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A83819
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The report made to the honourable House of Commons, Decemb. 15. 1699. By the commissioners appointed to enquire into the forfeited estates of Ireland
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Ireland. Commissioners appointed to enquire into the Forfeited Estates.
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1700
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Wing E2704AC; ESTC R200771
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32,947
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56
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of discount on other particulars and if all the unprofitable Acres be cast in it may near answer the difference of value the now beneficial Leases do make from the present intrinsick value exclusive of them 75. And lest this allowance should be thought insufficient we humbly conceive the Woods of the Kingdom now standing on the Forfeited Estates not restored may be worth Sixty thousand pounds which we believe if thrown in will answer the difference provided some speedy care be taken to prevent farther waste 76. But lest our allowances on the particulars aforesaid should not be esteemed sufficient we throw in all denominations of Lands to which we could annex no number of Acres not receiving any light either by the Surveys Commissioners Books Inquisitions or our enquiries in the Country and because they are quantities of Land that vastly differ from one another both in value and number of Acres we make no certain estimate of them tho it seems very probable to us that they amount to Seventy or Eighty Thousand Acres which we humbly conceive will much more than answer all the deficiencies before mentioned 77. And here we shall take notice of the general waste committed on the Forfeited Woods of this Kingdom particularly on the Woods of Sir Valentine Brown in the County of Kerry where to the value of twenty Thousand Pounds has been cut down and destroyed and the waste on the Woods of the late Earl of Cl-nc-rtys Estate now in Grant to the Lord W -- dst-ck is computed at Twenty Seven Thousand Pounds And indeed so hasty have several of the Grantees or their Agents been in the disposition of the Forfeited Woods that vast numbers of Trees have been cut and sold for not above six pence a piece and the like waste is still continuing in many parts of this Kingdom and particularly at this instant the Right Honourable Sir John Hely Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas here and Peter Goodwyn joint Purchasers of the Lands of Feltrim within six miles of Dublin of the Right Honourable the Lord C-n-ngsby are now cutting down the very ornamental rows and Groves about the mansion House great waste has been made and yet is commiting on the Woods of Oshaghnessy in the County of Gallway purchased by Toby Butler Esquire for about 2500 l. which is valued to above 12000 l. and when we appointed some persons to view and value the said Woods the said Toby Butler did prosecute them by Indictment for so doing 78. Besides all the forfeitures before mentioned there are great numbers of persons guilty of the late Rebellion and within no Articles and never prosecuted and many have appeared on the Exigent which to this day are continued under Bail and some of them were this last Summer Assizes tryed and Acquitted and indeed it does appear to us that the Freeholders of this Kingdom through length of time and by contracting new Friendship with the Irish or by interpurchasing with one another but chiefly through a general dislike of the disposition of the Forfeitures are scarce willing to find any persons guilty of the late Rebellion even upon full Evidence 79. By reason of this delay of prosecution many good Estates by the death of Parties have been lost to his Majesty 80. And notwithstanding all this it seems probable by the multitude of discoveries offer'd us that if right methods were taken and proper incouragement given a great Sum of Money might be raised out of the forfeitures that lie concealed 81. There has been so great a neglect in the prosecution of his Majesties Title that no Inquisition went into Connaught till the year 1695 which gave the forfeiting persons time and leisure to set up what incumbrances they pleased and when they were issued the findings were almost as the Counsel of the forfeiting person thought fit And indeed by the great disproportion of Protestants to Papists which is computed at not one to fifty and so very few Protestant Freeholders being within most Counties of that Province so little Justice is to be had there that the Province it self seems scarcely reduced to his Majesties Obedience a late instance might be given at the last Assizes for the County of Gallway where near forty persons were brought on their Tryals for the late Rebellion and the majority of the Jury that had them in Charge were Officers in the late King James's Army and adjudged within Articles and after that 't were needless to say they were all acquitted Tho by accident 't was discovered that one Kirevan one of the persons then on Tryal was in actual Rebellion and an Officer under the Foreman of the Jury who was sworn to that Fact which was a surprizing difficulty to the Jury who not well knowing how to acquit him upon so direct a proof resolved that the Dice should determine and so the Jury among themselves threw the Dice and the Lot falling upon one Mr. Pendergast he did absent himself accordingly and so no Verdict was given on the said Mr. Kirevan who was thereupon bound over to appear the next Assizes at Gallway to take his Tryal 82. The House of Clanrickard have a vast Territory within that Province with few or no Protestant Tenants thereon the greatest part whereof by the Attainder of the Lord B-ph-n who is only Tenant for Life is now vested in his Majesty and we humbly Conceive if proper methods were now taken by setting the said Estate to Protestant Tenants by Leases for Lives renewable for ever 't would greatly increase the Freeholders and thereby secure the Property and advance the Protestant Interest of that Province 83. And in the next place we do Humbly Acquaint your Honours that several of the Grantees have raised great sums of Money by sale of their Lands and Estates in the whole amounting to 68155 l. 3 s. 1 d. as does hereafter more particularly appear viz. The Right Honourable the Earl of Athl-ne has sold so much of his Grant as amounts to the Sum of 17684 l 12 s. And here we think we ought to take notice that the Lord Athl-ne's Grants are confirmed by Act of Parliament of Ireland The Right Honourable the Earl of R-mn-y has sold so much of his Grants as amounts to 30147 l. 11 s. 1 d. of which 5323 l. 14 s. 7 d. remains unpaid in the Purchasers Hands The Right Honourable the Earl of Alb-m-rle has received in England 13000 l. Sterling by sale of part of his Grant The Right Honourable the Lord C-nn-ngsby hath sold to the value of 2200 l. And Thomas Keightly Esquire has sold and receiv'd to the value of 5123 l. 10 s. amounting in the whole to 68155 l. 3 s. 1 d. 84. We are also to acquaint your Honours that there have been several Proclamations and other Publick Assurances given that a fourth part should be granted to such as should discover any concealed Forfeitures to some of the Discoverers Grants have been made and they appear in the
Book of Grants N. 6. and others affirm they have not yet received any Satisfaction the whole We believe are under the value of two thousand Pounds per annum 85. And here we may take notice that the Forfeitures in general notwithstanding they appear to be so considerable have been rather a charge than profit to his Majesty which might seem very extraordinary if we did not acquaint your Honours that many obscure Men that had little or nothing since the reduction of Ireland are now reputed Masters of considerable Estates and some of them very great ones nor does there appear any visible cause of their acquiring such suddain Riches but by fishing into these Forfeitures indeed the whole management has been so intricate as if it was design'd to make the knowledg of it a Mystery which has proved sufficiently advantagious to these Men tho very much to the detriment of his Majesty who by this means has been deceived in the value of his Grants and in many cases hath given much more than he intended as we conceive 86. There is nothing seems to us to have contributed more to it than the setting the forfeited Lands by Cant in the City of Dublin and not in the several Counties in the Kingdom For by that means very few persons would come to Town at a great Charge and neglect of their Affairs when they were sure to be out-bid by the Agents to Great Men who aimed only to get into possession and had Interest enough afterwards to have all or most of their Rents remitted Upon this consideration Mr. Attourney General and William Conmelly Esquire canted Lands in the County of Kilkenny worth about 200 l. per annum to more than 20000 l. per annum So that private Men who had no Interest found it in vain to contend besides they were over-awed by the Authority often of those that bid against them which weighed much in this Country 87. By these methods when others were driven off the Stage they took the Lands at their own rates oftentimes as we conceive agreeing not to bid against one another particularly Thomas Brodrick Esq and the said Mr. Conmelly who took vast quantities of Lands and in a great measure governed the Cants few Persons daring to bid against them acted in Partnership in all they took in the Year 1695 and ever since and let it afterwards to under-tenants at greater Rents which is more observable in Mr. Brodrick who was a Privy-Counseller and appointed by the Lord C-p-ll to inspect the Cants having been informed they were managed much to his Majesties disadvantage 88. Nor cou'd it be expected they should be better regulated when many of the immediate Officers of the Revenue took parcels of these Lands and some were taken in trust for the very Commissioners themselves and particularly the Lands of Kerdiffs-town were let to Henry Fernley who was a nominal Person in trust for Mr. Culliford at 31 l. 16 s. per annum tho actually canted to 84 l. Several other forfeited Lands have been taken by Mr. Culliford and great quantities of Goods seized by him to his Majesty's use which he afterwards converted to his own 89. Besides the great abuses in the management of their Cants we humbly represent to your Honours one instance of a considerable Estate that was set without any Cant at all by direction of the Lords Justices for at least one thousand pounds per ann less than it was then worth and for a term of sixty one years tho by a Letter from his Majesty dated the _____ day of March 1698 they were commanded to Let it for a term not exceeding twenty one Years and at a time too when one Year and half was unexpired in another Tenant This is a Lease of the Estate of Sir Valentine Browne and Nicholas Browne Esq commonly call'd Lord K-nm-re within the Counties of Kerry and Limerick made to John Blannenhasset and George Rogers Esquires then Members of Parliament of this Kingdom 90. Having already laid before your Honours the most material parts of our Inquiry we now crave leave to make a short abstract of our valuations before we conclude our Report The whole forfeited Estates since the 13th day of February 1688 we value at 2685130 l. 5 s. 9 d. Â l. s. d. The Estates restor'd by Articles we value at 724923 4 6 The Estates restored by favour we value at 260863 7 3 The Debts affecting the Estates forfeited and found by Inquisition or allow'd by order of the Exchequer we compute at 161936 15 6 Against which we ballance the Estates due to forfeiting Persons not restored amounting to 120013 l. 13 s. as also all Houses Tythes Mills Fairs Markets Chief-rents and Ferries worth about 50000 l. Against the beneficial Leases we ballance all the Leases call'd unprofitable and also all the Woods yet standing upon the forfeited Estates which we compute may be worth about 60000 l. and the Chattles real of Persons adjudged within Articles never brought to any account But lest Allowances should not be thought sufficient we throw in all denominations of Lands that have no number of Acres annexed to them which we cannot believe will amount to less than seventy or eighty thousand Acres and consequently if valued in proportion with other Lands will come to at least 14000 l. The Estates yet undiscovered seem to us very considerable but we can make no probable valuation of them the Sums received by the Grantees from the Sale of their Estates amount to 68155 l. 3 s. 1 d. We have taken no notice of any Debts due to Persons restored or of any incumbrances affecting their Estates And after the several Allowances before-mentioned there yet remains 1699343 l. 14 s. which we humbly lay before your Honours as the gross of all the Estates forfeited since the 13th of February 1688. and not restored We shall now conclude our Report by laying before your Honours one other Grant of a considerable value which we are apprehensive does not fall within the Letter of our Enquiry but since the benefit of some forfeited Leases or Holdings are therein granted we chose rather to lay the whole Grant before your Honours than be thought defective in any part of our duty or what might be expected from us A Grant under the Great Seal of Ireland dated the 30th of May 1695 passed to Mrs. Elizabeth V-ll-rs now Countess of Ork --- y of all the Private Estate of the late King James except some small part in grant to the Earl of Athl-ne containing 95649 Acres worth 25995 l. 13 s. per annum value total 337943 l. 9 s. the Particulars whereof viz. the number of Acres in each County and Barony the value per annum and value total appear in a Book delivered in with this Report N. 9. There is payable out of this Estate two thousand Pounds per annum to the Lady Susanna B-ll-sis for her Life and also one thousand pounds per annum to Mrs. Godfrey for her