Dublin, August 22, 1663.
Sr
As it is my duty by you to give his Matie frequent accoumpts of his commands when I receive them, and of the state of his Affaires vnder my management, soe when any thing extraordinary happens or may reasonably be apprehended I conceive it a more speciall duty to represent it seasonably that his Matie may apply such remedyes and preuentions as may be proper to obviate the disturbance of his Goverment.
It is well knowne to his Matiethat when he arriued in England this kingdome was absolutely in the power and for the most parte in the possession of such as one way or other had been engaged against his interest, and that the endeauours of some and acquiescence of others for his restoration was vpon confidence and vpon something very neere a promis on the Kings parte that they should enjoy what was in their hands as Adventurers by the Act past in England in the 17 of the last King & as souldiers according to the lotts that fell to their share by the distribution of the vsurpers. Soone after his Maties comeing to London applications weare made to him by such a representatiue of those that had the power of the Kingdome as could most obleege them. Their first addresses consisted of recognitions, congratulations, and a present, afterwards propositions weare made for the reduction of the kingdome to be governed in spiritualltys and temporaltyes by the good old way established by law, and last of all a petitionary addresse to be secured in their propertyes pursuant to his Maties gracious intentions made knowne to them by his declarations and more private vndertakeings. In the two former there was noe difficulty his Matie graciously accepted the one and readyly consented to the other, but the latter tooke vp much tyme, by reason of the irreconcileable pretentions of the English & Irish, and of the difficulty of his Maties complying with those as irreconcileable obligations that were vpon him to many of both nations, to those Irish that had redeemed their defection by their hearty endeauour (though vnsuccessefull) to keepe his Maties govermt ouer them, and to those English that with successe had redeemed their faileings by an early invitation and voluntary submission to his Goverment, yet at length a declaration and then an Act was past after much debate betwixt the English and Irish before the King and his Councell there, a liberty without president at the consideration of a bill, but yet perhaps reasonable in this case of wch alsoe there was noe example against the exposition made by his Maties Comrs of this bill and their decrees giuen vpon it, the cry on the English side is great some of them affirming that not aboue the 6th parte of those that claymed as innocents being heard yet 800000 acres are restored to old proprietors. Whether the cry be reasonable or the computation right I will not indeed I cannot determine. The King made choice of Comrs of good reputation for ability & integrity, and I presume whateuer the cry may be they will giue a good account of their proceedings. That wch most satisfyed me in the Act was that his Matie haueing diuested himselfe of the power of Judgeing & distributeing possessions and that in a way satisfactory to two Protestant Councells and a Protestant Parliamt and named Protestant vnconcearned Comrs. It would thenceforth be impossible to fix vpon him the scandall of partiallity towards Irish and papists, then wch a more dangerous cannot in my opinion be invented, and I thought this the more out of danger in that his Matie voutchafe[296] to assure me he would not by his letters interpose in the Judiciall parte of the settlement of this Kingdome. Two things weare by the Act intrusted with his Matie the one vpon emergencies where the Justice of Particular cases should appeare to him to require it to direct the putting in of claimes, the other was to direct whome of the former proprietors of Howses in Corporations (who should be found innocent) should be restored to their Howses, and not to valueable exchanges in landes adjacent, the first of these powers was left in the King that if by any vnavoydable accident some person might be soe remote as that he could not put in his claime by the limited tyme his Matie might vpon the euidence of such accident releeue such a person, but those letters (as one may guesse by ye number of them) haue not been refused to any that haue sought for them, and the Comrs haue his Maties command in such reuerence that they haue giuen way to the retracting of old & putting in new claimes vpon letters soe directing, though thereby some doe beleeve they violate the intention of the Act vnder collour of obedience to the King’s command and it is more then probable that thereby alsoe a way hath been opened to the forgeing of such conveyances & settlements as experience had shewen would be of force and in consequence of that to perjury in prooveing such deedes.
The other power his Matie reserued to himselfe to the end that whereas provision was made in the Act that though the former inhabitants in Corporations should be found innocent they should not be restored to their Howses but to equivalent satisfaction for them, that the townes might be for publique security inhabited by Protestants and English, yet in case of extraordinary merritt His Matie was trusted to dispence with the rigor of that provision and restore such meriting person to his antient dwelling, but in this as in the other case it should seeme that noe pretender to such fauour hath been refused and some provisionall letters haue beene sent that in case such a person should be found innocent he should be restored to his Howses in Corporations, and for some men will be restored to 20 some to 90 and some to 100 Howses in one Citty and be at liberty to lett in what inhabitants he thinks fitt to the vtter disappointment of that security and improvemt wch was designed by the Act, If this be the case as I doubt it is very like it, the conclusion will be that those powers left in his Matie for the releefe of particular extraordinary cases haue been extended promiscuously without examination to all pretenders to them.
There remained nothing now to compleate a beleefe in this people of his Mats extraordinary fauour to the Irish but to interpose his authority in poynt of Judgement and to direct the Comrs that whateuer euidence should be produced against my Ld of Antrym of the highest guilt from the beginning to the ending of the Irish Rebellion yet they should iudge him innocent and that vpon the ground of haueing receiued precedent instructions from the late King & subsequent approbation for all his actings, some Inferences naturally arriseing thence I will not mention. I pray God there may neuer come a tyme when they may be easylyer vrged then well answered, but it is very frequently & too plausibly said this breakeing in vpon the prescribed methode of the Act cutts of all present & future security that the King may as well declare any of them who haue most contributed to his restoration to be nocent within the rules by wch the English are to be tryed and that without proofe, as my Ld of Antrim to be innocent against proofe, and that if there be noe security in an Act of Parliamt they know not where to seeke for it or when they haue it, from this liberty wch it is not possible to restrayne proceede my apprehensions.
All the ill people planted heere by the vsurpers and all the officers & souldiers that haue been disbanded since the Kings coming in are still heere and put togither I doubt they are the greater number of English.
There is noe mony in the Treasury noe victuall in any Garrisson or store ammunition is scant enough, there are noe necessarys to make a trayne of Artillery march, and wch is wors then all this if a quarrell should be raised and stated to be betweext an English and an Irish Interest (as to the vulgar it would) the common souldier could not be trusted nor would many officers I doubt be ouer keene in the Service, & God defend vs from a necessity of Armeing Irish.
A question is raised whether the tyme prefixed by the Act for Judgeing of Innocents ended not the 2d of July. Whether it did or noe diuers English as I heere & particularly those on my Lord of Antrims estate resolue not to giue vp possession vpon any decree made since the 2 of July: The issue to be expected is that either the sherriff will refuse to demaund possession or he will be opposed if he doe, his legall remedy in case of opposition is to rayse the power of the county and such assemblys at this tyme are not I think to be wished, and if he think himselfe not warranted to give possession there does not appeare to me any authority to force him to it or punish him for not doeing it, the standing courts of Justice are armed but the Act as I am told by those that vnderstand it hath not giuen any such to ye Comrs. The difficulty I fore see I may be in is that the Kings officer and his Authority will in appearance receiue an affront or I must apply some extraordinary and perhaps vnseasonable remedy to it. I humbly desire I may receiue the Kings direcions in this poynt.
Though this description of the condition of this Kingdome be long yet I haue omitted many circumstances & consequences deducible from what I haue said, by wch the hazardous state wee are in might be made more euident, what I haue presumed by you to represent to his Matie is to the end he should haue before him the disorders that may happen wch yet I shall imploy my vttermost industry to preuent.