it may be really so or may be not so for all its Venerable Ancient Appearance we can conclude with no more Certainty than he leaves it only we may believe from the Credit of the Arguments produced by his Nephew Samuel Dopping 's Father the Reverend and Learned Doctor Dopping late Bishop of Meath that this old Modus was found in the Treasury of Waterford by my Lord Longford's Grandfather My Reader may perhaps think me as impertinent in this Repetition but I do it to shew that I have in this abbreviated about nine of his pages which offers no more of Argument to the Matter than that Henry the Second settled the Kingdom of Ireland under the very same Coustitution of Governmâ—nt with England and this we should as readily have granted as he could have propos'd and 't is sufficiently to our purpose that he hath abundantly prov'd That all Ranks and Orders of the Irish did unanimously agree to submit themselves to the Government of the King of England That they did thankfully receive the Laws of England and swear to be governed thereby and I know not what hath releas'd them from any part of that Obligation to this day himself owning that There cann't be shewn a more fair Original Compact than this between Henry the Second and the People of Ireland and we have desired no more from them than that they should continue to be so governed He tells us It is manifest that there were no Laws imposed on the People of Ireland by any Authority of the Parliament of England nor any introduced by Henry the Second but by the Consent and Allowance of the People of Ireland and that both the Civil and Ecclesiastical State were settled there Regiae Sublimitatis Authoritate not only this but the manner of holding Parliaments also to make Laws of their own which is the Foundation and Bulwark of the Peoples Liberties and Properties was directed and established there by Henry the Second as if 〈◊〉 were resolved that no other Person or Persons should be the Founders of the Government of Ireland but himself and the Consent of the People who submitted themselves to him against all Persons whatsoever Was it fit for the King to have carried a Parliament about with him or because he had not a Parliament there must it follow therefore that their Authority could never have any concern in what was done The King was now abroad with the Forces of the Kingdom and 't is not to be suppos'd that his own Authority was not sufficient to make Terms with the Enemy if they submitted we do not pretend that the Power of our King is limited at that rate yet whatever Submission is made to his Person on such Occasions is doubtless virtually made as to the Supream Authority of the Kingdom and that I believe every Body will allow to be in our Constitution the King Lords and Commons in all whom the Legislature resides and not in either separate from the rest The King may be said to be vested with the Power of the whole in the Civil and Military Administration of the Government and yet whatsoever is acted or acquired under his Authority as King of England must doubtless be esteemed to be for the Account of the Nation and not in any Propriety peculiar to himself To talk then As if the Parliament had nothing to do in this Transaction and that King Henry the Second acted in it as if he were resolv'd that no other Person or Persons should be the Founders of the Government of Ireland but himself is Language not becoming an Englishman and I wonder that this Author could have so little Sense of what he was about when he said this for in the very next Paragraph but one he gives us an Instance which shews beyond all Contradiction that King Henry himself had no such Opinion of his own Seperate Authority And now he comes to the Matter and tells us that King Henry about the 23d â—ear of his Reign and five Years after his Return from Ireland creates his Younger Son John King of Ireland at a Parliament held at Oxford and that by this Donation Ireland was most eminently set apart again as a seperate and distinct Kingdom by it self from the Kingdom of England and did so continue until the Kingdom of England descended and came unto King John after the Death of his Brother Richard the First which was about 22 years after his being made King of Ireland during which time and whilst his Father and Brother were successively reigning in England he made divers Grants and Charters to his Subjects of Ireland wherein he stiles himself Dominus Hiberniae and in some Dominus Hiberniae Comes Meritoniae by which Charters both the City of Dublin and divers other Corporations enjoy many Privileges and Franchises to this day We know that diâ—ers of our Kings have at several Times granted out Parcels of their Dominions to their Sons or Subjects and endowed them with many Royal Privileges yet always as Feudatories of the Empire after the same manner so much anciently practised in most Kingdoms of Europe such have been in England the Principality of Wales the Counties Palatine of Chester Lancaster and Durham and what was much less considerable than these the Isle of Man was given with the Title of King in Man which was more than King Iohn had which continues in the Earls of Darby at this day In like manner also have Proprietoryships been granted to the Settlers of Colonies in America in our time and such and no other was this Grant of King Henry the Second to his Son Iohn but what is very remarkable in this Case is that this Grant was made in Parliament Did ever Man so expose himself in Print what he hath been endeavouring to prove is that the Irish were never so conquered by Henry the Second as to give the Parliament of England any Jurisdiction over them and yet here he tells us that this same King Henry created his Son Iohn King of Ireland in a Parliament at Oxford which to word it in the Stile of this time is to say that about the twenty third Year of Henry the 2d an Act of Parliament was made at Oxford by which Iohn the younger Son of the said King was Created King of Ireland Is it possible to think upon a greater Instance in which the Authority of a Parliament over a People can be exerted than this of creating a King to rule them and that without ever asking their Consent and is it not plain from this that King Henry himself did never esteem the Submission of the Irish to have been made to him in respect of his Person according to this Author 's New Doctrine but in respect of the Kingdom which he govern'd otherwise why did he not make a King of Ireland by his own Authority rather than thus eclipse his Power and Right if he had it by submitting it to be
thus we see that how great soever that Jurisdiction was which the King in Parliament granted to his Son Iohn he yet remain'd no more than a Subject of the Kingdom of England and was treated accordingly in his being Try'd and Condemn'd by the Laws thereof Moreover it may be noted that upon his accession to the Imperial Crown of England whatever Feudatory Royalty he had before became now merg'd and extinguisht in his own Person which by reason of it's being Head and Supream could not at the same time be capable of any Feudatory Subjection so that there was an absolute determination of the Former Grant which could not agâ—in be reviv'd but by a New Donation upon another Person I hope I have now so far remov'd this main Pillar of Mr. Molyneux's Structure that I may take the Liberty as often as I shall have Occasion hereafter to deny positively that King Iohn was ever made absolute King of Ireland without any Dependance on England Here Mr. Molyneux had brought his Argument up to a pitch and concluded us under a perfect real Seperation and thus he puts it upon us let us suppose That King Richard had left Issue whose Progeny had governed England and King John 's Progeny had governed Ireland where then had been the Subordination of Ireland to the Parliament or even to the King of England Certainly no such thing could have been then pretended But this is but a Supposition and fit for none but People of his size who take up Matters by Appearances and Presumptions and assume the Confidence from thence to be positive in their Assertions giving no allowance for the possibility of being mistaken But we need not suppose in this matter but may be confident that the Supream Authority over Ireland must always have continued in the Kingdom of England as it does at this day and he hath made nothing appear to the contrary De non apparentibus non existentibus eadem est ratio Yet I cann't but remark how he enjoys himself in this Supposition when he thought he had gain'd his Point Where then had been the Subordination if any such there be it must arise from something that followed after the descent of England to King John for by that descent England might as properly be subordinate to Ireland as the Converse because Ireland had been vested in King John twenty two Years before his accession to the Crown of England Yes and 't was the ancienter Kingdom too Is it likely that King Iohn who had not before thought so well of his Kingdom of Ireland as to make it his residence but chose rather to remain where he was but a Subject when he was now become a real King of England should be so far taken with the Fancy of the ancientest Kingdom if it were so as to put the greater and by many degrees the more powerful more pleasant and more civiliz'd Kingdom in subordination to the less which was then of no Power or Consideration in the World and that he should be better pleas'd with the Stile of Lord of Ireland and King of England than that of King of England and Lord of Ireland or is it likely that England who in that very Age had subdued Ireland and added it to its Empire should now be contented to submit it self and become subordinate to Ireland so as that the Administration of the Government there should direct the grand Affairs of England is not this perfect Jesting and Fooling with Argument But he tells us If perhaps it will be said that this Subordination of Ireland to England proceeds from Ireland 's being annext to and as it were united with the imperial Crown of England by several Acts of Parliament in both Kingdoms since King John 's time This is well acknowledged for it makes out clearly that Ireland is a Kingdom as firmly united to the Kingdom of England as the Legislature of both Kingdoms could do it If he would yet distinguish between the Imperial Crown as his words are and the Kingdom I have shewn before how there cannot be any such distinction in England But though in the former Passage of Iohn's being created an Independent King by Act of Parliament he shews himself to be quite overseen and blinded by his depending so much upon it through the rest of his Argument yet he perceives plainly that a fair Inquiry into this Annexing will not turn to account for him and therefore although he is not wanting to be very particular and exact in his Numerous Quotations of other Authorities yet here he is cautious of imparting any further Light into this matter than just to tell us there are several such Acts of Parliament both in England and Ireland Surely these English Acts might be said to be binding upon Ireland and therefore too they must be conceal'd and we shan't have one Word of them anon when he pretends to reckon up all those Statutes that the English Parliaments have made to affect Ireland And I cann't find that he meddles with it any more tho' he says that He shall enquire more fully hereafter how this operates But for the present he only tells us That he conceives little more is effected by these Statutes than that Ireland shall not be alien'd or seperated from the King of England who cann't hereby dispose of it otherwise than in Legal Succession along with England and that whoever is King of England is ipso Facto King of Ireland and the Subjects of Ireland are oblig'd to obey c. Doth not this strongly assert the Parliamentary Authority If he had said that it should not be alienated or separated from the Kingdom he had spoken English and set the matter right but if he will insist upon so fine a Conceit as to divide between the Political Capacity of the King and the Kingdom if it be not bad English is however Language that cann't be understood in England Now he tells us of King Iohn's going again into Ireland about the Twelfth year of his Reign of England where above Twenty little Irish Kings did again do Homage and Fealty to him and he constituted the English Laws and Custâ—â—s among them placing Sheriffs and other Ministers for the Administration of Iustice to the People according to the English Laws This is a further Proof of the intire Resignation and Submission of the Irish to the Government of England He goes on King Henry the Third his King Iohn's Son in the first year of his Reign granted to Ireland one or two Magna Charta's but he owns that 't was by the Advice of his English Privy Council Let it again be Observ'd that this King did not transact this Matter by any seperate Authority but did it in his Privy Council which is exactly according to our Constitution and that being the same Method in which all the Administration of the Government of the Kingdom of England was directed it shews that those Kings govern'd
that no Grant ever did or could make Ireland an Absolute Distinct Separate Kingdom and wholly Independent of England or invest it with such a supream Legislature as is inherent in the Head of the Government only which with respect to the Body of the English Empire can never reside any where else than in the King by and with the Advice and Consâ—nt of the Lords and Commons of England in Parliament assembled Fifthly That the Presidents and Opinions quoted by Mr. Molyneux do not by any means assist his Argument but do most of them support mine against him And Sixthly That his Reasons and Arguments offered on one side and t'other are as little to his purpose but that the English Settlements in Ireland always were and ever must be properly accounted as a Colony of England and hath ever been by her protected and supported as such By these Principles then and no other but such as these can the English be justify'd in their Conduct towards the Irish whereas if they had been an absolute distinct independent People the former and latter Disturbances they have given us could not have been Rebellions but were just Attempts to vindicate their Rights against a People that had without Reason violated them their Lands had not been legally Forfeited but forcibly taken from them against all Iustice and Reason and the Spilling of so much of their Blood must lye heavy upon those that provok'd them to take up Arms in Defence of their just Liberties and Properties Is it not much more for your Interest then to put this matter on the right bottom upon which our Actings towards them were always grounded by considering the Irish as a People that had been subdu'd and brought into Subjection to the English Government and were united to it in the Nature of a Province of its Empire and to esteem the English that have been settled there as a Colony of England which we were oblig'd to protect and defend against any Insults and Violences offered them by the Natives For this must justly subject them to the Forfeitures and Penalties due to Rebels vindicate us in the Severities we have exercis'd upon them support you in the possession of the Estates which were taken from them and return the the Guilt of all the Blood that hath been shed in the Irish Wars upon their own Heads as being the Aggressors These things are so Obvious that I believe there are many of you that can have no good Opinion of Mr. Molyneux's Book yet I am told that there are others and some of good Rank among you that are very fond of it does indeed with respect to you carry the face of a Popular Argument and is artfully written and he that can take the Latitude of advancing his own Imaginations and mistaken Conjectures with the Confidence of Realities and Certainties suggest Falsities with the utmost Assurance and omit Material Truths may impose much upon an unwary Reader especially if be thinks what 's offer'd is for his Interest Quod volumus facile credimus But any thoughtful Man that will give himself leave to Consider it impartially will find it to be one of the weakest and most mistaken Books that ever was written with such a flourish of Language and shew of Learning and Integrity The Story of King John's being made an absolute Independent King is the main Prop on which he lays the greatest stress of his Reasoning aud yet it proves but a meer Imagination The Writers indeed of these Times do say he was made King of Ireland but it looks but like a Complement to him for the Grant it self shews plainly that 't was but feudatory Donation and that 't was never intended to make him an Independent King because he was limited to use no higher Stile than that of Lord of Ireland Mr. Molyneux also deals very unfairly in many other particulars and it appears that he had more regard to the point he contests than to discover the genuine Truth of the matter for he hath not only stretch'd in favour of his Argument beyond what any Authorities can warrant but he has also conceal'd divers obvious Instances that make against him of which I shall observe to you some Particulars which have occur'd to me since I had gone through with my Answer I have accidentally met with Sir Richard Bolton's Statutes which he quotes wherein I Observe that there are several Acts that declare in most express Words that the Kingdom of Ireland is appending united knit and a Member rightfully belonging to the Imperial Crown of England And yet Mr. Molyneux observes this to us with such a Diminution as represents it but as it were united and which he conceives effects no more than that Ireland shall not be alienâ—d or separated from the King of England c. but I cannot imagine that he is so ignorant of our Constitution as not to know that we can have no Notion of uniting or annexing to the Imperial Crown of England as appropriated to the King's Person distinct from the Kingdom which if it can be sence any where else is yet perfect Nonsence in England But I have met with one Prevarication so notorious that I must not omit shewing it Mr. Molynex in page 41. hath these words For the Dominion and Regality of Ireland was wholly and separately vested in King Iohn being absolutely granted unto him without any Reservation And he being created King in the Parliament at Oxford under the Style and Title of Lord of Ireland enjoy'd all manner of Kingly Jurisdiction Preheminence and Authority Royal belonging to the Imperial State and Majesty of a King as are the express words of the Irish Statute 33 H. 8. cap. 1. I must confess that I believ'd that this Statute had been as express in the matter as he delivers it but 't is so far from it that there is no mention made of King John or his Grant in it The words of the Act are Forasmuch as the King our most gracious Sovereign Lord and his Grace's most noble Progenitors Kings of England have been Lords of this Land of Ireland having all manner of Kingly Jurisdiction Power Preheminencies and Authority Royal belonging or appertaining to the Royal Estate and Majesty of a King by the Names of Lord of Ireland We deny not that King Henry the Eighth's Progenitors the Kings of England had this Royal Sovereign Authority over Ireland but his Insinuation that John had it before he was King of England is plainly false and not warrantable by this Statute Again he mightily imposes upon the World in â—sserâ—ing That before the Year 1641. there was no Statute made in England introductory of a New Law c. but those which he had before-mentioned And though while I am dealing with Mr. Molyneux I confine my self to mention no Authorities but his own yet I will here presume for a proof of his Ignorance or Disingenuity to name some other old Acts binding Ireland which have been
Ireland in no other Manner than as a Member of the English Empire We agree with him that all the Rights and Liberties of English-men were granted to the People of Ireland that they had the Privilege of holding Parliaments and in short that they had a Compleat Jurisdiction and Form of Government settled and allow'd to be exercis'd among them as far as was requisite for the well-governing and regulating the particular Management of the affairs of so considerable a People that were now become a Member of the English Empire and were seperated by Sea from the Seat of the Supream Government Yet all this must be understood to be no otherwise than in Subordination to the Supream Authority of England which is Evident not only from the Reason of the thing but also from the Practice that hath always been Observ'd Can it consist with Reason to believe that any powerful Government should subdue another Nation much inferiour to them in strength place a Colony of their own people among them make them Denizons and endow them in all the Privileges of their own Subjects and yet because they gave them their Laws and constituted the very same Manner of Government among them as was exercis'd by themselves that therefore they could not be in any Subordination to the Kingdom that thus far subdu'd and settled them but must ever after be esteem'd as a People fixt upon a distinct Foundation and as much seperated from them as they were in the state of Nature Sure this is too absurd to be insisted on But the constant practice which hath been us'd in the Administration of that Government from the first times of their becoming a Member of our Empire shews that the Kings of England did never treat them as a Propriety of their own and distinct from the Jurisdiction of this Kingdom were not these Magna Charta's as his own Authorities prove given with the Advice of the Privy Council of England and have they not always had Governours sent them from hence whether under the Title of Lords Lieutenants Deputies Justices Presidents or otherwise and that not by the King alone but nominated in the Privy-Coâ—ncil and have not these Governours been accountable to our Parliaments for any Male-administration there All the prime Motions and Supream Managements of their Government are likewise consulted and directed by the King in his Privy-Council here such as the Calling Proroguing or Dissolving of their Parliaments and the Approving all their Acts the Sending over and Establishing what English Forces shall be kept there the Appointing all Officers Military and Civil c. Is this like a Separate Kingdom an Independent Government or a Neighbour Nation as free as in the State of Nature Can any Man be so ignorant as to maintain that the Privy-Council of England may have Authority where the Supream Legislature the Parliament hath none Doth this leave room to say that England and Ireland though govern'd under one and the same Supream Head yet are as seperate and distinct in their jurisdictions as are the Kingdom of England and Scotland at this day The Privy-Council of England never intermeddle in the Business of Scotland the King transacts the affairs of that Kingdom through the Hands of the Scotch Secretaries who always attend him in England the Royal Family of the Stuarts were their Lawful Kings and when our King Iames the First succeeded as Right Heir to the Kingdom of England although he remov'd his Residence hither because this was the much more Considerable Kingdom yet no alteration could thereby be made upon their Jurisdiction but the Constitution of their Government remain'd as entire within themselves as before but this Author himself hath sufficiently made out that the Accession of Ireland to England was in such a manner as totally abolish'd their former Constitution if they had any and subjected them to become a Member of the English Monarchy I think I have said enough of these Matters already to set them in a truer Light than this Gentleman hath represented them and shall not give my self the Trouble to Remark divers other Passages which result from the same Erroneous Way of Arguing nor to meddle with his long History of what English Laws and in what manner they were introduc'd into Ireland more than to argue some few Points with him He says If we now enquire what were those Laws of England that became thus establisht in Ireland Surely we must first reckon the great Law of Parliaments c. Is it not the highest Sanction of the Parliamentary Authority that all the Subjects of the Empire must obey its Supream Decrees In receiving then this great Law of Parliaments were not the People of Ireland for ever obliged as well as to all its former Statutes so also to whatever it should for the future enact concerning the whole Empire in which they now became comprehended But Mr. Molyneux means that Law whereby all Laws receive their Sanction The free Debates and Consent of the People by themselves or by their chosen Representatives His drift in this is to perswade us that because it was granted to Ireland to hold a Parliament within themselves by their own Representatives that therefore they ought not to be in any Subjection to the Parliament of England wherein they have no Representatives and 't is upon this Point that he mightily values himself in much of his after Discourse yet he cann't tye this Knot so fast but that it may well enough be undone This Parliament of theirs could not be granted them further than for the managing their own Affairs among themselves but the Supream Legislature of the whole Body must be permanent and fixt in its Head according to the first Constitution and cannot be divided or granted away to any Member or Members of the Body Can any thing grant away it self A Father may grant his Son a great deal of Liberty but he can never make any grant to divest himself of his paternal Relation But Mr. Molyneux can have no Notion of Liberty if a Man may be bound by Laws whereto he hath not given his Consent by either himself or his Chosen Representative A little Distinction now will make us agree this Matter 'T is yet no Oppression upon him if he neglects to constitute a Representative when the Privilege of doing it is not taken away from him If a Man go abroad and stay many years out of his own Countrey shall he not be bound by the Laws made by the Community in his absence because he gave no Assent neither in his Person nor by his Representative In like manner if a Colony be settled abroad shall not the Legislature of their Mother Countrey bind them if they think fit to Enact concerning them because they had no Representatives in it Yes very reasonably for that they are still Fellow-Subjects of the Community and if they are permitted to live abroad for their Convenience the main Body of this their
Authority and is given to the King not as his own separate Propriety but as an Ensign of the Authority which he enjoys as Head of the Kigdom if any Body should steal this Material Crown and break it to pieces as Bloud did the Supream Authority of the King and Kingdom remains entire and inviolated This Supream Authority always resides in the Legislature which in our Constitution is inseparably vested in the King Lords and Commons there can be no annexing to the Imperial Crown of England distinct from the Supream Imperial Authority of the Kingdom if any Territory shall be annext to this Imperial Crown it must become a Member of the Empire otherwise 't is no annexing and because there can be but one Supream Legislature every Member or part of the Empire must be in some Subordination to that Supream Legislature whatsoever other Jurisdiction it may retain as necessary to its own particular Regulations within it self otherwise it can be no Member but must remain a perfect Body of it self I think these are Positions that won't easily be disprov'd and we have a compleat Instance of them in the Kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland as they stand related to England Scotland is an ancient distinct and saving the old Pretensions of England upon them independent Kingdom hath an Imperial Crown of its own worn by a long Succession of Kings whose Posterity came to inherit the Kingdom of England and remove their Seat hither yet 't was not in their Power to annex the Kingdoms without their Joint Consent so that they remain an intire Sovereign Kingdom govern'd according to their own Constitution without any Subordination to England to this day and therefore in the late Happy Revolution when King William and Queen Mary had obtain'd the intire possession of the Crown of England they did not pretend to that of Scotland 'till the States of that Kingdom had conferr'd it upon them by a free Election On the contrary Ireland whatever it was anciently was no intire Kingdom when the English first took Possession of it but divided into many Jurisdictions under Petty Princes it had never any Diadem or Ensign of Royalty that ever I could hear of it was entirely subdued and brought under the English Government by Conquest as all Authors except Mr. Molyneux agree it was brought into the form of a Kingdom and afterwards had that Title conferr'd upon it and was endow'd with Laws and a Constitution of Government by the Authority of England who from the Beginning reserv'd and exercis'd a Superiority over them and Mr. Molyneux being quite mistaken in the Grant made to King Iohn it was never separated from being a Member of the Empire of England but even as Mr. Molyneux confesses remains annext to it to this day The Supream Legislature of England then in being presented the Title of it to King William and Queen Mary at the same time with that of England without asking the leave of the People of Ireland in like manner they have proclaim'd all the English Kings with that Title at their first Accession and have as he owns concluded Ireland in all Acts of Recognition What if the Parliaments of Ireland have also recogniz'd 't was but to own their Allegiance our Kings were as effectually vested in the Dominion over Ireland before by the Authority of England and double doing in such a Case can be no harm neither can this be any Argument to prove Their having all Iurisdiction to an Absolute Kingdom belonging or that they are not subordinate to any Legislative Authority on Earth Now he tells us As the Civil State of Ireland is thus absolute within it self likewise so is the Ecclesiastical and just so it is but that is without any absoluteness in either The multitude of the Native Irish and the Old English were doubtless very averse to the Establishment of the Reformed Religion because they have continued Româ—n Catholicks ever since and yet this Reformation was begun there by no other Authority than an Order of the King and Council in England to the Lord Deputy to Cause the Scriptures and the Common Prayers to be us'd there in the English Tongue from whence 't is evident that they did not then think their own Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction so absolute as that they could oppose it to the Authority of England He quotes a Record out of Reyley That Edward the Second upon a Motion of his Parliament at Westminster had sent his Letters Patents to the Lord Iustice of Ireland that he should Order that the Irish might enjoy the Laws of England concerning Life and Member From whence he infers That the Parliament did not then think that they had Iurisdiction in Ireland otherwise they would have made a Law themselves to this effect Can this be any more than an Instance of what I have all along said that our Parliaments have always been willing to leave the Peopâ—e of Ireland as much as possible to the Exercise of their own Form of Government in Matters relating to themselves and not to interpose their own Supream Authority but upon Extraordinary Occasions wherein the Welfare of the whole was concerned But can it be any Argument that they thought they had no such Authority because they did not think â—it on this Occasion to use it Mr. Molyneux finds that the lying of a Writ of Error from the King's Bench in England on a Judgment given in the King's Bench in Ireland lyes heavy upon him and therefore he labours mightily and turns it every way to get rid on 't first he says 't is The Opinion of several Learned in the Laws of Ireland that this is founded on an Act of Parliament in Ireland which is lost How Learned soever this Opinion may be I am sure 't is not very Judiciously offer'd here for no Body will believe that the Legislature of a Kingdom that thought it self absolute could do so foolish a thing as to make a Law themselves that should put them under the Administration of another Kingdom in so high a point as the Controuling all their Judicatures and therefore if ever they made such an Act of Parliament 't is not to be doubted but that at that time they were very sensible that whatsoever Authority they had among themselves was all deriv'd from and in perpetual Subordination to the Supream Authority of England Indeed he comes and says after That this Suit is made to the King only the matter lies altogether before him and the Party complaining applyes to no part of the Political Government of England for Redress but to the King of Ireland only who is in England That the King only is sued to the Law books make plain c. for above two Pages Fine very fine spun are these Arguments but withal so extream â—light that they won't hang together If the King was ever us'd to â—it there in Person was there not always four English Judges constituted in that Court whom
will commend but is it not as natural for such a People to be less ready to pay so intire an Obedience as may be requir'd of them by their Superiours and to be uneasie under any Checks that may impeach them in the prosecution of such Advantages that they may find themselves capable of without considering how preiudicial they may be to others may there not be an aptness in such a People to be somewhat assuming and to have a good Opinion of themselves will there not be a proness to impatience and forwardness to reflect when any Contradiction is given them may they not be likely to expect more regard from others than is really due to them Is it not probable that they would be less considerate in giving Offence than ready to take Offence at others may not heighth of Spirit be nearer their Temper than true Humility Moreover as they have no Concern in the transacting with Forreign Nations in matters of Government they may be the less us'd to consider of the Nature and Reason of Political Managements or to think how far it is incumbent upon a Mother Nation or Supream Government to regulate all her Colonies or Members so as that the Tranquility of the whole Empire may be best conserv'd and perhaps they may be subject to forget the Obedience and Duty which must be perpetually owing from them to her These are Humane Infirmities that may be very naturally incident to a People under the fore-mentioned Circumstances and I have met with ingenuous Persons who have been bred up in such Colonies that have readily acknowledg'd that their Iudgments have been much rectify'd in these matters when they have come to see more of the World and been made sensible of the better Accomplishments that are to be found in a more Polite Conversation they may perhaps attain to a good pitch of School-Learning but that can amount to no more than a very superficial Knowledge in respect to the far greater improvement that is to be gain'd by reading the great Book of the World and practising the ample Study of Men and Things I am tender of putting these things too home because I know that though Men should be brought to see their own Infirmities but few can endure to be told of them yet a Marriner will esteem him for a Friend that warns him of the Rocks and Sands that lye in his way and a wise man will never account such an one his Enemy who over-perswades him into the right way when he was confidently going on in the wrong I am sure I want not good Will to the People of Ireland and I believe no Man that hath no concern there can wish their Prosperity more than I do and I am very sensible that 't is the interest of England to encourage them in all such improvements as may conduce to their Happiness and Well being provided they are such as may not prove highly prejudicial to her self I shall think my pains in this Vndertaking to have been very well bestow'd if I have been able to offer any thing that may convince you that 't is your undoubted Interest utterly to abandon the Thoughts or Desires of being look'd upon by the Parliamentary Authority of England to be a People wholly exempt from their Iurisdiction And as I know my Name is too inconsiderable to add any Authority to the Argument I hope I may be excus'd in concealing it from the Odium of such who may not discern the sincerity of my Intentions towards you in this Essay and yet I will not doubt but there are others who will believe me to be as I am resolv'd upon all Occasions to the utmost of my Capacity to render my self Right Honourable Honourable c. Your Real Friend and very Humble Servant AN ANSWER TO Mr. Molyneux OF all the Freedom that hath been taken since the Liberty of the Press we have scarcely seen so bold an Attempt as that of this Author it being no less than to strike off from the Kingdom of England with a dash of his Pen the whole Nation of Ireland over which it hath exerciz'd a just Dominion for many hundreds of Years and yet I believe it will appear that he hath not shewn the want of Consideration more in his choosing an Argument of so dangerous a Consequence than by his superficial confus'd and mistaken way of managing it the strength of any reasoning that he hath offer'd being much more applicable to the Native Irish with whom the Original Contract if there were any such must have been made than to the Brittish Protestants inhabiting among them But it is to be considered that the Political State of Ireland hath suffered very considerable Alterations since the first possession of it by the Engâ—ish for though that first Submission of the Irish was so universal as that the English possess'd themselves of most of the considerable Towns and settled far and wide in the Island yet in after times through the defection of the Irish and the mixing and uniting of many of the Old English with them that part which remain'd intirely under the English Obedience came to be confin'd to a Narrow Compass perhaps not above four or five Counties which was till very lately diâ—tinguisht by the Name of the English Pale and the far greater part of the Country remain'd under many petty Dominions possess'd by the Irish Lords and great Men who paid but very little Obedience to the Government of England but on the contrary some or other of them were almost continually giving disturbance to the English Government that was settled there by which means they were shut out from having to do with the English in the Transacting of the Publick Affairs of the Country and the Reduction of them never came to any tolerable Perfection till so lately as the Reign of Queen Elizabeth so that indeed those Ancient Parliaments and other Managements of the Publick Affairs there which Mr. Molyneux mentions did scarcely operate further than among the English Settlements which as I said before extended but to a small part of the Island There was yet another great Occasion which made a very considerable alteration in the Administration of the Government of that Country and that was the Change of Religion for after the Reformation came to be throughly establisht and the Roman Catholicks were found to be continually designing against it all of that Religion were excluded from having to do in Publick Managements and this shut out not only the Native Irish but even the Old English who mostly continued under that Profession But Mr. Molyneux takes no Notice of the Distinctions that ought to be made of these different Interests but that he may carry on his Point blends and confounds them all together as if they were to be considered alike as one intire People establisht and continuinuing upon the same bottom of Government If then due Regard be had to these and other Distinctions which must be
observ'd upon his way of Arguing I believe it will be found that this doughty piece of Irish Learning will appear but a very indifferent performance I would not however detract from any thing that may deserve applause and therefore must commend his smooth way of Expression and own him to be a good Master of Words but yet to have applyed them so ill will still continue him under the Censure of being much wanting either in Integrity or Judgment and makes this Book of his to deserve no better a Character than that of Vox praeterea nihil I have heard indeed that some have been taken with the seeming Modesty and Submission with which he introduces his Discourse as if it were but an innocent representation of the ancient Rights and Liberties of the People of Ireland and a just Remonstrance of some Encroachments and Invasions made upon them by the Government of England but if it shall appear that the Kingdom of England hath a certain Jurisdiction over them and that it hath never treated them otherwise than according to the Rules of Justice and with such a due Policy as becomes every Supream Authority to Exercise over all the Members of its Empire for the Conservation of Peace and Tranquility to the whole and in that have not exceeded the Bounds of a reasonable and just Dominion that part of the Empire that shall endeavour to withdraw themselves from the Subjection which they justly owe to the Supream Government that hath always protected and defended them and shall challenge to themselves Immunities and Privileges which never were or could be granted them without prejudice and injury to the greater Body of the Government deserve not to be considered as Assertors of their own Rights but rather as Invaders of the lawful Authority which God hath placed over them and certainly it must rather be Matter of Contempt and Derifion than of Commendation to see a Man treat his Superiour with a strain of Fine Smooth Gentle Words and Fawning Complements upon a Subject that is altogether imposing and odious to him Thus much I thought requisite to premise and so shall proceed to the Examination of his Discourse In which I intend to take Notice only of such matters as I shall think most Observable In his Dedication to the King he Humbly implores the Continuance of his Majesties Graces to them by protecting and defending those Rights and Liberties which they have enjoy'd under the Crown of England for above 500 Years and which some of late do endeavour to violate His most Excellent Majesty is the Common Indulgent Father of all his Countries and hath an equal regard to the Birth-rights of all his Children and will not permit the Eldest because the strongest to encroach upon the Possessions of the Younger Here is should be Noted that by the Crown of England he must intend the Kings of England as distinct from the Kingdom although I think this a very improper way of Expression which is evident from his Simile of the Eldest and Youngest Child as well as by the whole Design of his Argument and this perhaps might have serv'd the turn in making his Court to a Mac Ninny or a Prince â—ond of the Irish Nation but it looks but like a course Complement to his Majesty to entertain him with a meer begging the Question when he knows right well at what a vaâ—t Expence of the Blood and Treasure of England that Country was so lately under his Glorious Conduct reduc'd to its Obedience and he is too Just and Generous a Prince to endure that any Parasite should perswade him that any acquisition gain'd at the Expence of great Taxes rais'd upon the whole Body of his Subjects of England and even appropriated by the Parliament for the particular Uses in which they were to be employ'd can appertain to him in any propriety distinct and separate from the Imperial Crown of England Neither is it reasonable for him to expect that his Majesty should believe that the Some he means are about to violate their Rights and Liberties without clearer Proof than any he hath brought But it may be worth Inquiry to know in what sense he brings Ireland in with us for an equal share of Birth-right allowing us no higher Priviledge than that of being the Elder Child If he means this with respect to the Old Irish surely the many Disturbances they have given us and the many Occasions we have had of reducing them by force of Arms may fairly admit us to some higher Title over them but if he means it of the English Inhabitants they will certainly own themselves to be descended from England and it would ill become them to start up and call their Mother by the Familiar Appellation of Sister What he hints of encroaching upon their Possessions cannot be taken to have any fair Meaning unless he intends thereby to blame us for seizing the Estates of those that have been in Rebellion against us In his Preface he tells us How unconcern'd he is in any particular Inducement which at this juncture might seem to have occasion'd his Discourse He hath no concern in Wool or the Woollen Trade he is not interested in the Forfeitures or Grants nor solicitous whether the Bishop or Society of Derry recover the Lands they contest about I believe seven Eighths of those Gentlemen of Ireland that have been so busie in soliciting against the Woollen Manufactury Bill might make as fair a Protestation as this and yet it seems they thought themselves concern'd in the Consequence of that Matter but his Reach in this is to shew his Dislike of the Parliament of England's medling with the Business of the Forfeited Estates as well as the rest He says 'T is a Publick Principle that hath mov'd him to this Vndertakeing he thinks his Cause good and his Country concern'd 't is hard if they may not complain when they think they are hurt and give Reasons with all Modesty and Submission The Great and Iust Council of England freely allow such Addresses to receive and hear Grievances is a great part of their Business and to redress them their chief Glory but that 's not to be done till they are laid before them and fairly stated for their Consideration 'T is yet but a Private Principle to become an Advocate for a part against the Whole his Name shews him to be of English Extraction and I know none of his Neighbours under that Circumstance who don't reckon it a Privilege that they may still own Old England to be their Country and be owned by her though they are permitted to live in Ireland if they please what if they are not hurt and the nature of their Complaint be such as that it cannot be thought to be within the Bounds of Modesty and Submission how could he be so fond of his Project as to imagine that the Parliament of England would freely allow such an Address which impeaches their own just Authority They
a Civil War and of these kinds have been the Ruptures in England which he instances But if People who live in a settled Common-wealth where the Laws made or consented to by their Ancestors are in force and Justice is duely administred shall take up Arms to Oppugn the Legal Authority plac'd over them to overturn the Government and assume to themselves Liberties and Priviledges prejudicial to the Common Good or to dethrone a Rightful Prince who hath govern'd justly this in its very Nature is a Rebellion I am not ignorant that all contending Parties pretend to be in the right and that they take up Arms justly and none will own themselves Rebels unleâ—s they are forc'd to it but yet 't is evident that there is a real Right and Wrong in these things and there have been many Instances in which the Impartial World could easily judge where the Right lay If it be not so I leave it to this Gentleman to furnish the World with some other good Reasons why the Old Irish and Ancient English have been so severely handled in that Kingdom His Third Inquiry is What Title Conquest gives by the Law of Nature and Reason Mr. Molyneux hath shewn himself a good Advocate for the Irish in what forgoes but if he had been a General in the Irish Army I see not what more powerful Arguments he could have chosen to stir them up to fight Valiantly against the English than by telling them as in effect he doth here That the first Invasion of the English upon them was altogether unjust that Henry the second was an Agressor and Insulter who invaded their Nation unjustly and with his Sword at their Throats forc'd them into a Submission which he cou'd never thereby have a Right to that Posterity can lose no Benefit by the Opposition which was given by their Ancestors which could not extend to deprive them of their Estates Freedoms and Immunities to which all Mankind have a Right that there is scarce one in a thousand of them but what are the Progeny of the ancient English and Brittains If the Irish were Conquered their Ancestors assisted in Conquering them and therefore as they were descended from these Old English they could never be subjugated or brought under the Modern English This is the Substance of his own Discourse and according to his own Notions of the Freedoms and Immunities to which all Mankind has a Right he might have told them in consequence that 't was their Duty to exert their own Rights and Liberties expel the English out of the Nation as Invaders and make themselves and their Posterity as free as any of the rest of the Sons of Adam Any one may judge of this Gentleman's Discretion by his publishing such Notions as these among the Irish with whom perhaps they may be taking but the People for whom he designs his Discourse won't be so easily caught with his Sophistry He grants us that the Practice of the World may not come up to the Rectitude of his Doctrines but he is inquiring what Right they have to what they do practice Well we have the World of our side at least if after a Possession of above 500 Years we don't now much trouble our selves to inquire what Right Henry the 2d had to Invade Ireland with an English Army I wish I could find out the Posterity of those O's or Mac's that were heretofore the rightful Possessors of the Lands which this Gentleman now enjoys in Ireland and which they never parted with for any Valuable Consideration only to see whether he would so much outdo the rest of the World as to practice his own Principles and very fairly give up his Lands to them as to the right Heirs at Law But to Dispute a little with him about this Matter The End of all Government is for the Benefit of Mankind many Nations have been subdued and conquered for their own good and whoever hath been an Invader that way hath done them Right and not Wrong So did the Romans Conquer People from under the Power of Tyrants and Oppressors Barbarism and Ignorance to make them Members of the best and freest Government in the World and to Civilize them into good Manners and Useful Arts and thus is Henry the second 's Invasion of Ireland to be justify'd and commended He began to rescue the People from the Oppressions and Violences of their own wild Princes and the Blood and Rapine to which they were frequently expos'd upon every Quarrel and Invasion of so many Petty Monarchs and from which in process of time they were totally delivered by the Authority of England He gave the People the English Laws constituted Parliaments and the English Form of Government to this by his own Confession they freely submitted and doubtless they were convinc'd that 't was for their Good But no History tells us that he reserv'd not the Direction of the State to England and constant practice all along shews the contrary His plausible Arguments for the Liberty and Right of all Mankind that Conquests cann't bind Posterity c. are wholly misapply'd in this Case and he abuses Mr. Lock or whoever was the Author of that Excellent Treatise of Government in referring to that Book on this occasion for that Worthy Gentleman doth therein argue the Case of People whose just Rights are violated their Laws subverted and the Liberty and Property inherent to them by the Fundamental Laws of Nature which he very accurately describes is invaded and usurp'd upon and that when this is as Evident and apparent as the Sun that shines in a clear day they may then take the best occasion they can find to right themselves This is a Doctrine that all good Men may assent to but this is in no wise the Case of Ireland they did as he owns receive and 't was to their own Advantage the English Laws and swear Fealty to the King that is to the Government of England and did reciprocally receive from him the Priviledge of being admitted to be free Denizons of England whereby they evidently gave up themselves to be incorporated into and become Members of the English Empire and to this day they remain to enjoy the Liberties and Priviledges of Freemen of England unless there happen to be such as have forfeited the same according to the Municipal Laws of the Government but he endeavours to evade the possibility of their Forfeiting by suggesting as if they were to be considered as a Different Contesting Nation And therefore 'T would be unreasonable to put the Municipal Laws of particular Kingdoms in Execution between Nation and Nation in the state of Nature If a Nation that once was distinct consent to imbody itself into the Government of another that is more powerful receive it's Laws and submit to its Constitution without reserve may they ever after be lookt upon as in the state of Nature or shall they not rather be esteem'd
Off-spring who did as it were swarm out in huge Multitudes to take up new Dwellings where they lik'd best with no intent to erect any United Empire or to return again to their Native Countries these destroy'd drove away or opprest the Aborigines or former Inhabitants where they came and possess'd themselves of their Habitations Of this latter sort have been the Ancient Scythians the Goths Vandals Huns and others of their Descendents branch'd out into many other Appellations but these may by no means be said to settle Colonies because they retain'd not any dependance upon their Original Countries but erected New and Absolute Governments upon their own Foundation Of those that aim'd at the gaining and keeping together of a Mighty Empire and Vast Dominions the Romans were the last who grew to the greatest heigth and excell'd all others in Power and Policy and the present Kingdoms and States of Europe retain many of their Notions and Principles of Government to this day though in many places with a large Mixture of the Gothick Constitution but 't is from them that we have principal'y learn'd the way of Settling and Managing of Colonies and to their Practice we ought to have recourse in such Matters as relate thereto And though we are not to expect that the Circumstances of other Governments and latter times were obliged to follow the Roman Pattern in every particular yet I believe upon comparing them it will appear that few have trac'd it nearer than we did in the Subduing and Settling of Ireland When the Romans had by Conquest or any other Means brought any Country under Subjection to their Government they then gave the Country the Name of a Roman Province possess'd themselves of the most Considerable Towns and Fortresses wherein they plac'd Competent Garrisons and then withdrew the Body of their Army appointing a Governour in Chief over them whom they at any time afterwards recall'd and sent another at their Pleasure Did not the English in their subduing Ireland so far imitate this way of Management as that the Countrey became united to their Empire in the very Nature of a Roman Province As the Inhabitants of the Countrey made more or less Resistance against them the Romans granted them the more or less Liberty so that they put Considerable Tributes or Services on some and suffer'd others to enjoy great Franchises and Privileges ' In like manner the Irish making little or no Resistance had the Laws and Liberties of Englishmen granted them This is the Nature of a Province but a Colony is yet another thing If the Romans lik'd the Province and saw it convenient for them they sent sufficient Numbers of their own People to settle in this Province divided out such Lands to them as had been gain'd to cultivate and manure for their own Advantage and the Possession thereof to remain to their Posterity the Exercise of the Roman Laws was granted them and sometimes also they had a Senate allow'd among themselves who might enact such things as the Circumstances of their own Affairs did require they and their Posterity always remain'd free Denizons of Rome and were always protected and defended by her as long as she had Power to do it but they were ever obliged to pay an intire Obedience to the pream Decrees of the Senate of Rome and were subject to be call'd home if the Romans thought fit to dissolve the Colony Let the Reader apply this to the Circumstance of Ireland and consider whether it be not a better Example in point than Mr. Molyneux lately gave us I have taken the pains to say thus much on this Head that if possible I might open the Understandings of Mr. Molyneux and his Admirers that they may no longer lye under a Mistake in this matter If the Inhabitants of Countries and Nations can be made up of no more than these three sorts of People Aborigines swarming Invaders if I may so call them or Colonies as I think 't is impossible to find more original Stems whatever Branches or Unions there may be I am sure the English of Ireland won't pretend to be Aborigines there neither can they reckon themselves to be upon the same bottom with the Gothick Excursions for that was quite out of Fashion and the Practice forgotten Ages before they were born all these parts of the World were setled under Kingdoms and Polite Governments which with little alteration I don't say in their Forms of Governing but by Conquest or otherwise except by Unions continue much the same to this day They have frequently needed Help and had been many times destroy'd or driven quite away but for the constant Protection and Support they have always had from their Mother England and they have ever receiv'd a Governour and Directions for all the Principal Managements of their Government from her these Circumstances can be no way agreeable to an Original Gothick Settlement and since there 's nothing else left if Mr. Molyneux won't let them be a Colony of Old England I see no room for them to take up any where but in his Notion of the State of Nature and then there will be need of reducing them again to Order as Wild-men And though I take the Liberty to answer Mr. Molyneux after this manner no Body can imagine that I could think of such a Reflection upon the Worthy English Gentlemen of Ireland I am sure they will be much more ready to agree with me in the same thoughts of their Duty to their Mother Countrey which I have Discours'd in Page 75 and 76. Mr. Molyneux thinks he hath now answered The only remaining Arguments that are sometimes mentioned against them and so He proceeds to offer what he humbly conceives demonstrates the Iustice of their Cause and this takes up about twenty four pages to the end in which he hath summ'd up his Discouse much of which is a Repeating over again What are the Natural Rights and Freedoms of Mankind That no body can be bound without their own free Consent in Parliament quoting Mr. Hooker c. and telling us again of the Concessions made to them But he might have spar'd himself and the Reader this Pains we value Mr. Hooker and all the rest that have written upon that Excellent Subject as much as he we have maintain'd the People of Ireland in the full Enjoyment of all that could be granted them in the first Constitution they act as freely in their own Parliaments in matters pertaining to themselves as ever any Body of Men in their Circumstances did in the World our Parliaments have always shewn that regard to the Legislature which they own to be their Right as that we have rarely medled with it and never but upon very extraordinary Occasions either to help them in the time of their Distress and when they were not in a Capacity to act for themselves as he confesses or when the Good of the whole English Empire of which they are a part did