Excellent Majesty, declaring certain Causes of Discontent

offered him, by which he took Occasion to depart his Country.

1. First.-That it was by public authority proclaimed in his manor of Dungannon that none should hear mass upon pain of losing his goods and imprisonment; that no curate or ecclesiastical person should enjoy any cure or dignity without swearing the oath of supremacy, and entering to the chapters or congregations of those that professed the contrary religion; and that those that refused so to do were actually deprived of their benefices and dignities, as may appear by the Lord Deputy's answer given upon a petition exhibited by the Earl in that behalf, as also by the Lord Primate of Ireland, who daily put the same in execution in the Earl's country.

2. Item.-By the procurement of the Earl of Devonshire, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, there were taken from the Earl two parcels of his land, formerly held and enjoyed by himself and his ancestors time out of mind, called the Fues (sic), and Sir Henry Oge's country which were passed to Sir Tirlagh M'Henry and the said Sir Henry Oge O'Neill, knights.

3. Item.-There were threescore cows taken from him that he and his ancestors had yearly of ancient rent out of Sir Cahir O'Dogherty's country) called Innisowen, never brought to any question before His Majesty's reign.

4. Item.-The said Lord Lieutenant took from him all the fishings of the Bann) in like manner enjoyed and possessed by the Earl and his ancestors) which the Earl, to avoid the trouble of the law, was forced to purchase again, as though he had never before any title thereunto.

5. Item.-Certain other parcels also of the Earl's land have been taken from him by false offices, without the Earl's privity, (under colour of church lands) a thing never in any man's memory heard of before ; and the same lands have been passed to Sir George Carey, Knight, the Queen's Majesty's Vice-Chamberlain, and by him again to Sir Henry Docwra, Knight, and by the said Sir Henry to Sir John Sidney, Knight, and to one Captain Henry Vaughan, together with certain other parcels of the Earl's lands; and his fishing of Lough Foyle was in like manner compassed by him, and the Earl was forced to purchase it in the new, rather than be at continual suits of law, where he saw he could have no indifferency of justice.

6. Item.-One Robert Leicester, an attorney in the chancery, got by some such practice certain other parcels of the Earl's land, and the same were passed over to Captain Edmond Leigh. So that any captain or clerk that wanted means, and had no other means or device to live, might bring the Earl in trouble for some part or parcel of his living, falsely inventing the same to be concealed or church land; and so, under colour of serving the King's Majesty by such offices, they daily troubled and molested His Highness' subjects, and are thereunto maintained by the State as his ministers; and yet they are commonly found in the end by these courses to do all for their own private profit and personal commodity.

7. Item.-The Archbishop of Armagh and the Bishop of Derry and Clogher pretended to take from the Earl the best part of his whole living, claiming the same as appertaining to their bishoprics;-a claim never moved by any of their predecessors, other than that they had some chiefry due to them in most part of all his living; but they would now have the whole land to themselves as their demesne lands, and will not be content with the benefit of their ancient registers, which the Earl always offered and was willing to give without further question.

8. Item.-O'Cahan, one of the chiefest and principalest of the Earl's tenants, was set on by certain of His Majesty's Privy Council, as also by His Highness' counsel-at-law, to withdraw himself and the lands called Iraght-I-Cahan from the Earl, being a great substance of his living, and the part thereof that he and his ancestors always held as their most special property. Now, notwithstanding that the said O'Cahan, at his own house, before the Lord Deputy and Council, being by them in that case deeply examined, renounced to have any

title or right to the said land, or any part thereof, other than by the Earl and his ancestors, and without any further trial or colour of right that ever he could show for himself, other than that he and his predecessors from time to time held the same from the Earl and his ancestors as tenants-at-will, yielding and paying to them yearly all such rents, dues, and reservations as others of their tenants did ; yet the Earl was quite dispossessed, by order from the Council-table, of the two parts of the said land; and a warrant was given to O'Cahan to take his charges in following the suit against the Earl from his tenants of the other third part left to the Earl. Whereat the Earl, being somewhat aggrieved, read his complaint thereof to the Lord Deputy and Council, who, after long debate, perceiving the wrong, their Lordships referred the re-examination of the cause to Sir Thomas Phillips and Sir George Paulet, Knights; and they, finding O'Cahan's former suggestion to be false, proceeded to order the matter according to justice ; where, upon full hearing of the cause and examining of witnesses of both sides, they found O'Cahan to be in the wrong, and therefore decided that he should not only cease farther to demand anything of the Earl's said tenants of that third part, but that he should also restore unto them what he had already taken from them, and that the sheriff should put the same in execution; whereof the Earl could have no benefit, after he had been at infinite charges in getting witnesses and following the same suit. Thereupon he again appealed to the Lord Deputy, and showed him the same order of the knights and the Council's warrant to undertake the matter. Yet all that notwithstanding, he could prevail nothing, and had no answer from the Deputy but that he knew no means else that O'Cahan had, either to pay the Treasurer who lent him money in Dublin to follow his suit against the Earl, or to bring him to England, there also to trouble him, but by that or some such means. So that, after all the Earl's labour, travail, and charges, O'Cahan had his order fully executed, and the Earl no benefit of his.

And further, the Earl perceived by Sir John Davys, His Majesty's attorney's speech before the Council-table, that it was fully intended and resolved amongst them that he should lose the other third part; when he said, in plain terms, " he would never serve the King if I had not lost all that land of Iraght-I-Cahan, and much more of that I hold and thought myself most assured of."

And to maintain his word in that behalf the said Sir John Davys and the rest of His Majesty's counsel-at-law likewise made claim in His Majesty's behalf to four other parcels of the Earl's lands, called Glankonkeine, Killitragh, Slieveshiose, and Slughtairta, being the only substance of all that was left the Earl, and began their suit for the same in the Exchequer the last Trinity term ; so that, in fine, he could not perceive how he might assure himself of anything by the Letters Patent that he had from His Majesty. Thereupon, understanding that His Highness granted a commission for receiving surrenders, together with authority to amend all faults and intricate defects in any former patents, he exhibited petition to the Lord Deputy, and the rest joined with him for the purpose, humbly proffering a surrender of his old patent, and craving a new one, with amendment of all defects in the former; whereof, although the same was a general favour granted by His Majesty to all his subjects of the whole realm, the Earl could have no answer.

9. Item.-The Earl brought a suit against Sir Henry Oge O'Neill, Knight, in the King's Bench, for a parcel of land called Tohrannie, which His Majesty's grant to the said Sir Henry did not bear; which suit came to an issue the last Trinity term, that the same should be, with the consent of both parties, tried by due Nisi Prius, and thereupon an order drawn, and writs of distringas and venire fucias issued; and that the Earl paid all charges and fees thereunto belonging, according to the common course of the court : that, notwithstanding, the Lord Deputy and Chancellor, contrary to the due course of law, commanded that the same should be again stayed :-by which means the Earl's proceedings were letted (sic), and he abridged of the benefit of His Majesty's laws, and hindered of the possession of his lands. And yet in any suit against him, any man, of what degree soever, obtained the extremity of the law with favour.

10. Item.-Although it pleased His Majesty to allow the Earl to be lieutenant of his country, yet had he no more command there than his boy, since the worst man that belonged to the sheriff could command more than he, and that as well within the earl's own house, as abroad in the country; for, if any one that they had had anything to say unto were within the Earl's house, they would not attend his coming out, but even burst open the doors of his house to bring him out; and never would do the Earl so much honour in any respect as once to acquaint him therewith, or send to himself for the party, though he had been within the house when they attempted these things. And if any of the Earl's officers would, by his direction, order or execute any matter betwixt his own tenants with their own mutual consents, they would be driven not only to restore the same again, but also be first amerced by the sheriff, and afterwards indicted as felons, and so brought to their trial for their lives for the same; so that the Earl, in the end, could scarce get any of his servants that would undertake to levy his rents.

11. Item.-Whereas there is a statute by the laws of Ireland that none should be sheriffs of any county but such as should be dwellers within the same county and of good worth by yearly revenue therein, and withal should be elected by the nobility and chief gentlemen of the same county, yet, notwithstanding, the Lord Deputy appointed gentlemen of other counties, and not elected as aforesaid, sheriffs of the counties of Tyrone and Armagh;-as Captain Edmond Leigh, being not elected, and one Marmaduke Whittchurch, dwelling in the county of Louth;-both withal being retainers and very dear friends to the late knight-marshal [Bagenal], who was the only man that urged the Earl to his last troubles; and, no doubt, any that ever belonged to him, will be ready to do the Earl all the mischief they can devise by all practices possible, as they in their offices daily showed to the Earl and his tenants, both by word and deed; whereof the Earl eftsoons complained to the Lord Deputy, and could get no redress, but rather fared the worse for his complaints, in respect they were so little regarded.

12. Item.-The Earl, understanding that there had been earnest suit made to His Majesty for the presidentship of Ulster, made bold to write to His Majesty, humbly beseeching that His Highness would be pleased not to grant any such office to any over himself, suspecting it should be his overthrow, as by plain experience he knew the like office to be the utter overthrow of others of his rank in other provinces within the realm of Ireland in his own knowledge; and, in like manner, wrote to his friends of His Highness' Council in England, to make means that his suit might be accepted in that behalf, and, among the rest, to his very good lord the Earl of Salisbury, that he would vouchsafe to assist him in that proceeding; who replied, as may appear by his letters, that " the Earl was not to tie His Majesty to place or displace officers at his [the Earl's] pleasure in any of His [Majesty's] kingdoms," which was never the Earl's meaning. Yet did he plainly perceive by that his Lordship's letter, that his suit in that case was merely vain, as it fell out indeed; for that office is passed already to Sir Arthur Chichester, knight, now Lord Deputy of Ireland, as the Earl credibly understood by Captain Edmond Leigh and others of the Lord Deputy's gentlemen that he met at Slane, the 8th of September last, the Deputy being there; which the Earl knew right well to be the Earl of Salisbury's doings, and did in very deed much fear that it should grow to his destruction without His Majesty's privity. Therefore, and rather than live under the like yoke, perceiving himself so envied by those that should be his protectors, and considering the misery he saw sustained by others through the oppression of the like government, would sooner pass all to himself than abide it; yet all that notwithstanding, as well because he fears further to incur any their displeasures, as because he could receive no answer of any former complaints which he preferred to His Majesty, he never durst acquaint His Highness with any of his griefs.

13. Item.-Whereas the Earl's nephew, Brian Mac Art, was at Sir Tirlagh MacHenry's house, having two men in his company, and being in some merry humour, there happened some speech betwixt him and a kinsman of his own, who, on the speech, gave the Earl's nephew a blow of a club on the head, and tumbled him to the ground ; whereupon one of his men standing by, and seeing his master down, stept up with the fellow, and gave him some three or four stabs of a knife, having no other weapon, and the master himself, as it was said, gave him another, through which means the man came to his death ; and thereupon the Earl's nephew and his two men were taken, and kept in prison till the next sessions holden in the county of Armagh, where his men were tried by a jury, chosen for that purpose, of four innocent and mere ignorant people, having little or no substance to take unto, most of them being bare soldiers, and not fit, as well by the institution of the law in matters of that kind, as also through their own insufficiency, to be permitted or elected to the like charge, and the rest, fester-brethren, followers, and very dear friends to the party slain, that would not spare to spend their lives and goods to revenge his death. Yet, all that notwithstanding, they were allowed, and the trial of those two gentlemen was committed to them; through which means, and the rigorous threatening and earnest enticements of the judges, (being so charged by a letter from the Lord Deputy, as the Earl credibly understands), they were most shamefully condemned to die, and the jury was in a manner forced to find the matter murder in each of them. And this not so much for their own offences, as thinking to make it an evidence against the master when he should come to his trial, who was in prison in the castle of Dublin, attending to be tried the last Michaelmas term, whose death, were it right or wrong, was much desired by the Lord Deputy.

14. Item.-The Earl gave his daughter in marriage to O'Cahan, without any kind of exception or interruption of any, and gave a portion of goods with her ; and they lived so together without any question for the space of eight years, till the said O'Cahan was set on to withdraw himself from the Earl ; at which time he also, by the procurement of his setters on, turned the Earl's daughter away, and kept the goods to himself, and took another to Ids wife; whereof the Earl complained to the Lord Deputy in his daughter's behalf; whereunto he replied that he knew no way O'Cahan had to pay her. Whereupon the Earl exhibited petition to the lords justices of assize at Dungannon in her behalf, to whom he esteemed the same to be proper; but when the matter came to hearing, O'Cahan showed a warrant from the Lord Deputy, that they should not determine that matter, but that it should be decided by the lord bishop of the Derry, who was himself the chief author of her putting away, and therefore, in all men's judgments, no indifferent judge in that case. Through which means the Earl's suit in that cause was frustrated, and he could get no manner of justice therein, no more than he obtained in many other weighty matters that concerned him, too tedious to be rehearsed at the present.

15. Item.-The Lord Deputy, farther to trouble the Earl, procured one Henry Oge O'Neill, M'Henry MacFelymye, and others his confederates, to go out as a woodkern, only to rob and spoil the Earl and his nephew, Brian Mac Art, and their tenants; as the said Henry eftsoons certified to the Earl by messages affirming that he would never do the Earl nor any that belonged to him any hurt, but that the Deputy enticed him thereunto; who committed many murders, burnings, and other mischievous acts against the Earl's tenants, and were always maintained and manifestly relieved amongst the Deputy's tenants and others their friends in Claneboye, and openly sold the spoils that they took from the Earl's tenants amongst them. And yet the Earl never could get any justice of them nor of those that so relieved them ; and they continued so for the space of two years, doing many outrageous facts against the Earl's tenants, till, at length, they happened to murder one of the Deputy's own tenants; whereupon they were fain to forego that country, as the Deputy then took some care to see them prosecuted for that fact:-through which means, and their being put from that their refuge, the Earl, within one quarter of a year after, cut them all off. Yet the Lord Deputy, not being thereat satisfied, further to have his will of the Earl's tenants, sought to bring them within the compass of the law ; and thereby, seeing that he could not by these sinister means prevail against them, fairly sought to cut them off; and to that end protected one of the said rebels, a poor rascally knave, and brought him to Dublin, where he persuaded him to accuse above threescore of the Earl's tenants of having relieved the said rebels with meat; which, God knows, they little minded, if they had not taken it from them perforce, as they did indeed from divers of them that were not able to make any resistance against them, and withal killed their cattle in the fields, and left them dead there, being not of power to carry them away, burnt their houses, took what they could of their household stuff, killed and mangled themselves. And yet were they, upon the report of that poor knave, who was himself foremost in doing these mischiefs, all taken and brought to their trial by law, where they were, through their innocency in. the matters laid to their charge, acquitted, but at their no small cost. So that betwixt the professed enemy and the private envy of our governors, seeking thereby to advance themselves, there was no way left for 'the poor subject to live.

16. Item.-The said woodkerne met one Joise Everard, a Dutchman that belonged to the Deputy, by the way, coming from Carrickfergus to Tome [Toome], in the county of Antrim, whom they took prisoner, and kept till he compounded to have given them �3O ransom; for which �30 the Deputy cessed threescore upon the county, and appointed the one half thereof to be taken, from the Earl's tenants, though of another county, and at least 12 miles distant from the place where he was taken and kept, and though they themselves were daily killed and spoiled by the said woodkerne, and never had redress from those that were well known to have relieved them from time to time. And a warrant was directed for levying the same to Sir Thomas Phillips, who sent his soldiers upon the Earl's tenants to take it, and without any further reasoning of the matter or showing any authority, took and distressed for the whole �30 in one place, and from two men, and marched away therewith. The poor people, thinking it had been the woodkerne that gave the alarm, eftsoons followed and raised the hue and cry; whereupon certain men that the Earl had entertained, by warrant from the Deputy, to prosecute the said rebels, hearing the cry in the country, took their stand upon a streight (sic) that the rebels were accustomed to pass, and met the soldiers there coming with the distress; and perceiving them to be soldiers, drew near and began to reason with them, and learn why they took the distress, and asked a sight of their warrant; whereupon the soldiers, scorning to show them their warrant, gave them a volley of shot, and killed one of them, and went away with the distress and a prisoner, and kept him till he was forced to give them �5. Whereof the Earl complained to the Lord Deputy, and could find no redress, but that the Lord Deputy persuaded him by fair speeches to forego the matter to Sir Thomas Phillips; whereunto the Earl, seeing he could not otherwise amend himself, assented, and so lost his man and money, and the money itself is still with one Captain Claterworthey, and not restored.

17. Item.-Certain of the soldiers of the Derry, in the time of Sir George Carey's government, passing through the country, went to a village of the Earl's that was near the way, where they met a kinsman of the Earl's, and presently, without any speech, one of the soldiers shot him through, and killed him dead ; whereof the Earl could never have redress, not so much as to punish the soldier.

18. Item.-The said soldiers of Derry went another time in pursuit of a prisoner that made an escape out of the city, and went that night to a farm of the Earl's, where they had the best entertainment that the poor people had; and the next morning, upon their going away, one of them shot at one of the townsmen with poell shot and broke his arm, and hurt him in sundry parts of his body, so that he fell to the ground; and his neighbours, supposing he had been dead, pursued the soldier to have taken him, he being a good way behind his company, but the soldier, to make the better shift, left his arms, which the poor men took, and let him go, and went personally to the high constable of the shire, and delivered him the arms, and went, themselves and the hurt man, to the Derry, to complain of the soldiers to the governor, where they were all taken and put in a pair of stocks all night, under frost and snow, which was like to cost them their lives, and specially the hurt man, who was never dressed of his wounds. And this only for taking the piece of the soldier that did the fact, after that he had cast it away himself, and never a word spoken to them for killing the King's subject.

19. Item.-Sir Henry Foliarde [Folliot], Knight, Governor of the Ernie, came upon some of the Earl's tenants with force and arms, the second year of His Majesty's reign, and forcibly took from them above 200 cows, and killed a good gentleman, besides many other poor men, women, and children; and besides that, there died above 100 persons of them with very famine, for want of their goods. Whereof the Earl never had redress, although the said Sir Henry could show no reasonable cause for doing the same.

20. Item.-The Earl farther perceived the Lord Deputy very desirous and earnest to aggravate and search out matters against him, touching the staining of his honour and dignity, and specially very distinctly examined M'Gouire, and used many persuasions to him, to signify if he might lay any matters to his charge. All which were fetches, thinking, as he first obtained to be Lord President of Ulster, then, secondly, to come upon the Earl with some forged treason, and thereby to bereave him both of his life and living. And the better to compass his pretence therein, he placed that whispering companion, Captain Leigh, as sheriff in the country, not so much for doing His Majesty's service, as to be lurking after the Earl, to spy if he might have any hole in his coat, which the Earl little feared had he been assured of any indifferent judge. But seeing that the Lord Deputy (who ought to be indifferent, not only to him but to the whole realm, having the rod in his own power,) sought his destruction, lie esteemed it a strife against the stream for him to seek to live secure in that kingdom. And, therefore, of both the evils he chose the least, and thought better, rather to forego his country and lands, till he had further known His Majesty's pleasure, upon perusal of the causes of his griefs, (which he little durst, while he lived within the compass of the said Governor's jurisdiction, once move to His Highness,) and to make an honourable escape, with his life and liberty only; than by staying, with dishonour and indignation, to lose both life, liberty, living, and country, which in very deed he much feared.

In conclusion, besides all the insolencies, wrongs, personal injuries, injustices, severe persecution practised, and severer intended, in matters of religion, which are specified in the above articles, he omits many others done to him by under officers, of which he durst not complain during his being in Ireland:-as of Sir John Davys, His Majesty's Attorney-General, a man more fit to be a stage-player than a counsel to His Highness - who gave the Earl very irreverent speech before the Council table;-which being permitted by the Council, the Earl said that he would appeal to His Majesty; whereunto he replied, that he was right glad thereof, and that he thereby expected to achieve to honour. And in like manner, one Mr, Jacob, His Highness' solicitor, one not much inferior to the other in blabbeling, no less preferred very hard and dishonourable speech to the Earl, which also he showed to the Lord Deputy, and could have no kind of redress thereof. Nor that only, but there have been many other abuses offered him by other inferior officers, and others of His Majesty's ministers, tending to the deprivation of his honour and authority, that might be sufficient causes to drive any human creature not only to forego a country were it ever so dear unto him, but also the whole world, in order to eschew the like government; which he thinks too tedious at the present to trouble His Majesty withal, and which he also omits, not doubting but these shall suffice to satisfy His Highness. And so referring himself and the due consideration of these and all other his causes, to the most royal and princely censure of His Majesty, as his only protector and defender against all his adversaries, he most humbly takes his leave, and will always, as is his bounden duty, pray.

Pp. 5. Add. '. " To the King of England's most excellent

Majesty."

(Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, 1606-8, pp 374-83).

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