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XXI. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO THE EARL OF ARLINGTON.a

MY LORD,

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Dublyn Castle, 8th Octob. 1672.

*

I have here enclos'd a Copy of ye Bishops of Londonderry's Letter, by wch your Lop will find ye Terms wch those Non Conformists are at present brought to, wch I hope for a time may keep them quiet, but ye cure of that evill must be by another course, for I find that allmost all ye seditious Preachers of Scotland," who are so factious and turbulent there as ye Government will not endure them, do upon their banishment out of that Kingdome repair hither, and these are ye men who are most followed by ye multitude. I have emploied some persons to learn out their Naines, and some Accounts I have had of them already, but not so perfect as to instruct me what to offer to yo1 Lop on this subject; only this seems to be proper, that a constant correspondence be held between ye Governor of this Kingdome and those who have ye management of Affairs in Scotland, that so notice may be given when any of these seditious Preachers are prosecuted and sentenc'd in Scotland, and that their name may be return'd Hither to ye end they may not harbor in this country.

'Tis apparent that all ye Inland Counties on ye North East of Ireland, tho' inhabited by Scots, are yet very conformable good People, whereas all ye Sea Coast peopled by that Nation are a very factious and turbulent generation, wch can proceed from no other ground than that wch I have hinted to your LoP. I hope within a weeke or two (after all my intelligence from these parts shall be come) I shall be able to offer some expedient to his Majties consideration wch may be fit to be applied for ye redress of this growing

mischief.

*

a On the same date Essex writes to the Bishop approving of the conditions named in the latter's letter, and urging that if the Nonconformists observe the treaty, "the greater tenderness that is used towards them the better."

b Frequent mention of this occurs in the Lauderdale MSS. (vol. ii. p. 220, &c.) On Oct. 26 Arlington wrote to Essex that he was in consultation with Lauderdale on this point [f. 326].

XXII. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO THE EARL OF ARLINGTON.

MY LORD,

Dublyn Castle, Oct. 26, 1672.

I have bin so ill of late as I could not my self give you any account of Affairs here, nor am I yet well enough to doe it with my owne hand.

We have publisht a proclamation in pursuance to his Majties Letter prohibiting all persons to commence any suits for any Actions committed in ye late War," a Copy whereof is transmitted to St Joseph Williamson.

Yesterday, at Councell, we committed to the custodie of ye Serjeant-at-Arms one Philpott, a person very seditious in ye time of ye late disorders of this City. The ground of his committment was for contempt of our Order made in determination of those differences, wherein we declar'd all elections of Magistrates since ye illegall exclusion of ye Recorder and Aldermen to be voyd, notwthstanding wch this Phillpott being one of those so illegally elected, comes into ye Court of Aldermen on ye 17th day of this present moneth, and places himself there as one of that body, for wch presumption we have now committed him.

We also proceeded upon ye deteinder of moneys by ye Farmers upon pretence of defalcations and we find they have at this present deteind nineteen thousand five hundred pds in their hands; I have hitherto bin gentle to ye Farmers in this particular hoping that they and ye Coms of ye Treary might come to some agreemt among themselvs, but finding no such agreemt like to succeed I have now put an end to that matter, and order'd ye Farmers immediately to pay in ten thousand pds of this money so detein'd, wch if they doe not perform, I have left ye Comrs of ye Treary to take their court for ye whole according to Law, indeed I see plainly that money will be wanting here; the Kings rents allmost of all kinds will faile;

& See XVIII.

and there will be a necessitie of his Majties suppliing ye want with English money, or otherwise ye governmt will fall into great disorder; I doe not looke upon our want to proceed so much from ye present war (tho' that too has some share in it), as from ye generall decay of Trade, and this occasioned principally by a late Act of Parliam1, wch so strictly prohibits all Trade between this Kingdome and our West Indian Plantations (upon wch score ye Farmers of ye Revenue doe now demand and must have a considerable defalcation). Before this Act this Kingdome had setled a considerable Trade thither of Beef, Butter, and Tallow, and other commodities, wth wch this country abounds; but, being now denied all Traffique there, they can find no place to vent it; 'twas believ'd, when this Act pas'd, that ye prohibiting of Traffique between Ireland and ye West Indian Plantations would be of great profitt to England, if so, I see no wrong England can have in allowing some proportion for ye maintenance of ye Governmt here, wch I fear yr Lop will quickly find will be necessarie to be done.a

I have not as yet sign'd any Orders signifying my pleasure of dispensing wth particular persons from taking ye Oath of Supremacy in case they be elected Magistrates of Towns; but so soon as I had pas'd ye Rules for ye Coporacions I sent to those who were ye Agents here for them of ye Roman persuasion to give me in some Lists of Names of ye wealthiest and most substantiall Trades in each Town, wch Lists were brought in to me just at ye beginning of my sickness, wch is ye occasion I have done nothing in it as yet, but I shall now speedily proceed to ye licensing of such persons as I shall think best qualified for his Majties favor in this particular.

From Gallway I hear there are very great meetings within ye Town of those of ye Roman persuasion. They write me word from thence that everie Sunday there meets in one house at Mass much greater numbers then ye whole Garrison consists of, but I must tell ye Lop withall that They meet very peaceably, and no way disorderly either in words or otherwise.

* See Report from Commissioners of Customs on this matter, Letter XXXIX.

I am a litle unsatisfied wth those People of Galway who made their complaints to me at my first coming of being beaten and illused by ye Garrison and other Protestants there, and I know they have not bin behind hand wth their clamors in England too. I have put their business in a way of hearing, and will be sure to doe them all ye right and justice They can expect, but they are perpetually putting in new replications, and introducing new matter wch of forme ye other side must answer in writing before ye whole can come to a hearing, wch makes me suspect ye Complainants only desire to clamour, and doe not care to have ye Truth of ye matter lookt into.

These are all ye particulars wch at present are worthy ye giving ye Lop an account of.

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I have a Comson to Coll: Rich: Talbot to comand Capt. Davis his Troop.

XXIII. THE BISHOP OF DOWNE TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

MAY IT PLEASE YR EXCELLCIE.

Oct. 29, 1672.

*

I have been intent as this short tyme would permitt mee, and resolve to waylay all opportunityes for ye future. I have gon to severall Non-conformists ministers, invited them to come to mee, and must leav the issue to God and tyme.

But for the present, though they cement heer, they are really two partyes. One they cald the publique men in Scotland, wch were for his Mties Restauration, and those are the moderate party;

Thomas Hackett, D.D., an Englishman, educated at Trinity College, Dublin; chaplain to Charles II., Dean of Cork, 1661, consecrated Sept. 22, 1672; deprived 1694, by Royal Commission, for non-residence, neglect, &c. Died August, 1697; buried at Lisburn.

The others they call'd here Remonstrators, whoe were against it, very seditious agst their governors there-presbytery, Universityes-and therefore were driven out hither, whoe are mad, factious, preaching up the people's liberties, spreading seditious books printed in Holland since this War, of wch some are fixt and some they call Itinerant preachers. A particular character of these (by the best information I could possibly obtaine) I have presented yr Excellcie by the Hands of Sr Henrye Ford. These excite ye people to outrages agst their legall incumbents, in which some have been beaten and batter'd for doing their dutyes, and in travelling on the high way, without any provocation given. These Nonconformists likewise performe all parochiall dutyes heer, and defraud y Ministers of their dues (not content wth preaching only as they are in England), and what is of most wicked consequence, after they have marryed persons, the coupled on discontents part, and pretend they were not legally marryed.

Yet I humbly conceiv all this does not amount to ye fearing any publique trouble, or making soe much as a publique noyse (yt ye Irish need bee counteract to ballanc them), for they are but lately come, disowned by all the principall men, and may bee as silently return'd whenc they come, as when they come, if it bee don soone.

For any occasions or scandalls that they may pretend justly to arise from of clergy, I hope, by God's blessing, to remove them all from them, and ye clamor from yr Excellency.

I doe not altogether despaire of bringing some of the moderate to a faire Treaty. Those I have already discorst wth, and they promise to decoy in ye rest.

I hope likewise to divide them, wch I have essayed by suggesting to them probabilityes of kindnes for those yt are moderate, and yt the violent only hinder them from, and that therefore they will be concernd to dycriminate themselves from yt party, that soe they may bee capable of ye favors intended them.

These little things I am at present agitating, suitable to ye low sphere I moove in; and subjecting all to ye highest, in which yr

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