IRELAND. 



21.3 



tion with the insurgent, was brought to a favourable 

 issue. On the 13th of September a treaty was signed, 

 by which the confederates stipulated for the payment 

 of 3O.OOO to the king, partly in money and partly in 

 provisions. Immediately on the conclusion of this 

 treaty, upwards of 2000 of Onnond't soldiers were sent 

 to England to assist the king ; but the confederates, 

 though they had professed their attachment to him, 

 vent him no assistance. 



At this period Ireland was in a very unsettled and 

 led state ; the confederates attended more to their 

 own plan* and interest* than to those of the king, by 

 whom Ormond had been appointed lunl-Iicutenant. 

 In the north, the partisans of the parliament were most 

 numerous ; and Monroe, who commanded there, recei- 

 ved a commission under the seal of the parliament, by 

 which he was constituted commander of all the forces 

 in I'lster, both Scotch and English; and ordered to car- 

 ry on the war against all thote who refused to subscribe 

 the solemn league and covenant Immediately on the 

 receipt of this commission, he surprised Belfast, and 

 endeavoured, though without success, to take Lisbume 

 also. 



In the mean time, the Irish confederates resolved to 

 Ormondwd take advantage of the misfortune* of the king. Ac- 

 !*. cordingly, during a negociation at Oxford, they propo- 

 A. D. 1615. tf ^ terms, which, if complied with, would in fact have 

 pot an end to the Englith power in Ireland ; but 

 Charles, though new reduced to great ditUeta, refused 

 to accede to them. The negotiation was protracted till 

 the year 1645, when two treaties were entered into ; 

 one secret, under the management of the Earl of Gla- 

 morgan, and the ether open, under the n. shift ssats.it 

 of Che Earl of Ormond. By the former, with ,which 

 Ormond wae not acotttjnteo, the royal word was en- 

 gaged by Glamorgan for the in tertjnlithimnt of the 

 Catholic religion and the papal authority ; while, by the 

 Utter, the civil and political demands of the confede- 

 rates were settled. The general assembly, on their 

 part, paaMd a resolution, that 10,000 men should be 

 raised for the service of the king. Hut these conditions 

 were nearly rendered veid, by the arrival and inttaiV 

 MM* of the Pope's Nuncio, who piotetttd again* the 

 treaty of Glamorgan, because it did not go far enough 

 in favour of the Catholic*, and because it waa to be 

 kept secret : and he use nailed on that nhlttntn to tin 

 additional articles, to the effect that I .tnolic bishops 



I ,I,.-,,M 



sit in parliament ; that only a Cathttte 

 be appointed luiil litJBItnpHl . and that the su| 

 conned shawld contiMte iu authority till the whole I 

 ty was tisaplinl with. 



In the SMen time, the F.nglih parliament supplied 

 the Protestant force* in Ulster with money ; tod one of 

 their psrtiMsu having prevailed on them to advance 

 into Cosmaught, they took peaaeasion of Sligo. To re- 

 take this place the A tcbbitbop of Tuera and Sir Jasnea 

 Dillon marched by order of the lasifidnsOsi ; bat being 

 defeated by the parliamentarians, in the archbishop's 

 baggage, which was taken, WM found a copy of 0k> 

 trgi' original treaty with the confederate*, and alto 

 of lu commission and of his oath. These papers being 

 tent to the English parliansent, were immediately pub- 

 liihed, and injun-d the entice of the king very much in 

 the minds of all those who had hitherto supported turn , 

 in the belief that he waa not disposed to restore the ( - 

 tnolic religion. The ministers of Chariot, hi order to 

 vine off this itapnstien, arrested Glamorgan, who con- 

 ft.e<l that he ' a.] acted without particular iiutruction., 

 OK! toWyon bis own judgment, in order to benefit the 



king. It is difficult to ascertain the truth respecting this History, 

 transaction ; the probability is, that Glamorgan acted ^"V"*' 

 rather on his idea of what the king would accede to, 

 and what would be advantageous to him, than on any 

 express orders or directions. 



As however Glamorgan was arrested for his part in 

 the treaty, the confederates were alarmed and indig- 

 nant ; but at length were persuaded to renew the ne- 

 gociation ; and on the 28th of May 1646, it was brought Treaty with 

 to an amicable termination. On the part of the king Chvlei re- 

 he bound himself to grant toleration to the Catholics, tewed. 

 and the confederates on their part engaged to trans- A. D. 1646- 

 port 6000 well appointed infantry, and if they were 

 not sent at the time specified, the treaty was to be void. 

 But the aid thus at last obtained came too late ; the 

 affairs of the king were irretrievably ruined. Find- 

 ing that it would be useless to send the forces into 

 England, it became a matter of deliberation in what 

 manner, and in what part they should be employed in 

 Ireland ; but Ormond refused to act till his treaty 

 should be published, and that with Glamorgan cancelled. 

 This was accordingly done ; but it soon appeared that 

 the peace which this treaty concluded was acceptable 

 to neither of the parties who were most interested in it, 

 and on whose good will to it, it depended mainly for its 

 efficacy. The Covenanters in the north, and the Par- 

 liamentarians in the south of Ireland were determined, 

 if possible, to root out popery ; and the most numer- 

 ous party, at well as the most active and powerful of 

 the Catholics, were as determined to use all their ef- 

 forts to extirpate heresy. To these the pope's Nuncio Conduct of 

 attached himself; and Owen O'Ntil was appointed by the Pope's 

 him the commander of what were called the Nuncio's Nuncio. 

 -MiiTs: these consisted of a desperate banditti ; and 

 this circumstance, at well as the extravagant views of 

 the Nuncio, alarmed the more considerate of the con- 

 federates, and they actually commanded an armed op- 

 petition against the troops of O'Neil, on account of the 

 irregularities which they committed in Leinster. 



As toon as O'Neil had collected about 5000 infantry, ""'' < 

 and 5OO horse, he advanced towards Armagh, and was Bcnbl " b - 

 followed by Munroe, at the head of the Scotch forces. 

 A battle took place between them, at a place called 

 Benburb, a short distance from this town, which ended 

 in the defeat of Munroe, with the lost of 3000 men, his 

 artillery, and most of hi* baggage. O'N'eil's forces now 

 rapidly increased, aad at the head of lu.OOO men, he 

 WM preparing to reduce Ulster, when he was recalled 

 by toe Nuncio, in order to oppose the peace. 



The Nuncio, supported by a victorious army, was 

 now more violent than ever in hi* opposition to the 

 peace, at well at more haughty in his declarations of 

 toe pope's authority. Ormond was now seriously 

 alarmed ami perplexed ; his treaty was slighted by all 

 parties : the Nuncio and O'Neil openly opposed it ; the 

 ether furtni of the confederates under Preston had dis- 

 banded themeaaVes tot want of pay, and part of them 

 had gone over to the clergy : on the other hand, the 

 troops of the Parliament were still continuing their 

 hottjln operations. Under these difficult circumstances, 

 OmxMtti put himself at the head of 20OO troops, for 

 the purpose of supporting the authority of the supreme 

 council, and enforcing the treaty ; but his force was 

 inadequate, especially after the Nuncio had gained over 

 Preston, and Ormond was obliged to seek safety in the 

 capital. 



The united troops of Preston and O'Neil lost no time Dublin be- 

 in advancing against Dublin, which wan immediately tieged. 

 besieged. As Ormond could not expect to defend it 



