by the Irish Protestants. Recent events had not tended to inspire them with confidence in the Government. The finances of the country were in disorder; and, though Ormond had obtained Charles' consent to a more rigorous control of the revenue, the only radical remedy for the situation lay, as he clearly saw, in summoning a Parliament. Before, however, anything could be done in this direction, the Government was distracted by the news of the discovery of a popish plot in England, with ramifications extending, it was alleged, to Ireland. Uncertain at first what credit to give to Oates' revelations, Ormond thought it prudent to arrest one or two suspicious individuals, and to issue orders for disarming the Catholics. His moderation, however, gave great offence to Shaftes bury and his allies, and knowing, as he said, that his position was a slippery one, he saw himself constrained to issue a proclamation to encourage persons to come forward to make discoveries of the plot. The proclamation, though it did not fail to bring forth a host of informers and to lead in the end to the judicial murder of Oliver Plunkett, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, failed to answer the expectations of the managers of the agitation. When the reaction came, Ormond's difficulties wore off; but only, as it proved, to be followed, after a short pause, by others of an even more serious nature.

The opportunity, for which Charles had long been waiting, to free himself from the control of the Protestant party in Ireland, seemed to have arrived at last. By the advice of the Duke of York and Talbot he resolved to recall Ormond, to divide the civil from the military authority, and, by placing the latter in the hands of a trusty Catholic, to remodel the army on a Catholic basis. At the same time a commission was to be issued for the establishment of a Court of Grace, nominally to enable the new settlers to strengthen their defeasible titles, really as a means of clipping their properties in the interest of the Irish. It is hard to say to what lengths Charles was willing to go; but before matters could be arranged he died. His death did not materially affect the situation. Ormond, having proclaimed James II, retired from the government. Pending the appointment of his successor the government was placed in commission, and in the interval advantage was taken of Monmouth's rebellion to effect a partial disarmament of the Protestants. In January, 1686, the Earl of Clarendon was sworn Lord Lieutenant; but the real director of Irish affairs was Talbot, whom James shortly after his accession had created Earl of Tyrconnel, and whom he now appointed commander-in-chief of the army. In pursuance of the plan already agreed upon, Tyrconnel set to work at once to remodel the army on a Catholic basis. His proceedings did not fail to alarm the Protestants; and, as Clarendon, whose pride was hurt at the daily insults offered to his authority, failed to prove as subservient an instrument as James had expected to find in him, he was recalled and the government transferred to Tyrconnel (January, 1687).

1687-9] Tyrconnel Viceroy.

Revolt of Derry

307

This appointment, while it inspired the Protestants with the gravest apprehensions, so that thousands of them, it was said, disposed of their property and fled the country, afforded the liveliest satisfaction to the natives, who, in the expectation of a speedy reversal of the Acts of Settlement, were already in imagination revelling in the recovery of their forfeited estates. The fears and hopes of both alike were well founded. Towards the end of August Tyrconnel was granted an interview with James at Chester, who approved his proceedings and, it is asserted on credible authority, arranged with him a plan whereby, in the event of his policy in England miscarrying and the succession falling to a Protestant, Ireland was to be put in a position to maintain itself as an independent kingdom.

Events moved faster than either expected. With the cheers of his own army ringing in his ears at the acquittal of the Bishops, James turned for assistance to Tyrconnel, as his father had to Strafford, and, despite the warning voice of Sunderland, 3000 Irish troops were transported to England during the autumn of 1688. The assistance, purchased at the price of exasperating public opinion in England, proved of no use to James, while by compelling Tyrconnel to denude Derry of its garrison the opportunity was given for a revolt which was destined to upset all his plans. Recognising his mistake, he ordered the Earl of Antrim to proceed with his regiment to Derry. But the tinder had already taken fire. Alarmed at the menacing attitude of the natives and by rumours of an intended repetition of the horrors of 1641, the citizens of Derry, actuated by one of those sudden impulses of self-preservation that override all habits of obedience to authority, gave the signal for rebellion by closing the gates of the city in the face of the royal army. Enniskillen followed suit, and everywhere the Protestant colonists drew together for safety and formed military associations for their defence. Taken by surprise, Tyrconnel seemed to hesitate. Thinking he might be won over, William sent Richard Hamilton over to negotiate terms with him. Hamilton betrayed his trust; and, after Tyrconnel had thus learnt the real state of affairs in England, his hesitation, real or affected, quickly passed away. By the end of January, 1689, he had got together an army of 36,000 men; and, though they were badly officered and but partly armed, the prospect according to Pointis, whom Louis had sent over to report on the situation, was encouraging.

Meanwhile a strong force under Hamilton was dispatched into the north, to put an end to the resistance there. At Dromore he came up with the bulk of the Protestants under Sir Arthur Rawdon and Major Baker. Seeing themselves overmatched, they broke and fled, some to Coleraine, others to 'Derry and Enniskillen, breaking down the bridges in their rear, and destroying everything they could not carry away with them. On March 12-two days before the "Break of Dromore" James, accompanied by the Count d'Avaux as Louis' plenipotentiary and

310

Opening of the Irish Parliament

[1689

James' plans; and on April 29 he left the camp, to open the Parliament summoned by him to meet at Dublin on May 7. Considering the precautions taken by Tyrconnel to regulate the elections, it was only to be expected that the Parliament, which assembled on the day appointed, should have consisted almost exclusively of men who either in their own persons or in those of their fathers before them had suffered most severely by the plantations that had in large measure caused their rebellion, and by the confiscations that had followed on its suppression. They had now, as they thought, got the upper hand of their enemiesthe colonists; they had got a King of their own religion; and it was only natural that they should have determined to use their power to recover possession of those estates of which they had, in their opinion, been most unjustifiably robbed.

In his opening speech James, after gratefully acknowledging their loyalty, expressed his firm resolve to put an end to all calumnies against him, by granting full liberty of conscience to all his subjects, and to recognise no test or distinction between them but that of loyalty; as for those who had been injured by the late Acts of Settlement, he was ready to agree to any plan that might be found to relieve them "as far as might be consistent with reason, justice, and the public good of his people." It was from his own point of view a politic speech; though to most of his hearers his reference to the necessity for a revision of the Acts of Settlement must have seemed rather lacking in warmth. Unfortunately the object he had before him of uniting Protestants and Catholics into a body of loyalists, quite apart from the fact that it suited nobody's purpose but his own, was utterly impracticable. The protection of a King who could not protect himself was not likely to impress the Protestants; and, to gratify the Catholics, he was bound to upset the Act of Settlement. To do this, however, was equivalent to forfeiting all chance of recovering England. The question as to which course he would pursue was soon brought to a practical issue.

On May 12 a Bill was introduced into the House of Commons for repealing the Acts of Settlement and Explanation. In the preamble to it, in which the causes which gave rise to those measures are discussed, nothing is more remarkable than the intense hatred displayed against Ormond, who "by his interest and power cherished and supported a fanatical republican party. . . and to transfer the calamitous consequences of his fatal conduct from himself upon your trusty Roman Catholic subjects. . . interposed betwixt them and his late Majesty's general indulgence and pardon." The absurdity of the charge is apparent on the face of it; but a scapegoat had to be found, and it would hardly have suited the purposes of those who were trying to procure its repeal to remember that the Act of Settlement was simply the price Charles had paid for his restoration. As James listened to the debates in the House of Lords, the hopelessness of his position began to dawn upon

1689]

Its legislation. - Proceedings in England

311 him. Not he, but Tyrconnel, was master of the situation, and nothing would satisfy Tyrconnel but an absolute repeal. To his intimates James admitted that he had no other choice than to consent. The Irish, he said, were determined to "ram that and much more down his throat."

When the session came to a close on July 20, he had given his assent to thirty-five Acts, some of them no doubt of great, others of questionable, utility. Taken together, they represent the political ideal of the party led by Tyrconnel-parliamentary independence, the restoration of the land to its original owners, and freedom of trade. Unfortunately, however legitimate they were in themselves, they were claims that could only be made good by the sword.

Meanwhile the situation in general had undergone little change. Though hard pressed and with a garrison sadly diminished by hunger and sickness, Derry still continued to bid defiance to her besiegers; but, as July drew to a close, her powers of resistance rapidly declined, and any day, any hour could see her forced to capitulate. The fate of Enniskillen hung in the same balance. Hitherto, by distracting the attention of James' generals the Enniskilleners had rendered Derry excellent service. But even to their powers of resistance there was a limit; and, if Derry fell, they too were bound to succumb.

Absorbed in their own affairs, Englishmen had at first paid little attention to Ireland. After his flight there had been a natural revulsion of feeling in James' favour; but this feeling had quickly given place to one of intense resentment, when the news arrived of his landing in Ireland. In its indignation, Parliament insisted on an instant declaration of war against France. Putting his own construction on the address, William thought that the hour had at last arrived for setting his scheme of the Grand Alliance in motion. Parliament thought otherwise. From being a subject of secondary importance, Ireland suddenly became the sole topic of interest. As time went on and Derry remained unrelieved, public opinion grew restless. In June, a committee of the Lords was appointed to enquire into the causes of the MARSH miscarriages in Ireland. Witnesses, including Archbishop examined the minute books of the Committee of Council for Irish affairs and the Admiralty books were called for and closely inspected. The evidence elicited was of a contradictory sort; but it was generally admitted that with a little foresight the rebellion might have been prevented. Even after Tyrconnel had declared for James, the Protestants could, with a little help, easily have held their own; but no attention had been paid to their appeals for assistance; on the contrary, Sir William Harbord had been heard to say that "Ireland could wait: land there would be cheap enough shortly.”

The fact is the muddle was due to causes which in the circumstances were unavoidable. The Committee for Irish affairs had been active enough. Already on March 30 orders had been issued for an

308 James lands at Kinsale.

Political situation [1689

a number of French officers who were to assist him in organising his forces, landed at Kinsale with a small army of about 1200 men, for the most part his own subjects. On landing, he was heartily welcomed by the Catholics of the district; and a promise on his part to take the Protestants under his protection went some way to disarm opposition on their part. At Cork he was met by Tyrconnel, who escorted him in triumph to Dublin.

All the same, James' heart was not in the enterprise. He had hoped with Louis' assistance to have made a direct descent on England. But Louis was anxious at almost any price to avoid an open breach with England. By assisting James to establish himself firmly in Ireland he hoped, at a moderate cost to himself, to prevent William from interfering actively on the Continent. It is doubtful whether James saw through Louis' scheme; but it was not long before Tyrconnel recognised James' perfect indifference to Ireland, and perceived, from his endeavour to reconcile the Protestants, that his thoughts were all the time concentrated on England. For such a plan, however, Tyrconnel was not to be had. First and foremost, he was an Irishman. His object, to put it plainly, was to sever the connexion with Great Britain. If James was willing to be King of Ireland, well and good; if not, then Tyrconnel was ready to offer the crown to Louis. But in this he reckoned without Louis himself, who no sooner heard of the intention than he clearly indicated his dislike to the proposal. In the background stood d'Avaux, cynically urging the extirpation of the Protestants as the only rational solution of the situation.

On March 24 James made his public entry into Dublin. Next day he published a batch of proclamations, commanding all his subjects who had fled the kingdom to return to their allegiance, under a general promise of taking the Protestants into his protection; forbidding robberies; ordering a market to be opened for the provisioning of the army; raising the nominal value of the currency, and convoking a Parliament to meet at Dublin on May 7. At the same time, he created Tyrconnel a Duke, and admitted d'Avaux to a seat at the Privy CounThis done, he announced his intention of proceeding in person to Derry. Once in possession of that city, there was nothing to prevent him from crossing with his army into Scotland. Tyrconnel and d'Avaux did their utmost to dissuade him; but, supported by Melfort and the English Jacobites, he held to his purpose, and shortly afterwards set out for the north.

cil.

Since their rout at Dromore the Protestants of Ulster found themselves in a precarious position. Driven northwards by Hamilton's advancing forces, as many as were able to do so took shipping and fled to England; a few accepted protection from the Irish general; others found a refuge in Enniskillen and Derry, the rest ensconced themselves in Coleraine, whence they appealed to Robert Lundy at Derry for help.