I Have ſome few days paſt abided my Tryal at the Kings-Bench, and now very ſoon I muſt hold up my Hand at the King of King's Bench, and appear before a Judge who cannot be deceived by Falſe Witneſſes, or Corrupted Allegations; For he knoweth the ſecrets of Hearts: Neither can he deceive any, or give an Unjuſt Sentence, or be Miſlead by reſpects of perſons; He being all goodneſs, and a moſt juſt Judge, will infallibly decree an eternal Reward for all good works, and Condign puniſhment for the ſmalleſt Tranſgreſſion againſt his Commandments. Which being a moſt certain and undoubted Truth; it would be a wicked Act, and contrary to my perpetual welfare, that I ſhould now by declaring any thing contrary to Truth, commit a deteſtable ſin, for which within a very ſhort time I muſt receive Sentence of Everlaſting Damnation; after which there is no Reprieve or hope of Pardon. I will therefore Confeſs the Truth, without any Equivocation, and make uſe of the words according to their accuſtomed ſignification; aſſuring you moreover, that I am of that certain perſwaſion, that no Power, not only upon Earth, but alſo in Heaven, can diſpence with me, or give me leave to make a Falſe Proteſtation: And I proteſt upon the word of a Dying man, and as I hope for Salvation at the Hands of the Supream Judge, that I will declare the Naked Truth with all Candor and Sincerity: And that my Affairs may be the better known to all the World,

'Tis to be obſerved, that I have been Accuſed in Ireland of Treaſon and Praemunire, and that there I was Arraigned and brought to my Tryal; but the Proſecutors (men of Flagitious and Infamous Lives) perceiving that I had Records and Witneſſes who would Evidently convince them, and clearly ſhew my Innocency and their wickedneſs, they voluntarily abſented themſelves, and came to this City, to procure that I ſhould be brought hither to my Tryal (where the Crimes objected were not committed,) where the Jury did not know me, or the Qualities of my Accuſers, and were not informed of ſeveral other Circumſtances conducing to a Fair Tryal. Here, after ſix Months Cloſe Impriſonment (or there abouts) I was brought to the Bar the third of May, and Arraigned for a Crime, for which I was before Arraigned in Ireland: A ſtrange Reſolution, a rare Fact, of which you will hardly find a Precedent theſe five hundred years paſt: But whereas my Witneſſes and Records were in Ireland, the Lord Chief Juſtice gave me five weeks time to get them brought hither: But by reaſon of the uncertainty of the Seas, of Wind and Weather, and of the difficulty of getting Copies of Records, and bringing many Witneſſes from ſeveral Counties in Ireland, and for many other Impediments (of which Affidavit was made) I could not at the end of the five weeks get the Records and Witneſſes brought hither; I therefore begged for twelve days more; that I might be in a readineſs for my Tryal, which the Lord Chief Juſtice denyed; and ſo I was brought to my Tryal, and expoſed, as it were, with my Hands Tyed, to thoſe Mercileſs Perjurors, who did aim at my Life, by Accuſing me of theſe following points.

Firſt, That I have ſent Letters by one Nial O Neale (who was my Page) to Monſieur Baldeſchi, the Pope's Secretary; to the Biſhop of Aix, and to Principe Colonna, that they might Sollicit Forraign Powers to Invade Ireland; and alſo to have ſent Letters to Cardinal Bullion to the ſame effect.

Secondly, To have imployed Captain Con O Neale to the French King for Succour.

Thirdly, To have Levied and Exacted Moneys from the Clergy of Ireland to bring in the French, and to maintain ſeventy thouſand men.

Fourthly, To have had in a readineſs ſeventy thouſand men, and Liſts made of them, and to have given Directions to one Frier Duffy to make a Liſt of 250 men in the Pariſh of Foghart in the County of Lowth.

Fifthly, To have Surrounded all the Forts and Harbours of Ireland, and to have fixed upon Carlingford as a fit Harbour for the Frenches Landing.

Sixthly, To have had ſeveral Councils and Meetings, where there was Money alloted for Introducing the French.

Finally, that a Meeting in the County of Monaghan, ſome 10 or 12 years paſt, where there were 300 Gentlemen of three ſeveral Counties, to wit, Monaghan, Cavan and Armagh; whom I did exhort to take Arms to recover their Eſtates.

To the firſt I anſwer, that Nial O Neale was never my Servant or Page, and that I never ſent Letter or Letters by him to Monſieur Baldeſchi, or the Biſhop of Aix, or to Principe Colonna. And I ſay, that the Engliſh Tranſlation of that pretended Letter produced by the Frier Macmoyer is a meer invention of his, and never Penned by me, or its Original, either in Engliſh, Latin, Italian, or any other Language. I affirm moreover, that I never wrote Letter or Letters to Cardinal Bullion, or any of the French Kings Miniſters; neither did any who was in that Court either ſpeak to me, or write to me directly or indirectly, of any Plot or Conſpiracy againſt my King or Country. Farther, I Vow that I never ſent Agent or Agents to Rome, or to any other Court, about any Civil or Temporal Affairs: And 'tis well known, (for it is a Precept publickly Printed) that Clergy-men (living in Countries where the Government is not of Roman Catholicks) are commanded by Rome, not to write to Rome, concerning any Civil or Temporal Affairs. And I do aver, that I never received Letter or Letters from the Pope, or from any other of his Miniſters making the leaſt mention of any ſuch matters: So that the Friers Macmoyer and Duffy Swore moſt Falſly, as to ſuch Letter or Letters, Agent or Agents.

To the ſecond, I ſay that I never employed Capt. Con O Neal to the French King, or to any of his Miniſters; and that I never wrote to him, or received Letters from him; and that I never ſaw him but once, nor ever ſpoke to him to the beſt of my remembrance ten words; and as for his being in Charlemount, or Dungannon, I never ſaw him in them Towns, or knew of his being in thoſe places; So that as to Con O Neale, Fryer Mack Moyer's Depoſitions are moſt falſe.

To the third, I ſay that I never Levyed any Money for a Plot or Conſpiracy, for bringing in Spaniards or French, neither did I ever receive any upon that account, from Priests or Fryers, as Priest Mac-Clave, and Fryer Duffy moſt untruly aſſerted. I aſſure you, that I never received from any Clergy-man in Ireland, but what was due to me by ancient cuſtom for my maintenance; and what my Predeceſſors theſe hundred years paſt were wont to receive; nay I received leſs than many of them. And if all what the Catholick-Clergy of Ireland get in the year, were put in one Purſe, it would ſignify little or nothing to introduce the French, or to raiſe an Army of ſeventy thouſand Men, which I had Inſiſted, and ready, as Fryer Mac Moyer moſt falſly depoſed; Neither is it leſs untrue what Fryer Duffy atteſted, viz. That I directed him to make a Liſt of 250. Men in the Pariſh of Foghart, in the County of Lowth.

To the fifth, I anſwer, that I never ſurrounded all the Forts or Harbours of Ireland, and that I was never at Cork, Kinſale, Bantry, Youghal, Dungarvan, or Knockfergus; and theſe 36 years paſt I was not at Limerick, Duncanon or Wexford. As for Carlingford I was never in it but once, and ſtaid not in it above half an hour; Neither did I conſider the Fort or Haven; Neither had I it in my thoughts or imagination to fix upon it, or upon any other Fort or Haven, for Landing of French or Spaniards; and whilſt I was at Carlingford (by meer chance, paſſing that way) Fryer Duffy was not in my Company, as he moſt falſly Swore.

To the ſixth, I ſay that I was never at any Meeting or Counſel, where there was mention made of allotting or collecting of Moneys, for a Plot or Conſpiracy; and 'tis well known, that the Catholick Clergy of Ireland, who have neither Lands nor Revenues, and hardly are able to keep decent Cloaths upon their Backs, and Life and Soul together, can raiſe no conſiderable ſum; nay cannot ſpare as much as would maintain half a Regiment.

To the ſeventh, I anſwer, that I was never at any meeting of 300. Gentlemen in the County of Monaghan, or of any Gentlemen of the three Counties of Monaghan, Armagh, and Cavan, nor of one County, nor of one Barony; and that I never exhorted Gentleman or Gentlemen either there, or in any other part of Ireland, to take Arms for the recovering their Eſtates; And 'tis well known that there are not even in all the Province of Ʋlſter 300 Iriſh Roman Catholicks, who had Eſtates, or loſt Eſtates by the late Rebellion; And as 'tis well known, all my thoughts and endeavours were for the quiet of my Country, and eſpecially of that Province.

Now to be brief, As I hope for Salvation I never ſent Letter or Letters, Agent, or Agents, to Pope, King, Prince, or Prelate, concerning any Plot or Conſpiracy againſt my King or Country; I never raiſed ſum or ſums of Money, great or ſmall to maintain Souldier or Souldiers all the days of my life; I never knew or heard, (neither did it come to my thoughts or imagination,) that the French were to Land at Carlingford; and I believe there is none who ſaw Ireland even in a Map, but will think it a meer Romance; I never knew of any Plotters or Conſpirators in Ireland, but ſuch as were Notorious and Proclaimed (commonly called Tories,) whom I did endeavour to ſuppreſs. And as I hope for Salvation, I always have been, and am intirely Innocent of the Treaſons laid to my Charge, and of any other whatſoever.

And tho' I be not guilty of the Crimes of which I am accuſed, yet I believe none came ever to this Place who is in ſuch a condition as I am; for if I ſhould even acknowledge, (which in Conſcience I cannot do, becauſe I ſhould bely my ſelf) the chief Crimes laid to my charge, no wiſe man that knows Ireland would believe me. If I ſhould confeſs that I was able to raiſe 70000 men in the diſtricts of which I had care, to wit; in Ʋlster; nay, even in all Ireland, and to have levyed and exacted moneys from the Roman Clergy for their maintenance, and to have prepared Carlingford for the French's Landing, all would but laugh at me; it being well known, that all the Revenues of Ireland, both Spiritual and Temporal, poſſeſſed by His Majeſty's Subjects, are ſcarce able to raiſe and maintain an Army of 70000 men. If I will deny all thoſe Crimes, (as I did, and do) yet it may be that ſome, who are not acquainted with the Affairs of Ireland, will not believe that my denial is grounded upon Truth, tho' I aſſert it with my laſt breath. I dare venture farther, and affirm; That if theſe points of 70000 men, &c. had been Sworn before any Proteſtant Jury in Ireland, and had been even acknowledged by me at the Bar, they would not believe me, no more than if it had been depoſed, and confeſſed by me, That I had flown in the Air from Dublin to Holy-head.