the Catholicke Subjects of England and Ireland relinquish Henry the VIII when he forsooke his owne and their Religion why did not he loose his Crowne when he lost his faith Why might not the Romish subjects of France fall off from the late French King and his Father when they gave tolleration of Religion and liberty to build Churches and Synagogues to the Huguenotes Why lost not they therefore their Crownes But to come neerer home did not our dread Soveraigne King Charles condescend unto such propositions of the Scots as stood not with their loyalty to demand nor in his power to grant to omit all other witnesse the abrogation of Episcopacie or unmitering of Bishops who be the first of the three states of every Christian and Catholicke kingdome as appeares by severall his Majesties declarations yet extant This his Majesty did onely to content that Nation and save that Crowne albeit the former followed not heavens grant the later may for they must have aliquid amplius to wit Kings un-Crowned and Monarchy pull'd downe how ever his Majesties protestant party in England Ireland or Scotland fell not therefore from him neyther is he therefore discrowned and yet must both follow if he give content to the Irish in your opinions or his Royall assent to their propositions albeit they containe nothing but what may modestly suite with their fidelity to propound and justly with his Majestie power and expediently with his gracious benignity to grant that which hath beene their owne for ten or twelve ages consequent and what they enjoyed in quiet possession ever since the Conquest during the happy Raigne of fifteene or sixteene Kings his Majesties predecessors before Henry the VIII and since then violently wrested from them by tyrannie oppression and surreptitious Lawes fraudulently introduced by the bloud-sucking ministers of this subordinate governement Moreover what concernes it the protestant Subjects of England and Scotland whether we have content or not How are they any way impeached or improved thereby or how therein interessed What loose they by our liberty or gaine they by our restraint Can not they goe to Church though wee goe to Masse the broad Sea is betwixt us we will be no eye-sore to them If it be for their brethren here we seeke not the abrogation of their Religion or abreviation of their lawfull freedome or ought else derogating to their honour securitie or peaceable cohabitation as appeares by our propositions now in Print to the eye of the world As for his Majesties protestant party protestant party here in Ireland not to undervalue them they are no way considerable For over all Munster Vlster and Connaght such as for a while did seemingly proclayme themselves for the King doe now absolutely disclayme in him and declare themselves for the Parliament and consequently his enemies so as his Majesty hath no protestant party here but onely in Leynster and that but in a destroyed nooke thereof to wit in the Counties of Dublin and Louth and a part of Kildare and Meath for Doncanon is fallen off in all which they cannot make up one thousand five hundred protestants fighting men where among these shall hardly cull out two hundred I might well say two score heads well squared to the Kings rule the rest as also all the protestant inhabitants of Dublin and their other Townes farre much more then the most part have their heads so Round as they cannot hold rouling to the Parliament when the least occasion is offered As for their hearts they are from the beginning in the bosome of their pure brethren in VVestminster-hall and their heeles are all as nimble and ready to dance a scottish-jigge and a parliamentall revolta to Essex hornepipe if execution were as easie as thought is free and wishes facil all which is manifest by their Common-prayers publicke discourses and Commerce and slocking to the Parliament Ships whensoever they hover over our coastes and thus are they all affected and infected from head to foote save a very few of the prime whereof some being strangers can make no other party then their houshold servants other some though by birth or descent Natives and bigge in bloud and calling and in precedent times vast in possessions and powerfull in command yet now as the winde blowes they beare but low and fagge sayles and can make no more way then the meanest vassals by reason their numerous allyes friends and followers are all Roman Catholickes and consequently adhering to the Confederats with whom not being united their power is as poore as that of the Alyens So as the premisses maturely pondered his Majesties protestant party disioyned from the Catholicke is no way here considerable Will you then upon the onely reason of an ungrounded Antipathy in Religion advise his Majesty to discontent a whole Nation for complying soly with the wilfull malice of so fractious frayle and feeble a party as that of the protestants I say in Ireland for those of England they cannot alleage rationably any reason for opposing our peace save also a meere hatred to our profession which is the reason of fiends who because their selves are in bale cannot brooke others should be in blisse or their hearts are forsooth purified and their heads sphearified and so in the behalfe and behoofe of their pure brothers they cunningly intend by this opposition to weaken his Majesty by fomenting a continuall difference twixt him and his Catholicke Subjects of Ireland whose party they know to be so powerfull both at home and abroad as were matters fairely composed content given them they might strongly assist to quench the fiery fury of the Parliament and reinthrone his Majesty as now de facto they begin to doe in Scotland by a small succour of two thousand Irish sent thither to joyne with the Kings party there whereby it appeares how highly an union betwixt his Majesties Catholicke and protestant Subjects in his three kingdomes conduceth for the quelling and quayling of his enemies and reestablishing of his Royall person in his full power prerogatives and glorie For if a poore ayde of two thousand men onely can so much prevayle what may a large contribution of a hundred thousand pounds in Coine or more and ten thousand men yea twenty thirty it neede be I have beene over fuse I confesse in my answer to this Quaere because it is the objection most frequently and fervently obtruded Quaere 4. Will you loose the kingdome by going to a new warre againe will you utterly undoe it and your selves by a new breach You are not able for the Scots or my Lord of Insiquin and the Parliament party that is in the kingdome much lesse for my Lord Lieutenant and his party whom you will force to joyne with the Scots and parliament and so hold but with the longest and â—…st Resp. I answer these arguments of weaknesse mâ—… bee retorted on your selves Will you that pretend so much loyaltie and zeale to serve his Majesty loose the
King and kingdome which every day you doe while you keepe this distance with the Catholicke party in giving the Scots time to come to a head and the Round heads leasure to bring their secret plots to effect and this by taking advantage of your weakenesse in spreading themselves all over the kingdome witnesse the revolte of the Lord of Insiqum and of the Forte of Doncanon which you have lost unlesse we deeme them politicke alarums and subtle inventions to fraight and worke on the Confederates to accept the easier conditions now of peace from you It is likewise apprehended on very good grounds that the City and Castle of Dublin by the daily growing insolencies and infections of the Round-heads in the said City may be in danger to be lost and as I may boldly say is daily a loosing It is easie to fall from a protestant to a puritant and from the King to the Parliament It is their ordinary practise to come and goe daily a victory or two does it but the Catholickes cannot with such facility fall from their Religion because the differences are essentiall and points of faith nor from their obedience to his Majesty because it is apparent there is no such affection in them to the puritans but rather an innated antipathy So as to such extremes there 's no feare of fall Now if you deeme us so weake for the Scots and parliamentaries in this kingdome certainely you are much more But say you you may joyne with the Scots yes to forsake the King you may and so doe your best to secure this kingdome for the Parliament and Scots And had not the Catholicke Army beene now in the Field and in the way it is very probable you had not escaped so scot-free as you have done And if wee prosper not in this expedition for which you had neede to pray but that they shall chance to over-run us then I beleeve you will finde they will not content themselves with the North alone but will resolve to venture for a greater and better share of the kingdome I see no reason but you may feare your portion You say you may safely joyne with the Scots to hold out the longer with them because you conceive them the stronger and us the weaker why should not you aswell apprehend that we may joyne with some other forainer or submit to such whose severall Agents now in the kingdome perhaps wayte an opportunity in that kinde and have their eares open ready to snatch up such a motion Doe not you thinke but the Scots and Parliament of England will be glad to accept of us and our offers which we make to his Majesty and will permit us freely to enjoy the benefit of our conditions so we concuire with them in suppressing Monarchy which is the faire white whereat their warres doe levell But say you you know there is no such sympathy betwixt us that were from the frieing pan into the fire and therefore you are confident we will not be so mad however it behooveth you in commonpolicy to be cautious how you exasperate a whole Nation and force them to fly for safety to forein protection whereto doubtlesse the late cruell plots and practises of Sir VVilliam Parsons Sir Adam Lofius and other vipers of the state had driven this Nation had it not beene immoveable from its loyaltie to his Majesty wheron you would faine it seemes force a breach by hindering his Majesties gracious favours from us to make way for your holy brothers the parliamentaries to enter and possesse the kingdome But if you keepe the gap too long open beware our neighbours enter not before your brethren for Ireland is a faire and fryant morsell and your Spaniards Italians and French have lushious teeth which if they once fixe in it I feare all the Pincers or Hammers in England will not draw or drive them out You aske us will we loose the kingdome and our selves No but endevour to save both and if wee may not a faire death is better then a specious bondage slavery or servitude Meluis est enim nobis moriin bello quam videre mala gentis nostrae If therefore you will tye the Kings hands so fast as he may not grant us the freedome of Christians we must be compell'd to endevour to cut the bands to reinfranchise his Majesty and disinthrall our selves how weake soever you would fayne perswade us to be Quare 5. What if my Lord Lieutenant will publish his Commission and will issue forth Proclamations of mercy and pardon with restitution of estates and all assurances of life liberty and tolleration of Religion and thereby withdraw and divide all your party and so pusle and weaken you that you will be glad of any conditions and such as his excellency will be pleased to propund Resp. No doubt this was invented as a mayne Engine to crush and bring our party and whole Nation to division and so to desolation I confesse this Commission and Proclamation may perhaps worke on the most necessitous weake and discontented people within the verge and quarters of Dublin whom extreame necessity may force to goe any whither for reliefe but that have not you to give them for you have neyther meate nor money to spare within your quarters nor strength enough to gaine it from ours You must come thirty miles now from Dublin to get any Corne or Cattle if you take not from one another and so starve your selves Your parties of Horse that used to make their incursions for prey into the remoter Counties are broken and dispersed and what service may they be able to performe going so farre from their quarters specially now that our Confederates are growen farre stronger then ever you or they have beene both in Horse and Armes so as little or no reliefe are you to expect by pillage and what small store remaynes within your owne quarters will hardly maintayne your great Townes Garisons for any considerable time Consider well your owne present state condition weakenesse and necessities and you cannot with sans judgement imagine that any of our party will flye unto you whilest they have the most part of the kingdome of their owne side plentifully able to relieve them without adventuring their lives to goe a pillaging with you against their country friends and conscience specially seeing there be other wayes to maintayne them to wit by putting the meaner sort into pay of the Armies and the said banished Nobility and Gently into places and Offices of Military and Civill imployment as is resolved by the late Assembly held at Kilkenny And what people doe you thinke to draw and devide from us Those of the English-Pale all destroyed and made inconsiderable by your massacres cruelties for having withstood the shocke while Amunition Armes and Commanders were a comming who must be now rather a burden then a helpe to you and no great losse to us for what concernes their power in the condition they now
Assembly at Kilkenny in Iuly 1644. be condescended unto and effectually followed during this grand necessity they will I say bring into the treasury at least foure hundred thousand pounds by the yeare as by the ensuing heads of a revenue agreed unto at Kilkenny as aforesaid may plainely appeare First the excises layd in a moderate way over all our quarters suppose halfe asmuch as it is in Dublin will amount to a huge summe throughout all our Cities and Corporations as yet not touched in this kind Secondly the fourth part of the yearely rent and value of every mans estate which likewise I leave to be considered Thirdly the Kings Rents Compositions and Customes which though now in a manner during the warres lost or of small value will upon a peace soone improue if there shall be no VVentworths or Ratclifes to cozen the King or Catch poll the Subject Fourthly two partes or more of all Church-livings belonging to the Clergy so much now insisted upon betweene the Catholicke and protestant Clergy and this to assist his Majesty during the warres All which particulars of a revenue must doubtlesse amount unto a vast summe to be imployed first to secure and cleere this kingdome of all Round-heads and other malignant or ill-affected persons bee they English Irish or Scots which by a perfect union of the Protestant party I meane such as sincerely adhere to the King ours may be speedily effectuated through the happy and disinteressed governement we then hope to enjoy and the free and cheerefull contribution of all to advance the said service which being atchieved then may all our Armies be transported into England and our forces be imployed towards his Majesties succour which is the longing desire and chiefest ambition of this loyall Nation how suspitious soever you may be of them for your owne sinister intentions all which really pondered sans all jealous prejudication our helps both of men and monyes are highly considerable and yours very little avaylable for first your party is in a manner no party at least for the King by reason the most and strongest part thereof if not all consists of Puritans and antimonarchists such as would if it lay in their power rather Conquer the kingdome for their holy brethren the Parliamentaries Scots or Hollanders then for his Majesty Next if you had a considerable protestant party you have no provision if Come victuals men or monyes nor can you expect any but from his Majesties enemies who will send you none to serve against themselves all which is before sufficiently demonstrated How then are you prepared for a new warre or how able to extirpate this Nation if you intend not to bring in the parliament or some other of your anti-monarchicall brethren to winne the kingdome for themselves and weane it from his Majesty And what gets the King by that mary hee shall gayne an open enemy and loose a kingdome And if for this end the parliament help you not they have small encouragement to send you any more so little effect have they found of the severall aydes hetherto transmitted which doth no way countervayle the bloud of so many thousand men and charge of so many hundred thousand pounds imployed spent and lost by Sea and Land to subdue and extinguish this Nation which must very much discourage them and retard their further adventures hether having their heads hands full of worke at home We know their spleene to Ireland over-flowes and their desire is transcendent to joyne it as a large Canton to their new intended state framed after the Holland cut Yet for the present their ambition is first to settle it in England and to secure themselves much more prevalent for charity begins at home and they conceive they may come time enough to play the after game in Ireland for they assure themselves to have alwayes odde men lurking in our after points to keepe the Tables open It is hard then for you to trust to their present supplyes so uncertaine and if you doe it is more hard for his Majesty to confide in you for doubtlesse they will not relieve you that you may succour him whom they so violently oppose and labour to depose Now I pray give me leave a little further to examine your vaunting victories and therein to manifest the valour of our men so much by you undervalued The first encounter was as you cannot but remember betweene the bridge of Gillianstone Smithstone where a few of ours with Swords and Skines onely without shot defeated foure of five hundred of yours armed as compleatly as any Souldiers in Holland where among was a Troupe of Horse which saved themselves by their heeles and about three hundred of the foote were slaine in the place without shot or stroke in defence of their lives were the Irish then cowards During the siege of Drogheda which though they were forced to rayse for want of Commanders Armes and Amunition in the few encounters that were they shewed their valour even in standing and defending themselves not being provided for offence yet was your losse still most And did not our young Gentlemen enter the Towne and therein sufficiently demonstrate their courage though compelled to retyre as you were at Rosse At Swoards Finglas and Santry did not thirty or forty Musketires of ours having not above three shots of powder a peece with three or foure hundred Clubbetiers confront a body of eight hundred shot of yours beside pike and horse and slay your Commanders and sixe for one of your Souldiers till want of powder did force their retreat and give you way to murder a company of old labouring men women and children At Kiljhalaghan did not they the like and kept the place also for that time in despite of you to your excessive losse At Trim Dundalke and other petty skirmishes you evermore lost your Commanders and most of your Souldiers neyther did you ever put ours to flight while they had a shot of powder left though you had ten Armes for one of ours At Kilrush I confesse we were as many men I believe as you but your Artillery Horse Armes Amunition triply exceeded ours which are very great advantages yet little got you by that day but the field which with such oddes I hold for no great victory which you had not the courage to prosecute All such Castles as you got from us for the most part cost you deere ten lives or more for one though you layd formall sieges to them with Artillery plenty of Amunition and all other requisites against a few unarmed disfurnished men Witnesse Carrigmain Baldugan Suddain Lynch his Knocke and severall other where commonly you most perfidiously broke your quarter given All these were before the arrivall of any helpe of Commanders Armes or Amunition in our quarters since when you have alwayes lost ground and recovered none At Raconell you confesse our men fought valiantly even with stones when their powder was spent the want
QVEREES PROPOVNDED BY THE PROTESTANT PARTIE CONCERNING THE PEACE IN GENERALL Now treated of in Ireland and the answers thereunto made in behalfe and name of the Irish Nation by one well affected thereto to the first copies whereof many things are inserted and much added QVEREES PROPOVNDED BY THE PROTESTANT PARTIE CONCERNING THE PEACE In Generall c. WIll you Article Covenant and indent with your King It becomes not Subjects it argues mistrust of his Majestie This Nation saith it hath beene often deceived abused by some ministers of state here for this kingdome by whose practises they were frustrated of all the Kings favours and graces conferred to them for which they granted and payed about three hundred thousand pounds sterling not very long since and soone after besides ten large Subsidies in the Earle of Strafords time for all which monyes amounting neere to a million of pounds sterling they obtayned little or nothing And the said graces are still suppressed and stopped Next the state here takes all advantage of this Nation for their Religion by misrepresenting them to his Majesty to suppresse and keepe them from the government thereby to possesse all places of honour trust and profit eyther in the Army or Common-wealth and so raise themselves by casting perpetuall clouds of disloyaltie and disaffection betweene the King and his people as lately they did when they forsooke and betrayed the English pale first and consequently the rest of the kingdome to be over-run and ruined in the beginning of these Commotions and yet they misinformed his Majestie and procured what Commissions they pleased to prosecute the said Pale with extreme cruelties and so by the Sword and colour of Law to have their estates by attaynders and forfeytures whereat all other partes of the kingdome were amazed and distracted Therefore in this subordinate government so jealous and irkesome to the people it is necessary to be on sure termes for the future and that Catholickes have a hand in the government to prevent the like mischiefes And on these grounds it may well become Subjects to Article with their Soveraigne which argues no distrust of his Majesty but of his ministers whose hands must still hold the helme seeing the Kings owne hand cannot reach thereto Quaere 2. Will you force the King and worke now on his necessities He will remember it to you hereafter and hee may recall what he shall now promise nor will hee conceive himselfe bound to make good what he shall now grant you considering the condition he stands in Resp It is not in our thoughts Onely wee propound motives to support his Majestie and to advance his service a whole Nation to the last man and the revenue of a whole kingdome if neede be to the last penny to support his Crowne on contentment now to be given this people a hundred thousand loyall Subjects and good fighting men to spend their bloud in this quarrell for his Majesty and foure or five hundred thousand pounds sterling by the yeare as shall appeare by the particular heads of the revenue of this kingdome layd downe hereafter is worth the acceptation and may invite his Majesty to give content to this people He then that will hinder or oppose this to loose the King such a considerable party and assistance can be no other then an enemy ayming at nothing else but to weaken his Majesty by diverting this Nation as it were by compulsion from his service And this is not to force the King and worke his necessities but to helpe him and relieve them and to buy our Peace with the marrow of our purses and bloud of our veines which his Majesty may indeede well remember hereafter not to recall our liberties but to record our loyalties Moreover his Majesty may aswell in future say that he is forced to the conditions of peace profered as to those demanded for neyther the one nor the other would ever have beene granted in precedent times though not by want of gracious inclination in his Majesties to favour us but by the sinister characters which his ministers here ever gave him of us Quaere 3. Will you loose the King all his protestant party which will fall from him and will you loose him all his protestant Subjects of England and Scotland and consequently his Crowne of both kingdomes which must follow if he give you content Resp. Can you imagine that any Subjects which be true subjects will forsake their Prince because we tender ayde of men and monyes and propound motives to advance his service nay rather the protestant party will advise his Majesty considering the condition and necessity he stands in to give content to this Nation thereby to gaine so considerable a party and assistance to support his Crowne and themselves Nor can they once suspect with reason if they will not put it on him of purpose as a seeming occasion of their defection from him that his Majesty is not constant to the protestant Religion seeing they well know he is by education and in his beliefe and opinions as firme a protestant as ever England bred as is most manifest by all his declarations and proceedings though it stands not with the pollicy of the Parliamentaries to make this an article of their beliefe for they hold it a deepe mysterie of state to misbelieve the King and not suffer him to be believed in this particular thereby to traduce his Majesty and cause the Subjects still conceive he is inclined to Papistry whereof they take their greatest advantage purposely to seduce and incense the people against him Now if you feare the protestant party will so lightly fall from his Majesty as you would faigne perswade us to lessen our conditions you may aswell pretend any expression of favour which shall be granted us were it but a connivence or tolleration of our Religion to be a cause sufficient for the like defection but if the said protestant subjects be of resolution to continue true and constant to his Majesty what can more powerfully encourage them thereto or hold them more stedfastly to so generous and just a resolve then an ample supply of men and moneys offered by us on a good peace to backe and second their party the weakenesse whereof is not perhaps the least cause of all their feares and wavering betweene the King and Parliament But suppose the King were Catholickely affected and would absolutely restore us our Religion and the publicke use thereof in as full and ample manner as ever we enjoyed it in the times of his Majesties predecessors from the Conquest to Henry the VIII would therefore or rather should all his protestant subjects fall from him and must he therefore forfeyte his Crowne Your Quaere answers they would and he must it followes then they are onely conditionally Subjects not absolutely and his Majesty holds his Crowne by a conditionall Tenure not by an absolute both which are absurd Why did not all