Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Irish Parliament of James II (Author: Thomas Osborne Davis)

chapter 4

THE SESSION

IT is needless for us to track the parliament through the debates of the session, which lasted till the 20th July. The few acts (thirty-five), passed in two months, received full and earnest discussion; committees and counsel were heard on many of them (the Acts for repealing the Settlement in particular), and this parliament refused even to adjourn during any holiday.

We trust our readers will deal like searchers for truth, not like polemics, with these documents, and with the history of these times. But, above all, let them not approach the subject unless it be in a spirit enlightened by philosophy and warmed by charity. Thus studied, this time, which has been the armoury of faction, may become the temple of reconciliation. The descendant of the Williamite ought to sympathise with the urgent patriotism and loyalty of the parliament, rather than dwell on its errors, or on the sufferings which civil war inflicted on his forefathers. The heir of the Jacobite may well be proud of such countrymen as the Inniskilliners and the Prentice Boys of Derry. Both must deplore that the falsehoods, corruption, and forgeries of English aristocrats, the imprudence of an English king, and the fickleness of the English people placed the noble cavalry which slew Schomberg, and all but beat William's immense masses at the Boyne, in opposition to the stout men of Butlersbridge and Cavan. What had not the defenders of Derry and Limerick, the heroes of Athlone, Inniskillen, and Aughrim done, had they cordially joined against the alien? Let the Roman Catholics, crushed by the Penal Code, let the Protestants,


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impoverished and insulted by England, till, musket in hand and with banners displayed, they forced their rights from her in '82 — let both look narrowly at the causes of those intestine feuds, which have prostrated both in turn before the stranger, and see whether much may not be said for both sides, and whether half of what each calls crime in the other is not his own distrust or his neighbour's ignorance. Knowledge, Charity, and Patriotism are the only powers which can loose this Prometheus-land. Let us seek them daily in our own hearts and conversation.

The Acts and other official documents of James's Parliament were ordered by William's Parliament to be burned, and became extremely scarce. In 1740 they were printed in Dublin by Ebenezer Rider, and from that collection we propose to reprint the most important of them, as the best and most solid answer to misrepresentation.

The Parliament which passed those Acts was the first and the last which ever sat in Ireland since the English invasion, possessed of national authority, and complete in all its parts. The king, by law and in fact — the king who, by his Scottish descent, his creed, and his misfortunes, was dear (mistakenly or not) to the majority of the then people of Ireland — presided in person over that Parliament. The peerage consisted of the best blood, Milesian and Norman, of great wealth and of various creeds. The Commons represented the Irish septs, the Danish towns, and the Anglo-Irish counties and boroughs. No Parliament of equal rank, from King to Commons, sat here since; none sat here before or since so national in composition and conduct.

Standing between two dynasties — endangering the one, and almost rescuing the other — acting for a nation entirely unchained then for the first time in 500 years — this Parliament and its Acts ought to possess the very greatest interest for the historian and the patriot.


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This was the speech with which his Majesty opened the Session: —

My Lords and Gentlemen, THE Exemplary Loyalty which this Nation hath expressed to me, at a time when others of my Subjects undutifully misbehaved themselves to me, or so basely deserted me: And your seconding my Deputy, as you did, in His Firm and Resolute asserting my Right, in preserving this Kingdom for me, and putting it in a Posture of Defence; made me resolve to come to you, and to venture my life with you, in the defence of your Liberties, and my Own Right. And to my great Satisfaction I have not only found you ready to serve me, but that your Courage has equalled your Zeal.’’

I have always been for Liberty of Conscience, and against invading any Man's Property; having still in my Mind that Saying in Holy Writ, Do as you would be done to, for that is the Law and the Prophets.’’

It was this Liberty of Conscience I gave, which my Enemies both Abroad and at Home dreaded; especially when they saw that I was resolved to have it Established by Law in all my Dominions, and made them set themselves up against me, though for different Reasons. Seeing that if I had once settled it, My people (in the Opinion of the One) would have been too happy; and I (in the Opinion of the Other) too great.’’

This Argument was made use of, to persuade their own People to join with them, and to many of my Subjects to use me as they have done. But nothing shall ever persuade me to change my Mind as to that; and wheresoever I am the Master, I design (God willing) to Establish it by Law; and have no other Test or Distinction but that of Loyalty. I expect your Concurrence in so Christian a Work, and


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in making Laws against Prophaneness and all Sorts of Debauchery.’’

I shall also most readily consent to the making such Good and Wholesome Laws as may be for the general Good of the Nation, the Improvement of Trade, and the relieving of such as have been injured by the late Acts of Settlement, as far forth as may be consistent with Reason, Justice, and the Public Good of my People.’’

And as I shall do my Part to make you Happy and Rich, I make no Doubt of your Assistance; by enabling me to oppose the unjust Designs of my Enemies, and to make this Nation flourish.’’

And to encourage you the more to it, you know with what Ardour and Generosity and Kindness the Most Christian King gave a secure retreat to the Queen, my Son, and Myself, when we were forced out of England, and came to seek for Protection and Safety in his Dominions; how he embraced my Interest, and gave me such Supplies of all Sorts as enabled me to come to you; which, without his obliging Assistance, I could not have done: This he did at a Time when he had so many and so considerable Enemies to deal with: and you see still continues to do.’’

I shall conclude as I have begun, and assure you I am as sensible as you can desire of the signal Loyalty you have expressed to me; and shall make it my chief study (as it always has been) to make you and all my Subjects happy.’’

These were the Acts of that memorable parliament.

Chapter I: An Act of Recognition.

Chapter II: An Act for Annulling and making Void all Patents of Officers for Life, or during good Behaviour.


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Chapter III: An Act declaring, That the Parliament of England cannot bind Ireland [and] against Writs of Error and Appeals, to be brought for Removing Judgments, Decrees, and Sentences given in Ireland, into England.

Chapter IV: An Act for Repealing the Acts of Settlement, and Explanation, Resolution of Doubts and all Grants, Patents and Certificates, pursuant to them or any of them. [This Act will be dealt with separately in the next chapter.]

Chapter V: An Act for punishing of persons who bring in counterfeit Coin of foreign Realms being current in this Realm, or counterfeit the same within this Realm, or wash, clip, file, or lighten the same.

Chapter VI: An Act for taking off all Incapacities on the Natives of this Kingdom.

Chapter VII: An Act for taking away the Benefits of the Clergy in certain Cases of Felony in this Kingdom for two Years.

Chapter VIII: An Act to continue two Acts made to prevent Delays in Execution; and to prevent Arrests of Judgments and Superseding Executions.

Chapter IX: An Act for Repealing a Statute, Entitled, An Act for Provision of Ministers in Cities and Corporate Towns, and making the Church of St. Andrews in the Suburbs of [the city of] Dublin Presentative for ever.


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Chapter X: An Act of Supply for his Majesty for the Support of his Army.

[The Act of Supply begins by giving good reasons for the making of it; namely, that the army cost far more than the king's revenue, and that that army was rendered necessary from the invasion of Ireland by the English rebels. It next grants the king £20,000 a month, to be raised by a land-tax, and this sum it distributes on the different counties and counties of towns, according to their abilities. The rebellious counties of Fermanagh and Derry are taxed just as lightly as if they were loyal. The names of the commissioners are, beyond doubt, those of the first men in their respective counties. The rank of the country was as palpably on James's side as was the populace.

The clauses regarding the tenants are remarkably clear and liberal: For as much,’’

it says, as it would be hard that the tenants should bear any proportion of the said sum, considering that it is very difficult for the tenant to pay his rent in these distracted times,’’

it goes on to provide that the tax shall, in the first instance, be paid by the occupier, but that, where land is let at its value, he shall be ALLOWED THE WHOLE OF THE TAX OUT OF HIS RENT, notwithstanding any contract to the contrary; and that where the land was let at half its value or less, then, and then only, should the tenant pay a share (half) of the tax. Thus not only rack-rented farms, but all let at any rent, no matter how little, over half the value, were free of this tax. Where, in distracted or quiet times, since, has a parliament of landlords in England or Ireland acted with equal liberality?

The £20,000 a month hereby granted was altogether insufficient for the war; and James, urged by the military exigency, which did not tolerate the delay of calling a parliament when Schomberg threatened the capital, issued


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a commission on the 10th April, 1690, to raise £20,000 a month additional; yet so far was even this from meeting his wants, that we find by one of Tyrconnell's letters to the queen (quoted in Thorpe's catalogue for 1836), that in the spring of 1689, James's expenses were £100,000 a month. Those who have censured this additional levy and the brass coinage were jealous of what was done towards fighting the battle of Ireland, or forgot that levies by the crown and alterations of the coin had been practised by every government in Europe.]


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Chapter XI: An Act for Repealing the Act for keeping and celebrating the 23rd of October as an Anniversary Thanksgiving in this Kingdom.

Chapter XII: An Act for Liberty of Conscience, and Repealing such Acts or Clauses in any Act of Parliament which are inconsistent with the same.

An Act concerning Tythes and other Ecclesiastical Duties.

Acts XIII. and XV. provide for the payment of tithes by Protestants to the Protestant Church and by Catholics to the Catholic Church.

Chapter XIV: An Act regulating Tythes, and other Ecclesiastical Duties in the Province of Ulster.

Chapter XVI: An Act for Repealing the Act for real Union and Division of Parishes, and concerning Churches, Free-Schools and Exchanges.

Chapter XVII: An Act for Relief and Release of poor distressed Prisoners for Debts.


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Chapter XVIII: An Act for the Repealing an Act, Entitled, An Act for Confirmation of Letters Patent Granted to his Grace James Duke of Ormond.

[The list of estates granted to Ormond, under the settlement at the restoration, occupies a page and a half of Cox's Magazine. To reduce him to his hereditary principalities (for they were no less) which he held in 1641, was no great grievance, and that was the object of this Act.]

Chapter XIX: An Act for Encouragement of Strangers and others to inhabit and plant in the Kingdom of Ireland.

Chapter XX: An Act for Prevention of Frauds and Perjuries.

Chapter XXI: An Act for Prohibiting the Importation of English, Scotch, or Welch Coals into this Kingdom.

Chapter XXII: An Act for ratifying and confirming Deeds and Settlements and last Wills and Testaments of Persons out of Possession.

Chapter XXIII: An Act for the speedy Recovering of Servants' Wages.

Chapter XXIV: An Act for Forfeiting and Vesting in His Majesty the Goods of Absentees.

Chapter XXV: An Act concerning Martial Law.


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Chapter XXVI: An Act for Punishment of Waste committed on Land restorable to old Proprietors.

Chapter XXVII: An Act to enable his Majesty to regulate the Duties of Foreign Commodities.

Chapter XXVIII: An Act for the better settling Intestates' Estates.

Chapter XXIX: An Act for the Advance and Improvement of Trade, and for Encouragement and increase of Shipping, and Navigation.

Chapter XXX: An Act for the Attainder of Divers Rebels, and for the Preserving the Interest of Loyal Subjects. — (Dealt with in our sixth chapter.)

Chapter XXXI: An Act for granting and confirming unto the Duke of Tyrconnell, Lands and Tenements to the Value of £15,000 per annum.

Chapter XXX: An Act for the Attainder of diverse Rebels, and for the Preserving the Interest of Loyal Subjects. — (Dealt with in our sixth chapter.)

Chapter XXXII: An Act for securing the Water-Course for the Castle and City of Dublin.

Chapter XXXIII: An Act for relieving Dame Anna Anna Sarracourt, alias Duval, and her Daughter.

Chapter XXXIV: An Act for securing Iron-works and Land thereunto belonging, on Sir Henry Waddington, Knight, at a certain Rate.

Chapter XXXV: An Act for Reversal of the Attainder of William Ryan of Bally Ryan in the County of Tipperary, Esq.; and for restoring him to his Blood, corrupted by the said Attainder.


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