IREL 
men of Irifh birth out of 150 on-board of her; and, 
though they had faithfully ferved againft the Irifh rebels, 
they were precipitated vyithout mercy into the fea. 
Ormond, being appointed, foon after the conclufion of 
the armiltice, to the office of chief governor, under the ti¬ 
tle of lord-lieutenant, had to ftruggle with complicated 
difficulties. Some of the Irifh refufed to admit a ceffation 
of arms, while the Scotch in Ulfter in like manner de¬ 
claimed the treaty, and received orders from their par* 
liament to continue lioftilities. Emiflaries from the par¬ 
liament of England were, at the fame time, affiduoully 
engaged in prevailing upon the fuperior officers of the 
army in Ireland to fubferibe to the folemn league and co¬ 
venant, recently framed by the king’s opponents in Bri¬ 
tain. Alarmed at the proceedings in Ulfter, where the 
Scotch had furprifed Belfaft, the confederate Irifh at Kil¬ 
kenny made private overtures to Ormond to affurae the 
command of their forces as royalifts, and chaftife the 
Scotch. The marquis, too politic to irritate the confede¬ 
rates by refufing their offer, amufed them for lome time 
by negociation, during which the apprehenfions of dan¬ 
ger were removed by the Scottiffi general, who wanted 
either inclination or ability for the vigorous profecution 
of the war. 
A negociation had meanwhile been opened immediately 
with the king, who was met at Oxford by commiffioners 
from the Irifh confederates in March 1644. Charles, un¬ 
able to agree to their demands, and unwilling to relin- 
quiffi his hopes of gaining their affiftance againft his do- 
meftic enemies, gave Ormond full powers to treat, and 
at length tranfmitted to him private inftruftions to con¬ 
clude peace with his catholic fubjefls of Ireland, what¬ 
ever it might coft. A protracted negociation enfued; 
the terms required by the catholics were deemed exorbi¬ 
tant ; but though the marquis, for the intereft of his royal 
mafter, concealed his powers, yet the facrifices which 
Charles was willing to make became known to the confe¬ 
derates, from the publication of his papers by the parlia¬ 
ment, into whofe hands they had fallen in their victory 
at Nafeby. The information derived from this fource 
was not likely to moderate their claims, and their hopes 
were elevated by the arrival of a papal nuncio, and the 
earl of Glamorgan, whom they were taught to confider as 
furnifhed with full powers from the king to conclude a 
treaty with them. This nobleman, a zealous catholic, 
had been honoured with uncommon marks of royal fa¬ 
vour, particularly a promife of the princefs Elizabeth in 
marriage to his fon, with a portion of three hundred thou- 
fnnd pounds. Arriving in Ireland in July 1645, he re¬ 
paired to Kilkenny, where he was received with coin- 
plaifant attention by the confederates, to whom he pro¬ 
duced two different commiffions from the king, autho¬ 
rizing him to negociate a treaty, which was accordingly 
concluded before the expiration of the enfuing month. 
The articles, virtually ftipulating the legal eftablifhment 
not only of the catholic worfhip, but alfo of the papal ju- 
rifdiflion, were to be kept fee ret till circumftances ffiould 
permit their difclofure. Befides this private compact, for 
the ratification of which the royal word was engaged by 
Glamorgan, a public negociation was kept up w'ith Or¬ 
mond. Urged by the former to make all the conceffions 
which he was empowered to grant, the marquis foon ad- 
jufted all articles of a civil nature with the Inffi deputies; 
who, when he objected to thofe relative to religion, 
agreed, in full reliance on Glamorgan’s private ftipula- 
tions, that all demands connected with that fubjeCt ffiould 
be referred to the decifion of his majefty. 
Nothing now feemed wanting to the reftoration of 
peace; the general affembly voted a levy of 10,000 men 
for the royal fervice, when affairs had nearly been again 
embroiled by the arrival in Ireland of John Battilta Ri- 
nuccini, archbiffiop of Fermo, an ambitious prelate, and 
ofleffed with the fanatical notion that he was deftined 
y Providence to extirpate herefy in the weftern iflands. 
Agreeably to the pope’s inftruCtions, which directed him 
VOL.XI. No. 755. 
A N D. 315 
to unite the catholic prelates of Ireland in a firm decla¬ 
ration for war, till their religion fhould be completely ef- 
tabliffied and a catholic lord-lieutenant appointed, he ve¬ 
hemently objected both to the public and private treaty ; 
but, finding that the fupreme council remained uncon¬ 
vinced by his arguments, he refolved to give all the op- 
pofition in his power to their deiigns. 
The Engliffi parliament, alarmed by Ormond’s inten¬ 
tion of employing the proteftant forces of Ulfter in fup- 
portof the king, by way of conciliating thofe troops, fent 
them ten thoufand pounds, with fome clothes and pro- 
vifions. Sir Charles Coote, being appointed by them to 
command in Connaught, took poffeffion of Sligo, and ra¬ 
vaged the adjacent counties. While lord Taafe was pro¬ 
ceeding, by Ormond’s direction, to chaftife this infrac¬ 
tion of the treaty, the confederates of Kilkenny dif- 
patched 800 men, under fir James Dillon, to affiit the Ro~ 
miffi archbiffiop of Tuam in the recovery of Sligo. The 
town was nearly taken in an aflault in which the prelate 
led the way, when the afiailants, receiving intelligence 
that a hoftile army was approaching from the north, re¬ 
treated ; and, being clofely purfued, were routed by Coote. 
The archbilliop fell in the action, and among his baggage 
was found an authentic copy of Glamorgan’s treaty, with 
other papers relative to the fubjeCt. Thefe, being tranf¬ 
mitted to the Englifli parliament, were publiffied by them, 
to the no fmall exultation of the king’s enemies, who had 
from the firft charged him with a defign to eltabliffi po¬ 
pery. Glamorgan was immediately apprehended on a 
charge of high treafon by the Irifh government, and ex¬ 
amined by a committee of the privy-council, to whom he 
confeffed the whole affair; while the king, though he 
publicly urged its complete inveftigation, in a private let¬ 
ter to the marquis directed that the execution of any 
fentence that might be paffed on the earl ffiould be fuf- 
pended, as his conduCt was the refult of mifguided zeal 
alone. Neither this difeovery, nor the intrigues of the 
papal nuncio, could prevent, though they delayed till 
March 1646, the conclufion of the treaty with Ormond, 
by which nothing farther than religious toleration was 
conceded to the confederates, who, on their part, engaged 
to furniffi 6000 well-appointed infantry on the ift of 
April, and 4000 more on the firft of the following month. 
This treaty, negociated with fuch labour, was in faCfc 
of little efficacy. It was alike difregarded by the Scotch 
covenanters in Ulfter, by the parliamentarians under the 
earl of Inchiquin in Munfter, and by the molt bigotted of 
the catholics, influenced by Rinuccini. By prefents and 
promifes, that prelate contrived to gain over to a complete 
acquiefcence in his views Owen O’Nial and his followers, 
compofed chiefly of barbarous rovers called creaghts, who 
were exafperated againlt the council of Kilkenny, which 
had directed their irregularities in Leinfter to be repreffed 
by force of arms. Having aflembled about five thoufand 
foot and five hundred horfe, O’Nial advanced toward Ar¬ 
magh, whither he was followed by Monroe, who appre¬ 
hended an attack on fome of the Britiffi garrifons. He 
found the Triffi leader polled at Benburb, about feven 
miles diftant from Armagh, between two hills, with a 
wood in his rear and the river Blackwater on his right. 
Croffing the river which feparated the two armies, to 
meet a reinforcement which he expended, Monroe ad¬ 
vanced towards the enemy ; O’Nial contrived to amufe 
him wdth Ikirmiffies, till the fun, which had been favour¬ 
able in the morniftg to the pofition of the Scotch, threw 
his declining rays full in their faces. At this time an 
Irifh detachment, fent out to intercept Monroe’s expected 
fuccour, returning unfuccefsful to the main body, was at 
firft miltaken for his own reinforcement. Difcovering 
his error, he prepared to retreat, and the Irifh leader in- 
ftantly ordered an attack. Broken by the furious and 
hidden charge of their adverfaries, the Scotch were com¬ 
pletely put to the rout, with the (laughter of 3000 men s 
and the lofs of their artillery, baggage,, and provifions, 
while only 70 were (lain on the part of the Irifh. With 
4 L an 
