CHAPTER XVIII.

IRELAND, TO THE SETTLEMENT OF ULSTER.

CUT off by its position, but even more by the relapse of the greater part of its inhabitants into a state of semi-barbarism, from the general currents of European development, Ireland, which despite its insularity had done so much in the past for European civilisation, was to most Englishmen at the beginning of the sixteenth century a mere terra incognita. Quite recently it had, it is true, acquired a certain notoriety by its espousal of the claims of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck; French wines found their way into the country through Cork and Waterford ; the long-established commercial relations between Dublin and Bristol still subsisted; Spanish traders landed their wares on Galway quay; the fame of St Patrick's purgatory attracted an occasional pilgrim from foreign lands ; and of one Irish chieftain it was placed on record that he had accomplished the hazardous journey to Rome and back. But of those larger influences which were transforming the face of Europe politically, intellectually, and morally, Ireland knew nothing. The wave of the Renaissance expended its force without touching her shores.

Vast woods and impenetrable thickets-the lair of the wild boar and the wolf-interspersed with pathless bogs, covered the island, rendering communication with the interior dangerous and difficult, and preventing that political development which trade and intercourse with other nations can alone promote.

To preserve this last vestige of its dominion had been, in so far as it concerned itself with Ireland at all, the one object of the English Crown from the days of Richard II down to those of Henry VII. Acts of the most stringent description had been passed to prevent the assimilation of the two races ; threats of confiscation had been hurled against the degenerate English nobles unless they abandoned their pestiferous customs of coyne and livery; the aid of Rome had been solicited, and the Church had thundered her anathema against the rebellious Irish. But all to no effect. Year by year the position of the Palemen became more precarious. Worse off in many respects than the wild Irish, from whose inroads they were compelled to purchase an uncertain immunity by the payment of heavy black rents, they seemed to exist on sufferance only because it suited the policy of the dominant house of Kildare to make use of the royal authority in its feuds with the Butlers and O'Neills. In order to remedy this condition of things, Henry VII had authorised his deputy Sir Edward Poynings in 1494 to consent to a law restraining the freedom of the Irish Parliament and subjecting its legislation to the sanction of the Privy Council. But the remedy hardly touched the disease. Before long affairs drifted back into their old channel ; and how long Ireland might have continued an object of more or less indifference to England it is impossible to say, had not the political consequences of Henry VIII's divorce rendered active intervention there necessary.

Incidentally Henry's breach with Rome had the effect of attracting special attention to the so-called donation of Ireland to Henry II by Pope Adrian IV. The discussion to which the subject gave rise was not of a purely academic character. What one Pope had the power to grant, another Pope, it was argued, had the power to recall, and a disposition manifested itself in papal circles to give practical expression to this view of the question. To obviate this danger and to place the Crown's claims on an indisputable basis a Bill was prepared, conferring on Henry and his heirs the title of King of Ireland, and submitted to a parliament which met at Dublin on June 13, 1541. The Bill readily passed both Houses, and, having been read again " in playne Parliamente," received the royal assent on Saturday, June 18. This Act, though of comparatively little importance in itself, is useful as serving to mark the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Ireland. With it the long period of inaction came to a close, and a period of active intervention, leading to a final conquest and settlement of the country, began. It was the first step towards what was called the " recovery " of Ireland. Starting at this point, it will be the object of the present chapter to sketch in broad outlines the history of this " recovery " down to the eve of the great rebellion, and to show how a policy in its inception essentially conciliatory gradually and, to all appearance, inevitably developed into one of a directly opposite tendency.

The problem seemed to have been solved. Ireland, so long the scene of bloodshed and anarchy, appeared at last to have found rest and to be on the point of entering upon an era of peace and prosperity. "If only this same may be continued but two descents, then is this land for ever reformed," ejaculated St Leger. "Thanks be to God," wrote Sir Thomas Cusack, " this land was never by our remembrance in so good case-no, nothing like, for honest obedience ; and after that cometh the profit to the King's Majesty, if they continue in this quietness they be in at this instant." " We confess," testified the Earls of Desmond, Thomond, and Tyrone, and divers other Irish lords, who had come to Dublin to witness St Leger's departure, " there lives not any in Ireland, were he of the age of Nestor, who has seen this country in a more peaceful state." Knowing, as we do, how fallacious these hopes were to prove, and how far Ireland was from being actually won, it is worth while to enquire into the causes of the failure of Henry's policy.

Dublin, George Browne, who represented the extreme wing of the reforming party, and George Cromer, Archbishop of Armagh, who headed the opposition, probably the only essential article of difference was that of the Royal Supremacy. And even in this respect Cromer was prudent enough not to offer anything more than a sort of passive resistance. For the people generally the question of the spiritual supremacy was a matter of absolute indifference. O'Donnell, GTNeill, O'Brien, and the rest of the Irish chiefs had, as we have seen, made no scruple about renouncing allegiance to the Pope, or of accepting grants of conventual property. Their clansmen, even if they heard anything of the matter, neither cared nor understood anything at all about it. A reformation implies something to be reformed. But outside the Pale there was nothing worthy of being called a Church. To say that the Irish had relapsed into a state of heathenism is perhaps going too far. The tradition of a Christian belief still survived ; but it was a lifeless, useless thing. What the Irish needed was not reformation or conversion, but, if we may employ modern phraseology, a religious revival. We shall have occasion to notice how this need was met, not by the properly constituted authorities of the State Church, but by the missionary enterprise of the priests. Perhaps in no other country in the world were the efforts of the Counter-Reformation productive of more important or lasting consequences than in Ireland.

The plantation struck root; but more than half-a-century passed away before the settlers could be said to be in tranquil possession of their lands. Eighteen several times during that period did the O'Mores and O'Conors try by force of arms to recover their independence, each attempt in turn being repressed with great loss of life and fresh confiscation of property. Of those estated by Sussex hardly any remained at the close of the sixteenth century. In 1609 both clans were so reduced that Lord Deputy Chichester proposed to remove them bodily into a corner of county Kerry. The transplantation was effected only with difficulty ; and a year or two later it was found that a number of the clansmen had returned to their old haunts, living as ploughmen and labourers on lands they had once called their own. But their power was broken ; and though one of them, Rory O'More, was destined to play a prominent part in the rebellion of 1641, they had long ceased to cause anxiety either to the government or the settlers. In 1622 a Commission appointed to enquire into the state of the plantation reported that " as it was well begun, so it hath prosperously continued, and is for the most part well built and peopled by the English, and a great strength to the country and ready for your Majesty's service and their own defence."

Shortly after Henry's death the discontent which Con's action had created came to a point, the malcontents finding an able and determined leader in the person of Con's eldest legitimate son, Shane O'Neill. At the time when the agreement was signed Shane was a mere boy of fourteen ; whence probably the preference shown for Matthew by government, which can hardly have been unaware of his illegitimacy. Shane had now attained to manhood, and he speedily let it be seen that he was determined by every means in his power to assert his position as first favourite of the clan. In 1551 the struggle between the rival parties attained such dimensions that government was obliged to intervene. But despite the assistance rendered to the Baron of Dungannon, Shane not merely managed to hold his own, but in 1557 had grown strong enough to expel his father and brother, who were obliged to seek safety in the Pale. His success inspired him with the hope of establishing his supremacy over the whole of Ulster ; and, taking advantage of a tribal dispute that had arisen among his neighbours, the O'Donnells, he invaded Tyrconnell. But at Carriglea, near Strabane, he was surprised by Calvagh O'Donnell and his army routed. Con O'Neill was in consequence restored ; but the clansmen remained firm to the chief of their choice, and the Earl was once more compelled to retire into the Pale, where he shortly afterwards died. Chance about the same time placed the Baron of Dungannon in Shane's power, and whether he was murdered or killed in combat is immaterial. Shane's hands were free.

Shortly afterwards Calvagh O'Donnell, whose powers of endurance had been broken by three years of fearful imprisonment, offered to surrender Lifford, to renounce his claims to the over-lordship of Inishowen and to pay a heavy ransom; whereupon he was set at liberty. It soon appeared that he had promised more than he was able, or perhaps intended, to perform. Shane, however, managed to storm Lifford and about the same time to capture Calvagh's son Con. Having thus attained his object in the west he soon afterwards directed his forces against the MacDonnells of the Isles, who had recently effected a settlement along the coasts of county Antrim. On May 2,1565, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Scots near Ballycastle, taking among other prisoners James MacDonnell and his brother Sorley Boy. This victory placed Ulster practically at his feet. Still Elizabeth hesitated to act with decision, though Sir Henry Sidney, who had succeeded Sussex as Lord Deputy, emphatically endorsed his predecessor's opinion that nothing but force would suffice to lower Shane's pride ; nor was it until she had satisfied herself through Sir Francis Knollys as to the situation being really critical that she reluctantly consented to draw the sword.

Still more serious were the troubles impending in the south and south-west. One day towards the latter end of January, 1561, there arrived at Cork, on a vessel coming from Bordeaux, a man of unpretentious appearance. Beyond the clothes in which he stood he apparently possessed nothing. His name, he would have told anyone who might have thought it worth while to ask, was David Wolfe, a native of the town of Limerick. Yet this same unpretentious-looking person, whom no one knew, was the bearer of a commission which entitled him to take precedence of every Bishop and Archbishop of the Church of Rome in Ireland. Nearly twenty years had passed away since Alphonso Salmeron and his two companions, despairing of converting the natives of Ulster, had abandoned the task committed to them by Paul III of saving Ireland to the Holy See. In the meantime, neither the occupant of St Peter's chair nor the Supreme Head of the Church as by law appointed had displayed much interest in the spiritual welfare of the Irish. There had, indeed, been considerable shuffling of the cards among the rulers of the land. Catholic had succeeded Protestant, and Protestant Catholic, both in Church and State; but to most Irishmen it was a matter of perfect indifference whether Edward VI, or Mary, or Elizabeth sat on the throne, or whether Greorge Browne, or George Dowdal, or Hugh Curwen claimed the right to direct their consciences. How indeed could it be otherwise, when more than half the country lay outside the control of the Crown; when two-thirds of the population could understand no other language but Irish ; and when no attempt was made to translate the English service into the vernacular ?

Quitting Rome on August 11,1560, Wolfe, after being arrested at Nantes as a Lutheran and losing all his baggage at sea, reached Cork, as we have seen, in safety on January 20, 1561. Having caused his arrival and the object of his mission to be announced with as little noise as possible, he was surprised in how short a time and from what remote parts the natives flocked to him in their anxiety to confess their sins and to obtain absolution for their irregular manner of life-"super incestis matrimoniis.'1'' On undertaking a tour through the provinces of Munster and Connaught he was grieved to find everything relating to religion in the utmost state of disorder. Many of the Bishops had conformed and taken the oath of allegiance ; the churches for the most part were merely heaps of ruins or devoted to secular purposes ; and the clergy were more familiar with the use of temporal than with that of spiritual weapons. The cathedral of Tuam, which for three hundred years had served as a fortress for the Burkes, had recently been recovered by force of arms by Christopher Bodkin, the Archbishop, at great risk to his own life; but he, though a good man as the ways of the world went, had conformed. The cathedral church of Athenry was still used as a fortress by the gentry of the neighbourhood. Wolfe apparently at first made no attempt to visit Ulster, having probably little confidence in Shane O'Neill, whom he describes as "crudele ed impio heretico."" Leinster also, owing to the vigilance of government, was closed to him ; and he was obliged to appoint one Thady Newman his deputy in that province.

One of the earliest and most influential of Father Wolfe's adherents was James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald, cousin-german of Gerald, fifteenth and, since 1558, reigning Earl of Desmond. James' father, Maurice "of the burnings" as he was called, had rendered excellent service to his brother, Gerald's father, the fourteenth Earl, by "removing" out of his way his rival James, the thirteenth Earl. He had been rewarded by a grant of the district of Kerrykurrihy. But the friendly relations thus established between the two branches of the family had come to an end with the accession of Gerald, who evidently regarded his uncle as quite capable of playing the same trick on him as he had done on James ; and it was soon noted that they were at " hot wars " with one another. Their quarrel did not, however, prevent Gerald, who had already acquired the reputation of being a person of turbulent disposition, from pursuing the traditional policy of his house towards his neighbours, the Butlers. In 1560 a dispute arose between him and Thomas Butler, tenth Earl of Ormonde, as to the duty on wines unshipped at Youghal and Kinsale, and as to certain debateable lands on the river Suir, into which Desmond swore that Ormonde had entered by force. The dispute conducted in the usual Irish fashion, terminated for the time being in the defeat and capture of Desmond by Ormonde at the ford of Affane in February, 1565. Both Earls were summoned to England ; and, after with difficulty being brought to enter into recognizances of ,£20,000 each to abide by Elizabeth's decision in the matter, they were allowed to return home in January, 1566.

September, 1568, without bringing with him either the Earl or his brother, that he openly assumed the position of leader of the Munster Geraldines.

The blessing of the Church rested upon him. In February, 1569, Maurice MacGibbon, titular Archbishop of Cashel, escorted with solemn pomp by Fitzmaurice from Cashel to the sea, sailed from Ireland as the accredited agent of the southern confederates to the Court of Spain and the Vatican. They had charged him with the commission of imploring his Holiness to take their afflicted island under his special protection and of offering to acknowledge as their legitimate sovereign any Catholic Prince of the royal House of Spain or Burgundy whom Philip might appoint for that purpose.

A few months after his departure Fitzmaurice raised the standard of rebellion. It is unreasonable to question his sincerity in giving a religious colouring to the war, though there was perhaps some truth in the Countess of Desmond's assertion that he had rebelled in order to bring her husband into further displeasure, and to usurp all his inheritance "by the example of his father." Probably both motives cooperated. His policy evidently was to build up a strong anti-English and Catholic party, and by constituting himself its head, to render an alliance with him an object of importance to the Catholic Powers of Europe. The adhesion of Sir Edmund and Sir Edward Butler, brothers of the Earl of Ormonde, who had their own grievances, greatly strengthened him. In June he invaded Kerrykurrihy, and having stormed the castle-abbey of Tracton, sat down before Cork, promising the mayor and corporation never to depart until they agreed to "abolish out of that city that old heresy newly raised and invented.'1 By the time Sidney could take the field against him, towards the latter end of July, the flame of the rebellion had spread as far eastward as Kilkenny. But it soon appeared of what unstable material the confederacy was composed.

The conquest of Ireland by Fitzmaurice was to be the grand consummation of all this preparation. Ireland won, was to be the stepping-stone to the recovery of England. Meanwhile Fitzmaurice himself, after failing to persuade either Catharine de' Medici or Philip II to intervene actively in Irish affairs, had gained the sympathy of Gregory XIII. The crown of Ireland, which had been declined for Henry III and Don John of Austria, was accepted by the Pope for his nephew, Giacomo Buoncampagni. A plan for the invasion of Ireland was soon on foot, the execution of which was entrusted to that notorious adventurer, Sir Thomas Stukeley. Early in 1578 Stukeley sailed from Civita Vecchia with 800 men ; but, putting in at Lisbon for repairs, he was persuaded to join his forces with those of Sebastian of Portugal against Abdulmelek, Emperor of Morocco, and a few months later met his death on the fatal field of Alcazar. Undeterred by this disaster and encouraged by the presence and advice of Dr Nicholas Sanders, the author of that once famous book, De origine et progressa Schismatis AngVtcatù, who had thrown himself heart and soul into the enterprise and accompanied him as papal Legate, Fitzmaurice, having collected together with much difficulty a motley crew of Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, Flemings, refugee Irish, and renegade English, set sail from Ferrol in Galicia on June 17, 1579. A month later he landed on the coast of Kerry, and at once began to entrench himself in Smerwick harbour, pending the arrival of reinforcements. His first business was to publish a proclamation justifying his expedition and calling upon the Irish to rise in defence of their religious liberties. He then proceeded on a pilgrimage to Holy Cross Abbey in Tipperary. On his way thither he was killed in a petty skirmish with the Burkes of Castleconnell.

The flame of the rebellion seemed to be expiring, when the unexpected rising of James Eustace, Viscount Baltinglas, added fresh fuel to the fire. Did Baltinglas stand alone, or was his rising to be taken as a sign that the nobility of the Pale, Catholics almost to a man and not without grievances of their own, were beginning to move? Sanders and Sir John of Desmond flew to join him. On August 12, 1530 the new Deputy, Arthur Lord Grey de Wilton, landed at Dublin. A fortnight later he attacked Baltinglas and his ally, Fiagh MacHugh O'Byrne, at Glenmalure in county Wicklow, but was repulsed with heavy loss.

The effect of his defeat was tremendous. For a moment it seemed as if a general rebellion was imminent. In the midst of the excitement came the news that the long-expected Spaniards had succeeded in effecting a landing on the coast of Kerry, where they had been instantly joined by the Earl, his brother John, Sanders, and Baltinglas. It was an anxious time for every English official, especially for Grey, whose foolhardiness had been chiefly responsible for the crisis. But the feeling of consternation passed away, when it was found that Ormonde was quite capable of holding his own in Munster, and that the northern chieftains showed no sign of using the opportunity to strike a blow for themselves. Towards the end of October Grey marched to Ormonde's assistance. The invaders had entrenched themselves on a narrow slip of land jutting out into the bay of Smerwick ; before them lay the English army, behind them the English fleet, cutting off their retreat by sea. On November 8, Grey opened his batteries : two days later the fort surrendered, and 600 men composing the garrison were put to the sword. The back of the rebellion was broken. Early in the following year, 1581, Dr Sanders died at Clonlish, worn out with disappointment and disease. A few months later Baltinglas escaped to the Continent. His ally, Fiagh MacHugh, having submitted, was pardoned. Before the year was out, the body of Sir John of Desmond was dangling over the gates of Cork. Only the Earl of Desmond remained, and for him there was no hope. At last, after many hairbreadth escapes, he too was captured and put to death on November 11, 1583, exactly three years after the tragedy at Fort del Ore. But long before that time the war had lost the character given to it by Fitzmaurice and Sanders, and had become one of extirpation pure and simple.

Among those who volunteered and were accepted as undertakers were some illustrious names-Ralegh, Norris, Hatton, Grenville, Spenser, Herbert, Bourchier. A number of would-be colonists came over in August, but finding no prospect of a speedy settlement returned to England. The situation was, indeed, very discouraging. Everybody knew that large quantities of land had escheated to the Crown ; but where these lands precisely lay, what their exact scope was, how much of them was arable, how much waste, and how far they were encumbered with legal obligations of one sort or another, was largely a matter of guesswork. By the end of December, only 63,000 acres had been measured and "drawn into plots." The undertakers began to grow impatient, for at this rate it was evident another year would elapse before they could be put in possession. In consequence of their remonstrances orders were issued in February, 1587, " to cause the said survey to be prosecuted out of hand in a more speedy and superficial sort"; which it was found might "be done without hindrance either to her Majesty or the undertakers ; for that the chief est of them have already by mutual accord between themselves agreed what special seignories or smaller parcels shall be allotted to each of them."

So far as the general situation of affairs in Ulster was concerned the death of Shane O'Neill failed to produce the effect which was confidently expected from it. His cousin Turlough, who as tanist, naturally succeeded him, wrote apologising for his "thoughtless" behaviour in accepting the dignity of O'Neill ; but, as he displayed no intention of renouncing the honour, which according to his own account had been thrust upon him, it was not to be wondered at if little confidence was placed in his professions of loyalty. In another respect, however, Shane's death was not without important results. For hardly had Turlough succeeded to the chieftainship, when he at once reversed Shane's policy of aggression by opening negotiations for a reconciliation with his neighbours, the O'Donnells on the one side and the MacDonnells on the other. It seemed as if he was trying to do in the north what Fitzmaurice was doing in the south.

Dungannon's loyalty was not left unrewarded. He was given a troop of horse, with which he served in Munster against the Irish. At his own request he was admitted Earl of Tyrone, and sat as such in the Parliament which passed the Act for the attainder of the Earl of Desmond and his relatives. Further, in consequence of an arrangement arrived at between Sir John Perrot and Turlough, he was put in possession of that part of Tyrone which lies between the Blackwater and Mullaghcarn Mountain, on condition of paying an annual rent to Turlough of one thousand marks. Nevertheless, there can be little doubt that his loyalty was more a matter of policy than of good feeling; and the opinion was openly expressed that the State was raising up for itself in him a formidable enemy. On the other hand it is questionable if his ambition at this time extended further than supplanting Turlough as chief of the O'Neills. He had indeed succeeded in getting himself acknowledged as tanist or heir-apparent to the chieftainship ; but the danger of a friendly understanding between him and Turlough had been obviated by Perrot's policy of rewarding his loyalty at the expense of his rival. For it was not to be expected that, having once been put in possession of Tyrone as far north as Mullaghcarn, he would ever consent to relax his hold of that territory. Ere long Turlough himself recognised the fact, and tried hard to withdraw from his bargain. Disputes arose as to aggressions on the one side and non-payment of rent on the other, which being conducted in the usual fashion terminated in the defeat of Tyrone at Carriglea on May 1,1588, by the combined forces of Turlough and the O'Donnells.

The result was regarded with satisfaction by the government. "Nothing," remarked Perrot, "had done so much good in the north these nine years." Nevertheless, it was evident that despite his defeat Tyrone was gradually winning the upper hand. Most of the principal men in the north were known to be of his party. His only formidable enemies, Turlough's only trusty allies, were the O'Donnells. A domestic revolution in Tyrconnell about this time not only rendered Tyrone paramount in his own country, but gave a new direction to his ambition.

This was in 1587; the defeat of Tyrone six months later at Carriglea appeared to have restored affairs completely to the status quo ante. Early in 1591, however, Hugh Roe managed to escape from Dublin Castle, and after several hairbreadth escapes succeeded with the help of his brother-in-law, the Earl of Tyrone, in reaching Donegal in safety. His chief rival, Hugh MacDiaganach, having died a violent death in the meanwhile, Hugh Roe became a few months afterwards, through the resignation of his father, undisputed chief of the O'Donnells. He was then only about twenty years of age, but had already given evidence of possessing superior ability and great personal courage. Added to this he was, like Fitzmaurice, a man of genuine religious feeling and an active ally of the Jesuits in the work of the Counter-Reformation. It was not long before his influence began to make itself felt in Ulster politics. In May, 1593, Turlough Luineach, finding himself in danger of being crushed between him and Tyrone, consented to come to terms, and on being assured a life-interest in the Strabane district voluntarily surrendered the chieftainship to the latter.

Hitherto, curiously enough, Connaught had enjoyed a quite exceptional degree of tranquillity. True, there had hardly been a year during which absolute peace reigned within its borders. The unruly sons of the Earl of Clanricarde, and latterly Sir Brian O'Rourke, chief of Leitrim, provided for that. But from constant warfare, such as had turned Munster into a howling desert, Connaught had been happily free.

This result was attributable, partly to the absence of any one dominant family like the O'Neills in Ulster ; to the loyalty of the two Earls of Clanricarde and Thomond, and to the composition effected with the natives by Sir John Perrot in 1585 ; but principally to the rigorous government of the two very able presidents of Connaught, Sir Nicholas Malby and Sir Richard Bingham. The execution of Sir Brian O'Rourke in 1591 seemed to have destroyed the last elements of discord. "The estate of this realm," wrote the Lord Deputy, Sir William Fitzwilliam, towards the close of 1592, " is quiet, without any stir or known trouble in any part thereof."

Affairs were in this uncertain condition, when Fitzwilliam surrendered the sword of State to Sir William Russell on August 11. A day or two later Tyrone, to the astonishment of everybody, appeared of his own free will before the Council in Dublin. It was a magnificent and most successful coup de theatre. But Russell had shortly to regret his folly in not seizing the opportunity to lay the performer by the heels. As the year drew to a close, disquieting rumours reached him that Spanish gold was circulating freely in Ulster. Reinforcements under Sir John Norris were advised as being on their way ; but Tyrone had information of the fact, and struck the first blow by invading Cavan and Louth, which he burned up to the very walls of Drogheda, while O'Donnell took the same course in Connaught, sparing, it is said, "no one over fifteen years of age who could not speak Irish." When Norris landed at Waterford on May 4, 1595, the fort at the Black water had fallen, Longford Castle had been captured by O'Donnell, and Enniskillen recovered by Maguire. Before he could take the field, the capture of Sligo Castle had placed Connaught at the mercy of O'Donnell, who immediately availed himself of his advantage to set up an O'Conor Sligo, a MacWilliam, and a Mac-Dermot of his own. On June 24 Tyrone was proclaimed a traitor ; and a day or two afterwards the English army under Russell and Norris invaded his country. There was much fighting, but every effort to bring the rebel to an engagement failed ; and, under pretext that her Majesty, before proceeding to extremities, "would be content to see what was in the traitor's heart and what he would offer,'" a suspension of hostilities was consented to, and commissioners were appointed to settle the terms of a pacification. In April, 1596, Maguire, O'Reilly, and several others went through the farce of submitting and receiving their pardons on their knees in the market-place of Dundalk. But Tyrone, O'Donnell, and O'Rourke were more difficult to come at. They refused absolutely to treat anywhere except in the open fields ; and their demands for "free liberty of conscience" and local autonomy were rejected as impossible. Nevertheless, the pacification was signed on April 24.

Meanwhile, through the treachery of Tyrone's secretary, the government had come to a knowledge of his intrigues with Spain, and in January, 1597, Norris moved down with the army to Dundalk. Contrary to the advice of O'Donnell, who seized the opportunity to plunder Connaught to the very walls of Galway, Tyrone once more tried to win his way by diplomacy, going so far as to disavow all connexion with O'Donnell at the very time he was urging him to strengthen himself in Connaught. But even Norris, though consenting to Tyrone's request for a parley at a somewhat distant date, was not entirely convinced by his protestations of loyalty. Whatever doubts he had were removed when Tyrone, instead of keeping his appointment, applied for an extension of time. His application was granted, and April 16 appointed as the last day on which his submission would be received. Again he failed to keep his engagement, and preparations were made to reduce him by force.

The effect of the victory was tremendous ; and there can be little doubt that, had Tyrone acted promptly, he could have marched unopposed on Dublin. But he displayed no ability to profit by his unexpected success. After wasting nearly two months, he indeed directed a small force into Munster. Within a fortnight afterwards the whole province was in a state of rebellion. A nephew of the late Earl caused himself to be proclaimed Earl of Desmond, and a MacCarthy, subservient to Tyrone, was elected MacCarthy Mor. The English undertakers, panic-stricken at the first approach of danger, abandoned their castles and fled for safety to Cork, Limerick and Askeaton, often without striking a blow in their own defence. The plantation on which such store had been set vanished like the unsubstantial fabric of a vision. In Thomond a new O'Brien presented himself in the person of the Earl's brother, Teig. In Connaught the rebels again set up Tib bot Burke as Mac William, while O'Donnell improved the occasion by robbing O'Conor Sligo of eight thousand head of cattle. But it was in the midland districts, where the O'Mores and O'Conors had found a welcome ally in the nephew of the Earl of Ormonde, Viscount Mountgarret, that the flame of the rebellion burnt fiercest. The effects of the victory were felt even in Spain, where an embargo was laid on all ships coming out of Ireland without Tyrone's pass.

Feeling himself master of the situation, Tyrone determined to do what he should have done before, and early in January, 1600, directed his march into Munster for the purpose, as he put it, of learning the intentions of the gentlemen of that province with regard to the great question of the nation's liberty and religion. From a military point of view the expedition proved a failure. His henchman, Hugh Maguire, was slain in a skirmish with Sir Warham St Léger on March 1; and Tyrone, hearing that Sir George Carew was on his way to Cork, returned by forced marches to Ulster, thereby evading Lord Mountjoy, the newly appointed Deputy, who was preparing to intercept him in West-meath. His courage was revived by the arrival shortly afterwards of a Spanish vessel at Killybegs having on board Matthew de Oviedo, titular Archbishop of Dublin, with letters from Philip III and considerable supplies of money and ammunition to be divided between him and O'Donnell, together with a "phoenix feather" from Clement VIII for himself, and indulgences for all who should rise in defence of the faith- " as usually granted to those setting out to the war against the Turks for the recovery of the Holy Land."

It was high time that help should have arrived. In May Sir Henry Docwra succeeded in establishing himself on the shores of Lough Foyle, where, being afterwards joined by Turlough's eldest son, Sir Art O'Neill, and O'Donnell's cousin and rival, Niall Garv, he defied the efforts of Tyrone and O'Donnell to dislodge him. As the summer drew to a close, Mountjoy, having restored order in the central districts, moved' to Dundalk, where he established his camp. His intention was, by creating a line of forts, to hem Tyrone in and expose him to the dangers of a winter campaign. Lack of forage compelled him to forego his purpose ; but with the first approach of spring he was again in the field, and was gradually closing in on Tyrone from all sides, when the news of the landing at Kinsale of a Spanish force under Don Juan del Aguila in September, 1601, compelled him to withdraw the army into Munster.

A general amnesty followed Tyrone's submission. The war was at an end, and Ireland was conquered as she had never been conquered before. The work had cost England dear. Year after year for nearly fifty years the drain in treasure and life-blood had been going on with hardly any interruption. During the last four years and a half alone it was computed that the war had cost England about £1,200,000. What the loss in human life was it is impossible to calculate. But one thing is certain : great as was the number of those who fell by the sword, it bore only a slight proportion to those who perished from starvation and disease. No service in the world was so unpopular as that in Ireland. The grave, as it came to be regarded, of great reputations made elsewhere, it proved the grave, in a more literal sense, of nearly every soldier who was compelled to serve there. For this result Elizabeth's excessive parsimony was no doubt chiefly responsible. But the mischief did not stop here. A discontented soldiery is proverbially a disorderly one, and it is no wonder that the English army in Ireland was more an object of terror to the inhabitants of the Pale than it was to the Irish enemy.

The question of cess possesses for Irish constitutional history almost the same significance as that which ship-money does for English. The principle involved in both was identical. What the constitutional party in Ireland demanded was not merely the control of the purse but all that the control of the purse implied, viz. constitutional government and the freedom of parliament. The agitation against cess was essentially a protest against the arbitrary principles on which the government of Ireland was being conducted and the assertion of that right of remonstrance which was denied them in parliament. And this agitation, the ultimate issue of which was the Confederation of Kilkenny, had, it should be borne in mind, nothing to do in the first instance with religion, though the gentry of the Pale were Roman Catholics almost to a man. It has ever been the misfortune of Ireland that opposition to government has been construed into rebellion. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that government in Ireland has always meant the interests of England, and not the welfare of its inhabitants, whether of English or of native descent. When Strafford asserted that Ireland was a conquered nation and to be governed as the King pleased, he merely spoke the settled conviction of every Englishman of Elizabeth's time, and what no Englishman of Charles11 time would ever have denied-had it not suited the interests of a political party to substitute for "King" the words "English Parliament." But the gentry of the Pale could never be brought to assent .to the theory. Time after time, whenever the occasion offered, they protested against it. But the occasion was seldom given them.

To return to Ulster. Tyrone, on learning that he had made his submission in ignorance of Elizabeth's death, is said to have burst into tears. But even his somewhat equivocal relations with James could hardly have led him to expect better terms than those he obtained. Whatever his feelings, he displayed no intention of receding from his bargain. On the contrary, he not only renewed his submission before the Lord Deputy and Council in Dublin, but a few weeks later repaired to England in company with Rory O'Donnell, chief of Tyrconnell, since the death of his brother Hugh in Spain in 1602. His reception by James at Hampton Court was a bitter disappointment to the hungry band of courtiers, who were already speculating on raising their fortunes upon his ruin. " I have lived," exclaimed Sir John Harington, " to see that damnable rebel Tyrone brought to England, honoured and well-liked....How I did labour after that knave's destruction...who now smileth in peace at those who did hazard their lives to destroy him." Perhaps the very friendliness of his reception had the effect of reviving his hopes of recovering that control over his urraghs which he had been compelled by the conditions of his submission to surrender; or, as is more likely, it may have been that accepting his earldom as equivalent for his chieftainship he was determined to make the boundaries of it coterminous with the extreme limits of the clan. Anyhow, shortly after his return to Ireland, he became involved in a dispute with his former vassal, Sir Donnell O'Cahan, whose possession of Iraghticahan, comprising the modern county of Derry, he declared to be incompatible with the terms of his patent.

The situation thus created took the government of Ireland completely by surprise. It was, of course, presumed that the fugitives would return and, with the help of foreign assistance, try to recover their lands by force. To guard against this danger Chichester proposed that the King should, "during their absence, assume their countries into his possession, divide the lands amongst the inhabitants-to every man of note or good desert so much as he can conveniently stock and manure by himself and his tenants and followers, and so much more as by conjecture he shall be able to stock and manure for five years to come ; and will bestow the rest upon servitors and men of worth here, and withal bring in colonies of civil people of England and Scotland at his Majesty's pleasure, with condition to build castles or storehouses upon their lands." In which case Chichester assured himself that, " besides the yearly benefit that will redound to his Majesty's coffers, which will be nothing inferior to the revenues of Munster or Connaught, the country will ever after be happily settled." The scheme was approved by James in general terms ; but, before any steps had been taken to put it in execution, events occurred in the north which led to the postponement and unforeseen development of the original plan.

According to the scheme the lands in each of the six counties of Donegal, Coleraine, Tyrone, Armagh, Fermanagh, and Cavan, setting aside those reserved for ecclesiastical and other purposes, were to be divided into four parts, of which two were to consist of proportions of 1000 acres, one of 1500 acres, and one of 2000 acres. Estates of 2000 acres were to be held by knight's service in capite; those of 1500 acres by knight's service as of the Castle of Dublin ; those of 1000 in common socage. The undertakers or planters were to be of three sorts : (1) English or Scottish, as well " servitors " (military or civil officials of the government) as others, who were to plant their portions with English or inland Scottish inhabitants; (2) servitors in Ireland, who might take mere Irish, English, or inland Scottish tenants at their choice ; (3) natives of Ireland who were to be made freeholders. Each undertaker of a large proportion was required to build thereon a castle, with a strong court or bawn about it, within two years after the date of his letters-patent ; each undertaker of a middle portion a stone or brick house with a strong court about it within the same time ; and each undertaker of a small proportion a strong court or bawn at the least. No English or Scottish undertaker could be admitted unless he took the oath of supremacy, and he was not to alienate or demise his lands to any of the mere Irish or to such as would not take the oath. In consideration of the expense involved in transporting themselves to Ireland, English and Scottish undertakers were to pay an annual rent to the Crown of only £5. 6s. 8d. for every thousand acres ; servitors £8 for the same proportion; payment to begin in both cases after the expiration of the second year; whereas the Irish freeholders were to pay a rent of ,£10. 13*. 4J., beginning after the expiration of the first year. The division of land was to be by lot in order to avoid emulation ; and, as a guarantee of peaceable possession, it was promised that the unruly native element or swordsmen should be removed.

The publication of the scheme of plantation had, as may be supposed, elicited numerous offers to undertake from persons in England and Scotland who were either ignorant of the difficulties of the enterprise or were anxious to raise their fortunes by speculating in land. But these were not the sort of undertakers that the government wished to attract. Desirable individuals possessing the necessary capital held aloof from the enterprise, finding, as Chichester predicted, better investment for their money elsewhere. Worse than all, the servitors, who were to form the backbone of the undertaking, began to withdraw their offers. In this dilemma the government, foreseeing the possible collapse of the scheme, caused a special offer to be made to the City of London in July, 1609, inviting it to undertake for the whole county of Coleraine. The invitation was at first declined ; but, on being pressed to accept and granted more favourable terms, the City, after sending agents to spy out the land, signed an agreement on January 28, 1610, to undertake. Lists of approved undertakers and servitors were about the same time transmitted to Chichester, and the month of May was fixed for the beginning of the actual work of plantation. But July was drawing to a close before the commissioners for allotting lands could get to work. A beginning was made in county Cavan, where the inhabitants were partly cajoled, partly forced, into consenting to submit to the distribution proposed, and to remove into the districts assigned to them. From Cavan the commissioners proceeded to Fermanagh, taking each county in turn, and finding unexpectedly most resistance in Tyrone and Armagh.

The beginning of the next year, 1611, saw numerous fresh arrivals. But the rate of progress was not satisfactory, and on April 13 a proclamation was issued ordering all British undertakers to repair to Ireland before the beginning of May, by which time all natives were required to transplant on to the lands assigned them, either as landlords or tenants. The proposal to remove the natives raised an immediate outcry on the part of those undertakers who were already planting. The crisis predicted by Chichester had arrived. At his suggestion the Lords of the Privy Council published an order on July 13 threatening the undertakers with the forfeiture of their bonds unless they complied strictly with the rules of the plantation, but allowing them to retain the services of the natives for another year. The scheme for their removal had in fact broken down. At the same time, in order to obtain precise information as to the actual state of affairs, instructions were given to Lord Carew to make a personal survey of the plantation. His report was not encouraging. Many of the undertakers had never come over ; many after visiting their lands had returned home and were trying to sell them ; the natives were still in their old quarters, and showed no sign of removing ; while the servitors, on being expostulated with for having done so little, laid the blame on the undertakers who deprived them of the services of the natives.

Nevertheless, thanks to the energy of a few servitors and above all to the industry of the Scots, the plantation struck its roots deep into the soil of Ulster. That it should have borne permanently the stamp of a Scottish settlement is not without interest, considering the character of the early settlers. For if they were hardly, as they have been described, the scum of the nation, they were certainly not drawn from the best classes of the community. Indeed, the enterprise was not at all favourably regarded in Scotland, insomuch that "going for Ireland" was looked on as a miserable mark of a deplorable person. It was even turned into a proverb ; and one of the worst expressions of disdain that could be invented was to tell a man that "Ireland would be his hinder end." Fortunately, though quite unintentionally, what was wanting to the settlers in moral solidity was speedily supplied by James1 ecclesiastical policy in Scotland. Presbyterian ministers whose consciences rebelled against the restoration of episcopacy sought a refuge and a new sphere of labour in the north of Ireland. Their ministrations were abundantly blessed, not only amongst their countrymen, but amongst the English settlers to whom Calvinism in its Puritan form was not unacceptable. The character thus impressed on the plantation it never lost : hence the significance of Ulster for the subsequent history of Ireland.