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of lord president of Connaught, may be forthwith declared and proclaimed a rebel and a traitor, according to his deserts, and all such as hereafter assist, or adhere unto him; for the matter hath now proceeded so far, as certainly these attributes must be fixed either upon him or me; pardon me, if I should further affirm, upon your excellency."

But with neither of these just requests of his truly noble friend, could the marquis of Ormond be persuaded to comply; not with that for proclaiming the peace, because, as he pretended, "having received intelligence, that the king was gone to the Scots army, he conceived that change of things there might occasion some alteration in his resolutions, as to the manner he should propose for his majesty's service, and the settlement of the kingdom." But as his excellency had been apprised long before by lord Digby, secretary Nicholas, and by the king himself,5" that the Scots were the greatest opposers of the Irish peace, having all along entertained hopes that Ireland should be given up to them," what else could he have expected from" that change of things," but that they would compel his majesty, as they soon after did, to send him positive orders to forbear all further proceedings in it? And what further demonstrates the weakness and insincerity of that excuse is, that his excellency was, at the same time,† « well satisfied," as lord Clanrickard told him," that the king was still desirous of the peace, though he failed of the supplies at the time appointed."

As for his proclaiming sir Charles Coote and his adherents traitors and rebels, his excellency would not venture to do it, without the consent of the council," " by whose advice he affected to be guided throughout, in carrying on the work of 4 Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 468. 5 Id ib. Collect. of Orm. Orig. Papers. • Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 474,

7 Id. ib.

*No wonder, since Ormond himself confessed in a letter to lord Digby of the 26th of April immediately preceding, "that he was then in treaty with the parliament commissioners."-Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 461.

†That he was then satisfied that the king was still desirous, that the peace with the confederates should be concluded, appears from Ormond's having received his majesty's letter, wherein he expresses that desire, on the 25th of April, 1646. Cart. Orm. vol. i. fol. 567.—And Clanrickard's letter to him, telling him that his excellency was satisfied that such was his majesty's desire, is dated the 3d of June following.-Id. ib. vol. iii,

peace;" though lord Digby had before informed him," that the king understood, and did promise that his excellency should join his forces with those of the confederates, when a peace or cessation should be concluded against all those who violated or opposed either." But his excellency knew that the majority of that council were sir Charles Coote's real, though secret adherents; and therefore could not expect, that they would consent to an act implicitly condemning themselves.

CHAP. III.

The king is prevailed on by the Scots to forbid Ormond to proceed in the peace with the confederates.

1

THE Scottish army having, by many deceitful promises, gotten the king into their hands, kept him under the closest, and most irksome restraint. Lord Digby in a letter from Paris, June 17th, 1646, told the marquis of Ormond, "that the Scots were likely to make use of the king's person, only to force him to what they aimed at with the parliament; insomuch, that he was to consider his majesty among them, in shew and formality, treated as a king, but really worse than a prisoner; for that besides the guards about him, and strict observation of his person, he had no kind of liberty of mind, as all power of expressing any thing but what they would have him, was taken away; not a person being permitted about him, by whom he could either receive, or transmit any thing to or from those whom he would have to know his mind. "This only," adds his lordship, "we have had the happiness to know from him, when he foresaw the condition he was likely to be in, that he desired that the prince his son, the queen, and all his faithful servants, should jointly govern themselves according to what they should judge to be the true interests of his crown and posterity; and not according to what, from his forced condition might outwardly be made appear as his pleasure. And I am confident," proceeds his lordship, "if there be a possi bility of conveying any thing of secret to you, your lordship will receive his express pleasure to this effect."

1 Cart, Orm, vol. iii.

After this, as if he dreaded an event which, though unknown to him, had then recently happened, he adds, " my greatest fear is, lest before my return to you, the king should have been forced by the Scots to set an embargo upon the peace of Ireland; but though he have, I hope you will be able to keep things fair till I come, and that then, having received such further assurances, as I shall be able to give you, of the king's condition, of the queen and prince's resolutions, and of the grounds laid to carry them through, no such embargo will be any hindrance to you, to pursue vigorously that course, which you shall judge prudent, just and honorable.”

If the marquis of Ormond did not receive this letter on the 24th of that month, when the king's order, forbidding him to proceed in the peace,3 arrived; (which might, I own, have been the case) yet he certainly knew from his recent experience, that his majesty was then in the condition of a prisoner with the Scots, and not suffered to send to or receive from his friends any dispatches, but such as they had both seen and approved. For his excellency and the council, having some time before, twice demanned a safe-conduct from major. general Monroe, for one of their messengers, who was to pass by way of Scotland, with letters to the king, they were both times peremptorily refused. This refusal was given about the 7th of June, and on the 11th of the same month, the Scots in England compelled his majesty to sign an order to the marquis of Ormond, to forbear all further proceedings in the peace with the confederates:* which order was transmitted to his

2 Id. ib.

3 Carte's Orm.

4 Id. ib. vol. iii. fol. 480.

If there was nothing else but a former letter from the king to Ormond of January 9th, 1644, to convince him that his majesty's order of the 11th of June was extorted, the contents of that letter were more than sufficient for the purpose; for there he told him, that "the rebels of England had agreed to treat; and that most assuredly one of the first and chiefest articles they would insist on would be to continue the Irish war, which was a point not popular for him to break on; he therefore desires him to hasten with all possible diligence the peace there; the timely conclusion of which," adds his majesty, "will take off that inconvenience, which otherwise I may be subject to by the refusal of that article upon any other reason. He bids him let the Irish know the danger there may be of their total, and perpetual exclusion from those favors he intended them, in case the English rebels clapt up a peace with him upon reasonable terms, and only

excellency by the Scots committee in Ulster, with evident marks of an intended affront to his majesty's authority in his lordship's person; for they not only sent him the king's letter with the seal broken, declaring in their own, which enclosed. it, that no dispatch from his excellency and the council, shouid be permitted to pass, unless they were made acquainted with its contents, but they also omitted giving the marquis of Ormond his title of lord lieutenant,* either in the body or superscription of their letter. Yet this so grossly affronted the lord lieutenant and council, who had frequently disobeyed his majesty's free and positive commands to conclude this peace with the confederates, did now, all at once, most readily comply

5 Carte's Orm. vol. iii. fol. 480.

excluding them, which possibly would not be counsellable for him to refuse, if the Irish peace was the only difference between him and them, before it were perfected there. He hoped these were sufficient grounds to Ormond to persuade the Irish to dispatch the peace upon reasonable terms; and to assure them, that he having once engaged to them his majesty's word in the conclusion of it, all the earth should not make him break it."-Carte's Orm. vol. ii. Append. fol. 6.

On the 27th of the following month the king wrote to Ormond in these words. "I do therefore command you to conclude a peace with the Irish whatever it cost. I cannot but tell you, that if the suspension of Poining's act for such bills as shall be agreed upon between you there, and the present taking away the penal statutes against the papists, by a law, will do it, I shall not think it a hard bargain."-Cart. Orm. vol. iii. fol. 430.

The confederates desired the suspending of Poining's act, lest any bills for the exercise of religion, agreed on in the Irish parliament, might be thrown out in England. "I believe (says Ormond himself) the Irish would not insist upon it (the suspension of Poining's act) but for fear the other acts, which are to be agreed on for their security and settlement, should receive a stop by the council here, or be altered in England."Let. to lord Digby. Carte's Orm. vol. iii, fol, 428.

The lord lieutenant and council, in their answer to the Scots' committee in Ulster on this occasion, observes, "that they found so little hope of receiving his majesty's free pleasure, touching his affairs and servants in Ireland, that they had great cause to fear even the safety of any messenger of trust they should send; that, as soon as it should please God to give them clear, and unintercepted ways of address to his majesty, they hoped to give him fit accounts of all his commands directed to us the lord lieutenant; which title, by the way, we hold fit to observe unto you, his majesty is pleased to give us, though you, in the several letters directed by you unto us, are not pleased so to style us."-Carte's Orm. vol. iii. fol. 490.

with this constrained order, so disrespectfully sent them, to forbear all further proceedings in it.

CHAP. IV.

Lord Digby arrives in Dublin, and causes the peace with the confederates to be proclaimed.

BUT that visible alacrity, with which the lord lieutenant and council obeyed this inhibiting order, was suddenly damped, by the arrival of lord Digby in Ireland, on the 4th of the following month; who, upon hearing of it, and of their prompt com. pliance with it, wrote to his excellency, "that having received, by an express, the knowledge of his majesty's condition, and of his positive pleasure in the weightiest of his affairs, and par ticularly those of the kingdom of Ireland, he was commanded to signify the same, as secretary of state to his excellency. "Your excellency therefore," proceeds he, "is to take notice, that his majesty, having upon most positive engagements of the Scots, both unto himself and the crown of France, by the French agent residing with the Scots, received assurances from them in three points, namely, that they would not endeavor to force his conscience; that they would give a sure retreat among them to all his faithful servants, and adherents; and

Carte's Orm. vol. iii. fol. 480.

Lord Digby in his delaration to the Irish privy council on this occa sion, says, "that his majesty had redoubled his positive orders to the marquis of Ormond, both immediately before his coming from Oxford and since his being at Newcastle (from whence that prohibiting order of the 11th of June is dated), for the immediate perfecting of the peace in Ireland according to the articles agreed on, upon his dispensation with the con dition also of the confederate Roman catholics of Ireland sending the men undertaken for them.”—Id. ib. fol. 491. Notwithstanding which, Ormond confesses, in his and the council's answer to this letter of the 11th of June, 1646, that he might for some time at least, have not complied with it; for there he says, "he, the lieutenant, had a special direction from his majesty, sent him soon after his entrance into the government, that if any directions were brought him from his majesty, for doing any thing which he should find might beget inconvenience to his service, that he should, in such case humbly represent it to his majesty, and in the interim forbear to execute such his directions.”—Id. ib. fol. 485.

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