met with on that Subject which will at least lead towards an Answer if not satisfie your first Inquiry Know then that the English footing in Ireland did not Commence upon a publick but private undertaking For Mac-Murogh King of Leinster having been driven from his Kingdom gave his only Daughter in Marriage to Richard Strongbow Earl of Chepstow and Pembroke and with her his Kingdom after his Death on condition he should assist and restore him The Earl pursuant thereunto incouraged his Relations Fitz-Stephens and Fitz-Gerald to joyn in that undertaking who with near 400 brave Men put off from Milford and Landed near Wexford in Ireland in May Anno. 1170. They were soon followed by Legross with 130 more and in August following by Strongbow himself with 1200. Many of these Parties were Persons of good Quality great Valour and attended with wonderful success For notwithstanding the smart opposition made by the Natives Strongbow in a short time restored Mac-Murogh and inlarged his Dominions to such a Degree as rendred him suspected by Henry II. who by Prohibiting all Commerce with Ireland c. constrained the Earl to yield him all his Acquisitions in that Kingdom The King granted back to Strongbow the Principality of Leinster reserving all the Port-Towns and certain Tracts of Land about them to the Crown King Hen. himself some write with 4500 others that were amongst 'em say but with 500 Knights Landed in October 1172. near Waterford his Presence and Fame with the Terror and Success of Strongbow's Arms so intimidated the Natives in Leinster Munster and Conaught that Five of their Kings on Notice of his Arrival did him Homage and became his Tributaries The greatest part of his Charge was spent in Royal Entertainments and his time for the five Months he stayed there in endeavours so to settle matters as wholly in future to cut off from France the usual assistance afforded by the Irish when Attacqued by the Arms of England He had experimented the benefit the Crown received without Charge by Strongbow's private undertaking Therefore he wisely resolved by like Methods to make that part he had gained bear the charge of Conquering the whole To that end he distributed large Scopes of Land to the great Men that attended him As to Hugh Lacy the Kingdom of Meath finding 100 Knights for his Service for ever c. About four Years after the Irish yielded him or the King imposed a Tax of Twelve Pence on every House or Yoak of Oxen there which amounted to no small Summ in those days After the Death of Strongbow the King at Oxford made his Son John King of Ireland and as our own Writers tell us he divided the Lands of that Kingdom to his Subjects as well of England as Ireland to be held of him and his Son John he gave Miles Cogan and Robert Fitz-Stephens the Kingdom of Cork to whose Relief soon after Arrived there Richard Cogan with a Troop of Horse and a Company of Foot Anno. 1184. Philip de Breos as fore-runner of the young King went into Ireland with a small Party of Horse and Foot the next Year the young King followed with no Army yet Honourably attended and with some Treasure This young Counceller like Rechoboam's handled the Irish Princes that Congratulated his Arrival so roughly that they were provoked to Rebel Whereupon Eight Months after his Arrival he left that Kingdom in a much worse condition than he found it King Henry's Wars in France the unnatural Rebellion of his Sons and his other troubles permitted him not to relieve it yet to pursue his former Method he committed the Government of that Kingdom to the Renowned John de Courty and gave him a Grant of the whole Province of Vlster then unsubdued the Irish Princes thereof having not hitherto owned any subjection to England The Valiant Courcy with 3 or 400 of his friends and followers with the Forces then in Ireland not only reduced the Rebels in the other three Provinces to their former subjection but also brought Vlster under the English Yoak Richard I. was so taken up with his expedition to the Holy Land the perfidy of the French King and his unhappy detention by the Emperor That he concerned not himself with the Affairs of Ireland that I find further then that he Married Isabel the Sole Heiress of Strongbow to William Maxfield Earl-Marshal of England who was also in right of his Wife made Earl of Pembroke and P. of Leinster This Earl left Issue of that Marriage five Sons who succeeded each other to their Fathers Honours and Estate yet Died Issueless and five Daughters whose Fortunes in Ireland and Wales recommended them to the greatest Pears of England As Joyce the Eldest to Earl Warren who had with her the County of Wexford of whom came the Earls of March c. Matilda the second had the County of Catherlow and Married Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk Isabel the third Daughter had the County of Kilkenny and Married the Earl of Gloucester and Hereford Sybilla the fourth had the County of Kildare and Married William Ferrars Earl of Ferrars and Darby Eva the fifth Daughter had the Mannour of Dunmas now called the Queens County and Married the Lord Bruise of Gower whereby the Revenue of those five Counties became transmittable annually into England These Ladies Cambden tells us enriched their Husbands with Children Honour and Possessions King John having received 1000 Marks from Volois Lord Justice of Ireland to discharge him without account for the Revenue he had received of that Kingdom Soon after committed the Government thereof to Walter and Hugh Lacy who abused his Authority not only to the Oppression of the Irish but to the subversion of many of the best English Families also to that degree that our Writers say their Exactions Oppressions and Tyranny Murders might be added was intolerable yet King John instead of easing those Pressures if we believe Grafton and Fabian imposed Taxes on the People of Ireland towards his Wars with France much greater than they were able to bear So that by overstretching he crackt the strings of the Irish Harp whereon for sometime after was only heard the discordant sound of Revolt Rapin and War in every Corner To quell which the 25th of May 1210. The King himself landed near Waterford with an Army their number no where given us The Irish Kings and great Lords immediately appeased him by Submissions Homage and Tributes He granted the English Subjects in Ireland the benefit of Magna Charta and the Laws of England He setled twelve Counties appointed Courts Judges Circuits and Corporations as in England he granted vast Scopes of Land to his great English Lords in Knight Service for small Rents For 2500 Marks he restored Walter Lacy and for 4000 Marks Hugh Lacy and returned into England in August the same year In the year 1213 being threatned with an Invasion from France he received from Ireland 500 men at Arms well appointed and a great
King would have been so much more As suppose for the Year 1685. The Revenue had surmounted the charge by 40000 l. more or less and that in 1686. it had amounted to 150000 l. more than it did the preceding Year In that Case there had been 190000 l. transmitted thence to England for that Year c. In this respect you see it is the Interest both of the King and this Kingdom to put Ireland into a condition of continual improvement Our Trade with France being the greatest out-let of our Money and France being the only Kingdom of the World capable of Annoying us We ought long since to have stopt that yearly Drain But it hath been our infelicity that during the two last Reigns our Councils being Influenced by France we ran Counter to our Interest in Trade as well as Politicks For instead of regulating our Forreign Trade in preserving and gaining more Markets for our Natural Products and Manufactures the hindring and abating the Importation of unnecessary Commodities and encouraging our Manufacturers which are the industrious Bees of the Nation we have been put upon driving the latter from us and restraining the Intercourse and Commerce between us and Ireland and the Plantations and Ireland to the advantage of a few but great detriment to the Publick not to say oppression of our own People abroad while we have given France the opportunity of drawing away our Money and to run away with a considerable part of our Trade and have thereby paid his Pensioners amongst us at our own cost But his Present Majesty being come to deliver us from such Malevolent Councellors it is to be hoped he will not by imploying the Instruments of our past Calamities furnish them with fresh opportunities to Betray the Kingdom or Ruin himself It is the endeavour of almost all the Princes of Europe to Retrench the Power of the French King and 't is no less the concern of England And if I mistake not the present conjuncture of Affairs doth furnish us with some special advantages above the rest to that end It is certain that in times of open Trade France did yearly Gain one or two Millions Sterling by Trade with England which was so much clear loss to this Kingdom Neither was that all but we did thereby yearly strengthen and inrich our mortal Enemies To give some evidence to this I find by a Ballance of one Years Trade between England and France said to be drawn out of our Custom-House Books for the House of Commons about October 1675. That by the certain Ballance thereof we Imported from France 969105 l. 2 s. 8 d. Sterling more in Commodities than we Exported thither but by the supposed or probable Ballance 2105255 l. 6 s. 8 d. I find likewise that about 1676 or 77. That King having some thoughts to Prohibit all our English Manufactures from being carried into France the Ballance of Trade between both Kingdoms being laid before him it did thereby appear that the yearly Exportations of France to England was 2640000 l. Sterling and that the Importations from England to France did not exceed one Million So that by their own shewing France Gained 1640 Thousand Pounds Sterling by England which being the over-Ballance of Trade went out in Cash Amongst the particulars in this last Ballance of Trade said to be Imported into England the Tissues Velvets Sattins Armozines Tabbies Ribons wrought Silks Stuffs Laces Serges Hatts Fans Cabinets Pins Combs c. which we bring yearly from France are valued to amount to 1140000 l. Sterling All which may be Supplied by the Labour of our own People and the French Protestants that are and would come amongst us were due Liberty and Encouragement given and care taken to put things into the right way c. For the doing things of this Nature I am perswaded it would be of singular use if His Majesty would by Order of the Council c. constitute a standing Council of Trade consisting of a great number of the most knowing experienced Merchants of London who or a Quorum of them might meet weekly in some one of their Halls having a Secretary Door-keeper and Messenger allowed them where they might consult how to remove all obstructions of Trade how to regulate it what Manufactures may be set up to the best advantage of the Kingdom and how others may be improved c. Which as they shall have matured may be represented to His Majesty and Council or to both Houses of Parliament as occasion shall require Now as the Idle hands of the Kingdom together with the French Refugees may profitably and agreeably be imployed in the forementioned Fabricks of Silk and other Manufactures which we were wont to bring from France so may the People of Ireland even the very Natives be aptly employed in the Linnen Manufacture for which that Kingdom is in several respects much more proper than England 1. For that Land is Cheaper in Ireland and where good Seed is had the Country yields excellent Flax. 2. The Female Natives who are averse to any Robust Labour are much inclined to the Spinning of Flax which they can do with their Rocks or Distaves as they sit at their Doors or under a Hedge tending their Cattle 3. They are a People that live on a courser and cheaper Dyet nearer the manner of France than the English do or can and therefore can afford their Work cheaper which is a particular of great weight in an Affair of this Nature For except the Commodity be made at least as cheap as we have it from France it will be brought thence in spight of all Prohibitions 4. This is a Labour to which they have been greatly accustomed for before the Commencement of the Present Rebellion there was a considerable quantity of Course Linnen Diapers and Damasks made in Ireland much stronger than those which we usually have had from France 5. There is an Act of the last Irish Parliament still in Force for the raising of Money to set up a Bleaching Yard in each Province of the Kingdom for the Encouragement of the Linnen Manufacture If we consider the concurrence of these things viz. the cheapness of Land and Labour the aptness of the Soil Inclination of the People c. There seems no place so proper for this Manufacture as Ireland Many thinking men of good Sence have been jealous that Ireland by reason of the plenty and cheapness of Wool would in time fall into the improvement of it into Manufactures to the prejudice of England And though their fears at least as to this present Age are groundless yet 't is Wisdom to provide against even remote possibilities of detriment c. This may be done effectually in this Case by setting up and encouraging the Linnen Manufacture and such others in Ireland as may fully and profitably imploy that People and yet not interfere with the Manufactures of England Now if this can be done in a way which will lessen the
French Kings Revenue and keep a considerable part of our Money from being carried into France it ought to be the more acceptable to us In the forementioned Ballance of our Trade with France drawn up by the French they do compute That Linnens Canvas Diapers c. which we yearly import from France do amount to 400000 l. But by the Ballance drawn out of our Custom-house-books in 1675. we find the imported Linnen from France in one year did amount to 528248 l. 16 s. whereof the Particulars are as followeth viz. Â l. s. d. 60000 pieces of Lockrams and Dowlas at 6 l. per piece 360000 00 0 17000 hundred Ells of Vitry Noyals Canvas at 6 l. per C. 102000 00 0 8000 hundred Ells of Normandy Canvas at 7 l. per Cent. 56000 00 0 2500 pieces of Quintin at 10 l. per piece 1250 00 0 1500 pieces of dyed Linnen at 20 s. per piece 1500 00 0 7600 yards of Diaper Tabling at 2 s. per yard 764 00 0 33896 yards of Diaper Napkening at 12 d. per yard 1694 16 0 1376 pieces of Buckrams at 50 s. per piece 3440 00 0 2800 pair of old Sheets at 5 s. per pair 700 00 0 1200 bolts of Boldavis at 15 s. 900 00 0 Â 528248 16 0 Now were these Linnens raised in Ireland as they easily may be although the whole value of them should be transmitted thither in Cash instead of sending it to France it would yet be of greater advantage to his Majesty and to England First to his Majesty By augmenting his Revenue not only by the Duty on Exportation of them out of Ireland which in that case might be the same which the French King lately received out of them in France but also in the encrease of the Inland Excise in Ireland by enabling a greater Consumptioh of Liquors Tobacco c. the Irish being a People that spend freely when they have wherewithal Secondly To England In begetting a greater intercourse of Trade between the two Kingdoms The Irish are naturally prodigal and love Gaities and were they enabled they would soon be induced to take off more of our Manufactures and natural Products so that there would be no need of parting with our Money in Specie to Ireland as now we do to France And whatever advance it would occasion of the Revenue above the charge of that Kingdom it would be transmitted hither to lessen the Taxes in England and yearly add to the Capital Stock of the Kingdom Thirdly It would be advantagious both to the King and Kingdom in lessening the Revenue of the French King and impoverishing his Subjects As the Manufactures of England have enriched it and yielded a great Revenue to the Crown to enable the keeping a powerful Navy at Sea so the vast quantities of Manufactures which is yearly exported out of France into many parts of the World and especially to England do as well by the Duty paid out of them enable that King to keep up several formidable Armies c. as imploy and inrich his Subjects and enable them to pay other Taxes Now so far as we divest France of its Manufactures and lessen the Exportations so far do we abate its Power and disable the keeping up of such powerful Armies c. The Events and difficulties of War are great and uncertain but this is a sure way to weaken any Prince and to bring any Country into a languishing Condition If to what hath been here proposed any shall say That it will be more the advantage of England to have this Linnen Manufacture set up here than in Ireland I answer That the other Manufactures before mentioned with which we are supplyed from France will much more profitably and agreeably imploy our People than the spinning of Linnen which in this case must be done at a very cheap rate or it will not prevent the bringing of them from France And Ireland in the forementioned respects seems much more proper for that purpose than England And if we would prevent their growing into the Wollen Manufacture it is but just they should be encouraged in some other which may imploy and maintain them for they can no more than our People live only on Air though they are content to work cheaper and fare harder To avoid Prolixity I forbear to set down the proper way in which the Linnen Manufacture may be set up and the Improvements which may be made of the distinct Branches of their Majesties present Revenue in Ireland Thus Sir I have in answer to your Queries set down as the Ancient Charge of Ireland and Forces sent from England thither from our first footing there until the compleat Conquest thereof So likewise the considerable returns of both that have been made thence Some of the Advantages we receive by Ireland and the usefulness of that Kingdom to England The State of its Trade and Revenue and shewed that the Improvement of Ireland for thirty five years past hath been none of the Causes of the abatement of Rents in England but the contrary with the true Causes of the advancement and abatement of Rent and Trade in England with the best Expedients for their Improvements The Methods by which our Advantages by Ireland may be secured and augmented to the greater benefit of England Encrease of his Majesties Revenue in Ireland and to the retrenching of the Power of France In doing whereof I have with my accustomed bluntness freely imparted my thoughts yet without designed Prejudice against any Person or Party I doubt not but you will excuse the harshness of the Stile and the other Defects of these Papers seeing that although they were hastily written your impatience for them did not admit them to be reviewed and that I have elected rather to expose my own weakness than to deny you this Testimony of my being unreservedly SIR Your very Humble Servant FINIS ERRATA PAge 22. line 14. after 38000 and 1000 instead of l. read Hundred Page 29. line 27. after live add in There have several other Errours happened in the Press which the Reader is requested to excuse a See Nash and Murphy's Informations concerning the Popish Plot.
number of other Horse who came to his assistance at Barkham Down Henry III. during his 56 years Reign was so fully employed by the French in the Bowels of England the Welsh and Scotch on his Borders and his great Lords at home That he neither assisted nor minded Ireland further than to draw powerful Assistances of men thence which he received against France Anno 1230 and 1254 and against Wales in 1245 in 1256 c. as he had done of Victuals in the beginning of his Reign having received thence 1000 Bacons two Ships load of Corn and one of Oats The Clergy of Ireland granted him a Subsidy and he received Aid thence towards paying a Debt to the Dauphin of France He made his eldest Son Edward Lord of Ireland The 17th of his Reign the King of Conaught exhibited a Complaint That although he had ever since King John subdued him duly paid his annual Tribute of 5000 Marks yet he was disturbed by John de Burgo Edward the First being in War with Scotland and the Irish generally in Rebellion the Scots invaded Ireland and committed all manner of Barbarities but were not only expelled but followed by the English of Ireland who severely revenged the Injury they had received and therein did acceptable Service to the Crown of England In Anno 1293. The King drew Succours from Ireland against the French as he did against the Scotch when Balliol the Chair and Marble were taken and the two latter brought thence Two years after another considerable Army from Ireland met the King near Edinburgh and tendred him considerable Service as did a third Army from thence at the Battle of Falkirk Soon after which Tho. Bissel with a party from Ireland invaded Scotland and possessed himself of the Isle of Arrain which the King gave to him and his Heirs as an acknowledgment of his good Service This King received the whole Tenth of all Ecclesiastical Revenues in Ireland for seven years and one Fifteenth of the Temporality towards the holy War Also Aid towards the Marriage of his Sister and several times pressed them for other Aids The Scots soon after they had given Edward II. that great defeat at Bonoksborne encouraged by that Kings Male-administration took the opportunity to revenge the Mischiefs they had received from Ireland in the former Reign Edward Bruce twice invaded Ireland and notwithstanding the opposition he met with over-ran and sacked a great part of it destroyed Men Women and Children Towns Churches and all that came in his way and excited the Irish to almost a general Rebellion while the Scots King made a like havock in all the North parts of England This Edward Bruce was Crowned King of Ireland but though his Rage was great his Reign was short it being but one year The Cruelties committed by the Scots were so many as caused even the Irish to abhor and abandon them who therefore joyned with the English who at last defeated Bruces's Army cut off his Head and as an acceptable Present sent it to King Edward In this War the Scots lost 30000 and the Irish-English 15000 fighting men besides others The whole Land was almost wasted impoverished and depopulated yet the King was so far from relieving or succouring it That he required and received thâ—nce the â—th Penny from all the Temporality towards defending England against the Scots In his 16th year he was attended at Curlee by the Earl of Louth with 6000 foot and 300 men at Arms and 1000 Hoblers all well appointed and by the Earl of Ulster with 300 men at Arms and in the 17th year of his Reign he was supplyed thence with 5000 Quarters of Corn sent him to Aquitain I do not find that there was any standing Army in pay in Ireland When Edward III. first ascended the Throne nor for several years after the whole charge of the Civil List then amounted but to 308 l. 2 s. for a year and it was because the chief Governor was a great Favorite that he had 500 l. per Annum for his Entertainment out of which he was to maintain twenty or thirty Horsemen In the 6th year of this Kings Reign the Lord Darcy with a potent Army from Ireland invaded Scotland So that as our Writers express it what by the King on the one side and by the Irish on the other Scotland was subdued and Baliole placed on the Throne And two years after the same Lord Darcy over-run part of Scotland and the Isles which he might have possessed had they been worth keeping Notwithstanding which this King the 15th year of his Reign recalled all the Royal Franchises and Liberties and resumed all the Lands and Signories that had been granted by him or his Father which put the English born there into almost as bad a Condition as the Natives and tended to unite them as fellow sufferers and laid the Foundation of innumerable Mischiefs Yet an Army went thence to help the King then in France and did him good Service and were with him at the Battle of Cressey as did another party from Ireland go to him to the Siege of Calais Anno 1347. In 1353. Sir Tho. Rokerby carried over into Ireland ten men at Arms and twenty Archers In 1361 the King made his third Son Lionel Duke of Clarence Lord Lieutenant he married Elizabeth de Burgo whose Fortune was 30000 Marks per Annum In her right he was Earl of Vlster Lord of Meath and Conaught Here I must dissent from a truly worthy learned and scrutinous Enquirer into the Affairs of that Kingdom who will not allow her Fortune to be above the Moiety of that Summ because that what thereof lyes in Vlster being seized into this Kings hands from the 5th to the 8th of his Reign by an odd account yielded but about 0900 l. But he neither considered the Frauds of Concealors and Collectors nor remembred the late devastations made by Bruce whereby not only all Vlster but a great part of Ireland was laid waste and unpeopled and the English by Dissentions in Arms against one another in those very years so that the instance affects not the Case for those Rents and Profits were of very great value and might have been a thousand times more in setled times notwithstanding there was received no more in those three years This Duke carried over with him 1500 men chiefly to recover his Wifes Inheritance yet he was so far from using them solely to that purpose That he only recovered part of Meath and of the Sea-Ports of Vlster for the Condition of the Kingdom requiring he employed them with good Success in Leinster and Munster therein as in many other Respects he preferred the publick good to his particular Advantage in acknowledging of which and other good Services the Clergy and Laity gave him two years full Profits of their Tythes and Lands William Winsor was sent Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and with him a party of men but their number being as I suppose but small is no
where given us He undertook for 11213 l. 6 s. 8 d. per Annum to bear the whole Charge of that Kingdom both Civil and Military During his Government he obtained 5000 l. of the Parliaments of that Kingdom towards maintenance of the Kings Wars which I presume was those with France Richard II. Anno 1384. committed the Government of Ireland to Robert Vere Earl of Oxford and Duke of Ireland during his Life with Power to receive the whole Revenue without Account and to keep an Army of 1000 Archers and 500 men at Arms for two years But I do not find that either he or his men went thither for the Kings Affections to him were such that he would not bear his absence Yet he continued Lord Lieutenant seven or eight years during which he constituted several Deputies and received most of the Profits of that Government to his own use The King being reproach'd abroad That he could neither rule England keep his part in France nor finish the Conquests of Ireland he resolved to retrieve his Reputation in respect of the last To that end he took Shipping in October 1394 and landed at Waterford with an Army of 34000 Men but to little purpose partly for that he suffered himself to be cheated as were his Predecessors by the feigned Submissions of most of the Irish Princes and great Lords who on his arrival humbled themselves Some of whom quitted all Title to their Estates in Leinster and conditioned with their Swords under the Kings Pay to carve out Estates for themselves in other parts of the Kingdom with which the King was constrained to be satisfied by reason of the Clamour and Importunity of the Clergy of England Whose constant hatred of Reformation and fear that the Enormities of their Lives and Corruption of their Doctrines should be exposed by the Wickl fits caused them to send the Bishops of York and London to hasten the Kings return The truth is they wanted the Royal Authority for persecution of the Innocent and suppression of the Truth To gratifie their Importunity the King returned at Shrovetide or Easter following having sufficient Power but not time to do any thing considerable At his departure he left Roger Mortimer Earl of March his Lord Lieutenant who in right of his Wife was Earl of Vlster Lord of Conaught Meath and Clare and next Heir to the Crown He was murdered there four years after It was customary until near this time for the Lord Chancellor to pay annually 2000 Marks into the Exchequer for the use of the great Seal which went a great way towards bearing the charge of that Kingdom in peaceable times But the Fees being much abated that branch of the Revenue did so too In Revenge of the Murder of the Earl of March King Richard went thither again in April 1398. with such an Army as with their Necessaries and Followers took up a Fleet of 300 Ships The Irish generally mollified him by their old Method of Submissions The obstinate he intended to have subdued But the Tidings that the Duke of Lancaster afterwards Hen. IV. was landed in England and claimed the Crown called him back so that he landed in England the 24th of June following and soon after for his Male-administration lost first his Crown and Liberty by Order of Parliament and then his Life by the hands of Villains The Clergy nor Parliaments of those times had not imbibed the Doctrine of Non-resistance or Passive Obedience or that the Crown could not be forfeited by Male-administration or that it could not for the good and Preservation of the Community be transferred or that any Legal Possessor of it might disseize the Subject of his Liberty or Franchises or take away and dispose their Estates at Pleasure You must know that from the time of King Hen. II. his Expedition into Ireland until this time Ireland was of the same use to the Crown that Tangier and the pretence of a War with France was to Charles II. Richard II. had often and now Hen. IV. began to desire Money from the Parliament of England for supply of Ireland and had a Subsidy granted for three years of 50 s. for every Sack of Wool Skins and Woolfels from every Denison and 4 l. from every Stranger Also one Tenth and one Fifteenth for support of his War with Scotland relief of Calais and Ireland but he found so much use for it in England that I do not find that one Penny of it went thither But on the other side being in War with Scotland the English of Ireland fought the Scots in his quarrel at Sea where many of the first were killed and drowned In 1405 They took three Scotch Ships and their Commander and twice in Favour of England invaded Scotland with good Success and the same year invaded Wales did much harm to the Welch and carried away good Booty This King made the Duke of Lancaster Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for seven years He went thither in 1401. and returned into England in 1403. his Entertainment or Salary was but 666 l. 13 s. 4 d. per Annum And it was because he was the Kings Son that it was so much So inconsiderable were the Armies that were kept up in Ireland that it was an honour placed on this Duke that he was permitted to have an Army of 1500 men in all Ireland though many of the Irish were in Rebellion and so frugally were the Affairs of that Kingdom managed that this Duke was limited to keep up that Army but for three years About Lammas 1408. The Duke Of Lancaster went into Ireland a second time and narrowly escaped being killed by some of the Rebels At his arrival there he compelled the Earl of Kildare to pay him 300 Marks for his Male-administration He had a Tallage granted him by the Parliament of Ireland and returned into England next March after his landing in Ireland Whoever looks into the Troubles of this Kings Reign will see that he could supply Ireland neither with Men nor Money Hen. V. was so fully taken up with his Conquests in France that he minded Ireland no further than to draw Supplies thence which he did Anno 1412. under the Earl of Ormond And in 1417 the Prior of Kilmainham with 1600 in Mail with Darts and Skeyns all tall nimble men arrived at the Camp before Rouen and joyfully accepted the most dangerous Post wherein they so acquitted themselves that our Writers tell us no men were more praised nor did more harm to their Enemies For by their Agility of Body and swiftness of Foot they did more mischief the Enemy than their barded Horses did hurt to the nimble Irish And in the seven years of his Reign the French Historians tell us that the Irish did over-run all the Isle of France did innumerable damages to the French and daily brought Victuals and Preys to the English Army which so terrified the French about Paris that they fled and left the Country desolate The Parliament of
Ireland granted this King 1700 Marks at several times towards the maintenance of his Wars The English in Ireland being wasted with the Supplies they had yielded to England against Scotland Wales and France and the frequent Rebellions there the Parliament there represented the ill Condition thereof in 1442 to Hen. VI. and that by reason thereof the Publick Revenue was 1456 l. per Annum less than the necessary Charge The Cardinal of Winchester the better to engross the King and that he might rule at Pleasure caused Richard Duke of York Earl of Vlster to be sent Lord Lieutenant thither to induce his Acceptance he gained the King to promise the Duke all the certain and casual Revenue of Ireland and 2666 l. 13 s. 4 d. for the first year to be paid out of of England and 2000 l. sterling per Annum for seven years more but this was ill paid However he had several Successes against the Rebels gained the Hearts of the English made good Laws and governed so worthily That out of Gratitude and Inclination to him he was assisted in his Pretentions to the Crown by Kildare and several great Parties out of Ireland as was the King by another Party thence under the Earl of Ormond in the 34th and 38th years A great Party thence was cut off and fell with him at the Battel of Wakefield as many from Ireland did on the other side at Mortimer's Cross these great Losses furnished the Natives with opportunities to enlarge their Borders and streighten the English About Anno 1474. the 14th of Edward IV. The Parliament of Ireland erected the Fraternity of St. George consisting of Thirteen Noblemen who were yearly to chuse of themselves a Captain of the Brotherhood who for his year was to command 120 Archers on Horseback at 6 d. per diem forty Horsemen at 5 d. per diem forty Pages at four Marks per annum to be paid out of a Subsidy of 12 d. per pound laid on all Merchandize Imported or Exported And these were all the standing Forces in pay at this time Six years after Richard Duke of York being Lord Lieutenant the Earl of Kildare his Deputy did undertake to keep that Kingdom in peace with eighty Archers and twenty Spear-men all on Horseback for 600 l. per annum The Infancy of Edward V. gave his unnatural Unkle the opportunity of Murthering him together with his Brother in the Tower whom he succeeded under the Title of Richard III. Anno 1483. but a period was put to his Tyranny Usurpation and Life in 1485. Henry VII held himself under no obligation to do much for Ireland because two walking Spectres thence Lambert and Warbeck disquieted a great part of his Reign yet in 1487. he sent over 500 Men under Sir Richard Edgcomb some write that he carried no Forces with him and about fifty more Anno 1492. The next year after the King by Act of Parliament there resumed all the Crown Lands that had been granted away since the first of Henry VI. In the Ninth year of his Reign he sent over Sir Edward Poyning his Deputy and with him 940 Men. He by his Policy rather than force did more Service to his Prince and good to the English there than any of his Predecessors by gaining that Parliament to Enact That all the Publick Statutes of England made before that time should be in force in Ireland That no Parliament be held there until the Bills be first certified to the King under the great Seal there and those Bills be affirmed by the King and his Council to be expedient for the Land and Power be given under the great Seal of England to call a Parliament and many other beneficial Statutes He gained the King a Tax of 26 s. 8 d. out of every 120 Acres Arable Land in Lieu of Purveyance and a Resumption of all Grants made since the first of Edward III. which in Anno 1409. was followed with a Subsidy of 12 d. per pound on Imported Commodities and a Subsidy from the Clergy and Laity and in Anno 1508 he had 13 s. 4 d. granted him out of every 120 Acres Arable Land In Anno 1515. The Parliament of Ireland granted Henry VIII a Subsidy In Anno 1520. The Earl of Surry was sent Lord Lieutenant with 200 Men some say 900 more but whatever the number was they all returned for England with him the next year The Souldiers pay at this time was 4 d. per diem In 1524. The Earl of Kildare undertook the Government and to defray the whole Charge of the Kingdom with its own Revenue which he and his Deputy held with little interruption for near ten years Anno 1529. Sir William Skeffington carried over 200 Men according to some 500. In 1534. he carried over 750 to suppress the Rebellion of the Fitz-Geralds as did the Lord Grey 200 more the next year who ended it upon which 750 of the Army was disbanded This Rebellion is said to cost the King above 20000 l. The Revenue of the Kingdom by reason of that Rebellion being but 5000 l. per annum To repay which or prevent the like charge in future The King had the first Fruits then the twentieth part of all Ecclesiastical Livings then the first Fruits of all Abbeys Priories and Colledges in that Kingdom given him Kildares Estate of 893 l. per annum and many great Estates of those concerned in that Rebellion were all given to the King as also all Lands belonging to all Abbeys Priories and Colledges there And the Estates of many Absentees Hitherto the Wars in Ireland was mostly between the English and Native Irish on the Score of Civil Interest But from the time of this Kings first Divorce and Kildares Rebellion the degenerate English joined with the Irish and pretended Religion for their subsequent Rebellions which thenceforth became more frequent and more formidable being fomented and abetted sometime by the Emperor sometime by France sometime by Spain mostly by the Pope especially from the time of the Kings assuming the Supremacy Henceforward they have been no longer Loyal than whilst they have been compelled to be so In 1539. Sir William Brereton carried over 250 Men. In 1542 the Parliament gave Henry VIII the Title of King of Ireland all his Predecessors having only had the Title of Lord thereof In Anno 1543. the Irish Revenue besides Customs first-Fruits Tributes and some other particulars amounted but to 8700 l. per annum and the whole charge to but 10500 l. The Chief Governour upon all Warlike Expedition by an antient usage in that Kingdom did Tax each County with a certain Summ of Money to defray the charge thereof So that it is not easie to apprehend that Ireland at this time could be a charge to England The standing Army was but 375 Horse and 150 Foot In 1544. 700 Men were sent from Ireland into France who greatly damnified the French and by pretty Stratagems contributed to the supply of the Army with
to support our Charge and Enrich us For whatsoever the Revenue of Ireland amounts to yearly above the Charge of that Kingdom hath been and will be transmitted into England and is so much clear profit to the King and this Kingdom They are yearly liable to us for more than we receive in Commodity thence and therefore much of what their Merchants send to France Spain c. on their own proper Accounts is returned by Exchange or brought in Forreign Coyns into England so that they seem to subsist by Miracle However they were in a thriving condition when King James II. Ascended the Throne Nor is the advantage small to England nor to our Nobility and Gentry that whilst the elder Brothers Gentlemen of Estates here justle and scuffle for Offices and Preferments and think all too little for them That their younger Brothers have Ireland to repair unto in Shoals on every change of Government there which usually happens every three or four years where they meet with Offices Employments and Preferments both of Honour and Profit Ecclesiastical Civil and Military and frequently arrive at considerable Estates or a way of Livelihood whereby they live as plentifully and contentedly though perhaps not so splendidly as their Elder Brothers here Nor is this advantage limited to the Nobility and Gentry only For England breeds more Mechanicks than it can maintain The Surcharge of these that by their stay here would but impoverish the rest find Work and Livelihood in Ireland As do many decayed Families that repair thither yearly for Bread and are received there with great Humanity and Kindness It is Ignorance Envy French Gold or Wicked and Treacherous Designs that put Men upon Quarrelling with the Trade Situation or Improvement of Ireland as prejudicial or inconvenient to England for the fair spacious and safe Harbours on the South and South-West Coast of Ireland furnish our Merchant Ships in their Voyages to Asia Africa and return from America and most part of Europe not only with commodious shelter and refreshments in Storms Tempests and other Extremities at Sea but also retreat refuge and security from Pyrates and Enemies in times of War And Ireland by its Situation lyes conveniently not only for Security and Advice for our Merchant Fleets in time of War but also to intercept and interrupt the Trade of our Enemies And how lightly soever these advantages may be past over by those that possibly for French-gold would cut untwist or weaken our Threefold Cord yet they are obvious enough to all considering unbyassed States-men Merchants and Navigators For let it be considered That the great currant of Trade runs between England and France and that were the Ports of Ireland and France in one hand or both in War with us That either much more both would shut up and damage if not ruine our Trade in that in the latter case it might be done meerly by Privateers without the Expence of a great and chargeable Fleet as our Merchants already find in part to their great cost and loss Thus you see that Ireland is beneficial to England by employing above 300 Sail of Ships constantly together with the Hands and Trades that depend on them That it takes off considerable quantities of our natural Products of our Manufactures and of our Imported Commodities which yields Employment to our People contributes to keep up the Rents of our Lands and Enrich our Merchants That almost all the Commodities we receive thence are not only useful but necessary to us to enable our Manufacturers and employ multitudes of our People That our Forreign Trade is encreased by the Commodities our Merchants Ship off from Ireland which they can have no where else and lyes there conveniently for our Ships to take in in their way to their proper Markets That we receive thence yearly above 240000 l. besides many other advantages That many younger Brothers and supernumerary Artizans and Families that fall to decay and that cannot subsist here are received and entertained with kindness in Ireland where they grow Rich or at least Subsist That the Situation of that Kingdom is so far from being prejudicial to England That it is commodious for the shelter security and enlargement of our Trade That were there no such place we should want Employment for at least 300000 of our People and Sale for a good part of our Products and Manufactures That should Ireland continue in the hands of our Enemies many of our People would be beggared most of our Forreign Trade be greatly indangered and obstructed if not ruined So that without further consideration of this matter I do conclude That as Ireland is the antientest so it is the most noble and profitable Acquisition that ever England made though it is but little more than twenty years since the standing Revenue of that Kingdom did considerably surmount the Charge of it yet our Kings ever since King John's time have drawn large Supplies not only of Men but also of Money from Ireland K. James and K. Charles the First received several Summs of Money thence which with the advantages by Trade and most of the fore-mentioned particulars have rendred Ireland considerable to England for near 500 years past You take notice that our Nobility Clergy and Gentry have imbibed a Notion that the abatement of the Rents of Lands in England for twenty six years past have been occasioned by the Improvements of Ireland in that time And thence you raise your Third Query Whether the Improvement of Ireland was not the cause of the Abatement of Rents of Lands in England Or whence else hath it come that Rents of Lands have fallen one Fifth part since the Year 1662. TO set you right in this matter it 's expedient that I lay before you the true state of that Kingdom and its Trade whereby you will be able to see the folly of our suspicions and the difficulty if not impossibility of receiving prejudice by the Improvement of Ireland at least in this or the next Age unless we enforce it by bearing too hard on them as we did in the business of Cattel and compel them to better Husbandry at home and to more Forreign Trade than they are any way disposed to or prepar'd for And then I will shew you whence it is that our Lands have fallen so much in their Rents Ireland is indeed an Island that for extent of Acres richness of Soyl salubrity of Air numerousness of good Rivers and Havens variety of Fishings native Products and materials fit to be improved into Manufactures Scituation for Trade c. comes behind few Islands in the World Yet it hath hitherto advanced but very little in Trade Riches or Improvement Although it hath for 518 years owned Subjection to England and been in great measure Inhabited by Brittains to that degree That three fourths of the present Papists there are of Brittish Extraction who yet by the influence of that pernicious Religion are as much disposed to Mischief and
expectations from him it is as much the Interest of the Confederates that they be rooted out or banished as was the taking of Mentz or Bonne That those Princes are very sensible that these are they which have diverted His Majesties Arms from their Assistance the two last Campaigns and that they will do so for the future if their Power be not broken That there cannot therefore be the least danger of disobliging them by the Banishment or Extirpation of the afore-mentioned Parties especially being it is of service to them upon Reasons of State and is done for the quiet and security of His Majesties Protestant Subjects c. and because they are Rebels Incendiaries and of Party with France and not because they are Papists In a word Lenity to the Irish who have been in Arms is down-right Cruelty to the Protestants of Ireland and their Posterity 2. As Restraints on the Papists are necessary to the quiet of Ireland and the other ends proposed so is Freedom and Immunities in Corporations to all Protestants that shall go to inhabit there with Liberty of Conscience to Protestants of all Perswasions that are there or that shall go thither to abide There being five Papists for every Protestant in that Kingdom it is the Interest of the latter in point of Security to add to their number as much as may be If to the Cheapness of Land there be added Civil and Religious Liberties they will together probably allure Forreign Protestants to transplant thither The Protestants until about 1670. kept the Papists out of Corporations by tendering them the Oath of Supremacy when they claimed admittance but there being a Clause in the Act of Settlement or Explanation which impowered the Chief Governour and Council in Ireland to make Laws or Rules for Regulation of Corporations and that the Rules so made should be of the same force as if they had been enacted by Parliament c. under colour thereof some well-wishers to Popery and Arbitrary Government framed certain Rules and Orders which Charles II. caused the Lord Lieutenant and Council to pass into an Act of Council and to enjoyn them on all the Corporations of that Kingdom c. one of which Rules requires all Officers of Corporations to take the short Corporation Oath lately used in England which seemed to have been calculated for setting up Arbitrary Government for Imposing of which in Ireland there was not until then any colour of Law thereby all Protestants who were not willing to for-swear that Self-defence which the Law of Nature and those of the Land allows them were turned out of Office nor was that all but by another Clause in those Rules the Chief Governour is impowered from time to time to dispense with such as were not willing to take the Oath of Supremacy Hereupon whole shouls of Papists were admitted into the Corporations and Fraternities of that Kingdom and qualified for Offices and Chusing Members of Parliament It will therefore be needful that the Corporations of that Kingdom be restored to the condition they were in in 1668. and that those Rules be vacuated or declared to be void as those who think that the Legislative Power cannot be transferred conceive them to be I am told that to hinder many Protestants from returning for discouraging Forreigners and others from going to inhabit the better to divide those already in Ireland and to prevent the Improvement of it there are some of K. J. his Creatures who might be named and who pretend to be of another figure and to be well known in the Affairs of that Kingdom that are now using their utmost endeavours to have the Sacramental Test imposed on the People of that Kingdom under pretence that it will keep the Papists out of Office c. though that be no part of their design but to incumber His Majesties Affairs hinder the Sale of the Rebels Estates or render them of little value To alienate if possible the Hearts of that people from Their Majesties by causing His Majesty contrary to the import of his Declaration to put them into a worse condition than they were in under a Popish King These Men well know that the Security and Improvement of that Kingdom and of Their Majesties Revenue there depends on its being peopled with Protestants and that full Liberty and Incouragements to Protestants of all Perswasions is the most effectual means to those Ends And that the planting thereof being hindred the Papists will be kept in a capacity at pleasure to favour K. J. and the pretended P. of Wales 's Title to countenance a French Invasion c. They know if it be not planted with Protestants the Revenue will never defray the necessary charge of that Kingdom but that it will be a continual and insupportable charge and drain to England and require greater Forces to be kept up there and thereby obstruct at least in great measure the prosecution of the War against France which is their chief aim The promoters of these designs are well aware that the imposition of that Test would send many Protestants out of that Kingdom and that where it would bar one Papist from Office it would hinder a hundred Protestants from going thither They know the injoining of the Oath of Supremacy or an express Order or Law for their Exclusion would more effectually bar Papists than the Sacramental Test for that many Papists have been dispensed with by their Priests for Receiving the Sacrament in the manner required and therefore it would never answer the end for which they pretend it though it would the others for which they intend it But that imposition which hath proved so inconvenient to England will if laid on Ireland be pernicious to the Protestants there be a Bone of Division amongst them and seem but an ill requital for their Sufferings and firm adherence to the true Interest of England There was about 1664. one or two French Ministers who having some Benefices conferred on them and Stipends allowed by the Government translated the Common-prayer Book into French and procured a Chappel for the use of such French as would join with them in that Service About sixteen or eighteen years after many of the persecuted French Protestants with some of their Ministers fled to Dublin and set up the beginnings of several useful Manufactures and being averse to join in that Service a certain Charitable Peer lent them his House to Worship in where they served God according to the manner of the French Churches Whereupon their Minister was Seized and Imprisoned c. until for obtaining his Liberty he consented to quit or abjure that Kingdom Surely the usage was as Unchristian as Impolitick towards those poor distressed Refugees who had fled thither in expectation of that liberty which was publickly allowed the Papists and which was deny'd them in their own Countrey And it was Impolitick for thereupon they abandoned the place and that Kingdom lost those profitable Trades which those Men
would have set up there Not that this Severity proceeded from the temper of the Protestants of Ireland who are certainly the kindest People on Earth to Strangers that either Travel or abide amongst them but from the Bigottry of a few who too much favoured or advanced the Popish Interest And however I doubt not but that the usage those Favourers of Popery received from K. James hath opened their Eyes and possibly rectified the Judgments of such of them as are living yet I believe this Sin this Severity to the distressed French did help forward the dispersion and calamities which have since happen'd to the Protestants of Ireland for sins of this kind being committed by Authority the Guilt becomes National There are not those Laws in that Kingdom against Dissenters that are in England nor any that I have heard of for imposing the Sacramental Test and if it be the Interest of England to have those Laws and that Test taken off 't is certainly no less the Interest of Ireland to incourage all sorts of Protestants Like Liberty with what 's here proposed was one means which hath so abundantly peopled and enriched Holland And as there are not those Laws against Dissenters there as here neither are there those Animosities among Protestants of different Perswasions as there are in England nor those Prejudices against their Majesties Government So that a perfect Vnion among Protestants there is much more feasible than here And if all parties of Protestants be indifferently admitted to places of Honour Profit and Trust they will then joyntly and chearfully promote the welfare of the Publick to the great increase of their Majesties Revenue of the Church Livings and of the Advantages which England receives by that Kingdom Thirdly The Militia of that Kingdom ought to be setled in the hands of men of Courage Conduct and Integrity such as will not connive at underhand countenance or abett the Enemy give Intelligence or secretly share in Robberies and Plunderings with them c. So that the Arms of the Kingdom may neither be diverted from their Defence nor turned against them It is indeed the folly of English men that they are too little distrustful too unapprehensive of dangers and too remiss in providing against them Care should be taken that all that are able should buy Arms and that those that are not able may be provided with good Arms and be duely exercised That Kingdom is well furnished with brisk active men whose native Courage and Knowledge of the Country qualifies them for Service of which they have given good proof at Derry Inniskillen Limerick c. as also of their forwardness and zeal for their Majesties Service even beyond what England did if I may be permitted to say so The Protestants in England were more than 200 to one of the Papists yet when his present Majesty had landed with a powerful Army to rescue us from Popery and Slavery the Nobility and Gentry c. stood at gaze and it was some time before any of them appeared to own his Cause until the Lord Delamere first and then the Earl of Devon slighting all dangers appeared for the defence of the Religion and Liberties of their Country Whereas in Ireland although the Papists were five to one of the Protestants and had all the Garrisons Magazins Army and Revenue of the Kingdom in their hands yet the Protestants there first in the North then in Connaught and afterwards in Munster did expose themselves to the utmost Perils took up Arms and declared for their Majesties when no Succours appeared for them nor were indeed provided And had they then been timeously owned and supported or afterward employed according to their Merits for the Reduction of that Kingdom they had shortned that work and saved England two or three Milions of what hath and will be expended therein which was too well known to some Persons But those who wish well to King James's Interest and they whose uselesness would appear were the Kingdoms once setled were and are for doing every thing at the utmost charge that by great and continued Taxes they might if possible alienate the Hearts of the People from their Majesties and perplex their Affairs c. And to that end no doubt misrepresented both the Affairs and People of Ireland who notwithstanding all the Contempts and Reproaches cast on them and the Temptations not to say Provocations to the Contrary have almost to a man firmly adhered to their Majesties Interest For among 200000 of them upon a strict enquiry I do not hear of sixty Protestants that have taken up Arms for King James or abetted his Interest notwithstanding his Presence among them Power over them and their great Necessities which possibly if truth were known might be the true cause of their being slighted by some sort of men c. If the present Wars in Europe continue and that Ireland be once wholly subdued the putting of the Militia of that Kingdom into a good posture will save much Money to England by giving his Majesty the better opportunity to employ a greater proportion of his Army against France which otherwise must be kept in Ireland to keep the Irish in Subjection Fourthly Notwithstanding the Militia should be setled as hath been proposed yet considering the odds the Papists have of the Protestants their present Inclinations to France the Ferment that is on their Spirits c. it will be absolutely necessary for the retaining them in obedience to keep up a competent standing Army in that Kingdom Yet when the Militia shall be well setled and Armed the Popish Clergy Lawyers and forfeiting Persons banished and the rest excluded from inhabiting in any of the Cities walled Towns or Garrisons the less force will be requisite For in that case the Forces which were kept up about 1680. in times of Peace will be sufficient to secure the quiet of that Kingdom which consisted only of 1363. Horse Officers included viz. 24 Troops each consisting of a Captain at 19 l. 12 s. each Calendar Month. A Lieutenant 12 l. 12 s. A Cornet 9 l. 16 s. A Quarter Master 7 l. Three Corporals and one Trumpet 3 l. 10 s. each and 45 private Horsemen at 2 l. 2 s. each making in all per Mensem for each Troop 157 l. 10 s. per Annum 1890 l. which amounts for the whole Pay of the said 24 Troops unto 3780 l. per Mensem which is per Annum 45360 l. Allowed to the Lord Lieutenant's own Troop five Horse-men and three Trumpets more than to other Troops making per Annum 252 l. An additional pay of 3 d. per diem to each private Horse-man of the four Troops doing Duty at Dublin 756 l. A Company of Foot-Guards Armed and Clad as the Yeomen of the Guards consisting of a Captain at 15 l. each Calendar Month A Lieutenant 9 l. An Ensign 7 l. and 60 Yeomen at l. 1 s. each making per Mensem 94 l. and per Annum 1128