subject of its duties and responsibilities, and of its anomalous + powers, was fully discussed at a meeting of the principal + citizens, most of them strongly Conservative, on the 28th of May, + 1866. There had been a discussion on the subject in the House of + Commons, in which Lord Claud Hamilton, then member for the + borough, distinguished himself. Mr. Maguire brought the Society + before Parliament in an able speech. The legislature, as well as + the public, were then preoccupied with the Church question. But, + doubtless, the maiden city will make her voice heard next + session, and insist on being released from a guardian who always + acted the part of a stepmother.</p> + + <p>The Irish Society has been before three parliamentary + tribunals, the Commissioners of Municipal Corporations for + England and Wales, the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the state + of the Corporation of London, and the Irish Municipal + Commissioners. The English Commissioners say:—'We do not + know of any pretext or argument for continuing this municipal + supremacy of the Irish Society. A control of this kind maintained + at the present day by the municipality of one town in England + over another town in Ireland, appears to us so indefensible in + principle, that our opinion would not have been changed, even if + it were found that hitherto it has been conducted with discretion + and forbearance.'</p> + + <p>The Irish commissioners affirmed 'that the Irish Society in + their original institution were created for the purpose of + forwarding the interests and objects of the Plantation, and not + for mere private gain; and that of the large income which they + receive from their possessions in Londonderry, a very inadequate + and disproportionate share is applied for the public purposes, or + other objects connected with the local <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page305" id="page305"></a>[pg 305]</span> + interests of the districts from which the revenues of the society + are drawn.'</p> + + <p>The corporation of Derry cannot put a bye-law in force till it + receives the approval of the Irish Society. And what is this + tribunal whose fiat must stamp the decision of the Derry + corporation before it can operate in the smallest matter within + the municipal boundary? The members are London traders, totally + ignorant of Ireland. They are elected for two years, so that they + must go out by the time they acquire any information about their + trust, to make way for another batch equally ignorant. Having + everything to learn during their term of office, if they have + time or capacity to learn anything about the matter, they must + submit to the guidance of the governor, who is elected virtually, + though not formally, for life; and the members of the Derry + corporation believe him to be the autocrat of the society. Mr. + James P. Hamilton, now the assistant-barrister for Sligo, at the + great meeting of the citizens of Derry already mentioned, + pronounced the governors to be 'the most ignorant, the most + incompetent, and the most careless governors that ever were + inflicted on a people.' Mr. Hamilton quoted from the answer of + the corporation of London in 1624 to the Privy Council, which + required them to convey 4,000 acres to the citizens of Derry. The + corporation replied that they had allotted 1,500 acres for the + use of the mayor and other civil officers. That was either true + or false. If true, by what right did they recall the grant, and + re-possess themselves of those lands? By the articles they were + bound to make quays, which were not made. They were bound to give + bog and mountain for the city common, which they never gave. The + corporation had a tract called the sheriffs mountain, but the + city was robbed of it by her cruel stepmother, the Irish Society. + The society was bound to give 200 acres for a free school, and if + this had been done Derry might have had a rich foundation, + rivalling Westminster or the Charter School. Mr. Hamilton, + conservative as he is, with the heart of a true Irishman, + indignantly asks, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page306" id= + "page306"></a>[pg 306]</span> 'Why is this national grievance and + insult continued for the profit of no one? Their very name is an + insult and a mockery—<i>The Governor and Assistants, + London, of the New Plantation in Ulster</i>! What do they govern? + They don't govern us in any sense of the word. They merely hold + our property in a dead grip, without any profit to themselves, + and to our great disadvantage.'</p> + + <p>The city is overwhelmed with debt—debt for the new + quays, debt for the new bridge, debt for the public works of the + corporation, which has struggled to improve the city under the + incubus of this alien power, contending with debt, want of + tenure, and other difficulties, which would all have been avoided + if the city had the lands which these Londoners hold in their + possession and use as their own pleasure dictates, half the + revenues being spent in the management.</p> + + <p>Mr. William Hazlett, a magistrate of Derry, one of its ablest + and most respected citizens, stated that from 1818 to 1847 the + expenses of management were 60 per cent. The royal commissioners + set it down thus—Total expenditure, 219,898<i>l.</i>; + management, 133,912<i>l.</i> The law expenses were, during the + same period, 40,000<i>l.</i> 'This item of itself,' says Mr. + Hazlett, 'must be considered an intolerable grievance, for it was + laid out for the oppression of the people who should have + benefited by the funds so squandered in opposing the very parties + who supplied the money, with which they were themselves harassed. + If a tenant applies for a lease, and the society consents to + grant one, it is so hampered with obstructive clauses that his + solicitor objects to his signing it, and says that from its + nature it could not be made a negotiable instrument on which to + raise money. The tenant remonstrates, but the reply of the city + is—"That is our form of lease; you must comply with it or + want!" If you go to law with them, they may take you into + Chancery, and fight you with your own money.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Hazlett gave a remarkable illustration of this, which + shows the spirit in which this body thinks proper to fulfil its + duties as steward of this property. The Devon Land Commission + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page307" id="page307"></a>[pg + 307]</span> recommended that leases of lives renewable for ever + should be converted into fee-farm grants, which would be a + valuable boon to the tenant without any loss to the owner. A bill + founded on the recommendation was introduced to parliament. Did + the enlightened and liberal Irish Society hail with satisfaction + this wise measure of reform? On the contrary, the governor went + out of his way to oppose it. Having striven in vain, with all the + vast influence of the corporation, to have the bill thrown out, + he endeavoured to get the society exempted from its operation. + When, in spite of his efforts, the bill became law, the governor + utterly refused to act on it, and brought the matter before the + Master of the Rolls and the House of Lords. From these renewable + leases the society had an income of about 2,500<i>l.</i> yearly. + And what amount did they demand—these moderate and discreet + gentleman, 'The Governor and Assistants, London, of the new + Plantation of Ulster'—for their interest in the renewable + leases? Not less than 100,000<i>l.</i>, or about 40 years' + purchase. In the year 1765, when the city of Derry was fast + hastening to decay under this London government, the society was + induced by an increase of 37 per cent. on the rent, to grant + those renewable leases. 'And but for the granting of those + leases,' said Mr. Hazlett, 'we should have no standing-ground in + this city, nor should we even have the right to meet in this hall + as we do to-day.'</p> + + <p>Other striking facts illustrating the paternal nature of this + foreign government of the 'New Plantation' were produced by Mr. + Thomas Chambers, a solicitor who had defended the Rev. J.M. + Staples in a suit brought by the society, and which cost them + 40,000<i>l.</i> of the public money to win, after dragging the + reverend gentleman from one court to another, regardless of + expense. Originally, as we have seen, the city got a grant of + 4,000 acres for the support of the corporation; but actually + received only 1,500, valued then at 60<i>l.</i>, a year. This + land was forfeited and transferred to the bishop in the reign of + Charles I. Ultimately the bishop gave up the land and the + fishery, for which the see received, and still <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page308" id="page308"></a>[pg 308]</span> + receives, 250<i>l.</i> a year. The society got, hold of the 1,500 + acres, and refused to give them back to the city, which, with the + alienation of the sheriff's mountain, and the raising of the city + rents (in 1820) from 40<i>l.</i> to 600<i>l.</i> a year, left it + 1,000<i>l.</i> a year worse than it had been previously. The + result of this policy of a body which was established for + promoting 'civility' in Ireland, was, that the credit of the + corporation went down rapidly. Executions were lodged against + them, and all their property in quays, markets, &c. was swept + away, the bridge being saved only by the intervention of a + special act of parliament. In 1831, however, the society granted + the corporation an allowance of 700<i>l.</i> When the reformed + corporation came in, and found that they were so far emancipated + from the thraldom of the London governor that they could go + before parliament themselves, the society was constrained to + increase its dole to 1,200<i>l.</i> a year.</p> + + <p>Mr. Isaac Colhoun, at the meeting referred to, produced from + the accounts of the society for the previous year, published in + the local papers, the following items:—</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="center"><i>£</i></td> + + <td align="center"><i>s.</i></td> + + <td align="center"><i>d.</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Amount of the present increased income</td> + + <td align="right">11,091</td> + + <td align="right">17</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Incidental expenses as per general agents' + account for 1865</td> + + <td align="right">114</td> + + <td align="right">3</td> + + <td align="right">0-1/2</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Law expenses</td> + + <td align="right">492</td> + + <td align="right">7</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Salaries to general agent, deputy, + vice-admiral, surveyor,</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â and others</td> + + <td align="right">926</td> + + <td align="right">16</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Pension to general agent</td> + + <td align="right">250</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Visitation expenses, 1865</td> + + <td align="right">539</td> + + <td align="right">19</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Surveying expenses</td> + + <td align="right">50</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Salary of clerk and porter's wages</td> + + <td align="right">197</td> + + <td align="right">10</td> + + <td align="right">0</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Coal, gas, printing, stationery, + advertisements</td> + + <td align="right">449</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Salary to secretary and assistant governor, + and 'assistants'</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â for attendance at 51 meetings</td> + + <td align="right">549</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">______</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + + <td align="right">___</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"></td> + + <td align="right">4,094</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>Here, then, is a trust fund amounting to about 12,000<i>l.</i> + a year, and the trustees actually spend one-third in its + management! And what is its management? What do they do with the + money? Mr. Pitt Skipton, D.L., a landed proprietor, who has + nothing to gain or lose by the Irish Society, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page309" id="page309"></a>[pg 309]</span> + asks, 'Where is our money laid out now? Not on the estate of the + Irish Society, but on the estates of the church and private + individuals—on those of owners like myself who give their + tenants perpetuity, because it is their interest to do so. We + should wish to see the funds of the society so expended that we + could see some memorial of them. But where is there in Derry any + monument wholly erected by the society which they were not + specially forced to put up by charter, with the exception of a + paltry piece of freestone within one of the bastions bearing + their own arms.'</p> + + <p>Let us only imagine what the corporation of Derry could do in + local improvements with this 12,000<i>l.</i> a year, which is + really their own property, or even with the 4,000<i>l.</i> a-year + squandered upon themselves by the trustees! Some of these worthy + London merchants, it seems, play the <i>rôle</i> of + Irish landlords when travelling on the Continent, on the strength + of this Derry estate, or their <i>assistantship</i> in its + management. 'I object,' says Mr. J.P. Hamilton, 'if I take a + little run in the summer vacation to Paris or Brussels, to meet a + greasy-looking gentleman from Whitechapel or the Minories, turned + out sleek and shining from Moses', and to be told by him that he + has a large property in <i>Hireland</i>, in a place called Derry, + and that his tenantry are an industrious, thriving set of + fellows, quite remarkable for their intelligence, but that it is + all owing to his excellent management of his property and his + liberality.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Hazlett presented a still funnier picture of the Irish + 'visitations' of the members of the society, with their wives and + daughters every summer. Gentlemen in London regard it as a fine + lark to get elected to serve in the Irish Society, as that + includes a summer trip to Ireland free of expense, with the + jolliest entertainment. One gentleman, being asked by another + whether he was ever in Ireland, answered—'No, but I intend + to get on the Irish Society next year and then I'll have a trip. + What kind of people are they over there? Do they all speak + Irish?'</p> + + <p>'Oh, no; they are a very decent, civilised + people.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page310" id= + "page310"></a>[pg 310]</span> + + <p>'Oh, I'm glad they don't speak Irish; for none of us do, of + course; but my daughter can speak French.'</p> + + <p>'They had a great siege one time over there?'</p> + + <p>'Oh, yes; the Derry people are proud of the siege.'</p> + + <p>'Ah, yes, I see; happened in the reign of King John, I + believe.'</p> + + <p>But the heaviest charge laid at the door of the Irish Society + is its persistent refusal to grant proper tenures for building. + By this, even more than their reckless squandering of the + revenues of a fine estate, which is not their own, they have + obstructed the improvement of the city. They might possibly be + compelled to refund the wasted property of their ward, but they + could never compensate for stunting and crippling her as they + have done. Fortunately, there is a standard by which we are able + to measure this iniquity with tolerable accuracy. Dr. William + Brown, of Derry, testified that it was the universal conviction + of the people of Derry, of all classes and denominations, that, + by the mismanagement of their trust, the Irish Society had + converted the crown grant from the blessing it was intended to + be, and which it would have been under a just administration, + into something more akin to a curse. For anything that saps the + self-reliant and independent spirit of a community must always be + a curse. Within the last hundred years Belfast was not in advance + of Derry in population, in trade, in capital, or in any other + element constituting or conducing to prosperity. Its river was + not so navigable, and by no means so well adapted to foreign, + especially transatlantic trade. The country surrounding it was + not superior in soil, nor the inhabitants in intelligence and + enterprise. It had no estate, as Derry had, granted by the crown + to assist in the development of civilisation, education, and + commerce. Its prospects, then, were inferior to those of Derry. + But Belfast had the one thing, most needful of all, that Derry + had not. It had equitable building tenures. And of this one + advantage, look at the result! 'Belfast is now seven times the + size of Derry; and is in possession of a trade and a trade + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page311" id="page311"></a>[pg + 311]</span> capital which Derry can never hope to emulate, while + smothered by the stick-in-the-mud policy of that miserable + anachronism the Irish Society.'</p> + + <p>The London companies which have estates in the county Derry + claimed to be entitled to all the surplus revenue after the cost + of management was deducted. This was the question raised by the + celebrated 'Skinners' case,' ultimately decided by the House of + Lords. The effect of the decision was, that the society was a + trustee, not for the companies but for the public objects defined + in the charter and the 'articles of agreement.' Lord Langdale's + language on the subject is perfectly clear and explicit. He + declared that the Irish Society have not, 'collectively or + individually,' any beneficial interest in the estates. In a sense + they are trustees. They have important duties to perform; but + their powers and duties have all reference to the + <i>Plantation</i>, whose object was purely public and + political.</p> + + <p>Adverting to this judgment, it is not Derry alone that is + interested in the abolition of the Irish Society. Its objects + 'affected the general welfare of Ireland and the whole realm.' + The city of London, in its corporate capacity, had no beneficial + interest in the estates. 'The money which it had advanced was + early repaid, and the power which remained, or which was + considered to remain, was, like that of the society, an entrusted + power for the benefit of the plantation and those interested in + it. The Irish Society seems to have been little, if anything, + more than the representative or instrument of the city for the + purposes of the Plantation.'</p> + + <p>I subjoin the text of the concluding part of the judgment in + the <i>Skinners' Case</i>, the report of which fills a very bulky + volume:—</p> + + <p>Lord Langdale said: 'The mistaken views which the society may + have subsequently taken of its own situation and duties (and I + think that such mistaken views have several times been taken) do + not vary the conclusion to be deduced from the charter and the + circumstances contemporary with <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page312" id="page312"></a>[pg 312]</span> the grant of the first + charter. I am of opinion that the powers granted to the society + and the trusts reposed in them were in part of a general and + public nature, independent of the private benefit of the + companies of London, and were intended by the crown to benefit + Ireland and the city of London, by connecting the city of + Londonderry and the town of Coleraine and a considerable Irish + district with the city of London, and to promote the general + purposes of the Plantation, not only by securing the performance + of the conditions imposed on ordinary undertakers, but also by + the exercise of powers and the performance of trusts not within + the scope of those conditions. The charter of Charles II. + expressly recites that the property not actually divided was + retained for the general operation of the + Plantation.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page313" id= + "page313"></a>[pg 313]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + + <h3>TENANT-RIGHT IN DOWN.</h3> + + <p>If there are sermons in stones I ought to have learned + something from the ruins of the castle built by Sir Arthur Hill, + the founder of the house of Downshire, in which they show the + chamber occupied by William III. while his army was encamped at + Blaris Moor. This was once a royal fort, and among the most + interesting memorials of the past are the primitive gates, long + laid aside from duty, the timber gradually mouldering away from + the huge nails, which once added to their massive strength. + Hillsborough was incorporated by Charles II., and sent two + members to parliament. The Hills rose rapidly in rank and + influence. In 1717, Trevor Hill, Esq., was created Viscount of + Hillsborough and Baron Hill. In 1756, Wills, the second viscount, + was made Earl of Hillsborough, and in 1789 he became Marquis of + Downshire.</p> + + <p>Hillsborough is the most perfect picture of a feudal + establishment that I know. On one side of the little, quiet, + tradeless town are the ruins of the old castle, with its park and + its fine ancestral trees, through the thick foliage of which + pierces the spire of the church, lofty and beautiful. On the + other side, and quite close to the town, is 'the new + castle'—an immense building of cut stone, in the Greek + style, two storeys high, shut in by high walls from the view of + the townsfolk. Then there is the small market-square, with the + court-house in the centre, the hotel at the top, and other + buildings of a better class on the opposite side. From the hill, + which is crowned by these buildings, descend small <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page314" id="page314"></a>[pg 314]</span> + streets, in which dwell the inhabitants, all more or less + dependent on the lord of the manor, all cared for by him, and + many of them pensioned when disabled by age or infirmity.</p> + + <p>There is a monument erected to the memory of the late + marquis's father on a hill to the south of the town. The view + from this point is glorious. Belfast lies a little beyond, + enveloped in the smoke emitted from its numerous tall chimneys. + To the left is the range of the Antrim highlands, continued along + the coast of the Lough towards Carrickfergus, and from which the + Cave Hill stands out in bold relief, looking down on the numerous + pretty villas with which the taste of wealthy manufacturers and + merchants has adorned those pleasant suburbs. Westward towards + Lough Neagh, swelling gradually—southward towards Armagh, + and round to Newry, the whole surface of the country gently + undulating, presents a vast picture of quiet beauty, fertility, + and plenty that can be rivalled only in England. The tall crowded + stocks along the ridges of the corn-fields attested the abundance + of the crops—the rich greenness and warmth of the landscape + showing how well the ground has been drained, manured, and + cultivated. The neat, white-walled houses gleaming amidst the + verdure of sheltering trees and trimmed hedges tell the + thoughtful observer that the people who dwell in this land belong + to it, are rooted in it, and ply their industry under the happy + feeling that, so far as their old landlords are concerned, their + lot is one of 'quietness and assurance for ever.' + Nowhere—even on the high ranges about Newry, where the + population is far too dense, where the patchwork cultivation + creeps up the mountain side, and the hand of industry snatches a + precarious return from a poor, cold, ungrateful soil, amidst + desolating tempests and blighting fogs—not even there did I + notice the least trace of evictions or clearances. No black + remnant of a wall tells that where sheep now browze and lambs + frisk there was once a fireside, where the family affections were + cherished, and a home where happy children played in the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page315" id="page315"></a>[pg + 315]</span> sunshine. This is the field of capital and + enterprise; here we have an aristocracy of wealth, chiefs of + industry, each of whom maintains an army of 'hands' more numerous + than the swordsmen of Shane O'Neill when he reigned in his castle + yonder on the banks of Lough Neagh. But here also is the + aristocracy of rank—lords of ancient lineage, descended + from heroes—men who have left magnificent monuments of + their creative genius. They have not only founded great houses, + but they have laid deep and broad the foundations of a social + system to whose strength and beauty every age has been adding + something, and which now wants only one topmost stone to make it + perfect.</p> + + <p>I read on the monument to Lord Downshire the expressive motto + of the Downshire family—<i>Per Deum et ferrum obtinui.</i> + No family ever made better use of the power thus obtained. The + inscription states that the third marquis was 'alike + distinguished for patriotism, rectitude of principle, and honesty + of purpose. Upholding his station with becoming dignity, he was + also mindful of the wants of others, and practised his duties + with benevolence and humility, which won the regard of every + virtuous mind, adding lustre to his exalted rank.' Although these + words were engraved upon a monument by the friends and admirers + of their object, they are perfectly true, and they would be + equally true of the late marquis.</p> + + <p>Lord Downshire is esteemed as the best of landlords. He + charges 33 per cent. less for his land than it is + worth—than the tenants would be able to pay. Tenant-right + on his property sells for an enormous amount. He never evicts a + tenant, nor even threatens to evict those who vote against him. + What he has done for the contentment and prosperity of his + tenants, with so much honour and happiness to himself, other + landlords may do with like results. The late lord, his father, + and his grandfather pursued the same course. They let their lands + at a low valuation. They encouraged improvements—they + allowed the free enjoyment of tenant-right; but they refused to + allow sub-letting or subdivision <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page316" id="page316"></a>[pg 316]</span> of the land. They + consolidated farms only when tenants, unable to retain small, + worn-out holdings, wished to sell their tenant-right and depart. + The consequence is that there is great competition for land on + the Downshire estates. The tenant-right sells easily for + 30<i>l.</i> to 40<i>l.</i> an Irish acre, the rent being on an + average about 28<i>s.</i> If a tenant is not able to pay his way, + he is let run on in arrears perhaps for two or three years. Then + he feels the necessity of selling; but the arrears are deducted, + and also debts that he may owe to his neighbours, before he + departs with the proceeds in his pocket.</p> + + <p>The late marquis seems to have been almost idolised by the + tenants. On or off the estate, in town or country, I have heard + nothing of him but praise of the warmest and most unqualified + kind; and, what is more remarkable, his late agent, Mr. Filgate, + was universally respected for his fairness in the discharge of + his duties. The way in which I heard this spoken of by the people + convinces me that there is nothing that wins their confidence so + much as strict impartiality, and justice, calmly, kindly, but + firmly administered. The people to whom I spoke laid stress on + the fact that Mr. Filgate listened quietly to the statements of + both sides, carefully enquired into the merits of each, and + decided accordingly. There was no favouritism, they said, no + partiality; no hasty decision in a fit of anger, or passion, or + impatience; no refusal to listen to reason.</p> + + <p>I observed to one of the tenants, 'You admit that the rents + are much lower than on other estates, much lower than the value + of the lands, and that during the last twenty years the + tenant-right has increased in value. Suppose, then, that the + marquis should raise the rents, say twenty-five per cent., what + would be the consequence? Would they pay the increase willingly?' + 'Willingly!' he exclaimed, 'no, there would be rebellion! The + late lord could do anything with the people; he could raise the + country. But you see when they bought the tenant-right they + believed they could never be robbed of the value for which they + paid by raising the rent.'</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page317" id="page317"></a>[pg 317]</span> + + <p>What can be better than the social picture which Harris + presents of the state of society here 130 years ago? 'The + inhabitants are warm and well clad at church, fairs, and markets. + Tillage and the linen manufacture keep them in constant + employment; a busy and laborious life prevents excess and + breaches of the laws, which in no part of the kingdom are more + reverenced. The people are regular in their attendance on public + worship. Few breaches of the peace, felonies, burglaries, or + murders come before the judges at the assizes; convictions for + capital offences seldom happen. Men travel securely by day, and + are afraid of little disturbance at night to keep them on their + guard. Every man sits down securely under his vine and his + figtree, and enjoys with comfort the fruit of his honest + labours.' He ascribes in the main this prosperity to what he + calls '<i>the spirit of tillage</i>.' Until that spirit arose in + Ulster, the Irish had to send to America for their daily bread, + 'which,' he says, 'to the astonishment of all Europe, has been + often our weakness.' Viewing the whole social condition of the + county, he exclaims, 'Such are the happy effects of a + well-peopled country, <i>extensive tillage, the linen + manufacture, and the Protestant religion</i>.'</p> + + <p>In the first year of the present century, the Dublin Society + (not yet 'Royal') employed 'land commissioners' to enquire into + the condition of agriculture in the several counties of Ireland. + The Rev. John Dubourdieu, rector of Annahilt, in this county, was + their commissioner for Down and Antrim. He states that the rent + was then on an average 20<i>s.</i> the <i>Irish</i> acre (three + equal to five English), allowing for the mountains and bogs, + which he computed at 44,658 acres. The rental of the county he + sets down at 300,000<i>l.</i> The net annual value of property + assessed under the Tenement Valuation Act is now 743,869<i>l.</i> + This is considerably under the letting value, it is supposed, 25 + per cent. If this be so, the county yields to the proprietors a + revenue of about 1,000,000<i>l.</i> a year. If we add the value + of the tenant-right, and of the fixtures of all + sorts—houses, mills, roads, <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page318" id="page318"></a>[pg 318]</span> bridges—as well + as the movable property and stock, we may get some idea of the + enormous aggregate of wealth which the labour of man has created + on this strip of wild wooded hills, swampy plains, and bogs.</p> + + <p>Now, what has effected this marvellous change? The tenants, + with one voice, exclaim, 'our labour, our capital, our skill, our + care, and self-denial. It was we that cleared away the woods + which it was so difficult to eradicate. It was we who drained + away the bogs and morasses, and by the help of lime and marl + converted them into rich land. It was we that built the + dwelling-houses and offices. It was we that made the fences, and + planted the hedge-rows and orchards. It was we that paid for the + making of the roads and bridges. The landlords gave us the wild + country to work upon; we have done the rest. Our industry enabled + them to build their stately mansions, and we have continued to + pay to them their princely revenues. Our forefathers came with + them as settlers, that they might "plant" the country with a + loyal and industrious race of people, and they came on the + assurance that they and their children's children were to remain + for ever rooted where they were planted. They did their duty + faithfully and well by the land, by the landlords, and by the + Government. Where the children that inherited their rights + failed, their interest in their farms has been purchased dearly + by others of the same race who have taken their places. By what + right, then, can they be turned out?'</p> + + <p>It is not possible, if it were desirable, to introduce the + 'high farming system' in this county. But if possible, would it + be desirable? In the eye of a scientific agriculturist it might + be better that all those comfortable farm-houses, with the + innumerable fences crossing the landscape in every possible form, + making all sorts of mathematical figures, presenting the + appearance of an immense variegated patchwork—were levelled + and removed so that the plough and all the modern machinery might + range unobstructed over hill and vale. But assuredly it would not + seem better <span class="pagenum"><a name="page319" id= + "page319"></a>[pg 319]</span> to the philanthropist, the + Christian, or the statesman. To the chancellor of the exchequer + it would make the most serious difference; for a few herds and + ploughmen would consume but a very small portion indeed of the + excisable articles now used by the tenant farmers of this county. + I have taken some notes on the diet of this people which may be + instructive.</p> + + <p>At the beginning of the present century the small farmers were + generally weavers. There was an obvious incompatibility in the + two occupations, and the farms were neglected. Gradually this + evil has been corrected, especially since the famine. The weavers + have become cottiers, and the farmers have devoted themselves to + their agricultural operations exclusively with the more energy + since railroads have so facilitated the quick sale of produce, + particularly that sort of produce which enables the occupiers to + supply the markets with the smaller necessaries of life, and with + which large farmers would not trouble themselves. Daily labourers + working from 6 A.M., to 6 P.M. in large fields with machinery + cannot do the hundreds of little matters which the family of the + small holder attends to every hour of the day, often in the + night—and which give work to women and children as well as + the men—work of the most healthful character and most free + from demoralizing influences.</p> + + <p>On a farm of fifteen to thirty acres there is constant + employment of a profitable kind for the members of a household, + including women and children. The effect of good drainage is that + farming operations can be carried on through winter, in preparing + the ground and putting in wheat and other crops early to supply + the markets, when prices are high. Oats, barley, potatoes, flax, + turnips claim attention in turn, and then come the weeding and + thinning, the turf-making, the hay-making, and all the harvest + operations. It is by the ceaseless activity of small farmers in + watching over their pigs, poultry, lambs, &c., that the + markets are kept so regularly supplied, and that towns grow up + and prosper. If Down and Antrim had been divided into farms of + thousands of acres each, like Lincolnshire, what would + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page320" id="page320"></a>[pg + 320]</span> Belfast have become? Little more than a port for the + shipping of live stock to Liverpool and Glasgow. Before the + famine, the food of the small farmers was generally potatoes and + milk three times a day, with a bit of meat occasionally. But salt + herrings were the main reliance for giving a flavour to the + potato, often 'wet' and bad. After the failure of the potatoes, + their place was supplied by oatmeal in the form of 'stirabout.' + Indian meal was subsequently found cheaper and more wholesome. + But of late years the diet of the farmers in these parts has + undergone a complete revolution. There is such brisk demand for + butter, eggs, potatoes, and other things that used to be consumed + by the family, that they have got into the habit of taking tea, + with cakes and other home-made bread twice, or even three times, + a day. The demand for tea is, therefore, enormous. There is one + grocer's establishment in Belfast which has been able to produce + a mixture that suits the taste of the people, and the quantity of + tea sold by it is a ton a day. This is the business of but one + out of many houses in Belfast. Then there is the brisk trade in + such towns as Newtownards, Lisburn, Ballymena, &c. In + pastoral districts the towns languish, the people pine in + poverty, and the workhouses are in request.</p> + + <p>In a financial point of view, therefore, it is manifestly the + interest of the state to encourage 'the spirit of tillage.' It is + thus that most will be got out of the ground, that most revenue + will be raised, and that the other elements of national power + will be most fully developed. How can this encouragement be most + effectually given? Security for the farmer is essential—of + what nature should the security be? The phrase 'unexhausted + improvements' is often used. But should the legislature + contemplate, or make provision for the exhaustion of + improvements? Is the improving tenant to be told that his remedy + is to retrograde—to undo what he has done—to take out + of the land all the good he has put in it, and reduce it to the + comparative sterility in which he, or those whom he represents, + first received it? <span class="pagenum"><a name="page321" id= + "page321"></a>[pg 321]</span> Should not the policy of the + legislature rather be to keep up improvements of the soil, and + its productive power at the highest possible point, and make it + the interest of the occupier never to relax in his exertions? The + rower will not put forth all his strength unless he believes he + will win. In other races, though many start, only one or two can + receive the prize. In this race of agricultural improvement all + competitors might win ample rewards. But will they put forth all + their energies—is it in human nature that they + should—was it ever done by any people, if the prizes are to + be seized, enjoyed, and flaunted before their eyes by others, who + may be strangers, and who never helped them by their sympathy in + their toilsome course of training and self-denial? It is because + the landlords of the county Down have been so often in the same + boat with their tenants, and with so much good faith, generous + feeling, and cordial sympathy encouraged their exertions, and + secured to them their just rewards, that this great county + presents to the world such a splendid example of what industry, + skill, and capital can accomplish. Is it not possible to extend + the same advantages through the whole island without wronging the + landlord or degrading the tenant?</p> + + <p>The stranger is at first surprised to see so large a town as + Newtownards, with its handsome square, its town-hall, its wide, + regular streets, its numerous places of worship, and a population + of 9,500, in a place without visible factories, and without + communication with the sea, within eight miles of Belfast, and + three miles of Bangor, which, though a seaport, is but one-fourth + of the size. But although there are no great mills sending forth + volumes of smoke, Newtownards is really a manufacturing town. + Those clean, regular streets, with their two-storey houses, + uniform as a district in the east of London, are inhabited by + weavers. In each house there is one loom at least, in most two or + three, and in some as many as six. The manufacture of woollen and + cotton goods of finer qualities than can be produced by the + power-loom is carried on extensively. I saw one man working at + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page322" id="page322"></a>[pg + 322]</span> a piece of plaid of six colours, a colour on every + shuttle, With the help of his wife, who assisted in winding, he + was able to earn only 8<i>s.</i> a week by very diligent work + from early morning till night. There is a general complaint of + the depression of trade at present. Agents, chiefly from Glasgow + houses, living in the town, supply the yarn and pay the wages. I + was struck with the number of public-houses in all the leading + streets. How far they are supported by the weavers I cannot say, + but whether or not they can dispense with the glass, they must + have their tobacco, and when this luxury is deducted, and a + shilling a week for the rent of the cottage, it is hard to + understand how a family of six or eight can be supported on the + weekly wages. The trade of muslin embroidery once flourished + here, and in the pretty little neighbouring town of Comber; but + it has so fallen off that now the best hands, plying the needle + unceasingly during the long, long day, can earn only three or + four shillings a week. Before the invention of machinery for + flax-spinning, the manufacture of fine thread by hand-labour was + a most profitable employment. Wonders were wrought in this way by + female fingers. The author of 'Our Staple Manufactures' states + that in 1799, out of a pound and a half of flax, costing + 10<i>s.</i>, a woman produced yarn of the value of 5<i>l.</i> + 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> Miss M'Quillan, of Comber, spun 94 hanks + out of one pound of flax, splitting the fibre with her needles to + give this degree of fineness.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But alas! what a change to the cottage hearth!</p> + + <p class="i2">The song of the wheel's no more—</p> + + <p>The song that gladdened with guileless mirth</p> + + <p class="i2">The hearths and homes of the poor!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>But here, and in all the small towns about, they have still + the weaving, and it is carried on to a considerable extent by + persons who hold a few acres of land, throwing aside the shuttle + while putting in the crops and doing the harvest work. Thus + combining the two pursuits, these poor people are able, by + extraordinary industry, to earn their daily bread; but they can + do little more. The weavers, as a <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page323" id="page323"></a>[pg 323]</span> class, appear to be + feeble and faded specimens of humanity, remarkably quiet, + intelligent, and well-disposed—a law-abiding people, who + shrink from violence and outrage, no matter what may be their + grievances. It is cruel to load them too heavily with the burdens + of life, and yet I am afraid it is sometimes done, even in this + county, unnecessarily and wantonly. What I have said of the + Downshire and Londonderry estates, holds good with respect to the + estates of the other large proprietors, such as Lord Roden, the + kindest of landlords, almost idolised, even by his Catholic + tenants; Lord Annesley; the trustees of Lord Kilmurray; Sir + Thomas Bateson, and others. But I am sorry to learn that even the + great county Down has a share of the two classes which supply the + worst species of Irish landlords—absentees who live + extravagantly in England, and merchants who have purchased + estates to make as large a percentage as possible out of the + investment. It is chiefly, but not wholly, on the estates of + these proprietors that cases of injustice and oppression are + found. In the first class it is the agent that the tenants have + to deal with; and whether he be humane or not matters little to + them, for, whatever may be his feelings, the utmost penny must be + exacted to keep up the expensive establishments of the landlord + in England, to meet the cost of a new building, or the debt + incurred by gambling on the turf and elsewhere. Every transaction + of the kind brings a fresh demand on the agent, and even if he be + not unscrupulous or cruel, he must put on the screw, and get the + money at all hazards. I have been assured that it is quite usual, + on such estates, to find the tenantry paying the highest rent + compatible with the maintenance of bare life. There is in the + county of Down a great number of small holders thus struggling + for existence. As a specimen let us take the following + case:—A man holds a dozen acres of land, for which he pays + 2<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> per acre. He labours as no slave could be + made to work, in the summer time from five o'clock in the morning + till six in the evening. He can hardly scrape together a pound + beyond <span class="pagenum"><a name="page324" id= + "page324"></a>[pg 324]</span> the rent and taxes. If a bad season + comes, he is at starvation point: he falls into arrears with the + landlord, and he is forced by the bailiff to sell off his small + stock to pay the rent.</p> + + <p>Without the excuse of pecuniary difficulties, the merchant + landlord is not a whit less exacting, or more merciful. He looks + upon the tenants as he would on so many head of cattle, and his + sole consideration is what is the highest penny he can make out + of them. Not far from Belfast lived a farmer who cultivated a few + acres. Sickness and the support of a widowed sister's family + forced him into arrears of rent. Ejectment proceedings were + taken, and one day when he returned to his house, he found his + furniture thrown out on the road, the sister and family evicted, + and the door locked. He was offered as much money as would take + him to America, but he would not be allowed to sell the + tenant-right. Here is another case illustrative of the manner in + which that right is sometimes dealt with:—A respectable man + purchased a farm at 10<i>l.</i> an acre. It was very poor land, + much of it unfit for cultivation. Immediately on getting + possession a surveyor came and added two acres to the former + measurement. The incoming tenant was at the same time informed + that the rent was raised to an extent that caused the possession + to be a dead loss. On threatening to throw up the concern, some + reduction was made, which brought the rent as close as possible + to the full letting value.</p> + + <p>I have been told by a well-informed gentleman, whose veracity + I cannot doubt, that it is quite common in the county of Down + (and indeed I have been told the same thing in other counties) to + find an <i>improving</i> tenant paying 2<i>l.</i> to 3<i>l.</i> + an acre for land, which he has at his own expense brought up to a + good state of cultivation, while the adjoining land of his lazy + neighbour—originally of equal value—yields only + 20<i>s.</i> to 35<i>s.</i> an acre. The obvious tendency of this + unjust and impolitic course on the part of landlords and agents, + is to discourage improvements, to dishearten the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page325" id="page325"></a>[pg 325]</span> + industrious, and to fill the country with thriftless, desponding, + and miserable occupiers, living from hand to mouth. There are + circumstances under which even selfish men will toil hard, though + others should share with them the benefit of their labours; but + if they feel that this partnership in the profits of their + industry is the result of a system of legalised injustice, which + enables unscrupulous men to appropriate at will the whole of the + profits, their moral sense so revolts against that system that + they resolve to do as little as they possibly can.</p> + + <p>The consequence of these painful relations of landlord and + tenant, even in this comparatively happy county, is a perceptible + degeneracy in the manhood of the people. Talk to an old + inhabitant, who has been an attentive observer of his times, and + he will tell you that the vigorous and energetic, the intelligent + and enterprising, are departing to more favoured lands, and that + this process has produced a marked deterioration in the + population within his memory. He can distinctly recollect when + there were more than double the present number of strong farmers + in the country about Belfast. He declares that, with many + exceptions of course, the land is getting into the hands of a + second or third class of farmers, who are little more than + servants to the small landlords. Even where there are leases, + such intelligent observers affirm that they are so over-ridden + with conditions that the farmer has no liberty or security to + make any great improvements. Were it otherwise he would not think + a thirty-one years' lease sufficient for the building of a stone + house, that would be as good at the end of a hundred years as at + the end of thirty. All the information that I can gather from + thoughtful men, who are really anxious for a change that would + benefit the landlords as well as themselves, points to the remedy + which Lord Granard has suggested, as the most simple, feasible, + and satisfactory—the legalisation and extension of the + tenant-right custom. They rejoice that such landlords now + proclaim the injustice which the tenant class have so long + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page326" id="page326"></a>[pg + 326]</span> bitterly felt—namely, the presumption of law + that all the improvements and buildings on the farm belong to the + lord of the soil, although the notorious fact is that they are + all the work of the tenant.</p> + + <p>And here I will take the opportunity of remarking that the + legislature were guilty of strange oversight, or deliberate + injustice, in the passing of the Incumbered Estates Act. Taking + advantage of an overwhelming national calamity, they forced + numbers of gentlemen into a ruinous sale of their patrimonial + estates, in order that men of capital might get possession of + them. But they made no provision whatever for the protection of + the tenants, or of the property which those tenants had created + on these estates. Many of those were tenants at will, who built + and planted in perfect and well-grounded reliance on the honour + and integrity of their old landlords. But in the advertisements + for the sale of property under the Landed Estates Court, it was + regularly mentioned as an inducement to purchasers of the Scully + type that the tenants had no leases. The result of this + combination of circumstances bearing against the cultivators of + the soil—the chief producers of national wealth—is a + deep, resentful sense of injustice pervading this class, and + having for its immediate objects the landlords and their agents. + The tenants don't speak out their feelings, because they dare + not. They fear that to offend the <i>office</i> in word or deed + is to expose themselves and their children to the infliction of a + fine in the shape of increased rent, perhaps at the rate of five + or ten shillings an acre in perpetuity.</p> + + <p>One unfortunate effect of the distrust thus generated, is that + when enlightened landlords, full of the spirit of improvement, + like Lord Dufferin and Lord Lurgan, endeavour, from the most + unselfish and patriotic motives, to make changes in the tenures + and customs on their estates, they have to encounter an adverse + current of popular opinion and feeling, which is really too + strong to be effectually resisted. For example: In order to + correct the evils resulting <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page327" id="page327"></a>[pg 327]</span> from the undue + competition for land among the tenants, they limit the amount per + acre which the outgoing tenant is permitted to receive; but the + limitation is futile, because the tenants understand one another, + and do what they believe to be right behind the landlord's back. + The market price is, say, 20<i>l.</i> an acre. The landlord + allows 10<i>l.</i>; the balance finds its way secretly into the + pocket of the outgoing tenant before he gives up possession. As a + gentleman expressed it to me emphatically, 'The outgoing tenant + <i>must</i> be satisfied, and he <i>is</i> satisfied.' Public + opinion in his own class demands it; and on no other terms would + it be considered lucky to take possession of the vacant + farm.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page328" id= + "page328"></a>[pg 328]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + + <h3>TENANT-RIGHT IN ANTRIM.</h3> + + <p>I find from the Antrim Survey, published in 1812, that at that + time leases were general on the Hertfort estate. There were then + about 3,600 farmers who held by that tenure, each holding, on an + average, twenty English acres, but many farms contained 100 acres + or more. Mr. Hugh M'Call, of Lisburn, the able author of 'Our + Staple Manufactures,' gives the following estimates of the + rental. In 1726, it was 3,500<i>l.</i>; in 1768, it was + 12,000<i>l.</i>; and for 1869, his estimate is 63,000<i>l.</i> + Taking the estimate given by Dean Stannus, as 10<i>l.</i> or + 12<i>l.</i> an acre, the tenant-right of the estate is worth + 500,000<i>l.</i> at the very least, probably 600,000<i>l.</i> is + the more correct figure. This vast amount of property created by + the industry and capital of the tenants, is held at the will of + an absentee landlord, who has on several occasions betrayed an + utter want of sympathy with the people who lie thus at his mercy. + There are tenant farmers on the estate who hold as much as 100 to + 200 acres, with handsome houses built by themselves, whose + interest, under the custom, should amount to 1,500<i>l.</i> and + 2,500<i>l.</i> respectively, which might be legally swept away by + a six months' notice to quit. The owners of this property might + be regarded as very independent, but in reality, unless the + spirit of martyrdom has raised them above the ordinary feelings + of human nature, they will take care to be very humble and + submissive towards Lord Hertfort's agents. If words were the same + as deeds, if professions were always consistent with practice, + the tenants would certainly have nothing to fear; for great pains + have been taken from <span class="pagenum"><a name="page329" id= + "page329"></a>[pg 329]</span> time to time, both by the landlord + and agent, to inspire them with unbounded confidence.</p> + + <p>In the year 1845, the tenants presented an address to Lord + Hertfort, in which they said:—'It is a proud fact, worthy + to be recorded, that the tenant-right of the honest and + industrious man on your lordship's estate is a certain and + valuable tenure to him, so long as he continues to pay his rent.' + To this his lordship replied in the following terms:—'I am + happy to find that the encouragement I have given to the + improvement of the land generally has been found effectual, and I + trust that the advantage to the tenant of the improved system of + agriculture will be found to increase; and I beg to assure you + that with me the right of the improving tenant shall continue to + be as scrupulously respected as it has been hitherto by my + ancestors. Your kindness alone, independent of the natural + interest which I must ever feel as to everything connected with + this neighbourhood, affords a powerful inducement to my coming + among you, and I hope to have the pleasure of often repeating my + visit.'</p> + + <p>Twenty-four years have since elapsed, and during all that time + the marquis has never indulged himself in a repetition of the + exquisite pleasure he then enjoyed. At a banquet given in his + honour on that occasion, he used the following language, which + was, no doubt, published in the <i>Times</i>, and read with great + interest in London and Paris:—'This is one of the most + delightful days I ever spent. Trust me, I have your happiness and + welfare at heart, and it shall ever be my endeavour to promote + the one and contribute to the other.' The parting scene on this + occasion must have been very touching; for, in tearing himself + away, his lordship said: 'I have now come to the concluding + toast. It is, "Merry have we met, and merry may we <i>soon</i> + meet again!"'</p> + + <p>The tenants could scarcely doubt the genuineness of their + landlord's feelings, for on the same occasion Dean Stannus said: + 'I feel myself perfectly justified in using the term "a good + landlord;" because his lordship's express wish to me often was, + "I hope you will always keep me in such a position <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page330" id="page330"></a>[pg 330]</span> that + I may be considered the friend of my tenants."' But as he did not + return to them, a most respectable deputation waited upon him in + London in the year 1850, to present a memorial praying for a + reduction of rent on account of the potato blight and other local + calamities which had befallen the tenantry. The memorialists + respectfully showed 'that under the encouraging auspices of the + Hertfort family, and on the faith of that just and equitable + understanding which has always existed on this estate—that + <i>no advantage would be taken of the tenant's improvements in + adjusting the letting value of land</i>, they had invested large + sums of money in buildings and other improvements on their farms, + and that this, under the name of tenant-right, was a species of + sunk capital that was formerly considered a safe repository for + accumulated savings, which could be turned to account at any time + of difficulty by its sale, or as a security for temporary + advances.' In his reply, Lord Hertfort said, 'I seek not to + disturb any interest, much less do I wish to interfere by any + plan or arrangement of mine with the tenant-right which my + tenants have hitherto enjoyed, and which it is my anxious wish to + preserve to them.'</p> + + <p>The faith and hope inspired by these assurances of the + landlord were repeatedly encouraged and strengthened by the + public declarations of his very reverend agent, Dean Stannus. At + a meeting of the Killultagh and Derryvolgie Farming Society, in + 1849, he stated that he had great pleasure in subscribing to + almost everything said by Mr. M'Call. He had taken great pains to + convince the late Lord Hertfort that tenant-right was one of the + greatest possible boons, <i>as well to the landlords + themselves</i> as to the tenants. So advantageous did he regard + it to the interest of Lord Hertfort and the tenants, that if it + were not preserved he would not continue agent to the estate. + Tenant-right was his security for the Marquis of Hertfort's rent, + and he would not ask a tenant to relinquish a single rood of land + without paying him at the rate of 10<i>l.</i> to 12<i>l.</i> an + acre for it.</p> + + <p>Firmly believing in the statements thus emphatically and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page331" id="page331"></a>[pg + 331]</span> solemnly made to them from time to time, that on this + estate tenant-right was as good as a lease, the tenants went on + building houses, and making permanent improvements in Lisburn and + elsewhere, depending on this security. And, indeed, the value of + such security could scarcely be presented under more favourable + circumstances. The absentee landlord receiving such a princely + revenue, and absorbed in his Parisian pursuits, seemed to leave + everything to his agent. The agent was rector of the parish of + Lisburn, a dignitary of the Church, a gentleman of the highest + social position, with many excellent points in his character, and + pledged before the world, again and again, to respect rigidly and + scrupulously the enormous property which a confiding tenantry had + invested in this estate. If, under these circumstances, the + security of tenant-right fails, where else can it be trusted? If + it be proved, by open and public proceedings, that on the + Hertfort estate, the distinctly recognised property of the tenant + is liable to be seized and wrested from him by the agent, it is + clear to demonstration that such property absolutely requires the + protection of law. This proof, I am sorry to say, is forthcoming. + Let my readers reflect for a moment on what might have been done + for Lisburn and the surrounding country if the Marquis of + Hertfort had rebuilt his castle and resided among his people. + What an impulse to improvement of every kind, what employment for + tradesmen of every class, what business for shops might have + resulted from the local expenditure of 50,000<i>l.</i> or + 60,000<i>l.</i> a year! What public buildings would have been + erected—how local institutions would have flourished! The + proverb that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' does not apply + to the relations of landlord and tenant. But there is another + proverb that applies well—'Out of sight, out of mind.' Of + this I shall now give two or three illustrations. Some years ago, + it was discovered that no lease of the Catholic chapel at Lisburn + could be found, and in the recollection of the oldest member of + the congregation no rent had been paid. Kent, however, was now + demanded, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page332" id= + "page332"></a>[pg 332]</span> and the parish priest agreed to pay + a nominal amount, which places the congregation at the mercy of + the office. Ground was asked some time ago to build a + Presbyterian Church, but it was absolutely refused. A sum of + money was subscribed to build a literary institute, but, though a + sort of promise was given for ground to build it on, it was never + granted, and the project fell through. Lord Hertfort spends no + portion of his vast income where it is earned. His estate is like + a farm to which the produce is never returned in the shape of + manure, but is all carted off and applied to the enrichment of a + farm elsewhere. One might suppose that where such an exhausting + process has been going on for so long a time an effort would be + made at some sort of compensation, especially at periods of + calamity. Yet, when the weavers on his estate were starving, + owing to the cotton famine during the American war, his lordship + never replied to the repeated applications made to him for help + to save alive those honest producers of his wealth. The noble + example of Lord Derby and other proprietors in Lancashire failed + to kindle in his heart a spark of humanity, not to speak of + generous emulation. The sum of 3,000<i>l.</i> was raised in + Lisburn, and by friends in Great Britain and America, which was + expended in saving the people from going <i>en masse</i> to the + workhouse. Behold a contrast! While the great peer, whose family + inherited a vast estate for which they never paid a shilling, was + deaf to the cries of famishing Christians, whom he was bound by + every tie to commiserate and relieve, an American citizen, who + owed nothing to Ireland but his birth—Mr. A.T. Stewart, of + New York—sent a ship loaded with provisions, which cost him + 5,000<i>l.</i> of his own money, to be distributed amongst Lord + Hertfort's starving tenants, and on the return of the ship he + took out as many emigrants as he could accommodate, free of + charge. The tourist in Ireland is charmed with the appearance of + Lisburn—the rich and nicely cultivated town parks, the + fields white as snow with linen of the finest quality, the busy + mills, the old trees, the clean streets, the look of comfort in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page333" id="page333"></a>[pg + 333]</span> the population, the pretty villas in the country + about. Mrs. S.C. Hall says that there is, probably, no town in + Ireland where the happy effects of English taste and industry are + more conspicuous than at Lisburn. 'From Drumbridge and the banks + of the Lagan on one side, to the shores of Lough Neagh on the + other, the people are almost exclusively the descendants of + English settlers. Those in the immediate neighbourhood of the + town were mostly Welsh, but great numbers arrived from the + northern English shires, and from the neighbourhood of the + Bristol Channel. The English language is perhaps spoken more + purely by the populace of this district than by the same class in + any other part of Ireland. The neatness of the cottages, and the + good taste displayed in many of the farms, are little, if at all, + inferior to aught that we find in England, and the tourist who + visits Lough Neagh, passing through Ballinderry, will consider it + to have been justly designated <i>the garden of the north.</i> + The multitude of pretty little villages, scattered over the + landscape, each announcing itself by the tapering tower of a + church, would almost beguile the traveller into believing that he + was passing through a rural district in one of the midland + counties of England.'</p> + + <p>We have seen that after General Conway got this land, it was + described by an English traveller as still uninhabited—'all + woods and moor.' Who made it the garden of the north? The British + settlers and their descendants. And why did they transform this + wilderness into fruitful fields? Because they had permanent + tenures and fair rents. The rental 150 years ago was + 3,500<i>l.</i> per annum. Allow that money was three times as + valuable then as it is now, and the rental would have been about + 10,500<i>l.</i> It is now nearly six times that amount. By what + means was the revenue of the landlord increased? Was it by any + expenditure of his own? Did any portion of the capital annually + abstracted from the estate return to it, to fructify and increase + its value? Did the landlord drain the swamps, reclaim the moors, + build the dwellings and farmhouses, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page334" id="page334"></a>[pg 334]</span> make + the fences, and plant the orchards? He did nothing of the kind. + Nor was it agricultural industry alone that increased his + revenue. He owes much of the beauty, fertility, and richness of + his estate to the linen manufacture, to those weavers to the + cries of distress from whose famishing children a few years ago + the most noble marquis resolutely turned a deaf ear.</p> + + <p>But, passing from historical matters to the immediate purpose + of our enquiry, let it suffice to remark that from Lisburn as a + centre the linen trade in all its branches—flax growing, + scutching, spinning, weaving and bleaching—spread over the + whole of the Hertfort estate, giving profitable employment to the + tenants, circulating money, enabling them to build and improve + and work the estate into the rich and beautiful garden described + by Mrs. Hall;—all this work of improvement has been carried + on, all or nearly all the costly investments on the land have + been made, without leases and in dependence on tenant-right. We + have seen what efforts were made by landlord and agent to + strengthen the faith of the tenants in this security. We have + seen also from the historical facts I have adduced the sort of + people that constitute the population of the borough of Lisburn. + If ever there was a population that could be safely entrusted + with the free exercise of the franchise it is the population of + this town—so enlightened, so loyal, so independent in + means, such admirable producers of national wealth, so naturally + attached to British connection. Yet for generations Lisburn has + been a pocket borough, and the nominee of the landlord, often a + total stranger, was returned as a matter of course. The marquis + sent to his agent a <i>congé d'élire</i>, and + that was as imperative as a similar order to a dean and chapter + to elect a bishop. In 1852 the gentleman whom the Lisburn + electors were ordered to return was Mr. Inglis, the lord advocate + of Scotland. They, however, felt that the time was come when the + borough should be opened, and they should be at liberty to + exercise their constitutional rights. A meeting of the + inhabitants <span class="pagenum"><a name="page335" id= + "page335"></a>[pg 335]</span> was therefore held, at which Mr. R. + Smith was nominated as the popular candidate. The contest was not + political; it was simply the independence of the borough against + the <i>office</i>. Dean Stannus, as agent to an absentee + landlord, was the most powerful personage in the place, virtually + the lord of the manor. Before the election that gentleman + published a letter in a Belfast paper contradicting a statement + that had appeared to the effect that Lord Hertfort took little + interest in the approaching contest, in which letter he said: 'I + have the best reason for knowing that his lordship views with + intense interest what is passing here, and that he is most + anxious for the return of Mr. Inglis, feeling that the election + of such a representative (which I am now enabled to say is + <i>certain</i>) will do much credit to the borough of Lisburn, + and that this <i>unmeaning</i> contest will, at all events, among + its other effects, prove to his lordship whom he may regard as + his <i>true</i> friends in his future relations with this + town.'</p> + + <p>Notwithstanding this warning, so significantly emphasized, the + candidate whom the voters selected as their real representative + was returned. Now no one can blame the marquis or his agent for + wishing that the choice had fallen upon Mr. Inglis. So far as + politics were concerned, the contest <i>was</i> unmeaning; but so + far as the rights of the people and the loyal working of the + British constitution were concerned, the contest was full of + meaning, and if the landlord and his agent respected the + constitution more than their own personal power they would have + frankly acquiesced in the result, feeling that this Protestant + and Conservative constituency had conscientiously done its duty + to the state. But who could have imagined, after all the solemnly + recorded pledges I have quoted, that they would have instantly + resolved to punish the independent exercise of the franchise by + inflicting an enormous and crushing fine amounting to nothing + less than the whole tenant-right property of every adverse voter + who had not a lease! Immediately after the election 'notices to + quit' were served upon every one of them. In consequence + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page336" id="page336"></a>[pg + 336]</span> of this outrageous proceeding a public meeting was + held, at which a letter from John Millar, Esq., a most + respectable and wealthy man (who was unable to attend) was read + by the secretary. He said: 'I have at various times purchased + places held from year to year, relying on the custom of the + country, and on the declared determination of the landlord and + his agent to respect such customary rights of property, for the + continued possession of it. I have besides taken under the same + landlord several fields as town parks, which were in very bad + order. These fields I have drained and very much improved. I have + always punctually paid the rent charged for the several holdings, + and, I think I may venture to say, performed all the duties of a + good tenant. At the last election, however, I exercised my right + as a citizen of a free country, by giving my votes at + Hillsborough and Lisburn in favour of the tenant-right + candidates, without reference to the desires or orders of those + who have no legal or constitutional right to control the use of + my franchise. I have since received from the office a notice to + quit, desiring me to give up possession of all my holdings, as + tenant from year to year, in the counties of Down and Antrim, + without any intimation that I shall receive compensation, and + without being able to obtain any explanation of this conduct + towards me except by popular rumour.' At the same meeting Mr. + Hugh M'Call said that he had looked over some documents and found + that the individuals in Lisburn who had received notices to quit + held property to the value of 3,000<i>l.</i>, property raised by + themselves, or purchased by them with the sanction of the + landlord. In one case the agent himself went into the premises + where buildings were being erected, and suggested some changes. + In fact the improvements were carried out under his inspection as + an architect. Yet he served upon that gentleman a notice to quit. + Some of the tenants paid the penalty for their votes by + surrendering their holdings; others contested the right of + eviction on technical points, and succeeded at the quarter + sessions. One of the points was, as already <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page337" id="page337"></a>[pg 337]</span> + mentioned, that a dean and rector could not be legally a land + agent at the same time. It was, indeed, a very ugly fact that the + rector of the parish should be thus officially engaged, not only + in nullifying the political rights of his own Protestant + parishioners, but in destroying their tenant-right, evicting them + from their holdings, which <i>they</i> believed to be legal + robbery and oppression, accompanied by such flagrant breach of + faith as tended to destroy all confidence between man and man, + and thus to dissolve the strongest bonds of society. Sad work for + a dignitary of the church to be engaged in!</p> + + <p>In April, 1856, there was another contested election. On that + occasion the marquis wrote to a gentleman in Lisburn that he + would not interfere 'directly or indirectly to influence + anybody.' Nevertheless, notices to quit, signed by Mr. Walter L. + Stannus, assistant and successor to his father, were extensively + served upon tenants-at-will, though it was afterwards alleged + that they were only served as matters of form. But what, then, + did they mean? They meant that those who had voted against the + office had, <i>ipso facto, forfeited their tenant-right + property.</i> Many other incidents in the management of the + estate have been constantly occurring more recently, tending to + show that the most valuable properties created by the + tenants-at-will are at the mercy of the landlord, and that + tenant-right, so called, is not regarded by him as a matter of + <i>right</i> at all, but merely as a <i>favour</i>, to be granted + to those who are dutiful and submissive to the office in all + matters, political and social. For instance, one farmer was + refused permission to sell his tenant-right till he consented to + sink 100<i>l.</i> or 200<i>l.</i> in the shares of the Lisburn + and Antrim railway, so that, as he believed, he was obliged to + throw away his money in order to get his right.</p> + + <p>The enormous power of an office which can deal with property + amounting to more than half a million sterling, in such an + arbitrary manner, necessarily generates a spirit of wanton and + capricious despotism, except where the mind is <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page338" id="page338"></a>[pg 338]</span> very + well regulated and the heart severely disciplined by Christian + duty. Of this I feel bound to give the following illustration, + which I would not do if the fact had not been made public, and if + I had not the best evidence that it is undeniable. George + Beattie, jun., a grocer's assistant in Lisburn, possessed a + beautiful greyhound which he left in charge of George Beattie, + sen., his uncle, on departing for America. This uncle possessed a + farm on the Hertfort estate, the tenant-right of which he wanted + to sell. Having applied to Mr. Stannus for permission, the answer + he received was that he would not be allowed to sell until the + head of the greyhound was brought to the office. The tenant + remonstrated and offered to send the dog away off the estate to + relatives, but to no effect. He was obliged to kill the + greyhound, and to send its head in a bag to Lord Hertfort's + office. It was a great triumph for the agent. What a pretty + sensational story he had to tell the young ladies in the refined + circles in which he moves. How edifying the recital must have + been to the peasantry around him! How it must have exalted their + ideas of the civilising influence of land agency. 'It is quite a + common thing,' says a gentleman well acquainted with the estate, + 'when a tenant becomes insolvent, that his tenant-right is sold + and employed to pay those of his creditors who may be in favour. + I know a lady who made application to have a claim against a + small farmer registered in the office, which was done, and she + now possesses the security of the man's tenant-right for her + money.'</p> + + <p>The case of the late Captain Bolton is the last illustration I + shall give in connection with this estate. Captain Bolton resided + in Lisburn, and he was one of the most respected of its + inhabitants. He was the owner of four houses in that town, a + property which he acquired in this way:—The site of two of + them was obtained by the late James Hogg, in lieu of freehold + property surrendered. On this ground, his son, Captain Bolton's + uncle, built the two houses entirely at his own expense. Two + other houses, immediately adjoining, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page339" id="page339"></a>[pg 339]</span> came + into the market, and he purchased the out-going tenant's + 'good-will' for a sum of about 40<i>l.</i> These houses were + thatched, and in very bad condition. He repaired them and slated + them, and thus formed a nice uniform block of four workers' + houses. Captain Bolton inherited these from his uncle and + retained uninterrupted possession till 1852, when he voted for + Johnston Smyth at the election of that date. Immediately + afterwards he received a notice to quit, an ejectment was brought + in due time, the case was dismissed at the quarter sessions, an + appeal was lodged, but it was again dismissed at the assizes. + Undaunted by these two defeats, the persistent agent served + another notice to quit. The captain was a man of peace, whose + nerves could not stand such perpetual worrying by litigation, and + he was so disgusted with the whole affair that he tied up the + keys, and sent them to Lord Hertfort's office. In his ledger that + day he made the following entry:—'Plundered, this 20th + December 1854, by our worthy agent to the marquis, because I + voted for Smyth and the independence of the + borough.—J.B.'</p> + + <p>The houses remained in the hands of the agent till the next + election, when Captain Bolton voted for Mr. Hogg, the office + candidate. The conscientious old gentleman—as good a + conservative as Dean Stannus—voted from principle in both + cases and not to please the agent or anyone else. The agent, + however, thought proper to regard it as a penitent act, and as + the tenant had ceased to be naughty, and had, it was assumed, + shown proper deference to his political superiors, he received + his houses back again, retaining the possession of them till his + death. The profit rent of the houses is 20<i>l.</i> a year. + Either this rent belonged to Captain Bolton or to Lord Hertfort. + If to Captain Bolton, by what right did Dean Stannus take it from + him and give it to the landlord? If to the landlord, by what + right did Dean Stannus take it from Lord Hertfort and give it to + Captain Bolton?</p> + + <p>However, the latter gentleman having no doubt whatever, first + or last, that the property was his own, bequeathed the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page340" id="page340"></a>[pg + 340]</span> houses to trustees for the support of a school which + he had established in Lisburn. The school, it appears, had been + placed in connection with the Church Education Society, and as it + did not go on to his satisfaction, he placed it in connection + with the National Board of Education, having appointed as his + trustees John Campbell, Esq., M.D., William Coulson, Esq., and + the Rev. W.J. Clarke, Presbyterian minister, all of Lisburn. Dr. + Campbell died soon after, and Mr. Coulson refused to act, so that + the burden of the trust fell upon Mr. Clarke, who felt it to be + his duty to carry it out to the best of his ability. Dean + Stannus, however, was greatly dissatisfied with the last will and + testament of Captain Bolton. Yet the dying man had no reason to + anticipate that his affectionate pastor would labour with all his + might to abolish the trust. Dean Stannus paid the captain a visit + on his deathbed, and while administering the consolations of + religion he seemed moved even to tears. To a friend who + subsequently expressed doubt, the simple-minded old Christian + said: 'I will trust the dean that he will do nothing in + opposition to my will. He was here a few days ago and wept over + me. He loves me, and will carry out my wishes.' The captain died + in April, 1867. He was scarcely cold in his grave when the agent + of Lord Hertfort took proceedings to eject his trustees, and + deprive the schools of the property bequeathed for their support. + Not content with this, he took proceedings to get possession of + the schoolhouse also, deeming it a sufficient reason for this + appropriation of another man's property, this setting aside of a + will, this abolition of a trust, that, in his opinion, the + schools ought to be under the patronage of the rector, and in + connection with the Church Education Society. He had a perfect + right to think and say this, and it might be his conscientious + conviction that the property would be thus better employed; but + he ought to know that the end does not sanctify the means; that + he had no right to substitute his own will for that of Captain + Bolton, and that he had no right to take advantage of the absence + of an act of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page341" id= + "page341"></a>[pg 341]</span> parliament to possess himself of + the rightful property of other people. Unfortunately, too, he was + a judge in his own case, and he did not find it easy to separate + the rector of the parish from the agent of the estate. It is a + significant fact that when his son, Mr. Stannus, handed his power + of attorney to Mr. Otway, the assistant-barrister, that gentleman + refused to look at it, saying, 'I have seen it one hundred + times;' and the Rev. Mr. Clarke, while waiting in the court for + the case to come on, observed that all the ejectment processes + were at the suit of the Marquis of Hertfort. The school-house was + built by Mr. Bolton, at his own expense twenty-eight years ago, + and he maintained it till his death. The Rev. W.J. Clarke, the + acting trustee, bravely defended his trust and fought the battle + of tenant-right in the courts till driven out by the sheriff. He + was then called on to perform the same duty with regard to the + school-house. He has done it faithfully and well, and deserves + the sympathy of all the friends of freedom, justice, and fair + dealing. 'I shall never accept a trust,' he says, in a letter to + the <i>Northern Whig</i>—'I shall never accept a trust, and + permit any man, whether nobleman, agent, or bailiff, to alienate + that trust, without appealing to the laws of my country; and if + the one-sidedness of such laws shall enable Dean and Mr. Stannus + to confiscate this property, and turn it from the purpose to + which benevolence designed it, then, having defended it to the + last, I shall retire from the field satisfied that I have done my + duty to the memory of the dead and the educational interests of + the living.' Nor can we be surprised at the strong language that + he uses when he says: 'The history of the case rivals, for + blackness of persecution, anything that has happened in the north + of Ireland for many years. But such a course of conduct only + recoils on the heads of those who are guilty of it, and it shall + be so in this case. The Marquis of Hertfort will not live always, + and the power of public opinion may be able to reach his + successor, and be felt even in Lisburn.'</p> + + <p>Dean Stannus, in his evidence before the Devon commission, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page342" id="page342"></a>[pg + 342]</span> stated that only a small portion of the estate was + held by lease. The leases were obtained in a curious way. In 1823 + a system of fining commenced. If a tenant wanted a lease he was + required to pay in cash a fine of 10<i>l.</i> an acre, which was + equal to an addition of ten shillings an acre to the rent for + twenty years, not counting the interest on the money thus sunk in + the land. Yet, such was the desire of the tenants to have a + better security than the tenant-right custom, always acknowledged + on the estate, that 'every man who had money took advantage of + it.' Mr. Gregg, the seneschal of the manor, gave an illustration + of the working of this fining system. A tenant sold his farm of + fourteen acres for 205<i>l.</i>, eight of the fourteen acres + being held at will. The person who bought the farm was obliged to + take a lease of the eight acres, and to pay a proportional fine + in addition to the sum paid for the tenant-right. Dean Stannus + said 'he would wish to see the tenant-right upheld upon the + estate of Lord Hertfort, as it always had been. It is that,' he + said, 'which has kept up the properties in the north over the + properties in other parts of Ireland. It is a security for the + rent in the first instance, and reconciles the tenants to much of + what are called grievances. If you go into a minute calculation + of what they have expended, they are not more than paid for their + expenditure.' It transpired in the course of the examination that + a man who had purchased tenant-right, and paid a fine of + 10<i>l.</i> an acre on getting a lease, would have to pay a + similar fine over again when getting the lease renewed. The + result of these heavy advances was that the middle-class farmers + lived in constant pecuniary difficulties. They were obliged to + borrow money at six per cent. to pay the rent, but they borrowed + it under circumstances which made it nearly 40 per cent., for it + was lent by dealers in oatmeal and other things, from whom they + were obliged to purchase large quantities of goods at such a high + rate that they sold them again at a sacrifice of 33 per cent.</p> + + <p>Mr. Joshua Lamb, another witness, stated that the effect + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page343" id="page343"></a>[pg + 343]</span> of the fining system had been to draw away a great + deal of the accumulated capital out of the hands of the tenantry, + as well as their anticipated savings for years to come, by which + the carrying out of improved methods of agriculture was + prevented. Still, the existence of a lease for 31 years doubled + the value of the tenant-right. This witness made a remarkable + statement. With respect to this custom he said: The 'effect of + this arrangement, when duly observed, is to prevent all disputes, + quarrels, burnings, and destruction of property, so common in + those parts of Ireland where this practice does not prevail. + Indeed, so fully are farmers aware of this, that very few, except + the most reckless, would venture on taking a farm without + obtaining the outgoing tenant's "good-will." Such a proceeding as + taking land "over a man's head," as it is termed, is regarded + here as not merely dishonourable, but as little better than + robbery, and as such held in the greatest detestation.' He added + that the justice of this arrangement was obvious—'because + all the buildings, planting, and other improvements, being + entirely at the tenant's expense, he has a certain amount of + capital sunk in the property, for which, if he parts with the + place, he expects to be repaid by the sale of the tenant-right. + He knew no case in the county in which the tenant, or those from + whom he purchased, had made no improvements.'</p> + + <p>The first marquis occasionally visited the estate, and was + proud of the troops of yeomanry and cavalry which had been raised + from his tenantry. The second marquis, who died in 1822, was only + once in that part of Ireland. The third marquis—he of + Prince Regent notoriety—never set foot on the property; and + the present, who has been reigning over 140 townlands for nearly + thirty years, has never been among his subjects except during a + solitary visit of three weeks in October, 1845, when, it is said, + he came to qualify for his ribbon (K.G.) that he might be able to + say to the prime minister that he was a resident landlord. He has + resided almost entirely in Paris, cultivating the friendship of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page344" id="page344"></a>[pg + 344]</span> Napoleon instead of the welfare of the people who pay + him a revenue of 60,000<i>l.</i> a year. Bagatelle, his Paris + residence, has, it is said, absorbed Irish rents in its + 'improvements', till it has been made worth three quarters of a + million sterling. If the residence cost so much, fancy may try to + conceive the amount of hard-earned money squandered on the + luxuries and pleasures of which it is the temple—the most + Elysian spot in the Elysian fields.</p> + + <p>The following curious narrative appeared in a Belfast + newspaper, and was founded on a speech made by Dean Stannus at a + public meeting.</p> + + <p>The venerable Dean of Ross and his son, Mr. W.T. Stannus, had + been deputed to go to Paris to wait on Lord Hertfort, and urge + him to assist in the expense of finishing the Antrim Junction + Railway. The dean is in his eighty-first year; fifty-one years of + his life have been spent in the management of the Hertfort + estate, and whatever difference of opinion may exist as to his + arrangements with the tenantry, every one who knows anything of + the affair must admit that there never existed a more faithful + representative of a landowner. On arriving in Paris he found the + marquis ill, so much so that neither the dean nor his son could + get an interview. For three days the venerable gentleman danced + attendance on his chief, and on Monday the fourth attempt was + made, the dean sent up his name, and had a reply that 'the + marquis was too ill to see anyone.' Next day, however, the + marquis condescended to receive his agent, and the subject of the + railway was introduced. The dean told him that Lord Erne had + given 200,000<i>l.</i> towards the railway projects on his + property—that Lords Lucan, Annesley, and Lifford had + contributed largely, and that Lord Downshire had been exceedingly + liberal in promoting lines on his estate. But all was vain. The + noble absentee, who drains about 60,000<i>l.</i> a year from his + Irish property, and who often pays 5,000<i>l.</i> for a picture, + refused to lend 15,000<i>l.</i> to aid in finishing a railway, + which runs for three-fourths of the mileage through his own + estate. During the interview Mr. W.T. Stannus <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page345" id="page345"></a>[pg 345]</span> + urged on the marquis that the investment would be the best that + could be made, as preference shares paying five per cent. would + be allocated to him as security for the amount. All arguments and + entreaties, however, were lost on the noble invalid. Even the + appeal of the old gentleman who, for more than half a century, + had managed the estate so advantageously for the successive + owners of that splendid property, was made in vain. 'You never + refused me anything before,' urged the dean, 'and I go away in + very bad spirits.' What a wonderful history lies in this episode + of Irish landlordism. Here is an unmarried nobleman whose income + from investments in British and French securities is said to + exceed 30,000<i>l.</i> a year, besides the immense revenue of his + English and Irish estates, and yet he refuses to part with + 15,000<i>l.</i> towards aiding in the construction of a railway + on his own property.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page346" + id="page346"></a>[pg 346]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + + <h3>TENANT-RIGHT IN ARMAGH.</h3> + + <p>Among the undertakers in the county of Armagh were the two + Achesons, Henry and Archibald, ancestors of Lord Gosford, who + founded Market Hill, Richard Houlston, John Heron, William + Stanbowe, Francis Sacheverell, John Dillon, John Hamilton, Sir + John Davis, Lord Moore, Henry Boucher, Anthony Smith, Lieutenant + Poyntz, and Henry M'Shane O'Neill.</p> + + <p>In connection with each of these settlements Pynar uses the + phrase, 'I find planted and estated.' What he means is more fully + explained in his reference to the precinct of Fews, allotted to + Scottish undertakers, where Henry Acheson had obtained 1,000 + acres. The surveyor says: 'I find a great number of tenants on + this land: but not any that have any estates but by promise, and + yet they have been many years upon the land. There are nominated + to me two freeholders and seventeen leaseholders, all which were + with me, and took the oath of supremacy, and petitioned unto me + that they might have their leases, the which Mr. Acheson seemed + to be willing to perform it unto them presently. These are able + to make thirty men with arms. Here is great store of tillage.' + The whole of the reports indicate that the Crown required of the + undertakers two things. First, that they should themselves reside + on the land, that they should build strong houses, fortified with + bawns, and keep a certain number of armed men for the defence of + the settlement. Secondly, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page347" + id="page347"></a>[pg 347]</span> that the English and Scotch + settlers who were expected to reclaim the land and build houses, + were to have 'estates' in their farms, either as freeholders or + lessees. The grants were made to the undertakers on these + conditions—they should be resident, and they should have + around them a number of independent yeomanry to defend the king + when called upon to do so. Everything connected with the + plantation gives the idea of permanent tenures for the settlers. + A curious fact is mentioned about Sir John Davis, who had been so + active in bringing about the plantation. He obtained a grant for + 500 acres. 'Upon this,' says Pynar, 'there is nothing at all + built, nor so much as an English tenant on the land.' It seems + his tenants were all of the class for whose extirpation he + pleaded, as weeds that would choke the Saxon crop. Henry M'Shane + O'Neill got 1,000 acres at Camlagh, 'but he being lately dead, it + was in the hands of Sir Toby Caulfield, who intended to do + something upon it, for as yet there was nothing built.' Sir Toby + was the ancestor of the Earl of Charlemont, always one of the + best landlords in Ulster.</p> + + <p>It is gratifying to find that both the undertakers and the + original tenants are still fairly represented—a + considerable number of the former having founded noble houses, + and the latter having multiplied and enriched the land to such an + extent that, though the population is dense and the farms are + generally very small, they are the most prosperous and contented + population in the kingdom. Leases were common in this county at + the close of the last century, but the terms were + short—twenty-one years and one life. Some had leases for + thirty-one years or three lives, and there were some + perpetuities. Land was then so valuable that when a small estate + came into the market—large estates hardly ever + did—they brought from twenty-five to thirty years' + purchase. The large tracts of church land, which are now among + the richest and most desirable in the country, presented at the + close of the last century, a melancholy contrast to the farms + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page348" id="page348"></a>[pg + 348]</span> that surrounded them. The reason is given by Sir + Charles Coote. It is most instructive and suggestive at the + present time. He says, 'It is very discouraging for a wealthy + farmer to have anything to do with church lands, as his + improvements cannot even be secured to him during his own life, + or the life of his landlord, but he may at any time be deprived + of the fruits of his industry, by the incumbent changing his + living, as his interest then terminates.' This evil was remedied + first by making the leases renewable, on the payment of fines, + and, in our own time, an act was passed enabling the tenants to + convert their leaseholds into perpetuities. The consequence is, + that the church lands now present some of the finest features in + the social landscape, occupied by a class of resident gentry, an + essential link, in any well-organised society, between the people + and the great proprietors. The Board of Trinity College felt so + strongly the necessity of giving fixed tenures, if permanent + improvements were to be effected on their estates, that, without + waiting for a general measure of land reform, they obtained, in + 1861, a private act of parliament giving them power to grant + leases for ninety-nine years. 'The legislature,' says Dr. + Hancock, 'thus gave partial effect in the case of one institution + to the recommendation which the Land Occupation Commissioners + intended to apply to all estates in the hands of public boards in + Ireland.'</p> + + <p>Armagh was always free from middlemen. The landlord got what + Sir Charles Coote calls a rack rent from the occupying tenant, + and it was his interest to divide rather than consolidate farms, + because the linen trade enabled the small holder to give a high + rent, while the custom of tenant-right furnished an unfailing + security for its payment.</p> + + <p>The country, when seen from an elevation, is one continuous + patchwork of corn, potatoes, clover, and other artificial + grasses. Wonders are wrought in the way of productiveness by + rotation of crops and house-feeding. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page349" id="page349"></a>[pg 349]</span> + Cattle are not only fattened much more rapidly than on the + richest grazing land, but large quantities of the best manure are + produced by the practice of house-feeding. The more northern + portions of the county, bordering on Down and Lough Neagh, and + along the banks of the rivers Bann and Blackwater, are naturally + rich, and have been improved to the highest degree by ages of + skilful cultivation. But other parts, particularly the barony of + Fews, embracing the high lands stretching to the Newry mountains, + and bordering on the County Monaghan, were, about the close of + the last century, nearly all covered with heather, and absolutely + waste. Sir Charles Coote remarked, in 1804, that it had been then + undergoing reclamation. Within the last fifteen years the land + had doubled in value, and was set at the average rate of + 16<i>s.</i> an acre. Mr. Tickell, referring to this county, + remarked that the Scotch and English settlers chiefly occupied + the lowland districts, and that the natives retired to this poor + region, retaining their old language and habits; and he was + occasionally obliged to swear interpreters where witnesses or + parties came from the Fews, which were 'very wild, and very + unlike other parts of the county of Armagh.'</p> + + <p>Now let us see what the industry of the people has done in + that wild district. The farms are very small, say from three to + ten English acres. They have been so well drained, cleared, + sub-soiled, and manured, that the occupier is able to support on + one acre as many cattle as on three acres when grazed; while + affording profitable employment to the women and children. Great + labour has been bestowed in taking down crooked and broad fences. + Every foot of ground is cultivated with the greatest care, and in + the mountain districts, patches of land among rocks, inaccessible + to horses, are tilled by the hand. In many cases in the less + exposed districts, two crops in the year are obtained from the + same ground, viz., winter tares followed by turnips or cabbages, + and rape followed by tares, potatoes, turnips, or cabbages. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page350" id="page350"></a>[pg + 350]</span> These crops are succeeded by grain or flax the next + year, with which clover is sown for mowing and stall-feeding, + yielding two or three cuttings. The green crops are so timed as + to give a full supply for house-feeding throughout the year. + Nothing is neglected by those skilful and thrifty farmers; the + county is famous for orchards, and when I was in the city of + Armagh, last autumn, I saw in the market square almost as many + loads of apples as of potatoes.</p> + + <p>The connection of large grazing farms with pauperism, as cause + and effect, has not received sufficient attention from the + friends of social progress. I resolved last year to test this + matter by a comparison. We have at present no check upon the + legally enforced depopulation of this country except the + <i>interest</i> of the landlords, or what they imagine to be + their interest. It is well that the question should be determined + whether it is really for the benefit of the owners of the land + that they should clear it of Christians and occupy it with + cattle—in other words, whether Christians or cattle will + pay more rent and taxes. I omit all higher considerations, + because some of the most philanthropic and enlightened defenders + of the present land system have defended it on this low ground. + In order to make the test complete and unexceptionable, I have + selected a comparatively poor district for tillage, and one of + the richest I could find for grazing, giving all possible natural + advantages to Scullyism. But the test would not be fair unless + the occupiers of the poorer land had a tolerably secure tenure so + long as they paid the highest rent that a reasonable agent could + impose. I thought also that possible objections would be obviated + if the tenantry were destitute of 'the fostering care of a + resident landlord.' Therefore, instead of selecting the tenants + of Lord Downshire, or Lord Roden, or Lord Dufferin, I have fixed + upon the tenants of Lord Kilmorey, because he and the producers + of the rents which he enjoys have never seen one another in the + flesh, and they have <span class="pagenum"><a name="page351" id= + "page351"></a>[pg 351]</span> never received one word of + encouragement or instruction from him in the whole course of + their lives. Accordingly, with the Union of Kilkeel, which + comprises the Mourne district, I have compared the Union of Trim, + which comprises some of the richest grazing land in Ireland. + Travellers have noted that population always grows thick on rich + lands, while it is sparse on poor lands. No one requires to be + told the reason of this.</p> + + <p>The Unions of Kilkeel and Trim have populations very nearly + equal—viz., Kilkeel, 22,614; Trim, 22,918. The total arable + land in Kilkeel is 50,000 statute acres, giving 2 1/3 acres on an + average for each person, and 14 acres for each holding. Trim + contains 119,519 statute acres, giving 5 acres to each person, + and 42 to each holding.</p> + + <p>In Mourne the area of land under crops is 20,904 acres (nearly + half), giving one acre of tillage to each inhabitant, and 6 acres + to each holding of 14 acres. In Trim the area under crops is + 38,868 acres, giving 2 acres for each inhabitant, and 14 for each + holding of 42 acres.</p> + + <p>The significance of these figures is shown by the Government + valuation in 1867. The valuation of Mourne Union is + 40,668<i>l.</i>, the average for each person being 2<i>l.</i> and + for each holding 11<i>l.</i> The valuation of Trim is + 109,068<i>l.</i>, allowing 5<i>l.</i> for each person and + 38<i>l.</i> for each holding. In other words, the capability of + the land of Trim to support population is as five to two when + compared with Mourne; but whereas in Mourne 2 1/3 acres support + one person, in Trim it takes 5 acres to support one + person—about double the quantity. As the value of the land + in Meath is more than double what it is in Mourne, each acre in + Meath ought to maintain its man. That is, if Meath were + cultivated like Down, its population ought to be <i>five times as + large as it is</i>!</p> + + <p>But this is not the whole case. The Mourne population may be + too large. With so many families crowded on such a small tract of + poor land, the Union must be overwhelmed with pauperism. If so, + the case for tenant-right and tillage would <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page352" id="page352"></a>[pg 352]</span> fall + to the ground, and Scullyism would be triumphant. Let us see, + then, how stands this essential fact. The number of paupers in + the workhouse and receiving outdoor relief in the Union of Trim, + in 1866, was 2,474. This large amount of pauperism is not + peculiar to Trim. It belongs to other Unions of this rich grazing + district, which so fully realises the late Lord Carlisle's ideal + of Irish prosperity. Navan Union has 3,820 paupers, and Kells has + 1,306. Now, the population of Trim and Mourne being nearly the + same, and Trim being twice as rich as Mourne, and not half as + thickly peopled, it follows that Mourne ought to have at least + four times as many paupers as Trim—that is, it ought to + have 9,896. But it actually has only 521 persons receiving relief + in and out of the workhouse!</p> + + <p>Consequently, Scullyism and grazing produce nearly twenty + times the amount of poverty and misery produced by tenant-right + and tillage.</p> + + <p>I have not overlooked the difference of race and religion. On + the contrary, they were uppermost in my mind when rambling among + the nice, clean, comfortable, orderly homesteads of Mourne, + reminding me strongly of Forth and Bargy in the county Wexford. I + said to the owner and driver of my car, who is a Roman Catholic, + 'Do the Roman Catholics here keep their houses and farms in as + nice order as the Presbyterians?' He answered, 'Why should they + not? Are they not the same flesh and blood?'</p> + + <p>According to the census of 1861, the Roman Catholics greatly + outnumber the Protestants in this Union. The exact figures + are:—</p> + + <table summary="" align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left">Total population of Mourne Union</td> + + <td align="right">22,614</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Protestants of all denominations</td> + + <td align="right">8,080</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Roman Catholics</td> + + <td align="right">14,534</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>The result of this comparison may perhaps make a better + impression on the reader's mind if cast in the form of tables, as + given on succeeding page.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page353" id="page353"></a>[pg 353]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Table Headings:</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Col A. Population in 1861</p> + + <p>Col B. No. of Holdings in 1864</p> + + <p>Col C. Total Area (in Stat. Acres)</p> + + <p>Col D. Area under Crops, 1864 (in Stat. Acres)</p> + + <p>Col E. Valuation in 1807 (in £)</p> + + <p>Col F. No. in Workhouse and receiving Out-door Relief</p> + + <p>Col G. Protestants of all denominations</p> + + <p>Col H. Roman Catholics</p> + </div> + </div> + + <table summary="" align="center" cellspacing="15"> + <tr align="center"> + <th colspan="9">TENANT-RIGHT AND TILLAGE.</th> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Names of Unions</td> + + <td align="center">A.</td> + + <td align="center">B.</td> + + <td align="center">C.</td> + + <td align="center">D.</td> + + <td align="center">E.</td> + + <td align="center">F.</td> + + <td align="center">G.</td> + + <td align="center">H.</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Kilkeel</td> + + <td align="right">22,614</td> + + <td align="right">3,540</td> + + <td align="right">50,000</td> + + <td align="right">20,904</td> + + <td align="right">40,668</td> + + <td align="right">521</td> + + <td align="right">8,080</td> + + <td align="right">14,534</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Average for each</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â person</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">2-1/2</td> + + <td align="right">1</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Average for each</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â holding</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">14</td> + + <td align="right">6</td> + + <td align="right">11</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr align="center"> + <th colspan="9">LARGE FARMS AND GRAZING.</th> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Trim</td> + + <td align="right">22,918</td> + + <td align="right">2,816</td> + + <td align="right">119,519</td> + + <td align="right">38,867</td> + + <td align="right">109,068</td> + + <td align="right">2,474</td> + + <td align="right">1,700</td> + + <td align="right">21,218</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Average for each</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â person</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right">2</td> + + <td align="right">5</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Average for each</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Â Â person</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right">42</td> + + <td align="right">14</td> + + <td align="right">38</td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + + <td align="right"></td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>In Kilkeel Union there were 4,012 acres of flax in 1864, which + at 20<i>l.</i> an acre would produce 80,000<i>l.</i>, + considerably more than the rental of the entire district. Trim, + in that year, produced only 78 acres of flax.</p> + + <p>What everyone wants to know now is this—whether any + measure can be devised that will satisfy the cultivators of the + soil without wronging the landlords, or militating against the + interests of the state. A measure that will not satisfy the + tenants and put an end to their discontent, would be manifestly + useless. It would be but adding to the numerous legislative + abortions that have gone before it. A man engaged in such + enquiries as this, is to ascertain what will satisfy the people. + It is for the legislature to determine whether it can be rightly + or safely granted. I have, therefore, directed my attention to + this point in particular, and I have ascertained beyond question, + from the best possible sources of information, that nothing will + satisfy the people of this country but what they do not hesitate + to name with the most determined emphasis—'Fixity of + Tenure.' Whether they are Protestants or Catholics, Orangemen or + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page354" id="page354"></a>[pg + 354]</span> Liberals, Presbyterians or Churchmen, this is their + unanimous demand, the cry in which they all join to a man. Every + case in which tenant-right is disregarded, or in which, while + admitted nominally, an attempt is made to evade it, or to fritter + it away, excites the bitterest feeling, in which the whole + community sympathises.</p> + + <p>They deny, however, that the existing tenant-right is a + sufficient security:—</p> + + <p>Because it depends on the option of the landlord, and cannot + be enforced by law.</p> + + <p>Because even the best disposed landlord may be influenced to + alter his policy by the advice of an agent, by the influence of + his family, or by the state of his finances.</p> + + <p>Because a good landlord, who knows the tenants and cares for + them, may be succeeded by a son who is a 'fast young man,' + addicted to the turf and overwhelmed in debt, while the estate + gets into the hands of usurers.</p> + + <p>Because in such a case the law affords no protection to the + property of the tenant, which his family may have been + accumulating on the land since the first of them came over from + England or Scotland, and settled around their commander, after + helping by their swords to conquer the country, and preserve it + to the crown of England.</p> + + <p>Because it is not in human nature to avoid encroaching on the + rights and property of others, if it can be done at + will—done legally, and done under the pretext that it is + necessary for 'improvement,' and will be a benefit even to those + who are despoiled.</p> + + <p>Because the custom is no protection to a man's political + rights as a British subject. No tenant farmer can vote against + his landlord in obedience to his conscience without the risk of + ruining his family. The greater his interest in the land, the + larger his investments, the heavier his stake; the greater his + accumulations in his bank—the farm—the greater will + be his dependence, the more complete his political bondage. He + has the more to lose. Therefore, if a Conservative, he must vote + for a Radical or a Catholic, <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page355" id="page355"></a>[pg 355]</span> who would pull down + the Church Establishment; or if a Catholic, he must vote for a + 'No-popery' candidate, who ignores tenant-right, and against a + Liberal statesman, whose life has been devoted to the interests + of the country.</p> + + <p>It appears to me that the difficulty of settling this question + is much aggravated by the importation of opinions from the United + States hostile to the aristocracy; and as this source of + discontent and distrust is likely to increase every year, the + sooner the settlement is effected the better. What is the use of + scolding and reviling the tenant's advocates? Will that weaken + one iota the tremendous force of social discontent—the + bitter sense of legal injustice, with which the legislature must + deal? And will the legislature deal with it more effectually by + shutting its eyes to facts?</p><span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page356" id="page356"></a>[pg 356]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + + <h3>FARNEY—MR. TRENCH'S 'REALITIES.'</h3> + + <p>When the six Ulster counties were confiscated, and the natives + were all deprived of their rights in the soil, the people of the + county Cavan resolved to appeal for justice to the English courts + in Dublin. The Crown was defended by Sir John Davis. He argued + that the Irish could have no legal rights, no property in the + land, because they did not enclose it with fences, or plant + orchards. True, they had boundary marks for their tillage ground; + but they followed the Eastern custom in not building ditches or + walls around their farms. They did not plant orchards, because + they had too many trees already that grew without planting. The + woods were common property, and the apples, if they had any, + would be common property too, like the nuts and the acorns.</p> + + <p>The Irish were obliged to submit to the terms imposed by the + conquerors, glad in their destitution to be permitted to occupy + their own lands as tenants at will. The English undertakers, as + we have seen, were bound to deal differently with the English + settlers; but their obligations resolved themselves into promises + of freeholds and leases which were seldom granted, so that many + persons threw up their farms in despair, and returned to their + own country.</p> + + <p>In the border county of Monaghan, we have a good illustration + of the manner in which the natives struggled to live under their + new masters. The successors of some of those masters have in + modern times taken a strange fancy to the study of Irish + antiquities. Among these is Evelyn P. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page357" id="page357"></a>[pg 357]</span> + Shirley, Esq., who has published 'Some Account of the Territory + or Dominion of Farney.' The account is interesting, and, taken in + connection with the sequel given to the public by his agent, Mr. + W. Steuart Trench, it furnishes an instructive chapter in the + history of the land war. The whole barony of Farney was granted + by Queen Elizabeth to Walter Earl of Essex in the year 1576, in + reward for the massacres already recorded. It was then an almost + unenclosed plain, consisting chiefly of coarse pasturage, + interspersed with low alder-scrub. When the primitive woods were + cut down for fuel, charcoal, or other purposes, the stumps + remained in the ground, and from these fresh shoots sprang up + thickly. The clearing out of these stumps was difficult and + laborious; but it had to be done before anything, but food for + goats, could be got out of the land. This was 'the M'Mahons' + country,' and the tribe was not wholly subdued till 1606, when + the power of the Ulster chiefs was finally broken. The lord + deputy, the chancellor, and the lord chief justice passed through + Farney on their way to hold assizes for the first time in Derry + and Donegal. They were protected by a guard of 'seven score foot, + and fifty or three score horse, which,' wrote Sir John Davis, 'is + an argument of a good time and a confident deputy; for in former + times (when the state enjoyed the best peace and security) no + lord deputy did ever venture himself into those parts, without an + army of 800 or 1000 men.' At this time Lord Essex had leased the + barony of Farney to Evor M'Mahon for a yearly rent of + 250<i>l.</i> payable in Dublin. After fourteen years the same + territory was let to Brian M'Mahon for 1,500<i>l.</i> In the year + 1636, the property yielded a yearly rent of 2022<i>l.</i> + 18<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> paid by thirty-eight tenants. A map then + taken gives the several townlands and denominations nearly as + they are at present. Robert Earl of Essex, dying in 1646, his + estates devolved on his sisters, Lady Frances and Lady Dorothy + Devereux, the former of whom married Sir W. Seymour, afterwards + Marquis of Hertfort, and the latter Sir Henry Shirley, Bart., + ancestor of the present proprietor <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page358" id="page358"></a>[pg 358]</span> of half the barony. + Ultimately the other half became the property of the Marquis of + Bath. At the division in 1690, each moiety was valued at + 1313<i>l.</i> 14<i>s.</i> 4-1/2<i>d.</i> Gradually as the lands + were reclaimed by the tenants, the rental rose. In 1769 the Bath + estate produced 3,000<i>l.</i>, and the Shirley estate + 5,000<i>l.</i> The total of 8,000<i>l.</i> per annum, from this + once wild and barren tract, was paid by middlemen. The natives + had not been rooted out, and during the eighteenth century these + sub-tenants multiplied rapidly. According to the census in 1841 + the population of the barony exceeded 44,000 souls, and they + contributed by their industry, to the two absentee proprietors, + the enormous annual revenue of 40,000<i>l.</i>, towards the + production of which it does not appear that either of them, or + any person for them, ever invested a shilling.</p> + + <p>Mr. S. Trench was amazed to find 'more than one human being + for every Irish acre of land in the barony, and nearly one human + being for every 1<i>l.</i> valuation per annum of the land.' The + two estates join in the town of Carrickmacross. When Mr. Trench + arrived there, March 30, 1843, to commence his duties as Mr. + Shirley's agent, he learned that the sudden death of the late + agent in the court-house of Monaghan had been celebrated that + night by fires on almost every hill on the estate, 'and over a + district of upwards of 20,000 acres there was scarcely a mile + without a bonfire blazing in manifestation of joy at his + decease.' Mr. Trench says, the tenants considered themselves + ground down to the last point by the late agent. As he relates + the circumstances, the people would seem to be a very savage + race; and he gives other more startling illustrations to the same + effect as he proceeds. But here, as elsewhere, he does not state + all the facts, while those he does state are most artistically + dressed up for sensational effect, Mr. Trench himself being + always the hero, always acting magnificently, appearing at the + right place and at the right moment to prevent some tremendous + calamity, otherwise inevitable, and by some mysterious personal + influence subduing lawless masses, so <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page359" id="page359"></a>[pg 359]</span> that + by a sudden impulse, their murderous rage is converted into + admiration, if not adoration. Like the hearers of Herod or of St. + Paul, when he flung the viper off his hand, they are ready to cry + out, 'He is a god, and not a man.' Of course he, as a Christian + gentleman, was always 'greatly shocked,' when these poor wretches + offered him petitions on their knees. Still he relates every case + of the kind with extraordinary unction, and with a + picturesqueness of situation and detail so stagey that it should + make Mr. Boucicault's mouth water, and excite the envy of Miss + Braddon. Not even she can exceed the author of 'Realities of + Irish Life,' in prolonging painful suspense, in piling up the + agony, in accumulating horrors, in throwing strong lights on one + side of the picture and casting deep shade on the other.</p> + + <p>It is with the greatest reluctance that I thus allude to the + work of Mr. Trench. I do so from a sense of duty, because I + believe it is one of the most misleading books on Ireland + published for many years. It has made false impressions on the + public mind in England, which will seriously interfere with a + proper settlement of the land question. The mischief would not be + so great if the author did not take so much pains to represent + his stories as realities 'essentially characteristic of the + country.' It is very difficult to account for the exaggeration + and embellishment in which he has permitted himself to indulge, + with so many professions of conscientious regard for truth. They + must have arisen from the habit of reciting the adventures to his + friends during a quarter of a century, naturally laying stress on + the most sensational passages, while the facts less in keeping + with startling effects dropped out of his memory. Very few of the + actors in the scenes he describes now survive. Those who do, and + who might have a more accurate memory, are either so lauded that + it would be ungrateful of them to contradict—or so artfully + discredited as 'virulent' and base that people would not be + likely to believe them if their recollections were different. + There is one peculiarity about Mr. Trench's dialogues. There were + never any witnesses <span class="pagenum"><a name="page360" id= + "page360"></a>[pg 360]</span> present. He always took the wild + Irishman, on whom he operated so magically, into his private + office; or into a private room in the house of the 'subject;' or + into a cell alone, if secrets were to be extracted from a + Ribbonman in gaol. Even conversations with the gentler sex, who + knelt before him as if he were a bishop, were not permitted to + reach the ear of his chief clerk. On some matters, however, + others have spoken since his book appeared. He is very precise + about the trial for an agrarian murder in Monaghan, giving + details from his own actual observation. Mr. Butt, Q.C., who was + engaged in the case, has published a letter, stating that Mr. + Trench was quite mistaken in his account. It seems strange that + he did not refresh his memory by looking at a report of the trial + in some newspaper file.</p> + + <p>Mr. Trench 'adds his testimony to the fact that Ireland is not + altogether unmanageable,' that 'justice fully and firmly + administered is always appreciated in the end.' And at the + conclusion of his volume he says:—</p> + + <p>'We can scarcely shut our eyes to the fact that the + circumstances and feelings which have led to the terrible crime + of murder in Ireland, are usually very different from those which + have led to murder elsewhere. The reader of the English newspaper + is shocked at the list of children murdered by professional + assassins, of wives murdered by their husbands, of men murdered + for their gold. In Ireland that dreadful crime may almost + invariably be traced to a wild feeling of revenge for the + national wrongs, to which so many of her sons believe that she + has been subjected for centuries.'</p> + + <p>There is a mistake here. No murders are committed in Ireland + for 'national wrongs.' The author has gathered together, as in a + chamber of horrors, all the cases of assassination that occurred + during the years of distress, provoked by the extensive + <i>evictions</i> which succeeded the <i>famine</i>, and by the + infliction of great hardships on tenants who, in consequence of + that dreadful calamity, had fallen into arrears. People who had + been industrious, peaceable, and well-conducted were thus + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page361" id="page361"></a>[pg + 361]</span> driven to desperation; and hence the young men formed + lawless combinations and committed atrocious murders. But every + one of these murders was agrarian, not national. They were + committed in the prosecution of <i>a war</i>, not against the + Government, but against the landlords and their agents and + instruments. It was a war <i>pro aris et focis</i>, waged against + local tyrants, and waged in the only way possible to the + belligerents who fought for home and family. Mr. Trench always + paints the people who sympathise with their champions as + naturally wild, lawless, and savage. If he happens to be in good + humour with them, he makes them ridiculous. His son, Mr. Townsend + Trench, who did the illustrations for the work, pictures the + peasantry as gorillas, always flourishing shillelaghs, and + grinning horribly. With rare exceptions, they appear as an + inferior race, while the ruling class, and the Trenches in + particular, appear throughout the book as demigods, 'lords of the + creation,' formed by nature to be the masters and guides and + managers of such a silly, helpless people. Nowhere is any censure + pronounced upon a landlord, or an agent, with one exception, and + this was the immediate predecessor of Mr. Trench at Kenmare. To + his gross neglect in allowing God to send so many human beings + into the world, he ascribes the chaos of misery and pauperism, + which he—a heaven-born agent—had to reduce to order + and beauty. But there were other causes of the 'poetic + turbulence' which he so gloriously quelled, that he might have + brought to light, had he thought proper, for the information of + English readers. He might have shown—for the evidence was + before him in the report of the Devon Commission—with what + hard toil and constant self-denial, amidst what domestic + privations and difficulties, Mr. Shirley's tenants struggled to + scrape up for him his 20,000<i>l.</i> a year, and how bitterly + they must have felt when the landlord sent an order to add + one-third to their rack-rent. I will supply Mr. Trench's lack of + service, and quote the evidence of one of those honest and worthy + men, given before the Devon Commissioners.</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page362" id="page362"></a>[pg 362]</span> + + <p>Peter Mohun, farmer, a tenant on the Shirley estate, gave the + following evidence:—</p> + + <p>'What family have you?—I am married, and have two + daughters, and my wife, and a servant boy.</p> + + <p>'What rent do you pay?—Sometime ago I paid 3<i>l.</i> + 19<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i> I was doing well at that time; and then + my rent was raised to 5<i>l.</i> 19<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i>, and + sometimes 6<i>l.</i>, and one year 5<i>l.</i> 19<i>s.</i> + 6<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>'How do you account for the difference?—I do not know; + perhaps by the bog rent. We had the bog free before, and we were + doing well; and then we were cut down from the bog, and we were + raised from 3<i>l.</i> 19<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i> to 6<i>l.</i> We + are beaten down now quite.</p> + + <p>'What does the county-cess come to?—Sometimes we pay + 1<i>s.</i> 6-1/2<i>d.</i> an acre, and oftener 1<i>s.</i> + 7-1/2<i>d.</i>, the half-year.</p> + + <p>'Have you paid your rent pretty punctually?—Yes, I have + done my best so far to pay the rent.</p> + + <p>'How much do you owe now?—I believe I shall pay the rent + directly after May; I am clear till May. I cannot pay it till + harvest comes round.</p> + + <p>'How do you get the money to pay the rent?—When I had my + land cheap, and myself a youth, I was a good workman, and did + work by the loom, and I would be mowing in the summer season, and + earn a good deal, and make a little store for me, which has stood + by me. I buy some oats and make meal of it, and I make money in + that way. It was not by my land I was paying my rent, but from + other sources.</p> + + <p>'How much wheat have you now?—Half an acre, rather + above.</p> + + <p>'How much oats have you?—Half a rood.</p> + + <p>'How much potato land shall you have?—Three and a half + roods besides the garden.</p> + + <p>'Have you any clover?—Very near a rood of clover.</p> + + <p>'What is the smallest quantity of land that you think a man + who has no other means of support can subsist and pay rent + upon?—I was paying rent well myself when I had three acres, + when I was paying 3<i>l.</i> 19<i>s.</i> + 11<i>d.</i></p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page363" id= + "page363"></a>[pg 363]</span> + + <p>'You weave a little?—Yes, but very little; but there was + a good price for the barrel of wheat, and for pigs, and so I made + a little store. But as for any man to support himself out of a + small farm, at the high price of land, and the price of labour + that is going, it is impossible.</p> + + <p>'What is the smallest farm upon which a man can support + himself at the present rate of rent, taking a man with five or + six children?—That is a hard question.</p> + + <p>'Supposing a man to pay 35<i>s.</i> an acre, and to have two + acres, and to be obliged to live out of the farm, do you think he + could do it and pay rent?—He could not; his land must be + very good. Unless he lived near a town, and had cheap land, it + would be impossible. But a man with five acres, at a moderate + rent, he could support his family upon it.</p> + + <p>'What should you earn at weaving?—I only weave for my + own family. I weave my own shirt.</p> + + <p>'Do your family ever spin any wool and weave + it?—Yes.</p> + + <p>'Do you live upon the Shirley estate?—Yes.</p> + + <p>'How much bog do you require to keep your house in + fuel?—Half a rood, if it was good; but it is bad bog + ground, red mossy turf, white and light; it requires more than + the black turf.</p> + + <p>'What do you pay for half a rood of turf?—It is + 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> for a rood—that is, 6<i>s.</i> + 8<i>d.</i> for half a rood. There is 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> paid + for bad bog.</p> + + <p>'Do you pay anything for the ticket of leave to + cut?—Yes, I do; I have not a ticket unless I pay 6<i>d.</i> + for it.</p> + + <p>'That is over and above the 4<i>s.</i> + 6<i>d.</i>?—Yes.</p> + + <p>'Did you ever pay more than 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> for the bog + in the late agent's time?—He took the good bog off us; we + were paying 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> for it. They left us to the bad + bog, and we do not pay so high for that.</p> + + <p>'Was the good bog dearer or cheaper than the bad bog at + 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>?—Half a rood of the good bog was + worth half an acre or an acre of the other. The bad bog smokes so + we have often to leave the house: we cannot stay in it unless + there is a good draught in the chimney.'</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page364" id="page364"></a>[pg 364]</span> + + <p>The Rev. Thomas Smollan, P.P., has published a letter to the + Earl of Dunraven, a Catholic Peer, to whom Mr. Trench has + dedicated his book. In this letter the parish priest of Farney + says:—</p> + + <p>'In pages 63 and 64 Mr. Trench tells his readers that on the + very night the news of the late agent's sudden death, in the + county courthouse of Monaghan, reached Carrickmacross, "fires + blazed on almost every hill on the Shirley estate, and over a + district of more than 20,000 acres there was scarcely a mile + without a bonfire blazing in manifestation of joy at his + decease." This paragraph, my lord, taken by itself and + unexplained in any way, would at once imply that the people were + inhuman, almost savages, whom Mr. Trench was sent to + tame—that they were insensible to the agent's sudden death, + a death so sudden that it would make an enemy almost relent. Mr. + Trench assigns no cause for this strange proceeding except what + we read in page 64, and what he learned from the chief clerk, + viz., "that the people were much excited, that they were ground + down to the last point by the late agent, and they were + threatening to rise in rebellion against him," &c. One would + think that Mr. Trench having learned so much on such authority, + would have set to work to try and find out the cause of the + discontent and apply a remedy. He does not say in his book that + he did so, but seems still unable to understand this to him + incomprehensible proceeding. However, I am of opinion that Mr. + Trench knew the whole of it, if not then at all events before + "The Realities" saw the light, for in a speech of his, when Lord + Bath visited Farney (page 383), he said, "A dog could not bark on + the estate without it coming to his knowledge." And therefore I + say that a man so inquisitive as to find out the barking of a dog + on the Bath estate, who had so many sources of information close + at hand, could not have been long without knowing the causes of + the "excitement, threatened rebellion, bonfires, &c., on the + Shirley estate," if he had only wished for the information. + Either he knew the cause of all this when he wrote <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page365" id="page365"></a>[pg 365]</span> his + book, or he did not. If he did, I say he was bound in fair play + to tell it to the public; if he did not know it his + self-laudation in his speech goes for nought. But, my lord, with + your permission, I will inform your lordship, Mr. Trench, and the + public, as to some of the causes of so remarkable an occurrence, + which could not pass unobserved by Mr. Trench. At the memorable + election of 1826, Evelyn John Shirley, Esq., and Colonel Leslie, + father of the present M.P., contested the county of Monaghan, and + the former brought all his influence to bear on his tenants to + vote for himself (Shirley) and Leslie, who coalesced against the + late Lord Rossmore. The electors said "they would give one vote + for their landlord, and the other they would give for their + religion and their country;" the consequence was, Shirley and + Westenra were returned, and Leslie was beaten. Up to this time + Mr. Shirley was a good landlord, and admitted tenant-right to the + fullest extent on the property, but after that election he never + showed the same friendly feelings towards the people. Soon after + the election Mr. Humphrey Evatt, the agent, died, and was + succeeded in the agency by Mr. Sandy Mitchell, who very soon set + about surveying and revaluing the estate, of course at the + instance of his master, Evelyn John Shirley, Esq. He performed + the work of revaluation, &c., and the result was that the + rents were increased by one-third and in some cases more. The + bog, too, which up to this time was free to the tenants, was + taken from them and doled out to them in small patches of from + twenty-five to forty perches each, at from 4<i>l.</i> to + 8<i>l.</i> per acre. At the instance of the then parish priest, + President Reilly, Mr. Shirley gave 5<i>l.</i> per year to a few + schools on his property, without interfering in any way with the + religious principles of the Catholics attending these schools; + but the then agent insisted on having the authorised version of + the Bible, without note or comment, read in those schools by the + Catholic children. The bishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Kernan, could + not tolerate such a barefaced attempt at proselytism, and + insisted on the children being withdrawn <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page366" id="page366"></a>[pg 366]</span> from + the schools. For obeying their bishop in this, the Catholic + parents were treated most unsparingly. I have before me just now + a most remarkable instance of the length to which this gentleman + carried his proselytising propensities, which I will mention. In + the vestry, or sacristy, attached to Corduff Chapel, was a school + taught by a man named Rush, altogether independent of the schools + aided by Mr. Shirley, and by largely subsidising the teacher, the + then agent actually introduced his proselytism into that school + too. The priests and people tried legal means to get rid of the + teacher, but without success, and in the end the people came by + night and knocked down the sacristy, so that in the morning when + the teacher came he had no house to shelter him. The Catholics + were then without a school, and in order to provide the means of + education for them the Rev. F. Keone, administrator, under the + Most Rev. Dr. Kernan, applied for aid to the Commissioners of + National Education, and obtained it; but where was he to procure + building materials? The then agent, in his zeal for "converting" + Catholics, having issued an order forbidding the supplying of + them from any part of the Shirley estate, which extends over an + area of fifteen miles by ten, Father Keone went on the next + Sunday to the neighbouring chapels outside the Shirley estate, + told his grievances, and on the next day the people came with + their horses and carts and left sand, lime, and stones in + sufficient quantities to build the house inside the chapel-yard. + The priest and people thought it necessary to "thatch" their old + chapel, and, though strange it may seem, the agent actually + served an ejectment process on the father of the two boys who + assisted the priest to make the collection at the chapel door for + so absolutely necessary a work. I may add, this man owed no rent. + Lastly, the then agent was in the habit of arranging matrimonial + alliances, pointing out this girl as a suitable match for that + boy, and the boy must marry the girl or give up his farm. These + facts being true, my lord, and more which I might state, but that + I have trespassed too much already <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page367" id="page367"></a>[pg 367]</span> on your lordship's + time, I ask you, my Lord Dunraven—I ask any impartial man, + Irishman or Englishman—for whom Mr. Trench wrote his + "book," is it strange or wonderful that the Catholic people, so + treated, would rejoice—would have bonfires on the hill tops + at their deliverance from such conduct? I flatter myself that + you, my lord—that the learned reading public—that the + English people would sympathise with any people so treated for + conscience' sake; and having pronounced the sentence of + condemnation against Mr. Trench for not having noticed these + facts, that you will direct your name to be erased from the + "book." I have the honour to remain, my lord, with the most + profound respect, your lordship's faithful servant.'</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'THOMAS SMOLLAN, P.P.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Clones, Feb. 15, 1869.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The electors of Monaghan, in their simplicity, thought they + were fairly exercising the rights conferred by the constitution + when they gave one vote for the landlord, and one for their + religion and their country, thus securing the return of one + Liberal. But Mr. Shirley soon taught them that the blessings of + our glorious constitution belong not to the tenant, but to the + landlord; and so he punished their mistake by adding one-third to + their rent, and depriving them of proper fuel. Not content with + this, he carried the war into their chapels and schools, and + punished them for their religion. These facts may help to explain + the scenes which Mr. Trench describes so poetically.</p> + + <p>The persecuting agent died suddenly in the court-house. The + landlord and a new agent, Mr. Trench, arrived at Carrickmacross; + and the tenants presented a petition, imploring him to remove the + new and intolerable burden that had been put on their shoulders. + They were told to come back for an answer on the following + Monday:—</p> + + <p>'"Monday! Monday!" was shouted on all sides. The most frenzied + excitement ensued. Hats were thrown in the air, sticks were + flourished on all sides, and the men actually <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page368" id="page368"></a>[pg 368]</span> + danced with wild delight. After a little time, however, the crowd + cleared away, and the news flew like wildfire over the town and + country, that the whole tenantry were told to come in on Monday + next, that they might know the amount of the reduction to be + granted, and have all their grievances removed!'</p> + + <p>Mr. Shirley quickly repented having given the invitation, and + sent out a circular countermanding it, and requesting the tenants + to stay at home. On Monday, however, a vast excited mass + assembled to hear his <i>ultimatum</i>, which was announced by + the new agent. 'He would not reduce their rents. They might give + up their lands if they pleased; but they had little or no cause + of complaint.' They insisted on his mounting a chair and making a + speech. He softened the message as well as he could. When he had + done there was a dead silence. In describing what follows Mr. + Trench surpasses the wildest romancers in piling up the agony. I + copy the description that the reader may see the difference + between romance and history.</p> + + <p>'There was a dead silence when I stopped speaking. It was + broken by a stentorian voice.</p> + + <p>'"Then you won't reduce our rents?"</p> + + <p>'"I have already given you Mr. Shirley's answer upon that + point," said I. "Stranger as I am, it is impossible for me to + form any opinion as to whether they are too high or not."</p> + + <p>'"<i>Down on your knees, boys!</i>" shouted the same voice; + "we will ask him once more upon our knees!" and to my horror and + amazement the vast crowd, almost all at least who were in my + immediate vicinity, dropped suddenly on their knees, and another + dead silence ensued.</p> + + <p>'It was a dreadful spectacle. Their hats were on their heads, + and their sticks in their hands, some leaning upon them as they + knelt, others balancing and grasping them. It was fearful to see + the attitude of supplication, due only to a higher power, thus + mingled with a wild defiance.</p> + + <p>'"<i>We ask you upon our knees, for God's sake, to get us a + reduction of our rents!</i>" again the same voice cried + aloud.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page369" id= + "page369"></a>[pg 369]</span> + + <p>'I was greatly shocked. I instantly got down off the chair. I + entreated them to rise. I told them that I was distressed beyond + measure, but that I had given them the only message I was + authorised to give; and quite overcome by such a scene, I + endeavoured to move again across the crowded space from the + office, in order to enter the house, and report proceedings to + Mr. Shirley, intending to request that he would himself appear + and address his excited tenantry.</p> + + <p>'The moment I moved towards the door, the vast crowd leaped + again to their feet; I was instantly surrounded, hustled, and + prevented from getting near it. I bore this good-humouredly, and + the door being quite close to me, I had no doubt they would + ultimately let me in. But whilst this scene was going on, a shout + was raised by those who were at a distance up the road leading to + the town, and who had not heard what had been said. "Bring him + up—bring him up, and let us see him!" In a moment I was + seized, and though I resisted to my utmost, I was dragged up the + narrow road which led from Shirley House to the town. I was + kicked and beaten, and pushed and bruised, my hat knocked off, + and my clothes torn; and in this state I was dragged into the + main street of Carrickmacross.</p> + + <p>'Here a scene of the wildest excitement took place, some cried + one thing—some another. I was beaten again, my clothes torn + off my back, and sticks whirled over my head. Four or five + policemen met me as I was being dragged along, but they might as + well have attempted to stop the rushing of an Atlantic wave, as + to stern the crowd that had assembled around me; <i>and they only + looked on and let me pass</i>.'</p> + + <p>If the sub-inspector, who was present, and his men acted in + this manner, I venture to say it is the only instance in the + whole history of the force in which the Royal Irish constabulary + were guilty of such a cowardly neglect of duty. However, not only + the police, but the best part of the crowd deserted this strange + gentleman, and he was 'left in the hands of the vilest and most + furious of the mob.' <span class="pagenum"><a name="page370" id= + "page370"></a>[pg 370]</span> Where was Mr. Shirley? Where were + the clergy and the respectable inhabitants of the town? The mob + dragged him along towards Loughfea Castle—a mile and a + half—whither they heard Mr. Shirley had fled, still + beating, kicking, and strangling their victim, without any + object; for how could they serve their cause by killing an agent + who had never injured them? And how easy it was to kill him if + they wished! But here comes the climax; he asked the murderous + multitude to let him stop a few moments to breathe—he then + proceeds: 'I shall never forget that moment. I was then about a + mile from the town on the broad and open road leading to Loughfea + Castle. I turned and looked around me, thinking my last hour was + come, and anxious to see if there was one kind face, one + countenance, I had ever seen before, who could at least tell my + friends how I had died. But I looked in vain. The hills were + crowded with people. The long line of road was one mass of human + beings, whilst those immediately around me, mad with excitement, + seemed only to thirst for my blood.</p> + + <p>'Having got a few moments' breathing-time, and seeing all + appeal to be vain, I turned again on my way, determined, however, + to hold out to the last, as I felt that to fall or to faint must + be certain death. Just then I became conscious of an able hand + and a stout heart beside me, and I heard a whisper in my ear: + "They are determined to have your blood, but hold up, they shall + have mine first." The speaker grasped my arm firmly under his + own, and walked on steadily by my side.</p> + + <p>'By this time I was <i>completely naked with the exception of + my trousers</i>. My coat, even my shirt, had been torn off, and I + walked on, still beaten and ill-treated, like a man to execution; + my head bare, and <i>without any clothes from my waist + upwards</i>. To increase the misery of my situation, I found that + my friend had been beaten and dragged away in spite of himself, + and again I was left alone in the hands of those merciless men. I + felt also I could now go no further, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page371" id="page371"></a>[pg 371]</span> and + that a last effort must be made before my senses left me from + exhaustion. Stopping therefore once more, I asked to be led + towards a high bank at the roadside, and leaning against this I + turned and faced those whom I now believed would soon become my + murderers.</p> + + <p>'"I can go no further," said I; "what have you brought me here + for? What do you want me to do?" Again the same voice which I had + first heard at the office, though I could not identify the + speaker from the shouting and confusion around me, cried aloud, + "We want a reduction of our rents, will you promise to get us + that?"</p> + + <p>'There are times of instant danger, when it is said that the + whole of a man's past life rushes before him in the spaces of a + single moment. If ever there be such a time, this was such to me. + I stood there, exhausted, without one friendly face on which to + rest, and surrounded by <i>the worst of ten thousand men who + seemed determined to have a victim</i>. I knew and felt all this. + So I said very quietly, as a last effort to save my life, and + hoping they would name something I could promise to ask,</p> + + <p>'"And what reduction will you be content with?"</p> + + <p>'Again the same voice replied,</p> + + <p>'"We will never pay more than one-half our present rents."</p> + + <p>'"Then," said I, "there ends the matter, <i>I never will + promise that</i>."</p> + + <p>'There was a pause, and a dead silence. I stood <i>naked and + bareheaded before them</i>. They stood opposite to me, with their + sticks clenched in their hands, ready to strike. I looked at + them, and they at me. They hesitated; <i>no one would strike me + first</i>. I saw that they wavered, and instinctively, in a + moment I <i>felt</i> that I had won. This sudden revulsion of + feeling—though I was still externally motionless—sent + the blood throbbing to my temples with a rush that became almost + oppressive. But the strange pause continued—when at length + a shout was raised from the old stentorian voice again, "Stand + off, boys—for your lives! <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page372" id="page372"></a>[pg 372]</span> no one shall harm + him—he is a good man after all!" and in a moment I was + surrounded by a new set of faces, who dashed furiously towards + me. They raised me on their shoulders, swept my old enemies away + from me, procured me some water to drink, and carried me, now + completely overcome, exhausted, and almost fainting, into the + demesne of Loughfea.</p> + + <p>'Here again these suddenly converted friends desired me to get + up on a chair, and speak to the crowd now assembled before the + castle. I did so. A reaction for the moment had taken place + within me, and I felt some return of strength.</p> + + <p>'I told the people I had never injured them. That it was a + shame, and a disgrace of which I had not believed any Irishman to + be capable, to treat a stranger as they had dealt with me that + day. That in my own country I could have as many to fight for me + as were now against me, and in short I abused them right heartily + and soundly. They bore it without a murmur. My new friends + cheered me vociferously, and I was carried, now quite unable to + walk, into the Castle of Loughfea. Mr. Shirley's architect here + appeared upon the scene, and perceiving that the people were much + exasperated at not finding Mr. Shirley at the castle, and that + some of the most violent were disposed in consequence to make a + fresh attack upon me as I was being carried exhausted inside the + gates, he promised to speak to Mr. Shirley in their favour, and + in some degree calmed their feelings. The excitement was past. + Mr. Shirley had not been there, and the people at last quietly + dispersed.</p> + + <p>'In the evening I was conveyed in a covered carriage to + Carrickmacross, blackened with bruises, stiff and sore, and + scarcely able to stand—musing over the strange transactions + which had happened that day—and wrapped in a countryman's + frieze coat which had been borrowed to cover <i>my + nakedness</i>.'<a id="footnotetag45" name= + "footnotetag45"></a><a href="#footnote45"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>When the reader recovers his breath after this. I will ask + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page373" id="page373"></a>[pg + 373]</span> him to turn to the history of this + transaction—bad enough in itself—and see what fancy + and art can do in dressing up a skeleton so that it becomes + 'beautiful for ever.' Mr. Trench himself shall be the historian, + writing to the authorities when the occurrences were all fresh in + his mind. The narrative was handed in to the Devon commissioners + as his <i>sworn evidence</i>:</p> + + <p>'<i>William Steuart Trench, esq., agent.</i></p> + + <p>'Have there been any agrarian outrages, and in what have they + originated?—There have been none, except <i>during a late + short period of peculiar local excitement</i>.</p> + + <p>'Will you state the particulars of that excitement, and what + then occurred?—I think my best mode of doing so will be by + handing in the copy of a letter which I addressed to a local + magistrate for the information of government.—[<i>The + witness read the following letter</i>:—]</p> + + <p>'Dear Sir—In reply to your communication, enclosing a + letter from Mr. Lucas, requesting that I should give a statement + of the particulars which occurred to me in Carrickmacross, on + Monday last, I beg leave to lay before you the facts, as + follows:—</p> + + <p>'Mr. Shirley has recently appointed me to the agency over his + Monaghan estate. We both arrived here on Thursday, the 30th of + March, and on the following morning we went together into the + office; and having remained there about an hour, we were much + surprised, on our return, to find an immense mass of people + outside the door, who immediately presented a petition to Mr. + Shirley, requesting a reduction of rent.</p> + + <p>'Mr. Shirley declined giving an immediate answer to such an + unexpected request; but having read the petition, he told them he + would give an answer to it on the Monday following. By Saturday, + however, he had arrived at a full conclusion upon the point, and, + anxious to avoid any unpleasant altercation with his tenants, he + thought it advisable <span class="pagenum"><a name="page374" id= + "page374"></a>[pg 374]</span> to let his determination be known + as soon as possible; and accordingly, on Saturday, he issued and + circulated a printed notice, stating the determination at which + he had arrived, and declining any further communications upon the + subject. I enclose a copy of the notice.</p> + + <p>'Notwithstanding this notice, the people came in on Monday in + immense numbers; and at about 11 o'clock in the forenoon, the + upper part of the street opposite to Shirley House, where we were + residing, was filled with dense masses of men. I then thought it + my duty to go out, and repeat to them in my capacity as agent, + the determination at which their landlord had arrived. I did so + in the mildest terms. I told them I had been able to go over only + a part of the estate; but that from what I had seen, I was of + opinion that a better system of farming and of general management + of their land, was in my judgment much more required than a + reduction of the rent. That I knew Mr. Shirley had the kindest + feeling towards them, and that I was myself quite prepared and + willing to render them any assistance—to go to every man's + farm, if possible, and to assist them by my counsel and advice. + But that as Mr. Shirley had come to a determination to make no + present reduction in his rental, I did expect that all who were + able to pay their rents would come in and do so; that the utmost + leniency would be extended towards those who could not pay; but + that my duty was plain, and if those who really were able to pay, + refused to come forward and do so, that I had no alternative left + but to take advantage of the power which the law afforded for the + recovery of the rent—and this I was fully prepared and + determined to do, if driven to that unpleasant necessity. I also + made some further observations, of less importance; but my manner + towards them was quiet and calm, and I expressed myself most + anxious to do everything in my power to promote their welfare and + comfort.</p> + + <p>'<i>I then attempted to return to the house, across the + street; but the mob closed in upon me, and prevented my doing + so,</i> <span class="pagenum"><a name="page375" id= + "page375"></a>[pg 375]</span> <i>and with much violence dragged + me up into the town, where I was repeatedly struck and kicked, + and nearly strangled, and my coat torn to pieces.</i></p> + + <p>'<i>The mob continued thus to ill-treat me for about a mile + along the road to Lough Fea, Mr. Shirley's residence, repeatedly + kicking me, especially when I showed symptoms of exhaustion, and + pressing their hands violently upon my throat, till I was almost + overcome by fatigue, heat and pain.</i></p> + + <p>'<i>All this appeared to be done for the purpose of forcing me + to promise to induce Mr. Shirley to lower the rents to 10 s. per + acre (upwards of fifty per cent.). This I refused to do. They + then brought me on to Lough Fea, where they thought Mr. Shirley + was; and upon not finding him, they appeared much exasperated. + Mr. Shirley's architect then appeared, and by promising to speak + to Mr. Shirley in their favour, and by requesting them to send a + deputation, instead of coming in a manner like the present, he + induced them to desist from further injury to me.</i></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Believe me, dear Sir, very truly yours,</p> + + <p>'(Signed) 'WILLIAM STEUART TRENCH.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Carrickmacross, April 8, 1844.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>'What has been the general demeanour of the people towards you + since that time?—Though they resisted my measures for the + recovery of the rent, <i>to myself they have been perfectly + civil; nor have I received any personal insult or unpleasantness, + arising from the above cause since that period.</i></p> + + <p>'How long did this kind of combination exist?—For about + six months.'</p> + + <p>Setting aside the embellishments, let us note one or two + differences as to facts. In the book the suddenly converted + friends placed him on a chair and asked him to make a speech + before the castle door. He did so, and there is a grand + statuesque picture of the hero, naked to the waist, and standing + on the chair as lofty pedestal. In the torn <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page376" id="page376"></a>[pg 376]</span> coat + the artist could never have made him look like Apollo. Even the + shirt would have been too commonplace; so off went the shirt. + Three or four times attention is directed to the fact of the + nakedness by the hero himself, while the pencil of the filial + illustrator has rendered him immortal in this primitive costume. + In his speech he 'abused them heartily and soundly.' Yet they + cheered him vociferously, and then carried him into the castle, + where he could get nothing to cover his nakedness but a + countryman's frieze coat. It was when he had been cheered + vociferously, and kindly carried in, that Mr. Shirley's architect + appeared on the scene. Mr. Trench has not been just to that + gentleman, for he really came to his rescue, and perhaps saved + his life, by giving the people the only sensible advice they got + that day. In his sworn statement, made twenty-five years ago, Mr. + Trench said: 'Mr. Shirley's architect then appeared, and by + promising to speak to Mr. Shirley in their favour, and by + requesting them to send a deputation, instead of coming in a + manner like the present, <i>he induced them to desist from + further injury to me.</i>'</p> + + <p>If we had contemporary accounts of all the other romantic + scenes which have fascinated so many readers, the 'Realities' + would lose much of their gilding. Indeed, in most cases the + internal evidence is sufficient to convince us that the + sensationalist has been laying on his colours pretty heavily. In + the sketch of the Farney rent campaign, however, I am willing to + accept Mr. Trench as a faithful historian. It is a most + suggestive narrative, because it shows what mischief could be + done by driving the agricultural population to desperation. A + general strike against the payment of rent would convulse + society. If the war which raged in Farney had spread all over the + island, the landlords would be in serious difficulty. The British + army might then have become rent collectors, as they had been + tithe collectors in 1831.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Shirley resolved, after much deliberation, to enforce his + legal rights to the utmost. The bailiff was sent to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page377" id="page377"></a>[pg 377]</span> warn + the backward tenants to come in with the rent, and he everywhere + received the same answer—'We will pay no rent till our + grievances are redressed.' Now all the missiles of the law were + showered on the recusants—notices to quit, <i>latitats</i>, + processes for arrears, &c. Grippers, process-servers, + keepers, drivers, were in full requisition. The grippers were to + arrest all tenants against whom decrees had been obtained at the + quarter-sessions; the keepers were employed to watch the crops + that had been seized; and the drivers were to bring the cattle, + sheep, horses, or pigs to pound. These constituted the landlord's + army, having the police as a reserve, and the military if + necessary.</p> + + <p>On the other hand, the tenants organised a body called the + 'Molly Maguires'—stout young men dressed up in women's + clothes, their faces disguised and besmeared in the most + fantastic manner. These men waylaid and maltreated the officers + of the law so severely, that in a short time no money could + induce a gripper, process-server, driver or bailiff to show his + nose on the estate. In this dilemma, Mr. Shirley, as + commander-in-chief, ordered his lieutenant and his subordinates + to go forth, with a body of police, and drive in all the cattle + they could seize on the lands of the defaulting tenants. The + expedition started one fine morning, led on by the mounted + bailiff, a fat man, trembling like a hare at the thought of + encountering the 'Molly Maguires.'</p> + + <p>Mr. Trench's description of this foray is very + graphic:—'No sooner had this formidable party appeared upon + the roads in the open country, than the people rushed to the tops + of the numerous hills with which the district abounds; and as we + moved forward, they ran from one hill to another shouting and + cheering with wild defiant cries, and keeping a line parallel to + that in which our party was travelling.</p> + + <p>'The object of our expedition was clearly understood by the + people; and the exact position of our company was indicated to + those in the lowlands by the movements of the parties on the + hills; and accordingly, as we advanced, every <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page378" id="page378"></a>[pg 378]</span> + beast belonging to every tenant who owed rent was housed or + locked up, or driven somewhere away. Thus, as we had no legal + right to break open any door, or take any cattle out of any + house, but only to seize those we might find in the open fields + and upon the lands of the defaulting tenants, we soon perceived + (as we might have known before we started) that we were likely to + return without success. The bailiff declared with a sigh, "that + not a hoof nor a horn was left in the whole country-side."</p> + + <p>'At length when about to return home, without having secured + any booty whatever, we came unexpectedly upon a poor little + heifer calf, browsing quietly on the long grass beside a hedge. + The bailiff having ascertained that she was grazing on the land + of a tenant who was a defaulter, we seized upon the unhappy + little beast, and drove it ingloriously home to the pound at + Carrickmacross, a distance of about two miles, amidst the jeers + and laughter of the populace, at the result of our formidable + day's driving.'</p> + + <p>Thus baffled, Mr. Shirley resolved to try another move.</p> + + <p>He applied to the authorities in Dublin for an order for + 'substitution of service.' That is, instead of delivering the + legal notices at the houses of the parties, which was + impracticable, they were to be posted up on the chapel-door. To + effect this object, a large police force was necessary, and it + was accompanied by a stipendiary magistrate. 'As soon as the + party came near the chapel grounds a shout of defiance was raised + by the peasantry, who began to crowd into the chapel yard, and + with uplifted sticks and threatening gestures swore that they + would never allow the walls of the chapel to be desecrated by + such a notice. The bailiff, a most respectable and temperate man, + did his utmost to pacify the excited mob. He reasoned with them + as best he could; and assured them that no desecration was + intended—that he was only carrying out the law, which + required that the notice should be posted on the chapel walls. + But his voice had no more power than if he had spoken to a storm + of wind; they leaped and danced madly about, whirling + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page379" id="page379"></a>[pg + 379]</span> their sticks over their heads, and shouting that they + would never allow him to touch the sacred edifice.</p> + + <p>'The stipendiary magistrate now ordered him to do his duty, + and that he would be protected in doing it by the police, and he, + trembling with fear, as well he might, at length approached with + the notice in his hand to post it in due form. No sooner had he + approached towards the chapel than a volley of stones sent him + staggering back, though none actually struck him. The police were + now ordered to advance. They did so amidst another shower of + stones. The storm of missiles still continuing and several of the + police having been struck and injured, they were at length + ordered to fire. They aimed low, and directing their fire + straight into the crowd of stone-throwers, they soon checked the + vigour of the assault—six or seven men fell under the + volley and rolled upon the ground. There was a short pause, a + dead silence ensued—but it was only for a moment, and + before the police could recover themselves and load again, a + furious rush was made upon them by the enraged populace. Stones + were seen flying as thick as hail; and finally the police, + apprehending that they must be annihilated if they remained, ran + to their cars, which were waiting at a little distance, and drove + into Carrickmacross as fast as the horses could gallop, + accompanied by the stipendiary magistrate!</p> + + <p>'The field thus quickly won, remained in the possession of the + insurgents. One of the rioters was killed upon the + spot—shot through the body. The others who fell were only + slightly injured; one had his ear taken off, another was wounded + in the finger, another shot in the arm.'</p> + + <p>This was 'the battle of Magheracloon.' Mr. Trench wisely + recommended a cessation of hostilities till the harvest was + gathered in, promising the landlord that he would then by quiet + means, acting on the tenants individually and privately, induce + them to pay their rents. He succeeded, but as Mr. Shirley + declined to adopt his plans for the better management of the + estate, he resigned.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page380" + id="page380"></a>[pg 380]</span> + + <p>He came back, however, after some years, as agent to the + Marquess of Bath—a post which he occupies still, being + manager-in-chief at the same time of the large estates of the + Marquess of Lansdowne, in Kerry, and Lord Digby, in the King's + County. In all these undertakings, ably assisted by his sons and + his nephew, he has been pre-eminently successful. If the Farney + men had been driven off in 1843, or swept away by the famine, it + would have been said that their fate was inevitable, nothing + could be made of them. They were by nature prone to disorder and + rebellion. Well, Lord Bath visited his estate in 1865. On that + occasion a banquet was given to the tenants, at which Mr. Trench + made an eloquent speech. Referring to the outbreak in 1848, he + said: 'And yet never, my Lord, never even in the worst of times, + did I bate one jot of heart or hope in the noble people of + Farney, never for one moment did I doubt their loyalty to their + Queen, their loyalty to their country, their respect for their + landlord, and above all, that they would be true and loyal to + themselves.' So much for the incurable perversity of the Celtic + race, for the 'black morass of Irish nature' that can never be + drained!</p> + + <p>The people of Farney got justice, and they were contented and + orderly. They got security, and they were industrious and + thriving. They got protection under the constitution, and they + were loyal. Densely peopled as the estate is, the agent could not + coax one of them to emigrate; and after his former experience at + Farney, he did not venture on eviction, though, no doubt, he + would gladly repeat the Kenmare experiment in thinning the masses + with which he has had to deal. Mr. Horsman, a prophet of the same + school of economists, says that Providence sent the famine to + relieve the landlords, by carrying away a third of the + population, and he seems to think it desirable that another third + should be got rid of somehow.</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote45" name="footnote45"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag45">(return)</a> + + <p>Realities of Irish Life, chap. v.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page381" id= + "page381"></a>[pg 381]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + + <h3>BELFAST AND PERPETUITY.</h3> + + <p>Belfast, not being blessed with a cathedral like Armagh and + Derry, is not called a 'city.' It is only a 'town;' but it is the + capital of Ulster, and surpasses all other places in Ireland in + the rapidity of its progress and in its prosperity. It can boast + but little of its antiquity. There is probably not a house in the + borough more than 150 years old. The place is first noticed by + history in 1178, merely as the site of a fort of the O'Neills, + which was destroyed by John De Courcy. It was only a poor village + at the time of Bruce's invasion, in 1315, though Spencer + erroneously calls it 'a very good town.' It was so insignificant + in 1586 that Holinshed does not mention it among the towns and + havens of Down and Antrim. Whatever town existed there had been + destroyed by the Earl of Kildare when lord-deputy. In 1552 it was + repaired and garrisoned, and shortly after it was granted by the + crown to Hugh O'Neill of Clandeboye. In 1571 the castle, with a + large portion of territory adjoining it, was bestowed upon Sir + Thomas Smith and his son. The latter was assassinated by the + 'wicked, barbarous, and uncivil people;' and the former, not + being able to fulfil the conditions of his tenure, the district + reverted with the whole earldom of Ulster to the crown in the + reign of James I. Belfast was then surrounded by extensive + forests, abounding in fine timber for building. The best + specimen—perhaps the only one in the kingdom—of a + forest like what covered the country at that time, still exists + at Shane's Castle, the magnificent demesne of Lord O'Neill, where + may be seen enormous oaks <span class="pagenum"><a name="page382" + id="page382"></a>[pg 382]</span> decaying with age, under whose + shade probably the famous Shane marshalled his galloglasse.</p> + + <p>In 1613 the castle and manor of Belfast were granted to Sir + Arthur Chichester, lord-deputy, ancestor of the Marquis of + Donegal, who did so much to effect the final conquest of Ulster. + He may be said to be the founder of the town. From the estates of + his family, in Devonshire, and from Scotland, many families came + over and made a strong settlement here. Ultimately it became a + corporation sending two members to the Irish Parliament. The + chief magistrate was called 'the sovereign;' and the first who + held the office was Thomas Pottinger, ancestor of the celebrated + Sir Henry Pottinger. In 1758 the population was 8,549; in 1821, + it was 37,000; in 1831, it was 53,000; in 1841, it had increased + to 75,000; in 1851, it amounted to 103,000; and the last census + shows it to be 121,602. About 1,500 houses are built annually in + the borough, and the present population is estimated at 150,000. + The rateable property is more than 394,000<i>l.</i> The sum of + 560,000<i>l.</i> has been spent on the harbour improvements, to + which is to be added 250,000<i>l.</i> for building new docks. I + remember the quays when they were small, irregular, inconvenient, + dirty, and when the channel worked its doubtful course through + shifting masses of liquid mud, at low water. Now there are quays + which extend in a line about a mile, covered with spacious sheds + for the protection of the goods being shipped and unshipped. + There are docks of all sorts, and great shipbuilding + establishments standing on ground created out of the floating + chaos of mud. 'Year by year,' as one of its poets has said, + 'Belfast is changing its aspect and overstepping its former + boundaries, climbing the hill-side, skirting the river margin, + and even invading the sea's ancient domain.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Ambition's mistress of the fertile land,</p> + + <p>Shuts out the ocean and usurps the strand.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Among the 'usurpations' is Queen's Island, a beautiful + people's park, standing in the midst of the Lough. The people of + Belfast have effected all these vast improvements <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page383" id="page383"></a>[pg 383]</span> from + their own resources, without a shilling from the lord of the + soil, without any help from Government, except a loan of + 100,000<i>l.</i> from the Board of Works. Belfast is the 'linen + capital' of the empire, as Manchester is the 'cotton capital.' + The linen trade was fostered in its infancy there by Strafford, + and encouraged by William III., as a set-off against the + abolition of the woollen trade. The first spinning of flax by + steam power was commenced in 1830, by the Messrs. Mulholland, who + employ 2,000 hands, principally females. Mills have sprung up in + every direction, and it is estimated that they give employment to + 15,000 persons. To supply the consumption of flax, in addition to + the home produce, about 50,000 tons are imported every year. + Linen is the staple manufacture; but industrial arts of every + kind flourish, with all the usual manifestations of wealth.</p> + + <p>We have seen in a former chapter that the people of + Londonderry, vexed that the maiden city has been left so far + behind her younger sister, ascribe the difference to the fact + that the Belfast manufacturers were favoured with long building + tenures. We hear it said often that the Marquis of Donegal gave + his tenants perpetuity leases, implying that he acted very + liberally in doing so. If, however, you speak to persons + acquainted with the local history, they will ascribe this + advantage to 'Lord Donegal's necessities.' If you ask an + explanation of this phrase, you will be told that towards the end + of last century, and later, Lord Donegal was obliged to adopt + extraordinary methods for raising money, and that the perpetuity + leases in question were purchased, and at a very high rate too. + You will further learn that the tenants were compelled to take + the leases, and pay heavy fines for them in lump sums, and that + if unable to produce the money they were evicted, and their farms + were given to others who were able to pay. It is alleged that his + agent got leases in blank, ready to be filled up when the cash + was forthcoming, and that all the cash did not reach the + landlord's hands. At any rate, attempts have been made to break + some of the leases. There has been long pending litigation + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page384" id="page384"></a>[pg + 384]</span> on the subject. Whatever may be the defects of title + on the part of the landlord, the tenant must suffer. Dr. Hancock + alludes to this fact in his first report. Referring to Sir John + Romilly's Leasing Powers Bill, he says:—</p> + + <p>'The details of these Bills it is not necessary now to refer + to; but there was one principle provided for in them which has + been neglected in subsequent measures. In the ordinary course of + business a tenant does not investigate his landlord's title; the + cost of doing so would be nearly always too great; besides, the + landlord would not think of consenting to the investigation on + every occasion of granting a lease. It follows from this that it + is a great hardship, if a flaw should be discovered in a + landlord's title, that leases granted before the tenants had any + notice of the litigation should be bad. Take the case of the + estate which the late Duke of Wellington and Mr. Leslie recovered + from Lord Dungannon after he had been for years in possession; or + the case which is now pending for so many years between the + Marquis of Donegal and Viscount Templemore. Is it not a great + hardship that leases which tenants took, trusting in the title of + Lord Dungannon or Viscount Templemore, who were then visible + owners of great estates, should afterwards turn out to be + worthless on some point of law in title-deeds which they never + had the opportunity of seeing; and which may be so subtle as to + take Courts of Law years to decide?'</p> + + <p>Dr. Hancock says the principle that in such cases the tenant + should be protected, was neglected in subsequent measures. Now, + what must the tenants think of legislation that subjects them to + be robbed of their dearly-bought leases because of flaws, frauds + or blunders with which they could have nothing to do? The leases + granted to the tenants of Lord Donegal, however, in Belfast and + the neighbourhood were generally valid, and to these perpetuities + we must undoubtedly ascribe the existence of a middle class of + remarkable independence of character, and the accumulation of + capital for manufactures and commerce. Had Lord Donegal been able + to hold the town in a state of tutelage <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page385" id="page385"></a>[pg 385]</span> and + dependence—had he been an 'improving landlord' of the + modern type, with an agent like Mr. Trench, so vigilant and + curious that a dog could not bark on the estate without his + knowledge and consent, Belfast might have been far behind Derry + to-day—as stationary as Bangor, Hillsborough, Antrim, or + Randalstown. Under such paternal care as Mr. Trench bestows upon + tenants, with his omnipresent surveillance, there could be no + manly self-reliance, no freedom of speech or action, no + enterprise. The agent would take care that no interests should + grow up on the estate, which his chief could not control or knock + down. It is not likely that Lord Donegal would have suffered the + landscape to be spoiled, the atmosphere of the deer park and + gardens to be darkened and tainted by the smoke of factory + chimneys, which could add nothing to his rental, while crowding + around him the race which his great progenitor did so much to + extirpate. So Belfast may well be thankful that the Marquis of + Donegal, for some generations, could not afford to be 'an + improving landlord,' fond of paternal intermeddling with other + people's affairs, playing the part of Providence to an inferior + race.</p> + + <p>But there is one memorable fact connected with those + perpetuity leases which applies more immediately to our purpose. + The tenants who were evicted to make way for the men who had + money to advance to the lord of the soil, feeling themselves + seriously aggrieved, formed the first of the more modern agrarian + combinations under the title of 'the Hearts of Oak;' which + continued for a long time to disturb the peace in Antrim and + Down. The farms being extensively turned into pasture by the + landlords and large graziers, there was no employment for the + houseless wanderers, no provision of any kind for their support. + They consequently had no respect for the rights of property, in + the vindication of which their homes had been demolished and + their families sacrificed, because they were not able to purchase + fixity of tenure.</p> + + <p>It was, however, very fortunate for Belfast that the landlord + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page386" id="page386"></a>[pg + 386]</span> was obliged to sell it; that the head of the great + house founded by the conqueror of Ulster, enriched with territory + so vast, should have been under the necessity of giving a + perpetual property in the soil to some of the sons of industry. + By that simple concession he did more to advance the prosperity + of the town, than could have been accomplished by centuries of + fostering care, under the shadow of feudalism. Belfast shows, on + a grand scale, what might be done on many an estate in Ireland, + in many a town and village where the people are pining away in + hopeless misery, if the iron bonds of primogeniture and entail + which now cramp landed property were struck off. The Greek + philosopher declared that if he had a standing-place he could + move the earth. Give to capital the ground of perpetuity of + tenure, whereon to plant its machinery, and it will soon lift + this island from the slough of despond. Then may it be said more + truly than Grattan said it in 1782, that Ireland had got nearer + to the sun.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page387" id= + "page387"></a>[pg 387]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> + + <h3>LEASE-BREAKING—GEASHILL.</h3> + + <p>The history of the Manor of Geashill in the King's County + furnishes another instructive illustration of the land question + and of the effect upon the people of the system of management, + under the new school of agents, of which Mr. Steuart Trench may + be regarded as the brightest ornament, if not the apostle. The + epoch was favourable for his mission, and he was the man for the + epoch; he had been quietly training himself for the restoration + of disordered estates, and the critical emergencies of the times + thrust him into the front rank of social reformers. When he + describes the wonderful revolutions wrought by his + instrumentality, the whirlwinds on which he rode, the storms + which he directed and quelled, the chaos out of which he evoked + order, he assumes that the hurricane and the chaos were the + normal state of things. A mysterious pestilence had blighted the + principal food of the people for two or three years, and brought + on a desolating famine. Millions perished by that visitation + chiefly because the legislature had persistently refused up to + that period to make any provision for the Irish poor such as it + had made centuries before for the English poor, and because no + care had been taken to distribute the population over the waste + lands which their labour would have reclaimed and fertilized; or + to improve their position, so that they might not be wholly + dependent on one sort of food, and that the most precarious and + perishable. Mr. Sadler, in his work on Population, had proved + that, even in the case of Ireland before the famine, there was + really no 'surplus population;' that if the resources of the + country had been <span class="pagenum"><a name="page388" id= + "page388"></a>[pg 388]</span> developed by a wise Government, + sympathising with the people, the text which he adopted would + have been applicable there: 'Dwell in the land, and verily ye + shall be fed.' There was hasty legislation to meet the emergency, + but in all the haste, the heartless economists found time to + devise clauses and provisions, by means of which, when the small + farmers had consumed all their stock to keep their families + alive, they were compelled to relinquish their holdings in order + to get food for their famishing children. They must submit to the + workhouse test, they must not hold more than a quarter of an acre + of land, if they would get relief. Under the dire instigation of + hunger, in the stupor and recklessness of their misery, they + accepted any terms the landlords chose to impose, and so whole + villages disappeared from the landscape, swept off with the besom + of destruction.</p> + + <p>The political economists (all the new school of land-agents + are rigid political economists), taught by their prophet Malthus, + ascribed the famine and every other social evil to surplus + population, and to the incurably lazy and thriftless habits of + the Celtic race. According to them the potato blight had only + hastened an inevitable catastrophe. Therefore they set to work + with all their agencies and all their might to get rid of the too + prolific race, and to supplant the native cultivators by British + settlers and wealthy graziers.</p> + + <p>This has been done ever since by a quiet and gradual process, + steadily, systematically, inexorably, propelled by many powerful + tendencies of the age, and checked only by assassination. What + are the agrarian outrages which have become so terribly rife of + late, but the desperate struggles of a doomed race to break the + instruments which pluck them out of their native soil? A + generation of instruction in the national schools and a + generation of intercourse with the free citizens of the United + States, who call no man 'master' under heaven—have taught + them that it is an enormous iniquity to sacrifice humanity to + property, to make the happiness, the freedom, the very existence + of human beings, secondary to the arbitrary power and + self-interest of a small <span class="pagenum"><a name="page389" + id="page389"></a>[pg 389]</span> class called landlords. They + regard the 'improving landlord' system as nothing but a legal and + civilised continuation of the barbarous policy of extermination + by fire and sword which we have seen pursued so ruthlessly in the + seventeenth century. It is still the land-war, conducted + according to modern tactics, aiming with deadly effect at the + same object, the slow but sure destruction of a nuisance called + the 'Celtic race.' This may be a delusion on their part; but it + is the deep-rooted conviction of priests and people, and hence + the utter inadequacy of any enactment which will not render such + a policy impossible, by making the tenure of the occupiers + independent of the will of the landlords. Until such time the + peasantry will continue to offer a bloody resistance to the legal + attempts to crush them out of the country.</p> + + <p>In this self-defensive war, they cannot cope with the armed + power of England in the open field; and they are driven upon the + criminal resource of the oppressed in all ages and all + lands—secret combination and assassination. For this crime + they feel no remorse; first, because it is <i>war</i>—just + as the soldier feels no remorse for killing the enemy in a + battle; and, secondly, because their conquerors, and the + successors of those conquerors, have taught them too well by + repeated examples the terrible lesson of making light of human + life. Poor ignorant creatures, they cannot see that, while the + most illustrious noblemen in England won applause and honours by + shooting down Irish women and children like seals or otters, the + survivors of the murdered people should be execrated as cruel, + barbarous, and infamous for shooting the men that pull down the + rooftrees over the heads of their helpless families and trample + upon their household gods. These convictions of theirs are very + revolting to our feelings, but they are facts; and as facts the + legislature must deal with them. If there be a people, otherwise + singularly free from crime, who regard the assassination of the + members of a certain class with indifference, or approbation, the + phenomenon is one which political philosophy <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page390" id="page390"></a>[pg 390]</span> + ought to be able to explain, and one which cannot be got rid of + by suspending the constitution and bringing railing accusations + against the nation.</p> + + <p>Mr. Trench speaks with something like contempt or pity of + 'good landlords,' a class which he contradistinguishes from + 'improving landlords.' But it should be remembered that by this + last phrase he always means agents of the Trench stamp. For he + observes that the landlord himself cannot possibly do much more + than authorize his agent to do what he thinks best; and it is + rather an advantage that the proprietor should be an absentee, + otherwise his good nature might prompt him to interrupt the work + of improvement. Now there is this to be said of the good + landlords, who may be counted by hundreds, and who are found in + all the counties of Ireland. Their estates are free from the + 'poetic turbulence' in which Mr. Trench is the 'stormy petrel.' + They preserved their tenants through the years of famine, and + have them still on their estates. Nor should the fact be omitted + that among those good landlords, who abhor the idea of evicting + their tenants, are to be found the lineal descendants of some of + the most cruel exterminators of the seventeenth century. Their + goodness has completely obliterated, among their people, the + bitter memories of the past. The present race of Celts would die + for the men whose ancestors shot down their forefathers as + vermin. But the improving landlords run their ploughshares + through the ashes of old animosities, turning up embers which the + winds of agitation blow into flames. We seldom hear of Ribbonism + till the improving agent comes upon the scene, warring against + natural rights, warring against the natural affections, warring + against humanity, warring against the soul.</p> + + <p>These remarks bring us to the case of the barony of Geashill, + the estate of Lord Digby, to which Mr. Trench became agent in + 1857. Lord Digby desired to obtain his services, but he did not + communicate his desire to Mr. Trench himself, though nothing + would seem easier. It was first conveyed by Lieut.-General + Porter, the confidential <span class="pagenum"><a name="page391" + id="page391"></a>[pg 391]</span> friend of Lord Digby, and next + by Mr. Brewster, afterwards Lord Chancellor of Ireland. When the + police received a notice that the new landlord of Geashill would + certainly meet with a 'bloody death' if he persisted in his + threatened dealings with the tenants, there was no more time for + diplomatic delicacy in approaching Mr. Trench. The landlord's + extremity is Mr. Trench's opportunity. When leases are to be + broken, when independent rights are to be extinguished, or + 'contracted away,' when an overcrowded estate is to be thinned at + the least possible cost to the owner, when a rebellious tenantry + are to be subdued, and Ribbonmen are to be banished or hanged, + Mr. Trench is the man to do the work of improvement. He admits + that he never had before him an uglier job than this at Geashill, + and he had the worst apprehensions as to the danger of the + enterprise.</p> + + <p>It was nothing less than to break 120 leases, which had been + granted from time to time by the late Lord Digby during the sixty + years that he had enjoyed the property. The value of these leases + was 30,600<i>l.</i>, for the terms unexpired after his death. + Among those 120 leaseholders were the descendants of English + settlers, gentlemen farmers, one of them a magistrate, and a + number of substantial yeomen, the sort of men the country so much + wanted to form an independent middle class. But to an 'improving + landlord,' the existence of such a class on his estate is + intolerable. At all hazards they must be made tenants-at-will, + and brought completely under his control.</p> + + <p>They had built houses and planted trees; they had reclaimed + the deep bog and converted it into good arable land. They had + employed the peasantry, and given them plots of ground, and, more + than all, they had allowed a number of families to squat on bits + of bog by the roadside, where they lived as well as they could; + working when there was a demand for labour, cutting turf and + selling it in the neighbouring town of Tullamore, and perhaps + carrying on some little dealings. At all events they had survived + the famine; and there they were in 1857 with their huts standing + on <span class="pagenum"><a name="page392" id="page392"></a>[pg + 392]</span> their 'estates,' for they had paid no rent for twenty + years, and they had as good a title in law as Lord Digby himself. + Mr. Trench seems to have been horrified at not finding the names + of these householders in the rent-books of the estate! The + idea!—that there should be within the four corners of the + King's County, even on the bog of Allen, a number of natives + holding land, without a landlord! It was monstrous. But as they + could not be evicted for non-title, they were all severally + tempted by the offer of money, in sums varying from 5<i>l.</i> to + 20<i>l.</i> each, to sell their freeholds to the landlord. Pity + they were not preserved as a remnant of the antediluvian period, + ere the ancient tenures were merged in floods of blood. Like a + bit of primitive forest, they would be more interesting to some + minds than the finest modern plantation.</p> + + <p>It was not so easy to deal with the 120 leaseholders. To what + extent they had improved their farms before they got the leases, + Mr. Trench does not say. But as the absentee landlord had done + nothing, and spent nothing, whatever increase to the value had + been made was undoubtedly the work of the tenants; and after the + leases were obtained, they would naturally feel more confidence + in the investment of their savings in the land. However that may + be, a professional man, employed by Lord Digby, estimated the + value over and above the reserved rent at 30,600<i>l.</i>, which + sum the new landlord proposed to put into his own pocket, by + increasing the rent one-third. The plea for this sweeping + confiscation was, that the late Lord Digby, cousin to the + present, had only a life interest in the Irish estate, and + therefore, the leases were all illegal and worthless. Accordingly + the new lord commenced proceedings to evict the whole of the + tenantry for non-title. They were astounded. They held meetings; + they deliberated; they appealed to the landlord; they appealed to + the executors of the late peer, who had large estates in England, + and died worth a million sterling in the funds, all of which he + willed away from the heir of his title and Irish estates. Says + Mr. Trench:—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page393" id= + "page393"></a>[pg 393]</span> + + <p>'It may readily be supposed that circumstances so peculiar as + these created considerable anxiety in the district. The tenantry, + <i>many</i> of them large and respectable land-holders, now + learned, for the first time, that their leases were good for + nothing in law. They had been duly 'signed, sealed, and + delivered' to them under a full belief on their part that the + contract was not only just and honourable, but also perfectly + legal; and their feelings may be imagined when they found that + they were suddenly threatened with a total loss of the property + which they had always looked upon as secure.'<a id= + "footnotetag46" name="footnotetag46"></a><a href= + "#footnote46"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>Pending the ejectment proceedings, they were knocked about + from post to pillar, without getting any satisfaction. The + landlord referred them to the executors, although he knew well + they had no legal claim on them whatever, and that to legal + claims only could they pay any attention. The executors again + referred them to their landlord, who was determined to break the + leases, come what would. Now, if the Irish law regulating the + relations of landlord and tenant were based upon justice and + equity, the wrong done by the late earl, if any, was a wrong for + which the tenants should in no way be held responsible. The wrong + was done to the heir-at-law. To him, and not to the tenants, + compensation should have been made by the executors. And after + all, it was really to him that the money was advanced to buy up + the leases, in order to save him from assassination, for the + tenants had no legal claim upon them.</p> + + <p>The natural, proper, and honest course, then, for the + landlord, was to have kept the 30,600<i>l.</i> as compensation to + himself for the mistake of his predecessor, and to let the leases + stand. If he considered the peace of the country, if he wished to + inspire in the minds of the people respect for the rights of + property, or confidence in the Government, he would not have + adopted the desperate course of breaking 120 contracts, kindling + the flames of agitation, and planting Ribbon lodges all over a + district hitherto peaceful and tranquil. <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page394" id="page394"></a>[pg 394]</span> But + he was bent on crushing the independent yeomanry into the abject + condition of tenants-at-will. To carry out this purpose, Mr. + Trench was indispensable. He knew how to tame the wild Irish. And + Mr. Trench was equal to the occasion. He went to reside a few + weeks at Tullamore, to reconnoitre the enemy's position. He + writes as if this was the first time he made acquaintance with + the estate. But his own residence was in the Queen's County, not + far off; and there is good reason to believe that he knew all + about Geashill long before; and all about every estate belonging + to an English absentee in the four provinces; for he had, growing + up around him, a young generation of land-agents, trained in all + the arts of modern management, and one of the ablest of these, + his son, Mr. T.W. Trench, became his partner in this agency. Mr. + Trench's tactics are not new, though he excels all men in their + skilful application. His plan, adopted on all occasions, is to + divide and conquer. Violent measures being dangerous and contrary + to his own feelings, he trusts to diplomacy, dealing with + individuals, taken separately into a private room, where his + irresistible personal fascination invariably brings matters to a + satisfactory issue.</p> + + <p>In this case, he went over to the English executors, and + persuaded them to advance the 30,600<i>l.</i> to be distributed + among the tenants, under the guarantee of Lord Digby that this + sum would cover all possible claims. Thus provided with funds, he + summoned the tenants, not all, but ten of the most influential, + to meet him at Geashill. He left this meeting, purposely, to the + last day and the last hour, as a piece of generalship. He + says:—</p> + + <p>'They appeared puzzled and anxious, and very uncertain what to + do. At length one of them proposed that they should do nothing + until they had had an opportunity of consulting the remainder of + the leaseholders, of whom there were upwards of 120 upon the + estate.</p> + + <p>'"No," replied I, "you must come to a decision now; there is a + messenger at the door on horseback, to ride to the telegraph + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page395" id="page395"></a>[pg + 395]</span> station at Portarlington to stop the English + witnesses coming over. This must be done within an hour, or they + will start for Ireland, and <i>then</i> it will be out of my + power to stop the lawsuit. You must determine <i>now</i>, each + man for himself, or the lawsuit must go on."</p> + + <p>'"Will you state the amount of money you will give to each of + us?" asked one of the party.</p> + + <p>'"Certainly," replied I, "if you will <i>each come separately + with me into another room</i>."</p> + + <p>'They did so. I named to each an amount something less than + the sum set down by the notary, partly as a reserve, lest any + tenants holding under these leaseholders should afterwards + require to be paid, and partly lest it might be supposed we were + yielding to a legal claim already granted. After a little + consideration, they all severally signed the consent for + judgment.'</p> + + <p>The other leaseholders followed. The leases were all + surrendered, and the holders became tenants-at-will. I had the + pleasure of meeting one of the most influential of them a short + time ago at Geashill—a fine tall, patriarchal-looking + gentleman, the representative of one of the English settlers. He + was waiting about humbly and patiently for an opportunity of + speaking to the young agent, who is as courteous and kind as he + is efficient. But I could not help reflecting how different would + be the bearing of the tenant if he had been still in possession + of his lease! His dwelling-house was not as grand as the stylish + villa which the landlord has erected beside it. But every stick + and stone about the place were his own property. So also were the + old timber trees, which his ancestors planted. But now every + stick and stone and tree belong to Lord Digby, and as such the + agent exhibits them to visitors—the buildings, the gardens, + the trees, the hedges, the rich pasture fields, all having such a + look of comfort and independence. I asked, 'Did you ever know a + place like this old home of yours to have been made by a + tenant-at-will?' He answered in the negative.</p> + + <p>The tenant on an 'improved estate' must be very careful + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page396" id="page396"></a>[pg + 396]</span> about his speech. An agent has a hundred eyes and a + hundred ears. People who seek 'favours' at the office, find it + useful to be spies upon their neighbours, to detect violations of + the 'rules of the estate.' It is mainly through the spy-system + that Mr. Steuart Trench, according to his own avowal, won most of + his victories over refractory tenants. For example, on this + estate he had a woman acting as a spy at the meetings of the + Ribbonmen; and he boasted that a dog could not bark at Farney + without his knowledge. I refer to this matter here again for the + purpose of saying that I cannot regard as an improvement of the + country a system which establishes a despot on every estate, + which degrades the tenant into a day-labourer, which—land + being limited and scarce—substitutes the old, barbarous, + pastoral system for tillage, which banishes the poor and enslaves + the rich. Lord Digby levelled cottages, gardens, farms, manured + the land, got an enormous crop, which in one year paid all the + expenses; and then laid out the land in vast tracts of pasture, + for which he gets from 30<i>s.</i> to 40<i>s.</i> an acre. That + is improvement for <i>him</i>, but not for the people, not for + the country, not for the state, not for the Queen. It may crush + Ribbonism. But for every Ribbonman crushed, a hundred Fenians + spring up; and disaffection becomes not a mere local plague, but + an endemic. Mr. Trench gives a significant hint to other + landlords to follow the example of Lord Digby, assuring them that + it will '<i>pay</i>.'</p> + + <p>A still more flagrant case of lease-breaking occurred some + years ago in the county of Galway. Dr. Hancock has put the facts + of this case before the Government in his recent + report:—</p> + + <p>'The plaintiff was the Rev. Dr. O'Fay, parish priest of + Craughwell, in the county of Galway, and the defendant the + landlord on whose estate the priest resided. About ten years ago + the priest was induced to take a farm that had been held by a + former parish priest; the previous proprietor, the father of the + defendant, promising a lease for three lives, or thirty-one + years. After the priest entered into <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page397" id="page397"></a>[pg 397]</span> + possession the landlord ascertained that he could not fulfil his + promise.</p> + + <p>'As he did not possess such a power under the terms of the + estate settlement, he offered, instead, a lease for the priest's + own life, and 20<i>l.</i> to aid in building a house. The priest + continued in possession of the farm, and paid the rent agreed on, + thus, as he alleged, accepting the arrangement proposed. He was + on excellent terms with the landlord, and expended 70<i>l.</i> in + permanent improvements, and did not ask for the 20<i>l.</i> which + the landlord had promised. In 1854 the landlord died, and his + son, the defendant, succeeded to the property. He gave notice to + all his yearly tenants of an intention to raise their rents. The + priest claimed to have a promise of a lease, and the agent of the + property, during the landlord's absence abroad, admitted this + claim, and did not raise the rent. The landlord said he had no + notice of his father's promise; he, however, allowed the priest + to remain in possession, and the priest expended 400<i>l.</i> in + buildings, on the faith that he would not be disturbed. A dispute + subsequently arose about trespass, and the fences on the boundary + between the priest's farm and some land in the possession of the + landlord. The landlord served notice to quit, and brought an + ejectment. After some delay judgment was given in his favour, + subject to an application to the Court of Chancery to compel him + to fulfil his father's promise of a lease.'</p> + + <p>The Master of the Rolls thus characterised the law which + justifies the robbery of the tenants by unscrupulous and + vindictive landlords:—</p> + + <p>'Even if the Rev. Dr. O'Fay had no claim except as tenant from + year to year, I have no hesitation in stating that, although in + point of law on the authorities I have referred to, and + particularly the case of Felling <i>v.</i> Armitage, the + petitioner's suit could not be sustained, <i>yet noticing can be + more repugnant to the principles of natural justice than that a + landlord should look on at a great expenditure carried on by a + tenant from year to year, without warning the tenant of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page398" id="page398"></a>[pg + 398]</span> his intention to turn him out of possession</i>. The + defendant's offer to allow Dr. O'Fay to remove the buildings was + a mockery. <i>I have no jurisdiction to administer equity in the + natural sense of that term, or I should have no difficulty + whatever in making a decree against the defendant.</i> I am bound + to administer an artificial system, established by the decisions + of eminent judges, such as Lord Eldon and Sir William Grant, and + <i>being so bound, I regret much that I must administer injustice + in this case, and dismiss the petition</i>, but I shall dismiss + it without costs. <i>I should be very glad for the sake of + justice that my decision should be reversed by the Court of + Appeal.</i>'</p> + + <p>Lest it might be supposed that this was the opinion of a + single judge, we find in the Court of Appeal equally strong views + stated:—It was thrown out that it was a case for amicable + settlement, but the respondent's counsel assured the Court that + his client 'had resolved to spend his fortune, if necessary, in + resisting the claim of the Rev. Dr. O'Fay.' Lord Justice + Blackburne pronounced this to be a very irrational determination, + although he had to decide that the claim could not be sustained + in law or equity.</p> + + <p>Lord Chancellor Napier, in concluding his judgment, + said:—</p> + + <p>'I think I am not overstepping my duty in suggesting to the + respondent, that, under all the circumstances of this case, he + will best maintain the character and honour of a British officer, + satisfy the exigencies of justice, and uphold the rights of + property, by making <i>such an arrangement</i> with Dr. O'Fay, as + to the possession of this farm, <i>as may leave him the full + benefit of an expenditure made in good faith, and with the + reasonable expectation of having the full benefit of it + sufficiently secured by an undisturbed possession</i>.'</p> + + <p>It is a favourite theory with the new school of agents and + improving landlords, that long leases cause bad cultivation; in + other words, that industry prospers best where there is no + security that you can reap what you have sown, except + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page399" id="page399"></a>[pg + 399]</span> the honour of a man whose interest it is to + appropriate the fruits of your labours, which he can + <i>legally</i> do. Now, in every class and profession, there are + failures,—persons that are good for nothing, indolent, + improvident, and thriftless. If such a man has a long lease at a + low rent, he may be overwhelmed in debt, and leave his land in + very bad condition. Others may imitate their aristocratic + superiors in their contempt for labour and their habits of + expenditure, and so get into a state of hopeless poverty on a + good estate. If there are cases where industrious sober men are + the worse for having an old lease, it should be remembered that + the most insecure of all tenures is a lease dependent on a single + bad life, which may drop at any hour. But there are other causes + of the facts urged against long tenures, for which the + legislature is responsible, not the unimproving tenant. Dr. + Hancock explains this point very satisfactorily:—</p> + + <p>'Instances of bad cultivation and neglect of improvements, + where long leases exist, are sometimes brought forward to show + the inutility of tenure as a security for capital, and the + strange economic theory is propounded that a precarious interest + is more favourable to the investment of capital than a secure + one. As well might the state of landed property in Ireland before + the Incumbered Estates Court was established be adduced as an + argument against property in land. The remedy, however, which the + legislature applied to incumbered estates of large proprietors + was not to destroy property in land, but simply to secure its + prompt, cheap, and effectual transfer to solvent hands.</p> + + <p>'For tenants' interests under leases where the value is small, + and where the interests have become complicated, the Landed + Estates Court is too expensive, and so these interests remain + often for years untransferred, in the hands of some one who has a + very limited and often uncertain interest in them. Such a + leaseholder is deterred from making improvements by the state of + the law which deprives him of the entire value of his + improvements if anyone should disturb <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page400" id="page400"></a>[pg 400]</span> him + under a prior charge or claim, however obscure or unknown, + affecting his interest. The remedy is to be found in an extension + of the principle of the Record of Title Act to the local registry + of small leasehold interests, and in the providing for the local + sale of such interests in a cheap manner, with an absolute + title.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote46" name="footnote46"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag46">(return)</a> + + <p>'Realities of Irish Life,' p. 314.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page401" id= + "page401"></a>[pg 401]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> + + <h3>THE LAND SYSTEM AND THE WORKING CLASSES.</h3> + + <p>We have been told over and over again that the business of + Ireland, and all its improvements, requiring education and + integrity, are carried on 'by the Protestants, by whose + intelligence, and labour, mental and bodily, its prosperity, such + as it is, has been produced.' This assertion has been made with + great confidence, by many writers and speakers. It is a gross + exaggeration, and absurd as it is gross. I say nothing of the + unseemly egotism of a dominant caste, thus parading its own + merits, flaunting its plumes, strutting and crowing over the + common folk—of this pharisaic spirit of the ascendant + Protestant, standing close to the altar, reciting to God and the + world the number of his resplendent virtues, and scornfully + contrasting his excellent moral condition with the degraded + Catholic—the vile publican and sinner, overwhelmed with + enormous guilt. These monopolising Pharisees, who laboured at + such a rate to assert their natural superiority, as the + favourites of Heaven, and members of the Sovereign's church, over + a race which England enabled them to subjugate and impoverish, + have found no trumpeter so loud as Master Fitzgibbon, a chancery + judge. In the same spirit the last census has been analysed by + one of the ablest defenders of the Irish establishment, the Rev. + Dr. Hume, of Liverpool, in order to prove that everything good in + Ireland has been done by the Protestants, and everything bad by + the Catholics. But he does not state fairly the conditions of the + race. He does not state that one of the competitors had been + master for <span class="pagenum"><a name="page402" id= + "page402"></a>[pg 402]</span> centuries, well-fed, well-trained, + possessed of all advantages which give strength, skill, courage, + and confidence, while the other was ill-fed, untrained, + enfeebled, and <i>over-weighted</i>, having to work out of + himself the slavish spirit which oppression had produced, and to + gain, by extra efforts, the skill which the law had forbidden him + to acquire. Nevertheless the Catholics have acquired skill, and + the extent to which the empire is dependent on their knowledge of + the industrial arts is much greater than many people suppose. Of + the farming class in Ireland, 76 per cent. are Roman Catholics. + But we are indebted to the obnoxious race in other respects than + as producers of food.</p> + + <p>From the classification of occupations and professions, we + learn that the Roman Catholics bear the following proportions to + the Protestants of all denominations.</p> + + <table summary="" align="center" cellspacing="20"> + <tr align="center"> + <th>Persons employed in the manufacture of:</th> + + <th colspan="2">Roman Catholics.</th> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Skin clothing</td> + + <td align="right">.77</td> + + <td align="center">per cent.</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Woollen do.</td> + + <td align="right">.88</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Flax do.</td> + + <td align="right">.43</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Cotton do.</td> + + <td align="right">.53</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Straw do.</td> + + <td align="right">.66</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Silk do.</td> + + <td align="right">.66</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Miscellaneous do.</td> + + <td align="right">.67</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In producing furniture</td> + + <td align="right">.84</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In unclassed industrial employments</td> + + <td align="right">.84</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In amusements</td> + + <td align="right">.80</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In architecture</td> + + <td align="right">.78</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In making machinery</td> + + <td align="right">.76</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In conveyance and travelling</td> + + <td align="right">.73</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In literature and education</td> + + <td align="right">.56</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In charity and benevolence</td> + + <td align="right">.52</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In health</td> + + <td align="right">.50</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In science and art</td> + + <td align="right">.47</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In justice and government</td> + + <td align="right">.46</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">In banking and agency</td> + + <td align="right">.40</td> + + <td align="center">"</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>There are other suggestive figures in the census, bearing on + this question. While three-fourths of the farmers are Catholics, + three-fourths of the land-agents are Protestants, who, as a rule, + have an unconquerable antipathy to the Catholic clergy, as the + only obstacle to their absolute power <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page403" id="page403"></a>[pg 403]</span> over + the tenants, with whom they find it hard to sympathise. Of farm + labourers and domestic servants, nine out of ten belong to the + race supposed by some to be incapable of virtue and loyalty. + Again, of the whole British army of all ranks, 37 per cent. are + Irishmen, and of these Irish soldiers, 67 per cent. are + Catholics. More than three-fourths of the magistrates are + Protestants; and they bear about the same proportion on the grand + juries. According to the theory and practice of the constitution, + all power, legislative and administrative, must be based on the + ownership of land. The rate-payers have a voice indeed, but it is + generally nothing but an echo of the landlord's voice; what else + can it be when they are tenants-at-will, depending on the mercy + of the proprietor for the means of existence? In county offices, + the Protestants have an overwhelming majority. It is the same in + all the offices filled by government patronage, except the judges + of the superior courts. There Catholics are in the majority, + because they had obtained seats in the House of Commons.</p> + + <p>On the boards of guardians the mass of the poor might expect + that a majority of guardians would be prompted by national and + religious feeling to sympathise with them, so that they would + find in the master and matron, the doctor and the relieving + officer, something like the natural tenderness which a common + kindred and creed inspire. But half the guardians are + <i>ex-officio</i> members, as magistrates; nearly all landlords + and Protestants. They have in addition 'property votes,' and + 'residence votes;' so that, with their influence over the + elections, they are generally able to pack the board; and in that + case the officials are almost invariably Protestants and + conservatives. I know a union in which three-fourths of the + rate-payers are Roman Catholics; and yet, with the utmost efforts + of the priests, they were not able to elect a single Catholic + guardian. To meet the landlord pressure, some of the rate-payers + were required to sign their voting papers in presence of their + pastors, yet so terrible was that pressure that they afterwards + took them <span class="pagenum"><a name="page404" id= + "page404"></a>[pg 404]</span> to the agent's office, and, to make + assurance doubly sure, tore them up before his face. I have been + told by a priest, that such is the mortal dread of eviction, or + of a permanent fine in the form of increased rent, that he had + known tenants who, when produced in the witness-box, denied on + oath acts of oppression of which they had been bitterly + complaining to himself, and which he well knew to be facts.</p> + + <p>Thus the land-war rages at every board of guardians, in every + dispensary, in every grand jury room, at every petty sessions, in + every county court, in every public institution throughout the + kingdom. The land-agent is the commanding officer, his office is + a garrison, dominating the surrounding district. He is able, in + most cases, to defy the confessional and the altar; because he + wields an engine of terror generally more powerful over the mind + of the peasantry than the terrors of the world to come. Armed + with the 'rules of the estate' and with a notice to quit, the + agent may have almost anything he demands, short of possession of + the farm and the home of the tenant. The notice to quit is like a + death warrant to the family. It makes every member of it tremble + and agonise, from the grey-headed grandfather and grandmother, to + the bright little children, who read the advent of some impending + calamity in the gloomy countenances and bitter words of their + parents. The passion for the possession of land is the chord on + which the agent plays, and at his touch it vibrates with 'the + deepest notes of woe.' By the agent of an improving landlord it + is generally touched so cunningly, that its most exquisite + torture cannot easily be proved to be a grievance. He presents an + alternative to the tenant; he does less than the law allows. He + could strike a mortal blow, but he lends a helping hand. + Resistance entails ruin; compliance secures friendship. Give up + the old <i>status</i>, and accept a new one: cease to stand upon + <i>right</i>, consent to hang upon <i>mercy</i>, and all may be + well.</p> + + <p>Passing a cottage by the road-side, one of the kindest and + best of those agents said to me, 'See with what infatuation these + people cling to their old places! There is a man in <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page405" id="page405"></a>[pg 405]</span> that + dilapidated cabin, with only one acre of ground. It is an + eyesore. I have offered him a nice new slated cottage with ten + acres, within a short distance, and he obstinately refuses to + quit.'</p> + + <p>Why did he refuse? I suppose, because the place was <i>his + own</i>. The house was probably built by his father; it is the + house in which he was born, endeared to him, no doubt, by many + powerful associations, little appreciated by those who never + condescend to read the 'simple annals of the poor.' He felt, that + if, like his neighbours, he moved into a house built by the + landlord, he would cease to be a free man, and would pass under + the yoke of a <i>master.</i> I was with some visitors in one of + the new cottages. The wife of the cottier with smiles assented to + all that was said as to the neatness and comfort of the place. I + thought the smiles were forced. I was last in going out, and I + heard her heave a heavy sigh. Perhaps she longed for the old home + and its freedom, envying the lot of the sturdy peasant to whom I + have alluded. Poor fellow! he must give way at last. But his + proud manhood is the stuff of which Hampdens are made.</p> + + <p>I have devoted much time and attention to personal enquiries + from town to town, from village to village, and from house to + house, seeking corroborative evidence from men of all ranks and + professions, on the effect of the <i>Improved Land System</i> on + the working classes, and I will here faithfully record as briefly + as possible the result of my enquiries. I must premise a few + words as to the principles of the system which is called + 'English.'</p> + + <p>1. There is the principle of <i>contract</i>, by which alone + any tenant is to be permitted to occupy land. There is to be no + foothold in the island, from the centre all round to the sea, + from the top of the highest mountain to the shore at + low-water-mark, for any Irishman in his native land, unless he + obtains it by contract from a landlord and pays for it.</p> + + <p>2. There is the principle of <i>compensation</i> for + unexhausted improvements at the rate of five or six per cent. on + the outlay, provided the improvements have been made with + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page406" id="page406"></a>[pg + 406]</span> the knowledge and consent of the landlord. A certain + number of years is held to be sufficient to recoup the tenant for + his outlay. If he is removed before that time he is entitled to + the balance of his invested capital; just as if the relation were + strictly commercial, and as if he had no further claim than his + percentage. If the landlord makes the improvement—which he + prefers doing, on the new system—he requires the tenant to + pay at the rate of four to six per cent. in the form of + rent—a clear gain to the landlord, who can borrow money on + much lower terms, and can hardly invest his capital so profitably + or so safely elsewhere.</p> + + <p>3. <i>Absenteeism</i> is no disadvantage or loss to the + country. This principle is in great favour with the agents. There + is no theme on which they are so eloquent or so argumentative. In + the absence of the landlord the agent is all-powerful. What the + Irish lord deputy was to the Tudors and Stuarts, the Irish agent + now is to the great absentee proprietor residing in London or + Paris. He will undertake to demonstrate that the West-end of + London would be just as prosperous if the Queen and her court + resided constantly at Balmoral or Killarney; if the parliament + met alternately in Edinburgh and Dublin, and if the government + offices were all at Liverpool. With the blessing of absenteeism, + houses in London would be built as fast, and would bring as high + rents; trade would be as brisk, artizans of all sorts as well + paid, life as happy, and the Londoners as well content. The + Irish, however, have, in their ignorance of political economy, + conceived the idea, that if the millions sterling sent annually + out of the country to London were spent among those by whose + labour the money is made, there would be more employment for all + sorts of tradesmen, more business for the shopkeepers, more + opportunities of advancement for the farmers' sons, more houses + built, more trees planted, more land reclaimed, more factories + established, more money stirring, more wealth, more life, more + enjoyment, an immense increase of national prosperity. The agents + say that this is all a delusion.</p><span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page407" id="page407"></a>[pg 407]</span> + + <p>4. The next principle of the new agents is this—and to + carry it out is the aim of all their improvements—that + their mission is to produce the greatest amount of rent from the + smallest number of tenants.</p> + + <p>5. To reduce the population by <i>emigration</i> or other + means until there is barely a sufficient number of labourers to + attend the agricultural machines, and herd the cattle.</p> + + <p>6. To discourage <i>marriage</i> in every possible way, and to + diminish pauperism till there shall be no further use of the + workhouses but to serve as lying-in hospitals for the thrifty + spinsters, as they do in Cumberland and Westmoreland—where + the arrangement seems the most natural thing in the world. It is + certainly not an unnatural consequence of the practice of men and + women sleeping in the same apartment.</p> + + <p>Now let us see the working of this new system in Ireland; for + it is at work more or less extensively in all the four provinces. + The rules of the estate, when rigidly enforced, as they generally + are by the improving agents, tend steadily, powerfully, to break + down the small farmers. They are disappearing by thousands every + year. Some take their chance across the Atlantic. Others fall + into the condition of labourers, and may earn 2<i>s.</i> a day on + the estate. This will last for awhile until the land is drained, + manured, and turned into permanent pasture. Then their occupation + is gone. There is nothing more for them to do. There is no place + for them, no room, no support in their native land. The grass + will grow without their labour, and the bullocks will fatten + without their care.</p> + + <p>We are constantly hearing of the immense rise in wages since + the famine. Well, they are nominally higher, but in the old times + the labourer could get more for 8<i>d.</i> or 10<i>d.</i> than he + can now get for 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> or 2<i>s.</i> Fuel is now + three times as dear as it was, because the 'rules of the estate' + will not allow the tenants to sell turf even on the verge of + extensive bogs. Milk, which was formerly abundant and very cheap, + is scarcely to be had at all now in the country towns and + villages, because the land is devoted to feeding <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page408" id="page408"></a>[pg 408]</span> + sheep and 'dry cattle.' Under the old system, the cottiers in the + small towns and villages, as well as on the roads in the country, + were enabled to keep pigs. The pig paid the rent, and made manure + which was put out on the ground of some neighbouring farmer, + hired as 'conacre.' The crop of potatoes thus obtained was a + great help in the winter months, when employment was rarely to be + had. This practice still prevails in Ulster. The farmer puts in + the crop for the manure, the cottier paying the farmer's + rent—5<i>s.</i> to 10<i>s.</i> a rood, or whatever it may + be. With this help the family get over the winter, and feed the + pig, without which help, they say, it would be impossible to + exist, even with constant employment at a shilling a day. But on + the estates of improving landlords in the other provinces, the + rules forbid the tenant to give the use of any ground for + conacre. He must not, on pain of eviction, take manure for such a + purpose, though it would help to enrich his land for the ensuing + year. The evicted cottiers and small farmers are forced to go to + towns and villages, shut up in unwholesome rooms. When they have + been thus so far got rid of, the most ingenious devices are + resorted to in order to render it impossible for them to live. By + the 'rules of the estate,' the supply of necessaries is cut off + on every side. Without fuel, without milk, without potatoes, + unless bought at a high rate for ready money, how are they to + live? The strong members of the poor man's family emigrate or go + to service; the weak ones and the young children pine away in a + state of semi-starvation, preferring that to the best fare in the + hated workhouse.</p> + + <p>The people are fully sensible of the causes of these + privations. They know that they have been forced into this + condition by the landlords and their improving agents, induced in + some cases by the temptation of a few pounds to surrender their + little holdings. The lord lieutenant of the King's County has + thus cleared an immense district, and has himself become a + grazier and a cattle-dealer on a monster scale, attending the + markets in person, and driving hard <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page409" id="page409"></a>[pg 409]</span> + bargains with the farmers and jobbers. By such means the + population of that county has been reduced one-third in the last + twenty years. The moral aspect of this new system is worthy of + consideration. It is thus presented by Archdeacon Redmond of + Arklow, one of the most moderate and respected parish-priests in + Ireland. When lately presenting an address to Lord Granard from + his Wexford tenantry, he said:—</p> + + <p>'I have always heard the house of Forbes eulogised for its + advocacy of civil and religious liberty, and the name of Grogan + Morgan has become a household word through this county as one of + the best landlords in Ireland. He never broke down a rooftree + during or since the terrible famine. Under his fostering care + they have all tided over the calamitous time, and are happy and + prosperous in their homes. He did not think his estate + overcrowded, nor did he avail himself of the mysterious + destruction of the fruits of the earth, to clear off beings made + in God's image, and to drive them to the poorhouse, the + fever-shed, or the emigrant ship, to whiten the bottom of the sea + with their bones, or to face the moral and physical perils of the + transatlantic cities. He did not read his bible, like Satan, + backwards, nor did he turn out the Son of God in the person of + His poor. Hence his name is in benediction, and his estates are + more prosperous than the estates of those who forget God in their + worldly wisdom, and would seem to have no belief in a judgment to + come. What a happiness it is, my Lord and Lady Granard, for you + to have such a heritage, and to know that you live in the hearts + of your tenantry, who would spill the last drop of their blood to + shield you and your dear children from hurt and harm!'</p> + + <p>Let it not be supposed that such sentiments are peculiar to + the Catholic clergy, or that their causes exist only in the south + and west. The Rev. Dr. Drew, a rector in the county Down, an + Orange chaplain, a veteran champion of Protestantism and Toryism, + but an honourable and humane man, wrote the following letter last + autumn:—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page410" id= + "page410"></a>[pg 410]</span> + + <p>If the magnificent lecture of Mr. Butt had done nothing more + than elicit this letter from Dr. Drew, it would have been much. + But will not the thoughts of many hearts be revealed in the same + manner? What a number of plain-speaking Drews we shall have + denouncing tyranny when their consciences are relieved from the + incubus of the Establishment!</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>To Isaac Butt, Esq., LL.D.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>'My dear Butt—If every other man in the world + entertained doubts of my sincerity, you, at least, would give me + credit for honesty and just intentions. I write to you + accordingly, because my mind has been stirred to its inmost + depths by the perusal of your address in my native city of + Limerick. I do not regard the subject of your address as a + political one. It ought to be regarded solely as a question of + humanity, justice, common sense, and common honesty. I wish my + lot had never been cast in rural places. As a clergyman I hear + what neither landlords nor agents ever hear. I see the depression + of the people; their sighs and groans are before me. They are + brought so low as often to praise and glorify those who, in their + secret hearts, are the objects of abhorrence. All this came out + gradually before me. Nor did I feel as I ought to feel in their + behalf until, in my own person and purse, I became the victim of + a system of tyranny which cries from earth to heaven for relief. + Were I to narrate my own story it would startle many of the + Protestants of Ireland. There are good landlords—never a + better than the late Lord Downshire, or the living and beloved + Lord Roden. But there are too many of another state of feeling + and action. There are estates in the north where the screw is + never withdrawn from its circuitous and oppressive work. + Tenant-right is an unfortunate and delusive affair, simply + because it is almost invariably used to the landlord's advantage. + Here we have an election in prospect, and in many counties no + farmer will be permitted to think or <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page411" id="page411"></a>[pg 411]</span> act + for himself. What right any one man has to demand the surrender + of another's vote, I never could see. It is an act of sheer + felony—a perfect "stand-and-deliver" affair. To hear a man + slavishly and timorously say, "I must give my votes as the + landlord wishes," is an admission that the legislature, which + bestowed the right of voting on the tenant, should not see him + robbed of his right, or subsequently scourged or banished from + house and land, because he disregarded a landlord's nod, or the + menace of a land agent. At no little hazard of losing the + friendship of some who are high and good and kind, I write as I + now do.—Yours, my dear Butt, very sincerely,</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'THOMAS DREW.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Dundrum, Clough, County Down,</p> + + <p>September 7, 1868.'</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Some resident landlords employ a considerable number of + labourers, to each of whom they give an excellent cottage, an + acre of land, and the grass of a cow, with work all the year + round at seven shillings a week. The tenants are most comfortable + and most grateful, while the praise of those landlords is in the + mouths of the peasantry all round the country. But these + considerate landlords are in a minority. As a rule, on the + estates where the improvement system is going on, where farms are + being consolidated, and grazing supersedes tillage, an iron + pressure weighs upon the labouring classes, crushing them out of + the country. It is a cold, hard, calculating, far-reaching system + of inhumanity, which makes the peasant afraid to harbour his own + flesh and blood. It compels the grandmother to shut the door in + the face of the poor homeless orphan, lest the improving agent + should hear of the act of sheltering him from the pitiless storm, + not more pitiless than the agent himself. The system of terrorism + established by the threats of eviction de-humanizes a people + remarkable for their hospitality to the poor. Mr. Thomas Crosbie, + of Cork, a gentleman whom I believe to be as truthful and + honourable as any agent in Ireland, gives <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page412" id="page412"></a>[pg 412]</span> + appalling illustrations of this in his account of 'The Lansdowne + Estates,' published in 1858. Mr. Trench has given the English + public several pretty little romances about these estates; but he + omitted some realities that ought to have impressed themselves + upon his memory as deeply as any of his adventures. Mr. Crosbie + found that the 'rules of the estate,' which were rigidly + enforced, forbid tenants to build houses for their labourers, + 'the consequence of which was that men and women servants, no + matter how great the number, must live under one roof.' The rules + forbid marriage without the agent's permission. A young couple + got married, and were chased away to America; and 'the two + fathers-in-law were not merely warned; they were punished for + harbouring their son and daughter, by a fine of a gale of rent.' + It was a rule 'that no stranger be lodged or harboured in any + house upon the estate, lest he should become sick or idle, or in + some way chargeable upon the poor-rates.' 'Several were warned + and punished for giving lodging to a brother-in-law, a daughter,' + &c. 'A poor widow got her daughter married without the + necessary permission; she was served with a notice to quit, which + was withdrawn on the payment of three gales of rent.' Mr. Crosbie + gives a number of cases of the kind. The following are the most + remarkable. A tenant, Timothy Sullivan, of Derrynabrack, + occasionally gave lodging to his sister-in-law, whilst her + husband was seeking for work. He was afraid to lodge both or + either; 'but the poor woman was in low fever, and approaching her + confinement. Even under such circumstances his terror was so + great that he removed her to a temporary shed on Jeremiah + Sullivan's land, where she gave birth to a child. She remained + there for some time. When "the office" heard of it, Jeremiah + Sullivan was sent for and compelled to pay a gale of rent (as + fine), and to throw down the shed. Thus driven out, and with + every tenant on the estate afraid to afford her a refuge, the + miserable woman went about two miles up the mountain, and, sick + as she was, and so situated, took shelter in a dry <i>cavern</i>, + in which she <span class="pagenum"><a name="page413" id= + "page413"></a>[pg 413]</span> lived for several days. But her + presence even there was a crime, and a mulct of another gale of + rent was levied off Jeremiah Sullivan. Thus, within three weeks + he was compelled to pay two gales of 3<i>l.</i> 2<i>s.</i> + 6<i>d.</i> each. It was declared also that the mountain being the + joint property of Jeremiah Sullivan, Timothy Sullivan, and Thady + Sullivan, Timothy Sullivan was a participator in the crime, and + should be fined a gale of rent. The third, it appears, escaped.' + 'S.G.O.' narrated another horrifying case in the <i>Times</i>, at + the period of its occurrence, in 1851. Abridged, it runs + thus:—'An order had gone forth on the estate (a common + order in Ireland) that no tenant was to admit any lodger into his + house. This was a general order. It appears, however, that + sometimes special orders were given; and one was promulgated that + Denis Shea should not be harboured. This boy had no father + living. He had lived with a grandmother, who had been turned out + of her holding for harbouring him. He had stolen a shilling, a + hen—done such things as a neglected twelve-year-old + famishing child will do. One night he came to his aunt Donoghue, + who lodged with Casey. The latter told the aunt and uncle not to + allow him into the house, as the agent's drivers had given orders + about him. The aunt beat him away with a pitchfork, the uncle + tied his hands with cord behind his back. The poor child crawls + to the door of a neighbour, and tries to get in. The uncle is + called to take him away, and he does so. He yet returns with + hands still tied behind, having been severely beaten. The child + seeks refuge in other cabins; but all were forbidden to shelter + him. He is brought back by some neighbours in the night, who try + to force the sinking child in upon his relation. There is a + struggle at the door. The child was heard asking some one to put + him upright. In the morning there is blood upon the threshold. + The child is stiff dead—a corpse, with its arms tied; + around it every mark of a last fearful struggle for + shelter—food—the common rights of humanity.' Chief + Baron Pigot tried the case, and gave a statement of the facts in + his charge which <span class="pagenum"><a name="page414" id= + "page414"></a>[pg 414]</span> Mr. Trench ought to have quoted, as + a faithful recorder of 'realities.'</p> + + <p>'On the western estate, that of Cahirciveen, there was some + difference in the rules. If a son or daughter married, the father + was obliged to retire with an allowance of 'a cow's grass' or + grazing for his support. 'Only the newly married person will be + left on the land, or any portion of it, even though the farm + should contain 100 acres, or even though there should be two + farms. This arbitrary regulation operates injuriously in point of + morality, and keeps the land uncultivated. The people have to go + to Nedeen, a distance of forty or fifty miles, to get leave to + marry.'<a id="footnotetag47" name="footnotetag47"></a><a href= + "#footnote47"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + + <p>The Kenmare tenantry have recovered from the fearful shock of + the famine, after thousands of deaths from hunger, and thousands + shipped off to America at 4<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> a head. Mr. + Trench's son, Mr. Townshend Trench, the pictorial illustrator of + his father's book, is the acting agent, and an eloquent + propagandist of his father's principles. The young marquis paid a + visit to his tenantry in 1868, and he was almost worshipped. It + is gratifying to know that in a speech on that occasion he + promised to see and judge for himself.</p> + + <p>'I feel,' he said, 'that my visit to Kenmare has taught me a + valuable lesson. As you all know, I was called to my present + position at a very young age, and I felt when I came in for my + property that I had much to learn; and that is the reason why I + was so anxious to travel through the country, and study the + desires and comfort of the people. That will afford me occupation + for many a year to come, and it will afford me an occupation not + only interesting but pleasing. Nothing will do me a more hearty + pleasure than to see the marks of civilisation and progress in + Kenmare—and not alone in Kenmare, but in the whole country; + and I shall hail every manifestation of improvement with + delight.'</p> + + <p>Lord Lansdowne's system is beautiful, but it is unfinished. + Let him 'crown the edifice with <i>liberty</i>.' He <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page415" id="page415"></a>[pg 415]</span> + possesses a giant's power, and he uses it like an angel. When he + comes to trouble the waters, the multitude gathers around the + fountain to be healed. But his visits are, like angels' visits, + few and far between. Many of the sick and impotent folk, after + long waiting, are not able to get near till the miracle-worker + has departed. An absentee landlord, be he ever so good, must + delegate his power to an agent. Agents have good memories, and + their servants, the bailiffs, are good lookers-on. There is a + hierarchy in the heaven of landlordism—the under-bailiff, + the head-bailiff, the chief-clerk in the office, the sub-agent, + the head-agent. All these must be submissively approached and + anxiously propitiated before the petitioner's prayers can reach + the ears of Jove himself, seated aloft on his remote Olympian + throne. He may be, and for the most part really is—if he + belongs to the old stock of aristocratic + divinities—generous and gracious, incapable of meanness, + baseness, or cruelty. But the tenant has to do, not with the + absentee divinity, but with his priest—not with the good + spirit, but his medium; and this go-between is not always noble, + or disinterested, or unexacting. To him power may be new—a + small portion of it may intoxicate him, like alcohol on an empty + stomach. He was not born to an inheritance of sycophancy; it + comes like an <i>afflatus</i> upon him, and it turns his head. It + creates an appetite, like strong drink, which grows into a + disease. This appetite is as capricious as it is insatiable. + Hence, the chief characteristic of landlord power, as felt by the + tenant, is <i>arbitrariness</i>. The agent may make any rule he + pleases, and as many exceptions to every rule as he pleases. He + may allow rents to run in arrear; he may suddenly come down upon + the defaulter with 'a fell swoop;' he may require the rents to be + paid up to the day; he may, without reason assigned, call in 'the + hanging gale;' he may abate or increase the rents at will; he may + inflict fines for delay or give notices to quit for the sole + purpose of bringing in fees to his friend or relative, the + solicitor. But whatever he may choose to <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page416" id="page416"></a>[pg 416]</span> do, + the tenant has nothing for it but to submit; and he must submit + with a good grace. Woe to him if the agony of his spirit is + revealed in the working of his features, or in an audible groan! + Most of the poor fellows do submit, till their hearts are + broken—till the hot iron has entered their souls and seared + their consciences. When the <i>slave</i> is thus finished, the + agent and his journeymen are satisfied with their handiwork; + their 'honours' can then count on any sort of services they may + choose to exact—may bid defiance to the priest and the + agitator, and boast of an orderly and deserving tenantry devoted + to the best of landlords, who is their natural protector. It + would be wicked to interfere with these amicable persons. Why + talk about leases? The tenants will not have them; they don't + want security or independence by contract. So most of the agents + report—but not all. There are noble exceptions which + relieve the gloomy picture.</p> + + <p>There is certainly one disadvantage connected with a + settlement of the land question which would abolish the arbitrary + power of proprietors and their agents—it would put an end + to the romance of Irish landlordism. The Edgeworths, the Morgans, + the Banims, the Carletons, and the Levers would then be deprived + of the best materials for their fictions. The fine old family, + over-reached and ruined by a dishonest agent; the cruelly evicted + farmer, with his wife and children fever-stricken, and his + bedridden mother cast out on the roadside on Christmas Eve, + exposed to the pelting of the hailstorm, while their home was + unroofed and its walls levelled by the crowbar brigade; the once + comfortable but now homeless father making his way to London, and + trying day after day to present a petition in person to his + landlord, repulsed from the gate of the great house, and laughed + at for his frieze and brogue by pampered flunkeys. Then he + travels on foot to his lordship's country-seat, scores or + hundreds of miles—is taken up, and brought before the + magistrates as 'an Irish rogue and vagabond.' At length he meets + his lordship accidentally, and reveals to him the <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page417" id="page417"></a>[pg 417]</span> + system of iniquity that prevails on his Irish estate at Castle + Squander: Next we have the sudden and unexpected appearance of + the god of the soil at his agent's office, sternly demanding an + account of his stewardship. He gives ready audience to his + tenants, and fires with indignation at bitter complaints from the + parents of ruined daughters. Investigation is followed by the + ignominious eviction of the tyrannical and roguish agent and his + accomplices, a disgorging of their ill-gotten wealth, + compensation to plundered and outraged tenants, the liberal + distribution of poetical justice right and left.</p> + + <p>Many other agents have followed Mr. Trench's example in + forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from hospitality + and charity. An ejectment was lately obtained at the quarter + sessions in a southern county against a widow who had married + without leave, or married a different person from the one the + agent selected. But it is supposed that the threat of + assassination prevented a recourse to extremities in this and + other cases. For the people seem with one consent to have made a + desperate stand against this cruel tyranny. A landlord said to + me, 'No one in this part of the country would <i>presume</i> to + evict a tenant now from fear of assassination. <i>That</i> is the + tenant's security.'</p> + + <p>The wretched outcasts, whom 'improvement' has swept off the + estates, are crowded into cities and towns, without employment, + without food. Feeling bitterly their degradation and misery, and + taught to blame the Government, they become demoralized and + desperately disaffected. From these fermenting masses issues the + avenging scourge of Fenianism—'the pestilence that walketh + in darkness, and slayeth at noonday.'</p> + + <p>For my part, I cannot understand the meaning of improving a + country by disinheriting and banishing its inhabitants. I do not + understand men who say the population is too dense, and yet give + to one family a tract of land large enough to support ten + families, turning out the nine to make room for the one. A great + deal has been said about <span class="pagenum"><a name="page418" + id="page418"></a>[pg 418]</span> the evils of small farms. But + the most disturbed and impoverished parts of Ireland are those in + which the farms are largest; while the two most prosperous and + best ordered counties—Armagh and Wexford—are the + counties in which small farms most abound. I call a reluctant + witness, Master Fitzgibbon, to testify that when the Irish + tenant, be his holding ever so small, gets common justice and is + not subjected to caprice, he gives no trouble. That gentleman + informs us that there are 650 estates of all magnitudes, from + 100<i>l.</i> to 20,000<i>l.</i> a-year, under the control and + management of the court of chancery; the total rents of these + amount to 494,056<i>l.</i> a-year payable by 28,581 tenants. + These estates are in all parts of Ireland, not only in all the + provinces, but in all the counties, without exception; and, + according to Master Fitzgibbon, they fairly represent the + tenantry of the whole country. He has 452 of the estates under + his own jurisdiction, and the rents of these amount to + 330,809<i>l.</i>, paid by 18,287 tenants. He has now been ten + years in the office, during which 'the rents have been paid + without murmuring or complaints worth noticing.' 'The pressure of + legal remedies for these rents has been very little used; the + number of evictions absolutely trifling; and of between 400 and + 500 receivers, who collect these rents, <i>not one has ever been + assailed</i>, or interfered with, or threatened in the discharge + of his duty, as far as I have been able to discover; and I am the + person to whom the receiver should apply for redress if anything + of the kind occurred. It is very well known that my ears are open + to any just complaint from any tenant, and yet I am very seldom + appealed to, considering the great number of tenants; and + whenever a complaint is well-founded, it is promptly and + effectually redressed, at scarcely any expense of costs. I + believe the other three Masters would make substantially a + similar report to this in respect of the estates under their + jurisdiction.'</p> + + <p>Master Fitzgibbon proceeds to state that 'on one estate there + are 2,500 tenants, paying 13,000<i>l.</i>,—being an average + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page419" id="page419"></a>[pg + 419]</span> of 6<i>l.</i> a-year. This estate has been sold, and + three of the lots fetched over 30 years' purchase of the yearly + profit rents. The fourth lot is held by small cottiers, at rents + which average only 2<i>l.</i>, and this lot fetched 23 years' + purchase. This estate has been under a receiver for three years, + and there has never been one complaint from a tenant. What is + stated of this estate may be said of every one of them in all the + four provinces.' He adds: 'Clamour, agitation, or violence of any + kind I have never had to deal with amongst the tenantry of any + one of these estates since I came into office.'</p> + + <p>Another witness of larger views, and free from unhappy + prejudices against the majority of his countrymen—Mr. + Marcus Keane, agent to the Marquis of Conyngham—in a letter + to Colonel Vandeleur, M.P., lately gave the result of his + experience for thirty years as agent of several large estates, + and as a landlord, on the Irish land question. I submit his + suggestions to my readers, as eminently worthy of the + consideration of statesmen at the present time:—</p> + + <p>'The outline of measures submitted for your consideration + combines the very unusual recommendation of meeting, on the one + hand, with the approbation of some good landlords of the higher + class (who, like yourself, have long been practically + acknowledging the just claims of tenants), and, at the same time, + of satisfying the claims of many of the warmest advocates of the + tenant class. It is calculated to protect the farmers from + selfish landlords, whose conduct has tended much to produce the + serious disaffection that now prevails.</p> + + <p>'I need not burthen you with a lengthened recital of the facts + which render such legislation absolutely necessary to the + tranquillity of society. In outline, however, they may be briefly + stated—</p> + + <p>'<i>First</i>—The great mass of Irish tenantry have no + better title to their holdings than the will of their + landlords.</p> + + <p>'<i>Second</i>—Education is daily rendering the tenant + class <span class="pagenum"><a name="page420" id= + "page420"></a>[pg 420]</span> more impatient of the condition of + dependence which their want of title necessitates.</p> + + <p>'<i>Third</i>—Every good tenant must improve his land + more or less, in order to live in comparative comfort.</p> + + <p>'<i>Fourth</i>—The rentals of Ireland are steadily + following the improvements of the tenants. Some landlords suffer + a considerable margin to exist between the actual value and the + rent paid; while others lose no opportunity of forcing the rents + to the highest amount that circumstances permit.</p> + + <p>'<i>Fifth</i>—Although good tenants must improve in + order to live comfortably, their improvements are not one-fourth + of what the condition of the country invites, and are far below + what they would be if the occupiers were afforded equitable + security.</p> + + <p>'<i>Sixth</i>—Trade, manufactures, and industrial + occupations require local accumulations of surplus capital in + order to their prosperity; and such accumulations are hindered by + the general want of security of tenure. Society at large is + therefore deeply interested in the protection of the tenant + class.</p> + + <p>'<i>Seventh</i>—The increased expense of the + governmental establishments, civil and military, which Irish + disaffection entails, renders it a matter of imperial importance + that the Irish land question should be satisfactorily + settled.</p> + + <p>'Irish rentals have, in some counties, increased more than + tenfold since the beginning of the eighteenth century.'</p> + + <p>The next witness shall be a landlord, one of the best and + noblest of his class. At a tenant-right meeting of the county + Longford, the Earl of Granard said:—'The proposition + commences by asserting that which has been acknowledged by + successive administrations—that the present state of the + land laws of Ireland is highly unsatisfactory. The necessity for + their reform has been urged upon parliament since the days of + O'Connell up to the present time. The want of reform upon the + most vital question which affects the prosperity of Ireland has + been the fruitful source of agrarian disturbance, of poverty and + of misfortune in every <span class="pagenum"><a name="page421" + id="page421"></a>[pg 421]</span> county in Ireland. To take an + example near home,—what rendered Ballinamuck a by-word for + deeds of violence? Why, that system which permitted a landlord to + treat the people of that district with high-handed injustice. And + why is that district now amongst the most peaceable in the + county? Because it is now administered by its proprietor in a + spirit of justice and fair play, and because that proprietor + recognises the fact that property has its duties as well as its + rights. I believe that similar results are to be obtained + everywhere that the warm-hearted and kindly people of this + country are treated with justice. In his evidence before Mr. + Maguire's committee, Mr. Curling, the excellent agent of an + equally excellent landlord—Lord Devon—speaking of his + property in Limerick, said that the most warm-hearted and + grateful people he had ever met with were the Irish. He was + asked, "Grateful for what?" and he replied, "Even for fair play." + That is to say, they were grateful for that which in every + country save this would have been theirs by law. And it is to a + people thus described by, mind you, not an Irishman, but an + English gentleman—to a people, I believe, the most + religious and affectionate in Europe, that the simple act of + justice, of repealing unjust statutes, has been refused. I say it + advisedly, that to the system of land laws, which we hope to + alter—which at least we are here to protest + against—are to be attributed those fearful agrarian + outrages which disgrace the fair fame of our country. A + celebrated minister of police in France, whenever he heard of a + conspiracy, used to ask who was the woman, believing that there + was always one mixed up with such organisations, and in a similar + spirit, whenever I hear of an outrage in Ireland, I am always + inclined to enquire, "Who is the landlord?" For I do not hear of + such things occurring on estates where justice and fair play are + the rule and not the exception. But brighter days are now in + store for us. We have at the head of affairs the most earnest, + the most conscientious minister that has ever sat on the treasury + bench. He has promised to redress your grievances, and having as + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page422" id="page422"></a>[pg + 422]</span> his able lieutenants Mr. Bright, who has ever a + kindly word for Ireland, and Lord Kimberley, whose first act + after giving up the lord-lieutenancy was to say to the House of + Lords that until the church and land questions were settled there + would be neither peace nor contentment in the land—he must + be successful. As to what we want there can be no doubt. The five + points of the Irish charter are—fixity of tenure at + reasonable rents; recognition of right of occupancy as distinct + from right of ownership; standard valuation for letting purposes; + retrospective compensation for 20 years; and arbitration courts + in cases of dispute between owner and occupier.'</p> + + <p>I cannot better express the conclusion of the whole matter + than in the words of a writer in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>, + who thoroughly understands the question. Nothing can be more + truthful and accurate than the way in which he puts the tenants' + case:—</p> + + <p>'"Morally," they say, "we are part-owners. We have a moral + right to live here. If a great landlord considered that he could + make more of his estate by clearing it of its inhabitants, and + accordingly proceeded to do so, he would do a cruel act. What we + wish is to see our moral rights converted into legal rights. If + you ask us precisely what it is that we wish, we reply that we + wish to be able to live in moderate comfort in our native land, + and to be able to make our plans upon the assumption that we + shall not be interfered with. It is not for us ignorant peasants + to draw an Act of Parliament upon this subject, or to say how our + views are to be reconciled with your English law, which, on other + accounts, we by no means love. You, the English Government, must + find out for yourselves how to do that. What we want is to be + secure and live in reasonable comfort, and we shall never be at + rest, and we will never leave you at peace, till this is arranged + in some way or other." We do not say whether this feeling is + right or wrong, we do not say how it is to be dealt with, but we + do say that it is as intelligible, not to say as natural, a + feeling as ever entered into <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page423" id="page423"></a>[pg 423]</span> human hearts, and we + say, moreover, that it would be very difficult to exaggerate + either its generality, its force, its extent, or the degree to + which it has been excited by recent events. We are deeply + convinced that to persist in regarding the relation between + landlord and tenant as one of contract merely, to repeat again + and again in every possible form that all that the Irish peasants + have a right to say is that they have made a hard bargain with + their landlords which they wish the legislature to modify, is to + shut our eyes to the feelings of the people, feelings which it + will be difficult and also dangerous to disregard. The very gist + and point of the whole claim of the tenants is that their moral + right (as they regard it) is as sacred, and ought to be as much + protected by law, as the landlords' legal right, and that it is a + distinct grievance to a man to be prevented from living in + Ireland on that particular piece of land on which he was born and + bred, and which was occupied by his ancestors before him.'</p> + + <p>The whole drift of this history bears on this point. The + policy of the past must be reversed. The tenants must be rooted + in the soil instead of being rooted out. 'Improvement' must + include the people as well as the land, and agents must no longer + be permitted to arrogate to themselves the functions of Divine + Providence.</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>'<i>Naturam expellas furcâ, tamen usque + recurret.</i>'</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>One of the best pamphlets on the Irish Land Question is by Mr. + William M'Combie, of Aberdeen. A practical farmer himself, his + sagacity has penetrated the vitals of the subject. His + observations, while travelling through the country last year, + afford a remarkable corroboration of the conclusions at which I + have arrived. Of the new method of 'regenerating Ireland,' he + says:—</p> + + <p>'In it the resources of the soil—to get the most + possible out of it by the most summary process—is the great + object; the people are of little or no account, save as they can + be made use of to accomplish this object. But, indeed, it is + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page424" id="page424"></a>[pg + 424]</span> not alone by the promoters of the grand culture that + the people have been disregarded, but by Irish landlords, + generally, of both classes. By the improving landlords—who + are generally recent purchasers—they are regarded merely as + labourers; by the leave-alone landlords as rent-producers. The + one class have ejected the occupiers, the other have applied, + harder and harder, the screw, until the "good landlord"—the + landlord almost worshipped in Ireland at this hour—is the + landlord who neither evicts his tenants nor raises their rents. + The consequences are inevitable, and, over a large portion of the + island, they are patent to every eye—they obtrude + themselves everywhere. The people are poor; they are despondent, + broken-spirited. In the south of Ireland decay is written on + every town. In the poorer parts you may see every fifth or sixth + house tenantless, roofless, allowed from year to year to moulder + and moulder away, unremoved, unrepaired.... To make room for + these large-scale operations, evictions must go on, and as the + process proceeds the numbers must be augmented of those who are + unfit to work for hire and unable to leave the country. The poor + must be made poorer; many now self-supporting made dependent. + Pauperism must spread, and the burden of poor rates be vastly + increased. If the greatest good of the greatest number be the + fundamental principle of good government, this is not the + direction in which the state should seek to accomplish the + regeneration of Ireland. The development of the resources of the + land ought to be made compatible with the improvement of the + condition of the people.'</p> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote47" name="footnote47"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag47">(return)</a> + + <p>See the 'North British Review,' No. CI. p. 193.</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page425" id= + "page425"></a>[pg 425]</span> + + <h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2> + + <h3>CONCLUSION—AN APPEAL TO ENGLISHMEN.</h3> + + <p>The difficulty of understanding the case of Ireland is + proverbial. Its most enlightened friends in England and Scotland + are often charged with 'gross ignorance of the country.' They + might excuse themselves by answering, that when they seek + instruction from Irishmen, one native instructor is sure to + contradict the other. Yet there must be some point of view from + which all sides of the Irish question can be seen, some light in + which the colours are not confused, the picture is not + exaggerated, the features are not distorted. Every nation has its + idiosyncrasy, proceeding from race, religion, laws, institutions, + climate, and other circumstances; and this idiosyncrasy may be + the key of its history. In Ireland three or four nationalities + are bound together in one body politic; and it is the conflict of + their several idiosyncrasies which perplexes statesmen, and + constitutes the main difficulty of the Irish problem. The blood + of different races is mingled, and no doubt greatly modified by + ages of intercourse. But <i>religion</i> is an abiding force. The + establishment of religious equality in Ireland is a glorious + achievement, enough in itself to immortalise any statesman. It is + a far greater revolution than was effected by the Emancipation + Act, and more to the credit of the chief actor; because, while + Mr. Gladstone did spontaneously what he firmly believed to be + right in principle. Sir Robert Peel did, from necessity, what he + as firmly believed was wrong in principle. But no reasonable man + expected that the disestablishment of the Church would settle all + Irish questions; in fact, it but clears the way for the + settlement <span class="pagenum"><a name="page426" id= + "page426"></a>[pg 426]</span> of some of the most important and + urgent. It makes it possible for Irishmen of every creed to speak + in one voice to the Government. Their respective clergy, hitherto + so intent on ecclesiastical claims and pretensions, will no + longer pass by on the other side, but turn Samaritans to their + bleeding country, fallen among the thieves of Bigotry and + Faction. There are many high Protestants—indeed, I may say + all, except the aristocracy—who, while firmly believing in + the vital importance of the union of the three kingdoms, + earnestly wishing that union to be real and perpetual, cannot + help expressing their conviction that Ireland has been greatly + wronged by England—wronged by the legislature, by the + Government, and most of all by the crown. In no country in the + world has loyalty existed under greater difficulties, in none has + it been so ill requited, in none has so much been done as if of + set purpose to starve it to death. In the reign of Elizabeth the + capricious will of a despotic sovereign was exerted to crush the + national religion, while the greatest military exploits of her + ablest viceroys consisted of predatory excursions, in which they + slaughtered or carried away the horses and cattle, burned the + crops and houses, and laid the country waste and desolate, in + order to create famines for the wholesale destruction of the + population, thus spoiled and killed as a punishment for the + treason of their chiefs, over whom they had no control.</p> + + <p>In the reigns of James I. and Charles I. there was a + disposition among the remnant of the people—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>To fly from petty tyrants to the throne.</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>But the Stuarts appealed to Irish loyalty merely for the + support of their dynasty, and William III. laid the laurels won + on the banks of the Boyne upon the altar of English monopoly. In + the reigns of Anne and the three Georges, law was made to do the + work of the sword, and the Catholics of Ireland, constituting the + mass of the nation, knew their sovereign only as the head of an + alien power, cruel and unrelenting in its oppression. They were + required <span class="pagenum"><a name="page427" id= + "page427"></a>[pg 427]</span> to love a German prince whom they + had never seen. He called himself the father of his subjects; and + he had millions of subjects on the other side of a narrow + channel, whom he never knew, and never cared to know. When at + length the dominant nation relented, and wished to strike the + penal chains from the hands of her sister, the king forbade the + act of mercy, pleading his conscience and his oath as a bar to + justice and to freedom, but yielding at last to English state + necessity, and robbing concession of its grace, of all its power + to conciliate. From the battle of the Boyne to Catholic + emancipation, the king of Ireland had never set foot on Irish + soil, except in the case of George IV., whose visit was little + better than a melodramatic exhibition, repaid by copious + libations of flattery, which however failed to melt his bigotry, + or to persuade him to redeem his solemn promises and pledges, + until, nine years later, he was compelled to yield by the fear of + impending civil war.</p> + + <p>Ireland may get from her sister, England, everything but that + for which the heart yearns—affection—that which alone + 'can minister to a mind diseased, can pluck from the memory its + rooted sorrow, and rase out the written troubles from the brain.' + That is just what Ireland needs above all things. She wants to be + kept from brooding morbidly over the dismal past, and to be + induced to apply herself in a cheerful spirit to the business of + life. The prescriptions of state physicians cannot fully reach + the root of the disease. Say that it is a sentimental + malady—a delusion. What is gained by saying <i>that</i>, if + the sentiment or the delusion makes life wretched, unfits for + business, produces suicidal propensities, and renders + <i>keepers</i> necessary?</p> + + <p>In theory, Ireland is one with England; in practice, she is + hourly made to feel the reverse. <i>The Times</i>, and all the + journals which express the instincts of the dominant nation, + constantly speak of the Irish people as '<i>the subjects of + England</i>, whom Englishmen have a right to control. They are + the subjects of the Queen only in a secondary + sense—<i>as</i> the Queen of England, and reigning over + them through England. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page428" id= + "page428"></a>[pg 428]</span> Every sovereign, from Queen + Elizabeth to Queen Victoria, was sovereign of Ireland merely in + this subordinate sense, even when there was an Irish parliament. + The King of <i>Ireland</i> could speak to his Irish parliament + only as he was advised by his English ministers; and their advice + was invariably prompted by English interests. Her king was not + <i>hers</i> in the true sense. His <i>heart</i> and his company + were wholly given to another, to whose pride, power, and + splendour she was made to minister. That state of things still + continues in effect, and while it lasts Ireland can never be + contented. Her heart will always be disquieted within her. + Something bitter will ever be bubbling up from the bottom of that + troubled fountain.</p> + + <p>Nor let it be supposed that this is due to a peculiar + idiosyncrasy in Ireland—to some unhappy congenital + malformation, or some original taint in the blood. It has been + often asked whether England would have submitted to similar + treatment from Ireland if their relations were reversed. + Englishmen have not answered that question because they cannot + understand it. They find it difficult to apply the Divine maxim, + 'Do as you would be done by.' in their dealings with other + nations. But they can scarcely conceive its application to their + dealings with Ireland, any more than the American planter could + have conceived the duty of fraternizing with his negroes. If we + draw from this fact the logical inference, we shall be at a loss + to discern whether the Celt or the Saxon suffers more from the + moral perversity of his nature. The truth is, both are perverted + by their unnatural relations, which are a standing outrage on the + spirit of Christianity.</p> + + <p>The Emperor of Austria long laboured to govern one nation + through another and for another, in right of conquest, and we + know the result in Italy and Hungary. Lombardy, though well + cultivated and materially prosperous, could never be reconciled + to Austrian rule. Even the nobility could not be tempted to + appear at court. Venetia was more passionately and desperately + hostile, and was consequently <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page429" id="page429"></a>[pg 429]</span> crushed by military + repression, till the country was turned into a wilderness, and + the capital once so famous for its commerce and splendour, became + one of the most melancholy scenes of ruin and desolation to be + found in the world. The Austrians, and those who sympathised with + Austria as the great conservative power of the Continent, + ascribed all this to the perversity of the Italian nature, and to + the influence of agitators and conspirators. Austria was + bountiful to her Italian subjects, and would be more lenient if + she could, but their vices of character and innate propensity to + rebellion, rendered necessary a system of coercion. Hence the + prisons were full of political offenders; the soldier and the + executioner were constantly employed in maintaining law and + order. All the Emperor wanted was that his Italian provinces + should be so thoroughly amalgamated with Austria, as to form one + firmly united empire, and that the inhabitants should be content + with their position as <i>Austrian</i> subjects, ruled by + Austrian officials. But this was precisely what they could not or + would not be. 'They smiled at the drawn dagger and defied its + point.' They would sacrifice their lives, but they would not + sacrifice their nationality at the bidding of an alien power.</p> + + <p>This illustrates the force of the national sentiment, and the + tremendous magnitude of the calamities to which its persistent + violation leads. But the case of Hungary is still more apposite + as an illustration of the English policy in Ireland. The + Hungarians had an ancient constitution and parliament of their + own. The Emperor of Austria was their legitimate king, wearing + the crown of Hungary. In this capacity the Hungarians were + willing to yield to him the most devoted loyalty. But he wanted + to weld his empire into a compact unity, and to centralise all + political power at Vienna, so that Austria should be the head and + heart of the system, and the other provinces her hands and her + feet. Hungary resisted, and revolted. The result was a desolating + civil war, in which she was triumphant, till the Czar came to the + rescue of his <span class="pagenum"><a name="page430" id= + "page430"></a>[pg 430]</span> brother despot, and poured his + legions in overwhelming numbers into the devoted country. Hungary + was now at the feet of her sovereign, and Austria, the dominant + state, tried to be conciliatory, in order to bring about the + desired amalgamation and consolidation of the empire. She did so, + with every apparent prospect of success, and it was generally + considered throughout Europe that there was an end of the + Hungarian kingdom. But Hungarian nationality survived, and still + resisted Austrian centralisation. The Hungarians struggled for + its recognition constitutionally, manfully, with admirable + self-control, moderation, and wisdom, until at length they + achieved a peaceful victory. Their sovereign reigns over them as + King of Hungary; he and the empress dwell among them, without + Austrian guards. Their children are born among them, and they are + proud to call them natives of Hungary. The Hungarians, as + subjects of <i>Austria</i>, were discontented, miserable, + incurably disaffected. As subjects of their own king (though he + is also Emperor of Austria) they are intensely loyal. They are + prosperous and happy, because they are free. And though they have + their distinctions of race and religion, they are united. The + Magyars of Hungary correspond very nearly to the Protestants of + Ireland. Though a minority, their energy, their education, their + natural talent for organisation and government, their love of + freedom, their frank recognition of the rights of conscience, + enable them to lead without inspiring jealousy, just as the + Protestants of Ireland were enabled to lead in 1782, + notwithstanding the existence of Protestant Ascendancy. Religious + equality is not a cause of tranquillity in itself. It + tranquillises simply because it implies the absence of + irritation. It takes a festering thorn out of the side of the + unestablished community—a thorn which inflames the blood of + every one of its members. Let worldly interest, political power, + and social precedence cease to be connected with the profession + of religion, and religious differences would cease to produce + animosity and intolerance. If the Magyars had been the Hungarian + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page431" id="page431"></a>[pg + 431]</span> party of Protestant ascendancy, and if the Protestant + interest had also been the Austrian interest; if the mission of + the Magyars had been to act as a garrison, to keep down the Roman + Catholic majority, their cause could never have triumphed till + Protestant ascendancy should be abolished. But Hungarian + Protestantism did not need such support, although the Pope has as + much authority in Hungary as in Ireland. Of course the cases of + Hungary and Ireland are in many respects dissimilar. But they are + alike in this: their respective histories establish the great + fact that the most benevolent of sovereigns, and the wisest of + legislatures, can never produce contentment or loyalty in a + kingdom which is ruled <i>through</i> and <i>for</i> another + kingdom.</p> + + <p>We can easily understand that when the light of royalty shines + upon a country <i>through a conquering nation still dominant</i>, + the medium is of necessity dense, cold, refracting, and + discolouring. Of this the best illustration is derived from the + relations between Austria and Hungary, now so happily adjusted to + the unspeakable advantage of both nations. Austrian rule was + unsympathetic, harsh, insolent, domineering, based upon the + arrogant assumption that the Hungarians were incapable of + managing their own affairs without the guidance of Austrian + wisdom and the support of Austrian steadiness. But the + Hungarians, united among themselves, putting their trust, not in + boastful, vapouring, and self-seeking agitators, but in honest, + truthful, high-minded, and capable statesmen, persevered in a + course of firm, but temperate and constitutional, national + self-assertion, until the Austrians were compelled to put away + from them their supercilious airs of natural superiority, and to + concede the principle of international equality and the right of + self-government.</p> + + <p>What sickens the reader of Irish history most of all is the + anarchy of the old clan system, the everlasting alternation of + outrages and avenging reprisals. One faction, when it felt strong + and had a favourable opportunity, made a sudden raid upon another + faction, taken at a disadvantage, plundering and killing with + reckless fury. The outraged party <span class="pagenum"><a name= + "page432" id="page432"></a>[pg 432]</span> treasured up its anger + till it had power to retaliate, and then glutted its vengeance + without mercy in the same way. When this fatal propensity to + mutual destruction was restrained by law, it broke out from time + to time in other ways. What was wanted to cure it effectually was + a strong, steady, central government, such as England enjoys + herself. But the very system which is most calculated to foster + factiousness is the one which has reigned for centuries in Dublin + Castle. The British sovereign knows no party, and, whatever other + sovereigns have done, Queen Victoria has never forgotten this + constitutional principle. But the Irish lord-lieutenant is always + a party-man, and is always surrounded by party-men. They were + Whigs or Tories, Liberals or Conservatives, often extreme in + their views and violent in their temper. The vice of the old clan + system was its tendency to unsettle, to undo, to upset, to smash + and destroy. Instead of counteracting that vice (which still + lingers in the national blood), by a fixed, unchanging system of + administration, based on principles of unswerving rectitude, + which knows no distinction of party, no favouritism, England + ruled by the alternate sway of factions.</p> + + <p><i>The Times</i>, referring to the debate on the Irish Church, + remarked that the viceroyalty was more and more 'a mere + ornament.' It is really nothing more. The viceroy has no actual + power, and if he has statesmanship, it is felt to be out of + place. He can scarcely give public expression to his sentiments + on any political questions without offending one party or the + other, whereas the estate of the realm which he represents is + neutral and ought to keep strictly to neutral ground. As to the + effect of the office in degrading the national spirit among the + nobility and gentry, we could not have a better illustration than + the fact that the amiable Lord Carlisle was accustomed, at the + meeting of the Royal Dublin Society, to tell its members that the + true aim, interest, glory, and destiny of Ireland was to be a + pasture and a dairy for England,—a compliment which seemed + to have been gratefully accepted, or was at all events allowed to + pass.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page433" id= + "page433"></a>[pg 433]</span> + + <p>But even as an 'ornament' the viceregal system is a failure. + The Viceroy with his family ought to be the head of society in + Ireland, just as the Queen is in England. The royal family are + the same to all parties and classes, showing no partiality on the + ground of politics, but smiling with equal favour and recognition + upon all. In Ireland, however, a liberal lord lieutenant is + generally shunned by the Conservative portion of the aristocracy, + which forms the great majority of the class. On the other hand + the Conservatives flock in large numbers to the court of a Tory + Viceroy, while Liberals stand aloof. Instead therefore of being a + centre of union to all sections of the best society, and bringing + them together, so that they may know one another, and enjoy the + advantages due to their rank, the viceregal court operates as a + source of jealousy and division. So that, looking at the + institution as a mere ornament of society, as a centre of + fashionable life and refining influences, facilitating + intercourse between ranks and classes, bringing the owners of + land and the men of commerce more in harmony, it is not worth + preserving. On the other hand it produces some of the worst + features of conventionalism. It cultivates flunkeyism and + servility, while operating as a restraint upon the manly + expression of opinion. It fosters a spirit of spurious + aristocracy, which shows itself in contempt for men who prefer + honest industry to place-hunting and insolvent gentility.</p> + + <p>But while I thus speak of the viceregal court as at present + constituted, I still maintain that, like Hungary, this country is + so peculiarly situated, and is animated by so strong a spirit of + nationality, that it ought to have a court of its own, and a + sovereign of its own. The case of Hungary shows how easily this + great boon might be granted, and how gratifying the results would + be to all the parties concerned. The Queen ought to reside in + Ireland for some portion of the year. A suitable palace should be + provided for the royal family. The Prince of Wales, during her + majesty's reign, ought to be the permanent Viceroy, <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page434" id="page434"></a>[pg 434]</span> with + the necessary addition to his income. The office would afford an + excellent training for his duties as king. The attraction of the + Princess of Wales would make the Irish court very brilliant. It + would afford the opportunity of contact with real royalty, not + the shadowy sort of thing we have had—reflected through + Viceroys very few of whom were ever <i>en rapport</i> with the + Irish nation. Not one of them could so speak to the people as to + elicit a spark of enthusiasm. Of course they could not have the + true ring of royalty, for royalty was not in them. But they could + not play the part well. One simple sentence from the Queen or the + Prince of Wales, or even from Prince Arthur, would be worth all + the theatrical pomp they could display in a generation. Those + noblemen had no natural connection with the kingdom, fitting them + to take the first place in it. They were not hereditary chiefs. + They were not elected by the people. They were mere 'casual' + chief-governors; and they formed no ties with the nation that + could not be broken as easily as the spider's thread. The + <i>hereditary principle</i> has immense force in Ireland. The + landlords are now seeking to weaken it; or rather they are + ignoring it altogether, and substituting the commercial principle + in dealing with their tenants, preferring not the most devoted + adherents of the family, but the man with most money. But I warn + them that they are doing so at the peril of their order. A prince + who was <i>heir presumptive to the throne as Viceroy</i>, and + who, when he ascended the throne, should be crowned King of + <i>Ireland</i>, as well as King of Great Britain, crowned in his + own Irish palace, and on the <i>Lia Fail</i> or stone of destiny, + preserved at Westminster, would save many a million to the + British exchequer, for it would be no longer necessary to support + a large army of occupation to keep the country. If the throne of + Queen Victoria stood in Dublin, there is not a Fenian in Ireland + who would not die in its defence. Standing in Westminster it is + doubtful whether its attraction is sufficient to retain the + hearts even of Orangemen. There, it is the <i>English</i> throne. + So the <i>Englishman</i> regards it with instinctive <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="page435" id="page435"></a>[pg 435]</span> + jealousy. He feels it is his own; but, say what we may, the Irish + loyalist, when he approaches it, is made to feel, by a thousand + signs, that he is a stranger and an intruder. He returns to his + own bereaved country with a sad heart, and a bitter spirit. Can + he be <i>Anglicised</i>? Put this question to an English + philosopher, and he will answer with Mr. Froude—'Can the + Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?' We can + bridge the channel with fast steamers; but who will bridge the + gulf, hitherto impassable, which separates the English Dives from + the Irish Lazarus?</p> + + <p>'We have,' said Canning, 'for many years been erecting a + mound—not to assist or improve, but to thwart nature; we + have raised it high above the waters, and it has stood there, + frowning hostility and effecting separation. In the course of + time, however, the necessities of man, and the silent workings of + nature, have conspired to break down this mighty structure, till + there remains of it only a narrow isthmus, standing</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i8">Between two kindred seas,</p> + + <p>Which, mounting, viewed each other from afar,</p> + + <p class="i8">And longed to meet.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>What then, shall be our conduct? Shall we attempt to repair + the breaches, and fortify the ruins? A hopeless and ungracious + undertaking! Or shall we leave them to moulder away by time and + accident—a sure but distant and thankless consummation; or, + shall we not rather cut away at once the isthmus that remains, + allow free course to the current which has been artificially + impeded, and float upon the mingling waves the ark of our + glorious constitution?'</p> + + <p>Much has been done since Canning's time to remove the narrow + isthmus. Emancipation cut deep into it. The disestablishment of + the Irish Church submerged an immense portion of it. If Mr. + Gladstone's land bill be equally effective, a breach will be made + through which the two kindred seas will meet, and, in their + commingling flux and reflux, will quickly sweep away all minor + obstacles to their perfect union. A just settlement of the land + question will reconcile the two races, and close the war of seven + centuries. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page436" id= + "page436"></a>[pg 436]</span> That is the rock against which the + two nationalities have rushed in foaming breakers, lashed into + fury by the storms of faction and bigotry. Remove the + obstruction, and the world would hear no more the roaring of the + waters. Then would float peacefully upon the commingling waves + the ark of our common constitution, in which there would be + neither Saxon nor Celt, neither English nor Irish, neither + Protestant nor Catholic, but one united, free, and mighty people. + Then might the Emperor of the French mark the epoch with the + announcement—'England has done justice to Ireland!'</p> + + <h4>LONDON: PRINTED BY</h4> + + <h4>SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE</h4> + + <h4>AND PARLIAMENT STREET</h4> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14562 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |