then they would be without excuse should they persist in their revolt. The advice of the spiritual pastor was in part after this law was enacted, it was scrupulously observed by the English Dominicans, Franciscans, monks, canons, and all other religious orders of the English nation, who shewed a partiality in the choice of their religious subjects; the more odious, in as much as those monasteries were founded by Irishmen, from which Irishmen are so basely excluded by Englishmen in modern times. Besides, where they ought to have established virtue, they have done exactly the contrary; they have exterminated our native virtues, and established the most abominable vices in their stead. For the English, who inhabit our island, and call themselves a middle nation (between English and Irish) are so different in their morals from the English of England, and all other nations, that they can with the greatest propriety, be stiled a nation not of middling, but of extreme perfidiousness; for it is of old, that they follow the abominable and nefarious custom, which is acquiring more inveteracy every day from habit, namely, when they invite a nobleman of our nation to dine with them, they, either in the midst of the entertainment, or in the unguarded hour of sleep, spill the blood of our ansuspecting countrymen, terminate their detestable feast with murder, and sell the heads of their guests to the enemy. Just as Peter Brumichehame, who is since called the treacherous baron, did with Mauritius de S-- his fellow sponsor, and the said Mauritius' brother, Calnacus, men much esteemed for their talents and their honour among us; he invited them to an entertainment on a feast day of the Holy Trinity; on that day the instant they stood up from the table, he cruelly massacred them, with twenty-four of their followers, and sold their heads at a dear price to their enemies; and when he was arraigned before the king of England, the present king's father, no justice could be obtained against such a nefarious and treacherous offender. In like manner Lord Thomas Clare, the Duke of Gloucester's brother, invited to his house the most illustrious Brien Roe O'Brien of Thomond his sponsor.... All hope of peace between us is therefore completely destroyed; for such is their pride, such their excessive lust of dominion, and such our ardent ambition to shake off this insupportable yoke, and recover the inheritance which they have so unjustly usurped; that, as there never was, so there never will be, any sincere coalition between them and us; nor is it possible there should in this life, for we entertain a certain natural enmity against each other, flowing from mutual malignity, descending by inheritance from father to son, and spreading from generation to generation. Let no person wonder then, if we endeavour to preserve our lives, and defend our liberties, as well as we can, against those cruel tyrants, usurpers of our just properties and murderers of our persons; so far from thinking it unlawful, we hold it to be a meritorious act, nor can we be accused of perjury or rebellion, since neither our fa thers or we did at any time bind ourselves by any oath of allegiance to their fathers or to them, and therefore without the least remorse of conscience, while breath remains, we will attack them in defence of our just rights, and never lay down our arms until we force them to desist. Besides, we are fully satisfied to prove in a judicial manner, before twelve or more bishops, the facts which we have stated, and the grievances which we have complained of. Not like attended to by the king; yet the distresses of famine, pestilence and war continued to exhaust the country. Sir John Bermingham was sent by Alexander Bicknor, archbishop of Dublin, the lord deputy, into Ulster, with several distinguished officers in his train, and about 1500 chosen men. Bruce met him with an army more than double his force at Dundalk. The conflict was sustained on each side with great bravery, but terminated in favour of the English. Edward Bruce fell in battle, and Robert Bruce arrived with his forces only to hear of the defeat and death of his brother, and instantly retreated. Bermingham received the earldom of Louth, and manor of Alherdee, or Athunree, in reward of his services. 1 11. The English cause acquired considerable strength from the death of Edward Bruce, who had been solemnly crowned monarch of Ireland. The general calamities of the country however rendered the advantages scarcely an object of congratulation to the victors. There remained a devasted country, an exhausted treasury, and a thin population, equally disposed to avail itself of the abuses of the old, and to oppose the introduction of new institutions. Lawless violence, private revenge, and uncontrouled excesses prevailed every where. The English government was harassed and distressed as much by the recreant English, as by the obstinate the English, who in time of prosperity contemn all legal ordinances, and if they enjoyed prosperity at present, would not recur to Rome, as they do now, but would crush, with their overbearing and tyrannical haughtiness, all the surrounding nations, despising every law human and divine. Therefore, on account of all those injuries, and a thousend others, which human wit cannot easily comprehend, and on account of the kings of England, and their wicked ministers, who instead of governing us, as they are bound to do, with justice and moderation, have wickedly endeavoured to exterminate us off the face of the earth, and to shake off entirely their detestable yoke, and recover our native liberties, which we lost by their means, we are forced to carry on an exterminating war; choosing in defence of our lives and liberties, rather to rise like men and expose our persons bravely to all the dangers of war, than any longer to bear like women their atrocious and detestable injuries; and in order to obtain our interest the more speedily and consistently, we invite the gallant Edward Bruce, to whom, being descended from our most noble ancestors, we transfer, as we justly may, our own right of royal dominion, unanimously declaring him our king by common consent, who in our opinion, and in the opinion of most men, is as just, prudent, and pious, as he is powerful and courageous: who will do justice to all classes of people, and restore to the church those properties of which it has been so damnably and inhumanly despoiled, &c. Irish chieftains. These internal calamities were aggravated by the notorious imbecility and corruption of those to whom the reins of government were intrusted. They sanctioned several abuses: and although they could not prevent the ordinary effects of famine and war, yet at their door lay the unprecedented disasters of that refined improvement upon national calamity, anciently called coigne and livery (and latterly free quarters), which was a forced quartering of the soldiers on the inhabitants, leaving them to support themselves by arbitrary exactions. This engendered and gave impunity to a system of riot, rapine, rape, massacre, oppression, and every vice that can degrade mankind.* 12. It appears that Edward II. again sought to support his authority by help of the see of Rome, the temporal power of which had in those days a most unwarrantable influence on the minds of most christians. He had the address, in the twelfth year of his reign, to prevail on John XXII. to release the payment of Peter-pence, which had been granted to his predecessors from the kingdoms of England and Ireland. In the sixteenth year of his reign, his holiness, at the insti * Of this barbarous and nefarious practice, Sir John Davies thus speaks. Dav. Dis. p. 30 and 123. "In the time of king Edward II. Maurice Fitz-Thomas of Desmond, being chief commander of the army against the Scots, began that wicked extortion of coygne and livery and pay, that is, he and his army tooke horsemeate and mansmeate and money at their pleasure, without any ticket or any other satisfaction. And this was, after that time, the general fault of all the governours and commanders of the army in this lande." And, "By this it appeareth why the extortion of coygne and livery is called in the old statutes of Ireland a damnable custome, and the imposing and taking thereof made high treason. And it is said in an ancient discourse Of the Decay of Ireland, that though it were first invented in hell, yet if it had been used and practised there as it hath been in Ireland, it had long since destroyed the very kingdom of Belzebub." And (p. 171) "But the most wicked and mischievous custome of all others was that of coygne and livery, often before mentioned; which consisted in taking of mansmeate, horsemeute, and money of all the inhabitants of the country at the will and pleasure of the soldier, who, as the phrase of Scripture is, did eate up the people as it were bread, for that he had no other entertainment. This extortion was originally Irish, for they used to lay bonaght upon their people, and never gave their soldiers any other pay. But when the English had learned it, they used it with more insolency, and made it more intollerable; for this oppression was not temporary, or limited either to place or time; but because there was every where a continuall warre, either offensive or defensive, and everie lord of a countrie, and everie marcher, made warre and peace at his pleasure, it became universal and perpetuall; and was indeed the most heavy oppression that ever was used in anie christian or heathen kingdom." gation of the English monarch, imposed on the clergy of Ireland a disme for two years, payable to the king. It was to be levied by the dean and chapter of Dublin. But the prelates and clergy refused to pay it without production of the original bull. This they conceived the most plausible pretext for resisting the unconstitutional exercise of papal power to tax or appropriate the property of the kingdom. They had twice before resisted these exactions.* 13. The misfortunes and tragical end of Edward II. having taken place in England, we cannot properly introduce them into the history of that part of his dominions which took no share in them. Ireland owes more to this king's efforts to improve their country by legislation than those of any of his predecesssors. The salutary statutes and ordinances made by this monarch at different periods are stated at large by Riley and Prynne ;t the latter of whom ushers in those passed in the seventeenth year of his reign, at Nottinghain, "for the better government of Ireland, and preventing corruptions and abuses in his officers there, to his own and his subjects' injury or oppression," with this observation; a notable precedent worthy imitation in all ages and places throughout the king's dominions. 14. A strong tide of adverse fortune ran against this monarch. He had probably received favourable impressions of Ireland from the reports of his favourite Gavaston; and, in the pressures of his misfortunes in England, he is reported to have seriously attempted to throw himself into the arms of his Irish subjects. Amongst the charges against this unfortunate prince, his enemies most unwarrantably laid at his door the loss of his Irish dominions. * It cannot escape the reader's observation, that the modern Irish Roman catholic clergy has upon oath renounced and disclaimed all temporal power in the pope. † Ril. Pl. Parl. App. and Prynne's Anim. p. 264. 139 CHAPTER VII. 1327.-EDWARD III. 1. EDWARD III. upon the resignation of his unfortunate father was proclaimed king in the sixteenth year of his age. A regency of twelve governors was placed over him, but they were merely nominal; and Isabella, the queen mother, with her favourite Mortimer, exercised the power of the realm. Upon a general review of this king's reign, which continued fifty years, seven months, and twenty-seven days, the observation recurs which has before been made upon the rapid succession of governors intrusted with the administration of Irish affairs; a system, which must essentially have defeated the effects of sound policy upon an unsettled ́and naturally turbulent government. There were, during this reign, no fewer than forty-three changes of governors; thus none had a fair opportunity of correcting the errors of his predecessor, or reaping the fruits of his own harvest, however perfect the seed and preparation of the soil for its rendering fruit in due season. 2. The whole of our third Edward's reign was an uninterrupted tissue of defection and reduction, concilation and relapse, punishment and revenge of different chieftains, both English and Irish. They indiscrimiuately affected sovereignty, prosecuted and defended their private claims by force of arms, concluded and followed up alliances among themselves like independent potentates, although they all affected to treat the British monarch as the common sovereign paramount. The particulars of this general insubordination would disclose little of the political relations of the two kingdoms. The English and Irish historians are often at variance in detailing the successes and effects of these do❤ mestic contests. The sole instruction to be drawn from the history of these unsettled times will be from the acts of state, which solemn record places out of uncertainty or doubt. They display a real anxiety in the British monarch to promote the happiness and welfare of his Irish subjects, and the fatal counteraction of the personal benevolence of the king by the corrupt government of deputies and their clerks. 3. The English nation considered the disgrace and mis |