The persecution and oppression (which, as Solomon saith, is able to make a wise man mad,) of John Bale that was called to be Bishop of Ossory, by the sole election, without any other mans motion, of that pious king, Edw. 6 : and of Gruffith [sic] Williams, that was called after the same manner to the same bishoprick by the sole election, without any other mans motion, of that most excellent, pious king, and glorious martyr, Charles I : two learned men, and Right Reverend Bishops of Ossory.

THE PERSECUTION AND OPPRESSION (Which, as Solomon ſaith, is able to make a wiſe man mad,) OF JOHN BALE, That was called to be Biſhop of Oſſory, by the ſole Election, without any other mans Motion, of that pious King, Edw. 6. AND OF GRUFFITH WILLIAMS, That was called after the ſame manner to the ſame Biſhoprick by the ſole Election, without any other mans Motion, of that moſt excellent, pious King, and glorious Martyr, Charles I. Two Learned men, and Right Reverend Biſhops of Oſſory.

LONDON, Printed for the Author, 1664.

I. THis John Bale was a great Schollar, and a Doctor of Divinity in the Univerſity of Oxford, in the time of King Edward the ſixth, and he himſelf wrote a Book, (which the Right Worſhipful, and my much honoured Friend, Sir James Ware lent me) wherein he ſetteth down, the vocation, perſecution, and deliverance of himſelf: and out of that Book I have drawn this Abſtract of his life and perſecution, and expulſion from that very houſe from whence I was alſo expulſed, and for which I am ſtill oppreſſed and troubled.

1. His Vocation was by the meer good will, without any ſollicitation of any other, of that good King Edwards, when he ſaw him in South-hampton, he ſent unto him by divers of his Nobility, to bid him prepare himſelf to go to be the Biſhop of Oſſory, which he obediently did, and tranſported himſelf and his Family into Ireland, and being conſecrated at Dublin, though with ſome oppoſition, by reaſon of the Popiſh inclination of the Catholick Clergy, he preſently went to Kilkenny; where

2. His Perſecution did begin, for he no ſooner began to preach the Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt, which he inceſſantly did, but the moſt part of his Prebends and the Popiſh party oppoſed and contradicted him; and within a very little while, after the death of King Edw. 6. he was exceedingly perſecuted by Barnaby Bolger, and the Popiſh Prieſts, and others, that ſought his death in his houſe, this Biſhops Court, alias Holms Court,Rich. Foſter a Deacon, Rich. Headly, John Cage, and the Maid. where he ſaw five of his houſhold Servants, four men and a maid, of ſixteen years of age, killed, before his face, and ſo had he been ſlain alſo, had he not ſhut the Iron Grate of his Caſtle, and kept the Kearnes out, until the good ſuffereige of Kilkenny, with a hundred horſemen, and three hundred footmen, brought him away in the night time, and ſo delivered him out of their hands, and forthwith ſent him to Dublin, from whence, his life being there likewiſe hunted after, he was conveyed away in a Marriners apparel, and in his paſſage to Zealand was cruelly toſſed by tempeſts, and was taken at ſea, and carried to St. Ives in Cornwall, where a wicked fellow named Walter accuſed our Biſhop Bale of High Treaſon before the Juſtices there, yet being not able to prove any thing againſt him, the good God delivered him out of their hands.

And yet not long after one Martin an Engliſh Pirate did moſt falſly accuſe him of many hainous crimes, as the putting down of the Maſs in England, cauſed Doctor Gardiner Biſhop of Wincheſter to be impriſoned, and poyſoned the King, and many other hainous things, which brought him abundance of troubles and vexations with the Captain of the ſhip wherein he paſſed towards Holland, as himſelf relateth at large, from fol. 38. of his Book of his perſecution unto fol. 42.

And becauſe they are ſo fully exemplified and expreſſed by himſelf there, together with the reſt of his troubles and perſecutions which he had in Oſſory, in Dublin, and in his paſſage by Sea towards Germany, in the Book that himſelf printed, of his Vocation to the Biſhoprick of Oſſory, and his perſecution in the ſame, I will ſet no more down here, but refer my Reader to that Book.

II. GRiffith Williams, born at Carnarvon, at fourteen years old was ſent to Oxford, from whence by reaſon of the hard uſage of him Junonis ob iram; by an angry Juno, that was his Unckles virago, he was fain to betake himſelf, within two years after, alienas viſere terras, and failing to paſs into France, where he intended, he was forced to retire into Cambridge, where having no friends, nor money, a Country Gentleman of Harleton, named Mr. Line, having but one little Son, about eight years old, took affection unto me, and entertained me into his houſe, and table, to tutor and teach that young Child, and being there, I got my ſelf admitted into Jeſus Colledge; where, as it came to my courſe, I kept my Exerciſe, and within two years after, (having gotten a Certificate from Chriſt-Church in Oxford, of my ſtudy and good carriage there, for two years before, I had my degree Bachelour of Arts, and within three years after, I took my degree Maſter of Arts, at 21 years of age, and, being admitted into the holy Orders of a Deacon by the Reverend Biſhop of Rocheſter, and of Prieſthood by the Biſhop of Ely, after I had been a while Rector of Foſcot in Buckingham-ſhire, I became a Preacher and Lectorer in St. Peters the Proud in Cheapſide, and in the Cathedral Church of S. Paul, For I found it ſo. And then printed my firſt Book, intituled, The reſolution of Pilate; and my ſecond Book intituled, The delights of the Saints. for the full ſpace of five years; I Lectored upon St. Pauls Epiſtle to the Romans, and then began my perſecution by the Puritans, as they were then called, and Fanaticks of thoſe daies, (ſaving a little oppoſition that I formerly had by the ſame generation, while I was Curate of Hanwel in Middleſex) for now, the more pains I took to ſtudy, and to preach the truth boldly unto them, as I ever did without fear, the more mad they were againſt me, and ſo mad, that not only forty, as they were againſt St. Paul, but I believe above twice forty conſpired together to work my death, and moſt falſly accuſed me, of ſuch things as I never knew, never did, and never ſaid, yet they proſecuted the ſame ſo maliciouſly that I was bound over (and they did their very beſt to hinder me to get any bayl) to anſwer for my life, at the Seſſions houſe upon the Goal delivery of Newgate, where, I might demand, tantenae animis terreſtribus irae? But he that dwelleth in the Heavens, and knew mine Innocency, and the cauſe of their malice, laughed them to ſcorn, and became to me, as he is alwaies to them that fear him, Deus in opportunitatibus, a preſent help in trouble,Who ſeeing that they would prefer no Bill againſt me, quitted me, and ſaid they had forfeited, and ſhould pay their Recognizance, as they well deſerved, to the King. See the Epiſtle to the Reader before the ſeven Golden Candleſticks. and delivered me with credit and honour out of the mouth of thoſe Lions, that were exceedingly blamed and checked by that worthy Judge, that afterwards came to be Lord Chancellour Coventrie: Sic me ſervavit Apollo; So that Jehova ſaved me to whom I have committed my ſelf ever ſince, and vowed, I would praiſe him, and thank him, and do him the beſt ſervice that I could, while I lived, as I ſhewed in an Epiſtle before the ſeven golden Candleſticks. Then immediately after this, being then about twenty ſeven years old, I went to Cambridge, and, though my former troubles waſted my means, (being, by reaſon of the former accuſations of mine enemies, ſuſpended by the Biſhop of London, and driven to be releaſed by an appeal to the Prerogative Court) yet I took my degree Bachelour of Divinity, and returning to London, I preſently petitioned to my Lord of Canterbury, Abbats, (whom ever after I found, my very gracious Lord) and to my Lord Chancellour Egerton, (whom I found ſo likewiſe) and ſhewed them the great wrongs and abuſes, to my utter ruine, that I had ſuffered from the Biſhop of London, and thoſe bloudy perſecutors, without any ſhadow or colour of truth in any of all their Accuſations; and they preſently pitying my caſe gave me the Parſonage of Llan-Llechyd, worth to me a 100 li. per annum, a better Rectory, than that which mine enemies cauſed the Biſhop of London to take from me, that was rightly preſented to it by the Earl of South-hampton. But ſicut unda ſequitur undam, ſo one affliction comes in the neck of another; for I was no ſooner arrived in Llan-Llechyd, but the Biſhop of Bangor, becauſe I refuſed to take another living for this that he ſaw was ſo commodious for him, began to perſecute me afreſh, and deviſed certain Articles, which ex officio he proſecuted againſt me, and I was fain again to appeal unto the Arches, and my Lord of Bangor being in London, my Lord of Canterbury ſent for him and me, and checked him exceedingly for his proſecution, and gave me a Licence to preach throughout divers Dioceſſes of his Province, and a Protection from being moleſted by my Lord of Bangor; yet ſtill I found that buſie Biſhop would not be quiet, but as the Poet ſaith, Manet alta mente repoſtum, judicium paridis, ſo my complaint againſt him to my Lord of Canterbury ſtuck in his mind, as I had but a little reſpect or joy in his Dioceſs, eſpecially from his Lordſhip; therefore, after I had continued there four years, about 32 years old I went to Cambridge again, and took my degree Doctor of Divinity; and then, returning to London, I became a domeſtical Chaplain to the Earl of Montgomery, afterwards Earl of Pembroke, and Lord Chamberlain to his Majeſty, to whom I had been Chaplain at large for many years before. And then bleſſed be God, I had a little reſt from my perſecution, and began to ſtudy hard, to Print Books, of no ſmall Volumes, nor of mean Subjects, as the ſeven Golden Candleſticks, and many other Sermons, now termed, The beſt Religion, and The true Church: divided in ſix ſeveral Books. And to be promoted, to ſome eminent places, to be his Majeſties Chaplain, a Prebend of Weſtminſter, and Dean of Bangor, and before I was full forty years old, in Election and very like to have been made Biſhop of St. Aſaph.

But, when the Sun ſhineth brighteſt it continueth not long without Clouds, and often times follow ſtormes and tempeſt; ſo after I had ſpent theſe halſion daies, and lived many years in the Kings Court, I found ſome rubs and obſtacles of my deſires by reaſon of ſome diſcontent and difference betwixt me and the then Archbiſh. of Canterbury About my ſeeking to be Biſhop of S. Aſaph. , that clouded the brightneſs of my hopes for ſome while; yet at laſt, when the Long Parliament began to ſtruggle, and not only to chop off the head of the wiſe and ſtout Earl of Strafford, but alſo to clap up the Biſhop of Canterbury in Priſon, and to clip the wings of all the reſt of the Biſhops, his Majeſty, of his own gracious mind and accord, without any motion of any man made unto him, when the Lord Primate of Ireland delivered him a Petition from the Biſhops of Ireland, to deſire his Majeſty to nominate a very worthy man, Doctor Sybthorp, that was Biſhop of the poor Biſhoprick of Kilfanora, unto the Biſhoprick of Oſſory, anſwered the Primate, that he had reſerved the ſame for Doctor Williams, Dean of Bangor: To whom the Primate replied, Your Majeſty bids him to his loſs, (to uſe the Primates own words, as he told me,) and his Majeſty anſwered, He could make him a ſaver, and therefore let him have the refuſal of it; and when I heard of this paſſage from my Lord Primate, I thought I were a very unworthy man if I refuſed ſo gracious an offer of ſo gracious a Maſter; and conſidering that, as my Predeceſſor, and a man of my ſpirit, Biſhop Bale, was called by the ſole free motion of that pious King, Edw. 6. ſo I was called by the ſole free motion of the moſt religious King Charles I. I thought my ſelf rightly called by God unto it, and I accepted the ſame, and yielded unto the divine calling, with all thankefulneſs unto his gracious Majeſty. And now the ſtorms and tempeſt begin to darken the Sunſhine of my proſperity; for I was no ſooner arrived in Ireland, ſeen Kilkenny, and preached once in that Cathedral, and conſecrated in Dublin about Michaelmas, but the Rebellion there brake out the October following, after I had ſpent well-nigh 300 li. and had received not one penny; then was I forced to fly towards his Majeſty, and the next Summer after having occaſion to go to Dublin, after I had ſetled my Wife and Family in a houſe that I had by Toceſter, and the firſt night that I came to my houſe, after my return from Ireland, the Rebels in North-hampton, having heard how zealouſly I had preached for his Majeſty, and that now I was returned to my houſe by Toceſter again, ſent a Troope of horſe under the command of Captain Flaxon, and ſo he carried me a priſoner to North-hampton, where at my firſt entrance into the Town, I ſaw a whole troop of Boys and Girls, and other Apprentices, that expected my coming, and as the boys cried to Elizeus, come up thou bald pate, come up, ſo they cried along the ſtreet, a Biſhop, a Biſhop, and with this Io paean was I carried to the Commiſſioners Lodging, where I was clapt up cloſe in a Chamber, and one of the Commiſſioners, Sir John North, I believe the civilleſt of them all, came to me with a Satchel of Writings, that Captain Flaxon found in my houſe, and opening the ſame, the firſt writings that came into his hand was the Treatiſe that I had written, and had intituled it, The Grand Rebellion, and had written thoſe words on the outward leaf thereof; and as ſoon as ever he took it out of the bag, I made bold, And if I had not done ſo, I had been undone. before he had caſt his eye upon the Title, to take it out of his hands, and ſaid, this is a Sermon that I carried with me to preach where I ſhould reſt on the Lords day, but that the Letters, that were to the King, and to the Biſhop of York, and others, were in the Satchel, and he for haſte to ſee the Letters, ſuffered me to put my Sermon and the Grand Rebellion into my Pocket, which I feared would have been my death or utter ruine, if the Commiſſioners had ſeen it. Then Sir John, having taken out the Letters, asked me, how I durſt at thoſe times carry Letters unto the King? I anſwered, they were Letters from thoſe poor Biſhops, that therein ſhewed to his Majeſty how they were pillaged and perſecuted by the Popiſh Iriſh Rebels, and I knew, and had a Copy of what was in them before I would carry them; then Sir John ſaid, I did wiſely to do ſo: and ſo he went in unto the reſt of the Commiſſioners, and left me, lockt in the room, yet very joyful for having gotten my Grand Rebellion out of his hands: but behold ſtill the malice of Satan and the ſubtilty of his Inſtruments, while I was walking up and down the room, and had torn the worſt caſe that I had writ againſt the Parliament, and chewed it in my mouth and threw it away, an arrand knave was peeping at the key hole, and went unto the Commiſſioners and told them that I had ſome deſperate or treacherous Papers, which he ſaw me tear; then Sir John North comes to me again and aked, what Papers thoſe were that I was ſeen tearing? I ſmilingly anſwered, Alas Sir, ever ſince I came from Sea, I was troubled with a looſeneſs, and having by chance a looſe leaf in my Pocket, I pluckt it out, and ſaid, this is the Paper, that I had in my hand, to go to the houſe of office, and he looking upon it, and finding it of no effect, ſaid, Is this all? And went his waies: and then I remembred what our Saviour ſaid, When you are brought before Rulers, Mark 13.11. take no thought what you ſhall ſpeak, for it ſhall be given you, in illa hora, in that very hour, what to anſwer; and God alſo wrought in the Commiſſioners ſuch thoughts of me, and my ſufferings by the Iriſh, that they gave me a Paſs to go home, and delivered me my horſes, which Captain Flaxon hoped to have had for his reward, and the forty pounds, which he found in my houſe, and which I told the Commiſſioners was all that I had to keep me and my Family: So graciouſly did God help me, that I went home with joy, contrary to the expectation of my Neighbours, that informed the Rebels of my return to thoſe parts.

And within a few daies after was the Battel at Edge-hill, at which time, I went to his Majeſty, and waited on him untill he came to Oxford, And here in Oxford I printed firſt my Grand Rebellion, and afterwards, my diſcovery of myſteries, and laſt of all, The rights of Kings. where immediately I printed my Grand Rebellion; and finding how well and how graciouſly his Majeſty accepted of my endeavours therein, I went to Wales and ſtudied my diſcovery of myſteries, or the plots of the Parliament, to overthrow both Church and State, and by the next Winter I came to Oxford to Print it, and being printed, Secretary Faukeland miſliking a paſſage, that I had ſet down of the Epiſcopal power in cauſa ſanguinis, would have had it called in, but his Majeſty would not ſuffer it to be ſuppreſt; therefore I reſolved, by the next Winter, to publiſh (as I did) my Book of the Rights of Kings both in Church and Commonwealth, and the wickedneſs of the pretended Parliament; and in the interim I was perſwaded to go to London, to ſee what I could work upon my Lord of Pembroke, whom I had ſerved ſo many years, and tutored all his Children, whereof two were now with his Majeſty; and when I came to London I took the opportunity to go unto him,For I conceived that time to be the ſafeſt time. while he was in bed, and after much conference with him, about the differences betwixt the King and his Parliament, and their diſloyalty to his Majeſty, and that I ſaw he began to be offended and very angry, for fear he ſhould deliver me to the Parliament, that formerly had cauſed all that they found of my Grand Rebellion to be burnt, I took my leave of him, and preſently highed me to go out of Town; but was denied to paſs, untill I uſed my wit to the Maior of London, to get a Paſs, by telling him, that I was a poor pillaged Preacher of Ireland, that came to London to ſee my friends, and now having ſome other friends in North-hampton and thereabout,And I have his Paſs by me to this very day. I humbly deſired his Paſs to go to ſee them, and he pitying my caſe, called for a cup of Wine, and commanded his Clerk to write me a Paſs without a Fee.

And then, after I had paſſed a good way towards North-hampton, I turned to Oxford: and from thence within a while to Wales, and from thence to Ireland; and after Nasby fight, being bound with my L. Taafe in a thouſand Marks a peece unto his Majeſty, for the appearance of Collonel Vangary, (that returned at Edge-hill fight from the Parliament unto the King with Sir Faithful Forteſcue) at Beaumares Sizes, for taking away a Drove of Cattle from the Drovers of Angleſey, and he not appearing, our Recognizans were forfeited, and I was fain to return to his Majeſty, with Letters from my Lord of Ormond, that Van-garie could not come out of Ireland, and therefore his Majeſty was humbly deſired to remit the forfeiture of our Recognizance, which his Majeſty, by his Letters to the Juſtices of Peace of Angleſey, very graciouſly did, and ſent another Letter by me again to my Lord of Ormond: but in my paſſage to his Majeſty, I was like to be carried to the Parliament, by a knave, that about ten miles from Aberystwith began to examine me, and ſaid that I was a Spy for the King, and therefore I muſt be carried before ſome of the Parliament Officers, to be examined; and I had no other ſhift but to commend him for his care, and to tell him, that there were too many Spies abroad, and I was but a poor pillaged man in Ireland, that would very willingly go before any man, and I ſtill called for drink, until he was perſwaded that I was a very honeſt man, and ſo he let me go in peace. And before I could paſs into Dublin, General Mitton with his Army, had entred into our Country, and I, preaching that Sunday, that he came, at Rhudhland, had an Alarm about midnight, and was fain to flee to Carnarvon ſhire, and when he came to Carnarvon ſhire, to flee too Angleſey. And becauſe Angleſey was an Iſland, and could not be won if the Inhabitants would be true among themſelves, we that were true Royaliſts, ſummoned the chiefeſt Gentry of the Country, Clergy and Laity, to meet on a certain day in Llan-geuenie, to conſider what we ſhould best do for the defence of our Country; and though that Doctor White, and my ſelf, Mr. Jo. Gruff. and Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Michael Evans, drew an Oath of our faithfulneſs and Allegiance to his Majeſty, and the defence of our Country to the uttermoſt hazard of our lives and fortunes, againſt the rebellious Parliament ſo full and ſo well as our Wits and Learning could deviſe, and all that were there, excepting Mr. O. Wood of Llan Gwyven, took it without any ſcruple, yet, before any one drop of bloud was ſpilt, or many daies were paſt, the Gentry Articled with General Mitton, to yield up that Iſland into his hands, and he did ſet Garriſons where he pleaſed: then I, conſcious of what I had done, alwaies and every where againſt the Rebels, durſt not truſt to the mercy and truth of the Parliament, but gave ten pounds to Captain Roberts, that Mr. O. Wood had appointed over the Garriſon in Holy Head, to ſuffer me to paſs in a Parliament Ship, (for the King had none in thoſe parts) into Dublin, and the Maſter of the Ship, that carried me, ſaid, he durſt not ſet me on ſhore any where, but bring me to Captain Wood, that was then Vice-Admiral to the Parliament in the Bay before Dublin; yet I thought it was better for me to truſt, that God would deliver me from that wood, than to ſtay among the bryars of the Long Parliament; ſo when we came to the Bay, and neer the Vice-Admirals Frigot, it being late in the Evening, I told the Maſter that I was very ill, as I was indeed, and I gave him a 20 s. piece of Gold for carrying me over, and deſired that I might ſtay in my Cabin there, till next morning, which he readily yielded.

And early the next morning, when I thought all the Seamen in Captain Woods Ship, excepting the Sentinel that kept the Watch, were aſleep, leſt any of them ſhould know me, I deſired to be ſent to the Vice-Admiral; and ſo I was. And when I came there, I gave 2 s. 6 d. in ſilver to the Sentinel, to tell Captain Wood, that here was a Kinſman of my Lord of Yorke, (whom I knew was reſpected by all the Parliamenteers, becauſe he had beſieged the Caſtle of Conway for the Parliament, and was the chief man that called Mitten into the Country, and the only inſtrument to bring Angleſey to ſubmit unto him) and he had a Paſs from Holy Head to go, to do a little buſineſs in Dublin, and when he had finiſhed his buſineſs, to return with as much ſpeed as he could unto my Lord of York again, and I thought this was a fair tale; and indeed, I thank God, it took effect; for Captain Wood came to me, and after he had examined me about divers things, and I had anſwered him as warily as I could, he ſearched me, and, though I had in my Pocket a Letter from his Majeſty in my behalf to my Lord of Ormond, yet, becauſe I had ſo artificially ſet it on the backſide of a Pocket-glaſs and Comb-caſe, betwixt the leather and the glaſs, he ſuſpected no ſuch thing, though he beheld his own face in the glaſs, and ſo conceiving no ill thought of me, but that I was a very good friend of the Parliament, being a Kinſman of my Lord of Yorke, and of his name too, he called for a good Glaſs of Clarret-wine and drank to me and to my Lord of York, and I drunk it off every drop; and put on a bold face, as I was wont to do every where, knowing that degeneros animos timor arguit.

And then he ſent me to ſhore towards Hoeth, and before we came to Land we ſhould ſee three or four Souldiers, runnagadoes, that were deſirous to go to the Parliament ſhip, but I gave five ſhillings to the Rowers to put me to land a pretty way from them, and when I was ſet on land, the boat-men turned away preſently and would not receive the Souldiers into their boat, which the Souldiers ſeeing, called unto me to come to them, or to ſtay for them, but I would not tarry,How I eſcaped the runnagado Souldiers. but went away as fast as I could; and they ſeeing that preſented their Guns, as if they would ſhoot at me; yet I ſtill ventured to go on, knowing, that being no ſtanding mark, it was but a chance to hit me, if their pieces were charged, and they ſhot at me, and when they ſaw their vain threatning did not frighten me, they began to run after me, as faſt as ever they could, and I began to run from them, as faſt as ever I could, and being a pretty way before them, and ſeeing ſome Iriſh men reaping, not far off, I made towards them, and thought I could get to them before they could overtake me, and ſo I did: yet running ſo faſt, and ſo far, I was all of a ſweat before I came unto the Reapers, who kept off the Souldiers that they durſt not come near me. Thus was I ſaved from thoſe, that I aſſured my ſelf would have robbed me, if not kill me.

Then I went to Dublin, and ſtayed there, and preached often, untill Ireland was ſurrendred upon Articles unto the Parliament; and I being by name to have the benefit of thoſe Articles, and having received a very fair and conſiderable ſum of money, by the hands of Sir George Lane, from my Lord of Ormond, that had alwaies ſhewed himſelf a moſt honourable friend, and a bountiful helper and benefactor to me; I reſolved to live upon that ſmall temporal means which I had, about twenty pounds a year, in Wales: But, after I put my Books, and Cloaths, and houſhold-ſtuff,How I was taken priſoner and robbed by Captain Beech. And nothing troubled me ſo much as the loſs of a paper Book which I had written, full of Sermons, which vexeth me to this very day. and all the Money I had, and my ſelf into the Packet-boat, to paſs to Holy Head, our ſhip was taken, about the middle way, by Captain Beeche, and I was robbed of all that I had in it, Cloaths, Books, Money, and Houſhold ſtuff, and, with a great deal of intreaty and favour, I prevailed with Captain Beeche, to caſt us all, his Priſoners, upon a little Iſland, called, Irelands eye, and making there a fire that we brought with us from the Ship, we had a boat that carried us into Hoath, and from thence we went all to Dublin, where Doctor Loftus very friendly gave me as much money as carrried me to London; and there I petitioned to the Committee for Sequeſtred men, to be reſtored according to the Articles of Angleſey and of Ireland, to my means; and one of them, named Scot, that ſince hath been hanged, demanded, if I had not written the Grand Rebellion? and I anſwered, I did: then ſaid he, and do you come for performance of Articles, that deſerve rather to have your head cut off; No, no, ſaid Corbet and the Chair-man, let us go to another matter; and I, leſt I ſhould be clapt by the heels,And after the Committee read the Letters I got them from them to ſhew them to other Committee men, and I keep them with me to this very day. ſtunk away from thoſe Wolves, as faſt as I could.

Yet I was loath, ſo, deſiſtere caeptis, but I would try movere omnem lapidem, and ſeeing hac non ſucceſſit alia aggrediar via, and, having procured a little money, I went to Sir Thomas, now Lord Fairfax, and giving his Secretary ſome pieces of Gold, he got me my Lord Fairfax his Letters to the Committee of North-hampton and of Angleſey to reſtore me to my temporal means, and they not ſitting together, I was fain, in a very cold and ſnowy weather to walk on foot (for I had no horſe, nor money to buy one) from one to one of the Committee, to get their hands to reſtore me, and ſo I had them, and I thank God I was reſtored; then after I had been in London, and had the favour to go with my Lord of Ormond in his Coach from Kingſton to Hampton Court, to wait upon his Majeſty, a little before he went to the Iſle of Wight, I went, as ſoon as ever I heard the King was gone, to live privately and poorly in mine own houſe in Wales, and there fell hard to my ſtudy to finiſh my Great Antichriſt, and to preach as occaſion offered it ſelf; and ſo I continued for a long time in a very poor condition, ſo poor, that when three or four of the Parliament Souldiers were ſent to quarter at my houſe, and there, finding neither Servants to attend them, nor Beer to drink, nor other proviſion, but ſome barly bread, and a little glas-doore, I got a good dinner with them, of that proviſion which they brought, and they preſently went to their Captain, and told him, my houſe had nothing for them, and they muſt have a better quarter, and ſo before night they were removed to a far better accommodation, and my mean condition preſerved me ever after from the quartering of any Souldiers, while I lived there. So poverty was to me an advantage; and ſo I alwaies thought and believed, that God would work together all things for the beſt for them that love him, as the Apoſtle ſaith, and therefore this made me, when my Lord of Pembroke (whom I had for ſo many Luſtras of years ſerved) offered in this my poor eſtate, to procure me a living, then void in Lancaſhire, from the Parliament, worth four hundred pound per annum, ſo I would be ruled and ſubmit my ſelf to the Parliament, to thank his Lordſhip for his Honourable favour,When all the reſt of the Biſhops accepted of 100 li. a piece from Hen. Crumwel, I refuſed the ſame. but to refuſe the Living, for which he ſeveral times called me fool for my pains; and ſo likewiſe when Mr. Henry Crumwel heard of my often preaching in Dublin, and was deſirous to hear me in his own houſe, and when I had ended my Sermon bad me dine with him, and as he allowed the reſt of the Biſhops 100 li. a piece per annum to maintain them, ſo a friend of mine told me from his Lordſhip, he was favourably pleaſed to do the like to me; to whom I anſwered, that I was infinitely obliged to him for his favour, but that I was reſolved to live contented with that ſmall means that I had of mine own. I was ſo fully perſwaded to retain mine integrity and faithfulneſs to my King, and aſſured my ſelf of that change and revolution, which I ſo ſpeedily expected to come to paſs.

And ſo I continued there in Llanlechyd in that poor condition until his Majeſty, that now is, was upon his march towards Worceſter; at which time Sir Gruffith Williams, my very good friend and Landlord, being Sheriff, deſired me to preach at the Aſſizes in Conwey before the Judges; and the whole Country knows how boldly and freely I ſhewed them their duty, now to manifeſt their Loyalty and love to his Majeſty, whom God had thus graciouſly brought unto their dores; ſo that Courtney the then Governour of Beaumareſh, coming to Town after Sermon, and hearing what I had preached, did exceedingly fret, and chafe, and chide with the Judges, becauſe that they would hear ſuch a man, as was ſo well known to be ſuch a grand enemy unto the Parliament, and concluded with the now Sir John Carter, the then Governour of Conwey, (that told me as ſoon as I had done my Sermon, but that he would not ſeem uncivil, he would have pluckt me by the ears out of the Pulpit, a fine ſight) that they ſhould clap me up in Priſon; but I hearing of it, did immediatly, as faſt as ever I could get my horſe, and poſted away, as it were upon Pegaſus, to hide my ſelf from thoſe then tyrannous whelps of Cerberus; the ſame Carter, being the man, that (when I was preaching at Llan Sannam, and another whelp of the ſame litter, roſe up, and contradicted all that I had ſaid, and cauſed me to be pluckt out of the Pulpit, and ſuch a tumult to ariſe, that I feared much ſlaughter would be committed, and that I ſhould be torn all to pieces; and when ſome of the Gentlemen of the Pariſh, at the Quarter Seſſions in Ruthen, would have indicted the fellow that diſturbed me in my Sermon) ſaid, they ſhould rather indict me for preaching contrary to the order now ſet forth, than him that had ſo juſtly hindered me; ſo I was only blamed, and he acquitted by the juſtice of Sir John Carter.

After this I continued in my poor houſe untill I had finiſhed my Great Antichriſt, and then I ſhewed it to very many of my friends, whom I durſt truſt, both in Ireland and Wales, and told them when (according to the Propheſies of the Scripture, that I had collected and was fully perſwaded of the truth thereof) his now Majeſty ſhould be reſtored, and I carried it to London to be printed, and left it with my old friend, that had printed my Beſt Religion, Mr Stevens, and he ſhewing it to ſome of his friends, Presbyterians I conceive, to have their opinion of it, and ſome of them anſwered it ſomewhat large, and Mr. Stevens delivered the ſame to me, and the concluſion was,The anſwer and the anſwerers opinion of the printing of it, I have by me to this day. the printing of it is like to be much to the damage of the Printer, and the ruin of the Author, (if he be found out) and little credit, in my opinion, is ſo like to gain thereby. So Mr. Stevens durſt not venter to print it by any means; yet, if I could have had any other to print it, I would have done it, and reſolved to have fled into the Low Countries when it had been done; but it could not be, that any Stationer would venture to do it; ſo I went to Wales.

But when I heard that Sir George Booth was riſen in Cheſhire; and was ſo near the time that I expected and foreſhewed his Majeſties reſtauration, I took a young Philly that I had of three years old, and in a very cold ſnow and froſt in January, I went ſoft and fair towards London, hoping that now, ſo many men looking after the coming in of our King, and Collonel Monk expected to aſſiſt him, I ſhould have my Great Antichriſt publiſhed; yet ſtill the Rump was ſo ſtrong, that it could not be: therefore I was fain to retire towards Wales again; and going from my houſe by Toceſter, where I had left my Mare, ſome ten miles, in a froſty morning, a foot, I afterwards went a horſe-back, but had not rid one quarter of a mile, but my Mare, whom all my Neighbours there ſaid ſhe was great with foal, lay down under me; and I, fearing ſhe would caſt her Foale, and ſo perhaps loſe my Mare, or forced to leave her behind me, was reſolved to lead her in my hand; and ſo I did from that place, which was Daintry, to my houſe in Wales, about ſeven ſcore miles, the way being ſomewhat fair in the latter end of March.

Then, having ſome occaſions to go to Ireland, being at Holy Head, I had notice with the Poſt, from London, that the Parliament, according as I found in Scripture, had voted the coming in of the King, and I, landing in Dublin about ſeven of the Clock the next morning, being Sunday, preached at St. Brides, and publickly prayed for the King, I am ſure the firſt man in the Kingdom of Ireland, and the next morning went towards Kilkenny, and going to Donmore, to preſent my ſervice to my Lady of Ormond, I found her, as ſhe was ever, the moſt honourable of all the Ladies that ever I knew, and taking me aſide, informed me of the ſtate of Kilkenny, and of all things thereabouts; ſo I went to Kilkenny and preached there, and publickly prayed for his Majeſty, the next Sunday after I had done the like at Dublin, and then haſted back to Dublin, and from thence, without ſtay, to Holy Head, and reſting but one night in mine own houſe, I rode as faſt as I could to London, and having left all the Lands that I had in Ireland, in pawn for 100 li. which mine own ſelf carried to London, I agreed for the Printing of my Great Antichriſt, and immediately after his Majeſties happy arrival in London, having the ſame printed in three Printing-houſes, and my ſelf paying for the printing of it with ready money, I got it preſently done, and preſented it to his Majeſty, who very graciouſly accepted thereof.

But one of my Countrymen had begg'd of his Majeſty the Deanery of Bangor; yet, when I informed his Majeſty, that my good King and gracious Maſter, his Father, had conferred it upon me, to hold it in commendum, ſo firm as Law could make it; his Majeſty was moſt graciouſly pleaſed preſently to ſend to Sir Edward Nicholas to recall the Grant that he had made to Mr. Lloyd, but the ſame being paſt to the Great Seal, my Lord Chancellour, to whom I ever was very much obliged, knowing my Faithfulneſs to my late King and beſt Maſter, and my ſufferings for him, did moſt honourably ſtop it, before I could come unto his Lordſhip; and ſo by his Majeſty and my Lord Chancellours goodneſs, I ſtill enjoyed my Maſters favour.

Then, things being ſomewhat ſetled, I went to live upon my Biſhoprick, in Kilkenny, where I found the Cathedral Church and the Biſhops houſe all ruined, and nothing ſtanding but the bare walls, without Roofs, without Windows, but the holes, and without doors; yet I reſolved preſently to mend and repair one Room, and to live in the Biſhops houſe, and as I had vowed, that if I ſhould ever come to my Biſhoprick, I ſhould wholly and fully beſtow the firſt years profit for the reparation of the Church, ſo my witneſs is in heaven, that I have done it; and have ſince beſtowed more, as forty pound the laſt Summer for repairing the Steeple of the Cathedral,And this Summer ſix ſcore pounds for to make a Bell, worth they ſay 200 l. and yet a thouſand pounds more will not ſufficiently repair that Church, which I vowed to beſtow, If I recover the Biſhops houſe, and live to it; and a great deal of coſt more I laid out upon the Biſhops houſe. Yet now began my Oppreſſion, which grieves me much more than my Perſecution, becauſe my perſecution was perſonal, and concerned my ſelf alone: but mine Oppreſſion doth now reach to the diſhonour of God, and the robbing of Jeſus Chriſt of his ſervice, and the deſtruction of his Servants; when as the Church of Chriſt cannot be ruled without Governours, nor inſtructed without Teachers, and neither of them can ſubſiſt without maintenance.

And yet now Noblemen and Gentlemen, Souldiers and Citizens and all, think no Bread ſo ſweet, no Wine ſo pleaſant as that which they ſnatch from the Altar, and no Land ſo fertile as that which they hold from the Church, and keep it by force from the Church-men; and to give you a taſte of this truth, I have printed a Narrative and a true Relation of a Law proceeding, betwixt my ſelf and Sir George Ayskue, a civil Gentleman, I confeſs, and one that hath been Vice-Admiral to the Long Parliament, but now is very faithful to our preſent King, and ſorry for what he hath been, as I verily believe, and is a man of a very fair carriage, and of very good parts; yet bewitched with the diſguiſed ſpirit of Sacriledge, to hold faſt in his hands the Lands of the Church, and not only he, but many others are ſick of the ſame diſeaſe, as appeareth by the ſubſequent of this relation.

A true Relation of a Law-proceeding, betwixt the Right Reverend Father in God, Griffith L. Biſhop of Oſſory, and Sir George Ayskue, Knight, &c. Sheweth,

THat the Lordſhip of Biſhops Court, alias upper Court, belongs to the Biſhop of Oſſory: And as I am informed, Jo. Bale Biſhop of Oſſory dwelt in the Mannor houſe thereof, and was from thence driven by the Tories in Queen Maries daies, to flee to Geneva to ſave his life; when he, looking out at his Window, ſaw his Steward, that was, with his Hay-makers, killed before his face; and he being fled to Geneva, Jo. Tonery was made Biſhop of Oſſory, and he made away divers Lordſhips, and among the reſt, this Biſhops Court in Fee-farm, as they pre end, to one Rich. Shea, Biſhop Bale being yet alive, and lived in Queen Elizabeths daies; after, Tonery came Biſhop Gafney, and Biſhop Bale ſtill alive; and after Gafney, came Biſhop Walſh, and he finding the invalidity of the Fee-farmes made by the Popiſh Biſhops, while the right Biſhop was alive, petitioneth to Queen Elizabeth, and had her Letters to the Lord Lieutenant and Council, to hear the Cauſe, and to relieve the Biſhop according as they found the equity of his Cauſe, but before he could have any redreſs, he was killed by ſome Iriſh man (to prevent the recovery of the ſaid Lordſhip, as it is conceived) in his own houſe; After that, came Biſhop Deane, and he vigorouſly proſecutes the recovery of the ſaid Lordſhip, and he had not done much more then begun, but he dieth: Then came Biſhop Wheeler, and he petitioneth to my Lord of Strafford for the ſaid Lordſhip of Biſhops Court, and by the great care and deſire of the now moſt Reverend Primate of all Ireland, to benefit the Church of Chriſt, Biſhop Wheeler had the Lordſhip of Frenis-Town, (that was one of the pretended Fee-farms made by Tonery, and formerly yielded the Biſhop but 4 li. yearly, and doth now yield 50 li. every year) yielded up unto him; ſo that Shea might ſtill continue in the Biſhops Court; and when Wheeler died, my gracious King, and good Maſter, Charles the Firſt, commended me to the Biſhoprick of Oſſory, then came the Rebellion, and I was driven to flee before I had received one Penny from my Biſhoprick, or had continued two Moneths therein; but bleſſed be God for it, I was reſtored by our now moſt gracious King; and having an Order from the moſt Honourable Houſe of Lords, to be put into the poſſeſſion of all the Houſes and Lands of the Biſhop of Oſſory, that the laſt Biſhop died ſeized of, the Sheriffe of the County of Kilkenny did put me, among divers other places, into the poſſeſſion of the ſaid Biſhops Court, and the Tenants attourned Tenants unto me, and continued from the _____ day of April until the 8th. day of October following, 1662. at which time, one Captain Burges, and divers others, Anabaptiſts and Sectaries, the Tenants of Sir George Ayskue, that never come into the Church, yet came into the Biſhops Houſe, and thence expelled the Biſhop and his Tenants, from his poſſeſſion. And I, the Biſhop hearing of it, went thither my ſelf, with two men and my Chaplain Mr. Thomas Bulkley; and finding the door open, I and my Chaplain went in, and one of them, that kept the poſſeſſion, affronted and juſtled me at the door of the Loft, to hinder my entrance in, and yet I got in; and then more and more came into the Room, to the number of 9 or 10 perſons: And ſome of them, eſpecially Captain Burges, vilified and threatned me to the fear of my Life, and ſome did ſhut the Iron Grate, and locked it, as I conceived, to keep me there for their Priſoner, and to hinder my two ſervants, that I had ſent with my horſes to Freſhfoord, to come in; and when they demanded if they meant to murder their Lord, and deſired to come in, one of them, that had a Cudgel in his hand, ſaid, that if he offered to come in there, he would knock him in the head; and my man anſwered him with the like menaces, and I, hearing of their high threats, and fearing what miſchief might fall out there, ſent a peremptory command to my men, to go home, and let what death ſoever pleaſed God, come to me; but, after that I got liberty to go unto mine own houſe, I called a private Seſſions, and Indicted Will. Portis, Tho. Collins, Jo. Rayman, Joſias Scot, Will. Burges, for their forcible entry; but the Indictment, being removed by a Certiorari to the Kings Bench, though I had retained two Counſellors, and gave them twenty ſhillings for their Fee, to do things right, and according to Law, yet through the errour of the Clerke, there were ſome faults found in the Indictment, and ſo the ſame was quaſht by the Judges of the Kings Bench: Then I got the beſt Attourney that I thought was in Dublin, and is ſo reputed by all my friends, to draw me another Indictment againſt the foreſaid forcible enterers; and being drawn, I carried it to Sir William Donvil, the Kings Atturney, and gave him his Fee to review it, and mend it, if any thing was amiſs in it, and make it ſo, as it might ſtand good in Law, the which thing, he very carefully did, and amended ſome things with his own hands: And I knew not what I could or ſhould do more, to draw a good Indictment.

Then I deſired the Juſtices of the Peace, to ſend a precipe, to the Sheriffe to ſummon a Jury to examine the force, which they did, upon the ſaid place, where the force was committed.

And, though Sir George Ayskue had for his Atturney, Mr. Smith, the now High Sheriffe of the County of the City of Kilkenny, and Mr. Johnſon, the Recorder of the City of Kilkenny for his Counſellour, to plead againſt the finding of the Indictment true, as much as ever they could, and another Counſellour ſtood againſt it, as much, or more than either of them both; and I had neither Atturney nor Counſellour to ſay any thing for it, but what the Witneſses proved; yet the Jury did preſently find it Billa Vera.

Then I deſired the Juſtices of the Peace to reſtore me to my Poſſeſſion, but to prevent the ſame, Mr. Smith, Sir George Ayskues Atturney, having a Certiorari ready in his Pocket, did immediately, as ſoon as ever the Jury had brought in their Verdict, deliver the ſame into the hands of the Juſtices of the Peace, and they delivered it to the Clerk of the Peace, and the Juſtices ſaid, that now they could not reſtore me to my Poſſeſſion, becauſe that their hands were ſtopt, and all the proceedings muſt be tranſmitted to the Kings Bench, by Octab. Hillarii.

And when I came to Kilkenny, I went to the Clerk of the Peace, and examined the ſame Indictment, which the Jury found (and which I had done before) ad amuſſim, very diligently, with that Copy, which the Kings Atturney had amended, and averred to be ſufficient; and I prayed the Clerke of the Peace, to give me a Copy of that Indictment, which the Jury found, the which he did under his hand, and I examined all again, and found them in all things to be verbatim, word for word agreeable one to another.

Then by Octab. Hillarii, the time ſet, to return the proceedings to the Kings Bench, I went to Dublin: But there was no Indictment returned; ſtill I expected, but ſtill in vain; At laſt I complained to the Lords Juſtices; but they anſwered, that they could not help it, for they knew not, whether the Certiorari was delivered or not: At laſt, ſeeing it was neither returned, nor like to be returned, I was adviſed to make Affidavit, that I had ſeen it delivered into the hands of the Juſtices of the Peace, and that I heard it read, and then ſaw it delivered to the Clerke of the Peace; and then upon the reading of my Affidavit, and a motion made by my Counſel thereupon; there was an Order ſet down, that there ſhould be 20 li. fine ſet upon the Clerke of the Peace, if the proceedings and the Indictment came not in by ſuch a day; So, at laſt, it came in, but it was the laſt day of the Term that it came into the Court; and then the Kings Sergeant moved for my poſſeſſion; but the Counſel, on the other ſide, pleaded, that there was an errour in the ſaid Indictment; and being ſomewhat long in alledging the Caſes of A. and B. and of John an Oakes and John a Stile, the Lord Chief Juſtice told him, it was the laſt day of the Term, and Motions were to be heard: Therefore ſeeing they could not hear out the Matter now, they ſhould ſhew cauſe by the ſecond day of the next Term why poſſeſſion ſhould not be reſtored.

Then I thought this was to keep me long enough out of my Poſſeſſion, and to let Sir George Ayskue have one half years rent more, to the two half years Rent that he had already, ſince I was driven out of my Poſſeſſion, and to let his Counſel have time e ough added, to what they had already, to pick as many holes as they could find, or could make in mine Indictment, but, conſidering that, as the Poet ſaith, Levius fit patientia quicquid corrigere eſt nefas, I went away, and ſaid nothing.

But upon the ſecond day of the next Term, which was appointed for the hearing of it, the Kings Atturney moved for poſſeſſion, and the Counſel of the other ſide began to plead the errours of the Indictment, but the pleading was preſently put off, and it was proſecuted the next day: The Kings Atturney being not there; and the main errour, that was of any moment, and which was neither ſeen nor toucht the Term before by Sir George his Counſel; (for all other things alledged, as my Counſel ſaid, were but trifles, & could eaſily be anſwered) was, that in the Indictment it was ſaid, Per Sacramentum quindecem virorum, whereas it ſhould be Per Sacramentum proborum & legalium hominum comitatus Kilken-predict. extitit. preſentat. which words were all left out of the Indictment, and the other words put in the room of them; Then I ſtood up and ſaid, I was certain, the words quindecim virorum were not in the Indictment that was found by the Jury, and that all the other words were in it; becauſe that my ſelf had examined it, and read it, and had likewiſe a Copy of it, under the hand of the Clerk of the Peace, which was examined with the Original by my ſelf: And I offered in open Court to make Oath of all this; but the Lords Juſtices anſwered, that they could not proceed but according to the Record, that was returned to the Court, which they muſt conceive to be the true Record; And I anſwered, That I hoped they would not judge according to that Record, which I would ſwear was falſe and corrupted, and not the true Record, nor according to the Record that was found by the Jury; yet I could not prevail to have the Clerke of the Peace ſent for, and to bring the original Record to be ſhewed in the Court, therefore by the next day I brought this Affidavit in writing:

THe Right Reverend Father in God, Griffith, Lord Biſhop of Oſſory, this day made oath before me, that he had ſundry times peruſed the original Indictment and Record of Forcible Entry found by a Jury of the County of Kilkenny, upon the 18th day of December laſt paſt, againſt the ſaid Defendants in the Cuſtody of one Nicholas Halpenny, who as is alledged is either Clerk, or Deputy Clerk of the Peace for the ſaid County, and that the ſaid Indictment and Record being removed into this Court Purſuant to his Majeſties Writ of Certiorari, this Deponent did peruſe the ſaid Record ſo tranſmitted by the ſaid Halpenny, and doth find upon view and examination thereof, that there are ſundry Circumſtantial and ſubſtantial words, which are in the ſaid original Indictment found by the Grand Jury omitted to be returned; and as this Deponent believes and remembers other words are inſerted therein by the Clerk that returned or drew up the ſame. He further depoſed, That before the Record was returned into this Court, he had a Copy of the ſaid Original atteſted under the hand of the ſaid Halpenny, which he doth find upon examination to be different from the Record now lodged in this Court, by vertue of the ſaid Certiorari, and that as this Deponent is credibly informed, and verily believeth, the ſaid Certiorari and Record now returned was for the ſpace of one month, or thereabouts, in Dublin detained in the hands of Mr. Patrick Lambert, who is ſaid to be Atturney for Sir George Ayſcue Knight, the pretended Proprietor of the premiſes in the Indictment contained, before ſuch time as he returned the ſame, and that this Deponent could not have the ſaid Record returned ere that he had by the Court a conditional fine impoſed upon the Clerk of the Peace, or his Deputy for his neglect in not returning thereof.

And then my Counſel moved, that it might be read, and ſo it was: And I ſhewed to their Lordſhips what great wrong and abuſe this was to me, and an injury to his Majeſty, to have the Record falſified and corrupted, and proteſted in the open Court, that, ſo long as I could either ſpeak or go, I would not ſuffer this abuſe to paſs unexamined, and at laſt, with much ado, I got the Lords Juſtices, to grant their Writ, to enjoyn the Clerke of the Peace, to appear upon the Saturday following, to anſwer ſuch things as ſhould be objected againſt him ſub poena c. librarum, at which time he came; and I went with him to my Lord Chief Juſtice his houſe, to ſhew him the original Record, and how it was falſely tranſcribed, and not according to that, which was brought into the Court; but my Lord Chief Juſtice ſeeming, as I conceived, ſomewhat angry, ſaid, he would hear nothing, nor, ſee any thing, but what ſhould be ſhewed in Court; and then the Clerke of the Peace came with me to the Court, and when he was called, he confeſſed the truth, that the Record tranſmitted to the Court, was not according to the original Record, but w s falſely written by his Clerke, that he truſted to write it, altogether unknown to him; then my Counſel moved, that the Record might be amended according to the original Record; but the Lords Juſtices anſwered, that they could not alter the Record brought into the Court: And the Kings Sollicitor, Mr. Temple, very honeſtly replied, they might, if they pleaſed, have it amended, for that, in ſuch a caſe, ſome errour or miſtake was found in an Indictment in the time of one Clerke of the Peace, and it was ordered to be amended pro rege in the time of another Clerke of the Peace; the Lord Chief Juſtice anſwered, this Indictment was brought into the Court the laſt Term, and therefore it could not be amended this Term. Then I replied, It ſhould have been brought in in the beginning of the laſt Term, but it was concealed till the last day of the laſt Term, and this errour then was neither ſeen nor ſpoken of; and how could we move then, to have it amended, before we knew the falſhood and corrupting of it, which was no waies perceived till this time? Yet, for all that I could ſay or do, I could not prevail to have the Record amended, according to the original Record. And when I ſaw that, I deſired my Counſel, to deſire their Lordſhips, either to grant that it might be amended, or to quaſh it out of hand, that I ſhould not ſpend my ſelf in Dublin, but go to begin a freſh, and to indict them again; and then my Lord Chief Juſtice anſwered, ſeeing we deſired to quaſh it, let it be quaſht; which, in reſpect of the Kings fine, I conceived, ſhould not be done, if the original Indictment, found by the Jury, was good. Then I got the Kings Sollicitor, Mr. Temple, and the Kings Sergeant, Sergeant Griffith, and Mr. Darcy, to draw me an Indictment, that would ſtand good in Law; and preſently I went to Kilkenny, and required the Juſtices of the peace to ſend their precipe, to the Sheriff, to ſummon 24 men to appear at Freſhfoord the 23 of the inſtant, which they did accordingly; and the Deputy Sheriff appointed theſe Gentlemen to be ſummoned, Nom. Jur. ad inquirend. John Grace of Courtſtowne, Eſq; John Wheeler, Gent. Rich Donvil, Gent. William Davies, Gent. Walter Buſhop, Gent. Walter Noſſe, Gent. John Purſel, Gent. William Pay, Gent. William White, Gent. Ralph Hale. Gent. Lewis Mathews, Gent. Robert Grace, Gent. George Lodge, Gent. Edmund Butler, Gent. Matthew White, Gent. William Hunter, Gent. Thomas Green, Gent. Vincent Knatchbul, Gent. Ric. Comerford of Degenmore, G. Tho. Bowers of Knoctopher, G. Emanuel Palmer, Gent. Mathias Reilegh, Gent. Chri. Auetſtone of Thomaſtone. Tho. Huſſie of Gowrom, Gent. Toby Boyle of Condonſtown, Gent. Tho. Tomlins of Lyniate Abby. Joſeph Wheeler of Killruſh. George Barton of Goſtingſtown, G.

But before the Bayliffs were gone to ſummon them, the High Sheriff was come to the Town, and ſeeing the Liſt of the Subſcribed, and having conferred with Sir George Ayſcue, that lay in the next Room where the Sheriff lay, he ſaid thoſe men ſhould not ſerve in the Jury, but he would chooſe a Jury for this buſineſs, and he nominated ſuch men: Anabaptiſts, Presbyterians, and others of the moſt rigid Sectaries, that were in all the whole County: Yet becauſe I knew two or three of them to be very honeſt men, I was very well contented with them. But as ſoon as ever I was gone from the Sheriff, thoſe men were put by, and other Sectaries put into the Liſt in their ſteadA Jury as my friends, that knew them, ſaid would hang all the Biſhops in Ireland, if they were their Jury to try them.. And the Bailiff coming to me for more money then I had given him, for ſummoning thoſe that the Deputy Sheriff had appointed, becauſe now, the High Sheriff had appointed men, that he had picked out over all the County of Kilkenny: Then I ſuſpected ſome evil determined againſt me, and I deſired the Bayliff, to ſhew me the Liſt of thoſe, that he was to ſummon, and when I ſaw thoſe honeſt men that I knew, put out, and others put in their room, I put the Warrant in my Pocket, and bad the Bayliff tell the Sheriff, that my Witneſſes for the King were not ready; and after he told this to the Sheriff, he came to me again weeping and crying, and deſired me for Gods ſake to give him his Warrant: For the Sheriff was very angry with him, and he was utterly undone, for ſhewing me the Warrant, but I kept it ſtill in my Pocket.

And thus was I ſerved, with a great deal of travel and charge above 60 li. in ſeeking to recover the Church Lands, which I reſolved and vowed if I could recover it, to beſtow it wholly for the repairing and re-edifying of the flat-fallen Church of Kilkenny: And now, let the Judge of all the World, and let all juſt and honeſt men judge, whether this be a fair and juſt proceeding.

But quorſum haec? To what purpoſe is all this pains of this Relation? Is it to taxe and charge the Reverend Judges either of injuſtice or partiality? No, By no means: I taxe no man; but I ſet down rem geſtam the whole matter a capite ad calcem; and they, the Judges and Counſellours, being great Lawyers may find all this to be juſt; and eſpecially, to make it ſeem ſo to be; and though for all cheating Pettifoggers and covetous Counſellours, that againſt the dictate of their own conſciences, and againſt their King and againſt the Church of God, will, for a Fee, ſell their ſouls unto the devil; I hate their doings that are Sicut atri janua ditis: Yet I do from my heart honour and reverence all the grave and juſt Judges, and Learned Lawyers, without whoſe help and Counſel and Judgment, we could not live in this Commonwealth. And though I failed at the Kings Bench, to prevail to procure thoſe Fines unto the King, which I conceived ſhould be impoſed upon thoſe five that I indicted, (whereof the chief of them, that is, Captain Burges is now ſent Priſoner to Dublin, by my Lord of Oſſory, which may be a juſt Judgement, that he ſhould be committed by my Lord of Oſſory for his abuſe done to the Biſhop of Oſſory,) yet I have had very fair Juſtice done me, by the Judges of the Court of Claim, and I am confident, to find the like from them again, and to be righted by the Judges of the Court of Exchequer And ſo likewiſe from the Kings Bench and Common Pleas. for the wrongs and damages that I ſuſtained by thoſe that forcibly entered upon my Poſſeſſions, and do ſtill detain it from me, when I ſhall bring the cauſe before them. Therefore I have no reaſon for the biting of a mad Dog, to hang all the good Dogs in the Countrey, or for the abuſe or injuſtice done me by ſome one man or few Lawyers, to exclaim againſt all others, when as the Poet adviſeth us, Parcere paucorum diffundere crimen in omnes. But I do exceedingly tax my ſelf, and mine own underſtanding, that underſtanding both Greek and Latine, and having read what Lambert, Bolton and Dalton have written of Forcible Entries, I ſhould be ſuch a Dolt, as not to underſtand this Proceeding of mine, about the Indictment of thoſe Forcible Enterers to be a juſt and a fair Proceeding.

Therefore mine apprehenſion conceiving ſuch proceedings to be foul, and very much amiſs, and that the justice which I had, upon the whole matter, had not what Pindarus ſaith Juſtice uſeth to have, that is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , I thought good, to ſet down the ſame, not to accuſe, and complain againſt any one for being unjuſt, or to ſeek any redreſs unto my ſelf; for I have born, and can be contented ſtill to bear, more wrongs than this: But I do it for theſe ends.

1. To let poor men ſee, how they may be wronged and oppreſſed, and have their Land and Poſſeſſions taken from them by great and powerful men, and what they are beſt to do in ſuch a caſe; and my counſel is, to be patient, becauſe as I ſaid before, Levius fit patientia quicquid corrigere eſt nefas, and as our Saviour ſaith, If any man ſue thee for thy Coat, let him have thy Cloak alſo; So I ſay, if any great man, that hath a great Place, or great Friends, take away thy Lands, let him take away thy Houſe alſo, rather then ſpend thy Money, and loſe that with thy Lands; for as Chriſt ſaith, If theſe things be done to the green tree, what ſhall be done to the dry? So if theſe Proceedings paſs againſt me, that can both speak and follow my buſineſſe to the uttermoſt, and, I thank God have ability to go through with it, what ſhall become of thee, and thy Cauſe, that art a poor man, when thou ſwimmeſt againſt the ſtream, and kickeſt againſt the pricks?

Therefore I adviſe thee, rather in ſuch a caſe, to cry to God, than complain to any Judge, leſt that as the Poet ſaith, Exceſſit medicina modum, thy remedy will prove worſe than thy diſeaſe. For thou ſeeſt how I am ſerved, put out of my Houſe, and ſpend above 60 li. and have no redreſs.

2. If this proceeding and dealing with me, be, as I conceive it, not ſo fair and ſo juſt as it ſhould be, both for the King and my ſelf, that am ejected out of my Houſe and Lands; then I conceive, His Majeſty and the Parliament ſhould, to prevent the like Oppreſſion and wrongs to poor men, provide an eaſier and plainer way to relieve the oppreſſed, and to ſet down an uſual Form of Indictment, or to cauſe that the Indictments ſhould not be ſo eaſily and ſo frequently, upon every Lawyers motion, quaſht, as they are reported to be: Eſpecially when the matter of Force is plain and evidently proved. And this redreſs of Injuries I petition and move for, for theſe four ſpecial reaſons.

1. Becauſe the difficulty of framing the Indictments ſo, that a cunning Lawyer cannot eaſily find a fault, and a flaw in it, and then the frequent quaſhing of ſuch Indictments, as are found faulty, is a great wrong to his Majeſty, in depriving him of thoſe Fines that otherwiſe are due, and ſhould be rendered unto him.

2. It is a great Abuſe and injury unto the poor Subject, that ſhall be driven out of his Poſſeſſion, and, for want of a ſufficient Clerke or Counſellour to draw the right form of his Indictment, (which as I ſee few can do) he ſhall both ſpend his Money, and loſe his labour; and perhaps, he is not able to do as I did, three or four times to draw Indictments, till he finds one that may ſtand good.

3. This frequent quaſhing of Indictments is a great encouragement for Oppreſſors, and wicked men to wrong their neighbours more and more; for ſay they, I will enter upon him and thruſt him out, and if he doth indite me, I will remove it to the Kings Bench, and I ſhall find a Lawyer that will quaſh his Indictment by and by.

4. This very practiſe and proceeding may be feared to prove the very bane and deſtruction of whole Nations and Kingdoms: For if Righteouſneſs exalteth a Nation, and a Kingdom is tranſlated from one Nation to another People, becauſe of unrighteouſneſs, as Solomon ſaith, and as we may read it in all Hiſtories. Then you may ſee how requiſite it is, for Kings and Princes, to look to thoſe things, and not to ſuffer unrighteous Judges, either for favour to one, or hatred to another, to do what they liſt, and to make their Laws like a Noſe of Wax, to bend which way they pleaſe, or like a Spiders Web, that catcheth the ſmall Flies, but is broken, by the great humble Bees, all to pieces; but to be like the Chancellour Steel, that although he hated my perſon, yet, he ſaid, though I deſerved it not, I ſhould have Juſtice, and ſo he did me Juſtice preſently, and I love to do right to my Adverſary, and to ſay the truth of mine enemy.

But for my ſelf, I thank God for it, as I lived many years very quietly and contentedly with far leſs means then 20 li. a year, and with far leſs pains and troubles then I have now, ſo I doubt not, but I could live ſo ſtill; and I reſolved and vowed, as I have atteſted in my Epiſtle to his Majeſty, that, if I ſhould recover this Biſhops Court unto the Church, I would wholly and fully beſtow the ſame for the repairing of the Cathedral Church of Kilkenny: So that recovering it, I ſhould not be one Penny the richer, or not recovering it, not a Penny the poorer; and ſo the wrong done by this Proceeding, whoſoever did it, is, as I conceive, more againſt the King and the Church than againſt my ſelf. And if the Proviſo for Sir George Ayskue carrieth this Biſhops Court to him from the Church, which in my underſtanding is clean contrary to the very words of the Act, pag. 72. Let him pray that he hath it not with that Sauce which God preſcribeth in Pſal. 83. And ſo I end, and ſo be it, as God pleaſeth, Amen.

And after I had delivered this ſame Relation unto his Majeſty, and ſhewed the Effect and ſum thereof, by the next day I gave him this Petition.

To the Kings Moſt Excellent Majeſty. The Humble Petition of Gruffith, Lord Biſhop of Oſſory, Sheweth,

THat your Petitioner hath cauſed five of the Tenants of Sir George Ayskew to be twice Indited for a forcible Entry upon the Houſe and Lands of the Biſhop of Oſſory, and yet your Petitioner with the Expence of above 60 l. could not prevail to have them puniſhed as the Law requireth, whereby your Majeſty is wronged in not receiving the Fines that ſhould be impoſed upon them for that offence, and your Petitioner is abuſed, in being ſtill kept out of his Poſſeſſion, to about 300 l. Damages.

May it therefore pleaſe your Majeſty to write to the Duke of Ormond, or to the Parliament, to ſee that the former Proceedings may be reviewed, and that your Petitioner may be relieved according to Juſtice.

And your Petitioner ſhall ever pray, &c.

And my Lords Grace of Canterbury very graciouſly, and like a moſt Religious Father and Countenancer of the Fathers of the Church, going with me to deliver it to his Majeſty, and to let him underſtand the ſubſtance of it, ſaid, here is the good Biſhop of Oſſory (ſo his Grace was pleaſed beyond my Deſarts, to ſtile me) that hath a very reaſonable Petition to your Majeſty, and telling him the ſum of it, his Majeſty, like a moſt Pious King, moſt graciouſly anſwered, I will do it with all my heart: and my Lords Grace ſent for Secretary Benet, and he drew me this his Majeſties Anſwer the next day.

Whitehal, July 16th. 1663.

HIs Majeſty is graciouſly pleaſed effectually to recommend the Conſideration of this Petition to his Grace the Duke of Ormond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to the end his Grace may forthwith take care, to ſettle and eſtabliſh the Petitioner in his Right, and that ſuch who diſturb him may be puniſhed according to Law.

I know not what more I could have deſired; his Majeſty herein doing more then I deſired: And when I was very willing to have given 5 l. in Gold for Sir Henry Bennets Fee, that moſt Courteous Gentleman, Mr. Quod-dolphin, ſaid, I ſhould not pay one penny, but Sir Henry would lay that upon the Church, and my Lord of Canterburies ſcore: So fairly, and ſo friendly was I uſed at his Majeſties Court: The Lord bleſs them, and reward them for it; and grant them alwaies the like Favour as I found with them.

And when I came with his Majeſties Reference to my Lord Duke of Ormond, I found his Grace, as honourable, and very gracious in his Anſwer and Direction to me; but, when his Grace referred the Petition (that I drew to his Grace, to do as his Majeſty directed) and his Majeſties Reference, to the Council-Table, I muſt acknowledge, that I feared the ſucceſs, and ſo it happened according to my fear; for when I was called before the Council, his Grace ſaid, he was no Lawyer, but he left the Matter to them, to inform me, what was to be done according to Law; and my Lord Chancellour ſaid, that both my ſelf, in my Relation, and my Lawyers and Counſel confeſt, that the Judges did act, and their Proceedings were according to Law; and therefore I muſt even begin again, and it was my beſt courſe to proceed according to Law; and I anſwered, if all this in my Proceedings were Law, I pray God ſend us a better Law; for I ſhewed the whole Proceedings to his Majeſty, and to divers of the Judges of England, and they ſaid, this was a fair proceeding indeed, to ſet up a man of ſtraw, and then ſhoot at him, to bring a falſe Indictment to the Court, and then quaſh it; for I proved it in the open Court (by the Confeſſion of the Clerke of the Peace, that brought the true Indictment with him to the Court, and acknowledged that the other was falſified, either by the Clerke that he truſted to write it, or by ſome other, he knew not who:) that the Indictment brought to the Court, was not the true Indictment, that was found by the Jury; and ſo without any more words, my Lords Grace ſeemed to me very graciouſly to ſmile, and ſo I was diſmiſt.

But I fear that the favour which Sir Geo. Ayskue finds in every place againſt me, may produce no good effect.And then I called to mind the cauſe that moved me to fear the ſucceſs I ſhould have at the Council-Table, not Injuſtice, that I mean not. I know that they are juſt, but that the Juſtice I ſhould have, would not be to my advantage, and the favour that I deſired: For when I ſtill indited the forcible Enterers, and ſtill proceeded againſt Sir George Ayskues Tenants, he preferred a Petition to the Council-Table, about this Lordſhip of Biſhops Court; and I hearing of it, conceived that before any thing ſhould be done thereupon, I ſhould have the favour to be made acquainted with the ſame Petition, that I might anſwer it, but I could hear nothing of it, until a little while after, ſome of the Biſhops, by reaſon of the power to my L. Lieutenant and Counſel given by the laſt Proviſo in the Act of ſettlement, fearing that they would alter and retrench ſome of his Majeſties Favours and Additionals granted unto them, by the ſaid Act, petitioned that they would not do ſo, but leave all things that concerned the Biſhops, statu quo, as they are expreſſed in the Act, without Alteration or retrenchment; and my Lord Lieutenant and Counſel granted their Petition; but with this only Proviſo, that Sir George Ayskues right might be preſerved, that is, as I conceive, againſt all the Biſhops, for that none is named; and this Proviſo, of all the men in Ireland, is but only for Sir George Ayskue, and of all the Biſhops in Ireland, it ſeems by all likelihood, only prejudicial to the Biſhop of Oſſory: Which notwithſtanding, if the laſt Proviſo in the Act of Settlement, be well underſtood and rightly followed, can be no prejudice to him at all, as I conceive it; for that the Power given to my Lord Lieutenant and Counſel by that Proviſo, is as I underſtand it, a power to alter and retrench any thing, in part or in whole, which they ſhall find either contrary to his Majeſties Declaration, or inconſiſtent with,Which are the very words in the Proviſo. or to the general ſettlement of the Kingdom; and I conceive, that the ſuffering of the Biſhop of Oſſory, to enjoy his own Houſe and Lands, where the Biſhops uſed to live and reſide, cannot be contrary to his Majeſties Declaration, not inconſiſtent with the general ſettlement of the Kingdom. And therefore I humbly conceive, that my Lord Lieutenant and Counſel have no power by that Proviſo granted unto them, to take away his Majeſties Grant and Favour to the Biſhop of Oſsory, and to ſettle the ſame upon Sir George Ayskue; eſpecially if his Majeſty was deceived in his Grant to Sir George Ayskue, as I verily believe he was; for his Majeſty grants him the Lands ſetled upon him for his Service in Ireland; and I have ſearched and examined the Matter as much as ever I could, and yet could never find nor underſtand what Service he had done in Ireland, that deſerved to carry away the Houſe and Lands of the Biſhop of Oſſory, or indeed of any Service, that he did in Ireland at all, either for King or Parliament.

And if for all this, he carries the Biſhops Houſe away, I will ſing, Mopſo Niſa datur: and ſeeing how many of the Biſhops Houſes and Lands, that were by an Order of the Houſe of Lords, delivered to my poſſeſſion by the Sheriffe of the County, and were peaceably in my Tenants poſſeſſion, and paid me Rent ever ſince his Majeſties happy coming in, were given away, while I was in London, Petitioning about this Cauſe, and could not be at Dublin, to anſwer them that ſued for them, nor dreamed of any Suites againſt me, and being not able in mine old Age (eſpecially ſeeing what Pains, Charge, and Succeſs I have hitherto had with Sir Geo. Ayskue) to follow ſo many Suits, againſt ſo many men, ſo powerful as they are, in the Courts of Juſtice, at the Council-Table, and in all places, I will like Balaams Aſſe, ſo unjuſtly beaten, lie down under my burden, too heavy for me to bear, and call and cry to God to ariſe and maintain his own Cauſe, and the Cauſe of his own Son Jeſus Chriſt.

Yet in this Suit, betwixt me and Sir Geo. Ayskue, becauſe I have taken ſo much paines, and ſpent ſo much Money, (and ſpecially becauſe I do hate and abhor, that any manI mean not Sir G. Ayskue, but whoſoever he be., which hath fought under the Standard of the Beaſt and Long Parliament, againſt that Moſt Pious King, and my Moſt Gracious Maſter, Charles the Firſt, ſhould carry away the Houſes and Lands, that Religious Princes have dedicated for the Honour and Service of Jeſus Chriſt, for the Reward of that wickedneſs) I reſolved once more to enter into the Liſt, to follow my alwaies very honourable Friend, my Lord Chancellours Advice, and try the Succeſs with him, by the Verdict of an honeſt Jury, and I indited 6 of the Tenants and Servants of Sir Geo. Ayskue, for a forcible Entry, and 5 of them now, the third time; and I had ſix Counſellours help, to draw and compoſe the Indictment, and ſo to review it, and correct it, if any thing was amiſs therein, that, being found Billa Vera by the Jury, it might ſo ſtand good, and not be quaſhed, as my two former Indictments were, by the Judges of the Kings Bench.

And the 6 forcible Enterers being indited, for fear leſt the Record ſhould be falſified, and corrupted, as the former inditement of them had been, I got the Clerke of the Peace, to ſend it incloſed in a Letter ſealed up, by my man, to his Agent in Dublin, to be delivered into the Office, which mine Adverſaries preſently told to my Lord of Santree, and was objected as a Piaculum; Meaning, as I conceived, by the Relation that I had printed of the former Proceedings. and when the Record came to the Court, my Lord Chief Juſtice ſaid upon the Bench, that my Lord Biſhop had abuſed the Court, to whom I replied, that I had not abuſed the Court, for that I had ſet down nothing but the Truth, and was as loath as any man, to offer the leaſt Abuſe to any of his Majeſties Courts, or Judges of his Courts; And after my Lord Chief Juſtice and my ſelf had conferred together, I found him my very honourable Friend, and I retained three of the Kings Counſel to follow the ſaid Cauſe for his Majeſty, and the Counſellours of the Fanaticks failing to quaſh the Indictment, my Lord Chief Juſtice told them, they muſt either ſubmit, or be bound to proſecute their Traverſe; and they became bound in 200 l, to proſecute the ſame upon the 10th. day of Eaſter Term, which was the ſixth day of May. And when, upon that day the Jury were ſworn,That their children and their childrens children may underſtand from what (I will not ſay Canaanites, but Cathariſts) they are ſprung. Who and what my Witneſſes proved, viz. William Baker of Ballytobin, John Purſel of Liſmore, William Baxter of Earlstown, Iſaac Jackson of Kilamery, John Jones of Ri _____ Robert Howford of Ballyneboly, Nicholas Pharoe, Thomas Tomlins of Liſmoteag, Chryſtopher Render of Fadenarah, John Nixon of Brawnebarn, William Cheſhire of _____ and Thomas Huſwife of Gowran; good men and true, or neither good men nor true.

1. I brought in evidence, Mr. Sheriff Reigly (who was the Sheriff that gave me poſſeſſion) and Mr. Connel (and Hugh Linon, that was thought needleſs) to prove my poſſeſſion given by the Sheriffe of the County of Kilkenny, by vertue of an Order of the Houſe of Lords, of this Lordſhip of Biſh. Court & the Lands thereto belonging, and of the Tenements in Freſhfoord, as it was expreſſed in a Shedule annexed to the Order of the Lords, upon the 29th day of April, 1662. and that the Tenants did atturne Tenants, and gave pieces of money in earneſt of their rents, and promiſed to keep the poſſeſſion, and to continue Tenants unto me during my pleaſure.

2. Mr. Thomas Bulkley, Mr. William Williams, Thomas Davies, and my ſelf proved the multitude of perſons, to the number of ten or twelve, that upon the 8th day of October, 1662. were entred into the ſaid Biſhops Court, and there forcibly kept the poſſeſſion againſt the Biſhop, and ſome (one with a ſword by his ſide, and a ſtaff or Cane in his hand, and another with a long ſtaff in his hand) threatned that they would make him repent his doings and coming there, and that Sir George Ayskue would ſpend 500 li. before he would leeſe this Biſhops Court, and that Captain Burges ſaid, he would keep and uphold the poſſeſſion for Sir George Ayskue with his life and fortune; and others, having ſhut the Iron Grate, to hinder the Biſhop to go out or his Servants to come in, when his Servants demanded, what they meant, to murder their Lord? And deſired to come in, to wait upon their Maſter, they threatned them, and ſaid, that if they offered to come in there, they would beat them down, and knock out their Brains.

3. Mr. Richard Marſhal, Mr. George Farre, Mr. John Murphey, and Ed. Dalton, (that proved how he was thruſt out of the houſe by head and ſhoulders) proved the forcible entry, with arms and weapons, a Gun, and a Pike, and Staves, into ſome of the Tenements in Freſhford; and that for nine daies, they kept the ſame with ſuch a company of Fanaticks, Anabaptiſts, and other Sectaries, that they ſeemed rather to be a Garriſon, than the keeping of the poſſeſſion of any houſe.

And after nine daies they bound George Farre and others in a bond of a thouſand pounds that they ſhould continue true Tenants to Sir George Ayskue, and keep the poſſeſſion for him againſt the Biſhop of Oſſory.

And becauſe the ſaid George Farre proved this point ſo fully and ſo plain, that nothing could be ſaid againſt it; one of the Fanaticks Counſellours ſaid, what I conceive was very unfit to be ſpoken, in ſo publick a place, and before ſuch honourable Judges of any of the Kings Witneſſes, that this man, the principal of the Witneſſes, was a parricide, which I dare juſtifie to be moſt untrue.

4. For impounding the Cattle, and beating and wounding them that ſought to hinder it, the ſaid George Farre proved the ſame ſo fully, and that one of the women, that was beaten, lay long ſick after her beating, that Sir Audley Mervin and Serjeant Gruffith would not ſuffer three other Witneſſes, that I had there at the Bar, that is, John Duran, Barbara Marſhal, and another Wench, to be ſworn and examined, and ſo to trouble the Court any further; becauſe ſaid they, you ſee the Lords Justices, and the whole Court, are ſufficiently ſatisfied, that I had more than abundantly proved the forcible entry, and detaining of this Biſhops Court, but they gave way, to ſix of the Intruders Counſel, to ſay what they could for their Clients.

And when each one of them had made his Oration, and ſpent much time, and my Lord Chief Juſtice heard them, with a great deal of patience, to prove what I never denied, but was ready to confeſs all that they ſaid, touching the large Writings and Evidences, that they produced, to prove the Title and Intereſt of Mr. Robert Shea to this Biſhops Court, which at this time, when the queſtion was only of the forcible entry, I had no reaſon to contradict, and which perhaps might be good (and perhaps not) before he forfeited the ſame unto his Majeſty.

But for Sir George Ayskue, that for his Service,How S. George Ayskue came to have this Biſhops Court. you know to whom, (which makes me believe it will never proſper with him) had a Commiſſion from the Uſurper Crumwel, that for 200 li. which was due unto him for ſome Service that he had done, as I am informed, the Commiſſioners ſhould allot him ſo much Lands, as they thought worth 200 li. and they out of favour to him, and getting Lands ſo cheap as they did, gave him this Biſhops Court, and ſo much more other Lands, as are now far better worth than 200 li. per annum; his Counſel ſaid never a word touching his Title and Intereſt; for he injoyed it not peaceably and quietly, but only during the time of the Rebellion, and Uſurpation, (which I conceive to be no true Poſſeſſion,) for as ſoon as ever his Majeſty was ſo happily reſtored before one year had gone about, I ſent to enter upon it, and to diſtrain for my Rent, and Captain Burges, Sir George Ayskues prime Tenant, gave me a Writing, which I have to ſhew, under his hand, to become anſwerable unto me for the whole Rent of this Biſhops Court and Freſhfoord, when I ſhould be peaceably ſetled in it.

So when theſe ſix Counſellours had ſpent their ſpirits in tyring the worthy Judges, and beating the ſoft air, to no purpoſe, but only (like thoſe Fanatick Preachers, that read their Text, and never touch it after) to amaze the ſimple and — Jury which I may juſtly term — for that I am confident, the moſt of them were reſolved what to do before ever they heard the Evidence: My Counſel, that were Sir William Dunvil, the Kings Atturney, Sir Audley Mervin The Speaker of the Houſe of Commons., Sir John Temple, the Kings Sollicitor, Sergeant Gruffith, and Mr. Rian, all very worthy men, and worthy to be named, thinking it no wiſdom in them, as one of themſelves told me, nor any waies beneficial, either to the King for his Fine, or to me for the Poſſeſsion, to follow thoſe extravagant Counſellours in their devious waies, and to anſwer their needleſs diſcourſes, ſo far from the point in queſtion, as being only about Sheas Title, and no waies touching nor contradicting the forcible entry, were very ſilent, and ſaid never a word to all that the adverſe Counſellours had ſaid, but left the Evidence to be explained to the Jury by the Judges, who had ſo exactly examined them, and ſo patiently heard what both ſides could ſay: for which, ſome of the adverſe Counſellours, and ſome of my friends blamed them very much, for making no manner of replication at all to Sir George Ayskues Counſel. But truly I do conceive, that digitus dei erat hic, that as he openeth the mouth of babes and ſucklings to ſhew forth his praiſe, ſo he ſhuts the mouths of the Wiſe and Learned, when it pleaſeth him, as here he did, for the trial of this Jury, whether they would be true and honeſt, that, being foundLike Belſhazzar, weighed in the balance and found too light. as I conceive they are, they might be made an example (which he knew I would do, to the uttermoſt of my power) for all other Juries, to terrifie them from falſhood and wrong, to the great benefit of the whole Kingdom, which, without ſome ſevere cenſures upon ſuch high Offenders, would rather prove to be a Den of thieves than a ſeat of ſafety for honeſt men, that were beſt (if — Juries may ſtill do what they liſt) to obey the voice, which cried in the air, at the Siege of Hieruſalem, Migremus hinc.

Then my Lord of Santry, that is, my Lord Chief Juſtice, ſeeing my Counſel ſilent, began moſt nobly, rightly, and truly, as a moſt upright Judge, and like himſelf in all his judgements, told the Jury, that for the title and matter of Law, and the Intereſt of either in this Biſhops Court, it was not in their charge to inquire of it, but they, that were the Judges of the Law, and of the right intereſt were to do it, and would do the ſame, when my Counſel ſhould move for the poſſeſsion, but they were, for the King, to enquire only of the matter of fact and force; whether after poſſeſſion was given to the Biſhop by the Sheriff, by vertue of an Order of the houſe of Lords, and the Biſhop continued his poſſeſſion from April to the eighth of October, The which ſaid he, a Diſſeiſor ſhould not forcibly be put out. though he ſhould be a Diſſeiſor, yet was he not forcibly put out, and kept out of the ſame? This was their only charge, to inquire after: and for this, ſaid my Lord Chief Juſtice, you ſee what is proved; a multitude of perſons, ten or twelve at the leaſt, when as one may make a forcible entry; you heard alſo, ſaid he, what weapons they had, Gun, Pike, Sword, and Staves; and you heard what threatning words they uſed, that they would make the Biſhop to repent his coming there; that they would knock down his Servants and beat out their brains if they attempted to come in; and you heard likewiſe how they had beaten and wounded thoſe Servants, that ſought to hinder them to impound their Cattle; and all this, ſaid my Lord Chief Juſtice, makes the forcible entry plain, ſo that you need not ſtand upon it. So juſtly and ſo fairly did my Lord of Santry deal herein, without either fearing or favouring the one or the other.

So the Jury was diſmiſt; and all that heard the evidence, Sure, if I had not been a Biſhop they would never have given ſuch a Verdict. and what my Lord Chief Juſtice ſaid, would have laid, ſome twenty to one, ſome forty to one, and ſome a hundred to one, that the Jury would not ſtand upon it, but preſently find the Verdict for the King. Yet they brought their Verdict for the Defendants.

And as I am informed, all the Grave and Reverend Judges wondred, and were diſcontented at their Verdict;And who will proſecute for the King if Juries be ſuffered to do thus? and whereas ſome would have the Jury fined, and impriſoned for the wrong they had done to the King; my Lord Chief Juſtice anſwered, there was a fitter place to puniſh them: meaning, as I conceive, the Star-Chamber.

And if ſuch men, that formerly moſt of them were againſt their King, be thus permitted, to drive men out of houſe and home, and forcibly to enter into their poſſeſſion, though they ſhould be Peeres of the Realm, which is a violence offered unto the Law, and a petty Rebellion, the next degree, and fore-runner of rebellion againſt their King himſelf; and when any oppreſſed and expulſed man ſhall with a great deal of pains and labour, and with a vast expence of money, and an indictment upon indictment, thrice over, bring the ſame to a travers, and they, the Jury, without any Conſcience, contrary to all juſtice, and contrary to all their evidence, and the plain Declaration and Judgement of the Lords the Judges of the Court, and of the whole Court, ſhall do what they pleaſe, and ſay, Quod volumus, id ſanctum eſt, what we do is Law, without any ſpeedy remedy againſt them, to the utter undoing of many poor oppreſſed men, who had better ſuffer any, the greateſt wrong, than ſeek to be relieved,And as the Poet ſaith, Exceſſit medicina modum. by ſuch a way, whereby uſura ſuperat ſortem, and the ſeeking of a Remedy ſhall ſo far exceed the Diſeaſe, I know not with what ſafety, either of Life, State, or Fortune, (which are all in the power of the Juries, to determine of them) any man can live in this Kingdom.

For here, (eſpecially in the County of Kilkenny,) where that perfidious Rebell and Traytor Axtell planted his Colony, ſuch a multitude of Anabaptiſts, Quakers, and other worſer Sectaries,What I ſay againſt theſe, I ſay not againſt the worthy Gentlemen and good Proteſtants, that are alſo very many, and my very good Friends in theſe parts: Neither do I ſay it againſt thoſe wel-bred Gentlemen that were Officers, and Commanders in the Army, but of the generality of the Common Souldiers, and ſome of the meaner Officers, that for their ſmall Arrears got large Territories, and are now great Free-holders, and the chiefeſt Jury-men and Judges of our Lives, Lands, and Fortunes. that in the beginning of the Engliſh Rebellion, were broken Citizens and Tradeſmen, Taylers and Tinkers, Shoomakers and Coblers, Plow-men, and others, the like, men of no fortune, thought to raiſe themſelves by the Iriſh Wars, and having ſome Arrears of Pay due unto them, got Orders to ſet out Lands unto them for the ſame, and the Kingdom being depopulated and waſted, and made a Wilderneſs without Inhabitants, the Lands were of nothing worth, and they had what Lands they pleaſed, and as much as they pleaſed, for their Arrears; for ten pounds as much as is now worth a hundred pounds a year; and for a hundred pounds as much as I will give a hundred pounds per annum.

Theſe men, that followed Axtells Religion, and were of his Plantation, being mounted up on Cock-horſe, to be ſuch great Freeholders, (the Iriſh Proprietors being, for the moſt part, driven away, and the Church Lands alſo taken into theſe Souldiers hands,) they muſt now be, for the moſt part, the principal Jury men and ſo the Judges of our Lives, Lands, and Fortunes.

And they, conſidering their own intereſt to be alike, in the Lands, both of the Church, of the Iriſh, and of all, from whomſoever they hold it, do ſtick and cling together, like ſworn brethren, or rather like forſworn wretches, to defend and maintain each others Title and Intereſt in the Lands, that each one holdeth, both againſt Clergy and Laity, God or the King, be the ſame right or wrong, they will not loſe their lands.

And they do incourage each other thus to continue in their wickedneſs, ſaying, that they got their Lands with the loſs of their bloud, and the hazard of their lives; and therefore, to get the King ſome ſmall fine, whereof he ſhall have but the leaſt part of it, and be but very little the better for it, and to diſpoſſeſs their own fanatick Party, and give the Lands unto their Enemies, eſpecially unto the Biſhops, whom of all others they hate moſt of all, and Biſhop Williams above all the reſt, as he that hates their former Rebellions, and their now practices, more than any man elſe, they will never do it: though they hazard the loſs, both of body and ſoul.

Indeed, for the Biſhop of Oſſory he underſtands their malice towards him, well enough, (I pray God forgive them) ſo great, that, were it not for ſome honeſt, and truly religious Iriſh Gentlemen, and ſome of the Catholick Religion, I profeſs that I durſt not live amongſt theſe, that formerly warred againſt their King, and if the truth were known, do as I believe, as little love their preſent King, as they do much hate our Church, and the Biſhops of our Church: when as they that hate their Biſhops, cannot be ſaid to honour their King, as I have moſt fully ſhewed in my Grand Rebellion.

And therefore I went unto his grace, my Lord Lieutenant, and related to his Grace the Verdict of the Jury, plain contrary to their evidence and the Declaration of my Lord Chief Juſtice, and the Judgement of the whole Court; and therefore did moſt humbly deſire his Grace, to give me leave to go for England, to diſpatch ſome neceſſary occaſions, and to ſignifie unto his Majeſty, that, if there were no Court of Star-Chamber here, nor any other proviſion made, to puniſh all perjured Juries, and all high Tranſgreſſors of the Laws and hainous offendors, that deprive his Majeſty of the fines, juſtly due unto him, and his Subjects of their right, we, the true Proteſtants, and his Majeſties loyal Subjects, were not in ſafety, nor able to live among ſuch Confederates of wickedneſs; but muſt, as King Boco ſaid to the Senate of Rome, depart thence, leſt the ire of the Gods, or the rage and injuſtice of ſuch men do utterly deſtroy us. And his Grace very mildly and graciouſly anſwered, my Lord, the Bill for a Star-Chamber is already drawn, and ſent to his Majeſty to be ſigned, and will ſpeedily come down, to paſs the Houſes, and then ſuch Malefactors may be fully puniſhed according to their offence.

And I proteſted, and do proteſt, that I would be with the firſt, that would do my uttermoſt endeavour, to puniſh this Jury, and all falſe and forſworn perjured Juries, and the like high Tranſgreſſours, that concern me whatſoever. For,

It is moſt certain, that Impunitas peccati invitat homines ad malignandum; And therefore I do believe, that I am as equally bound in conſcience, to puniſh this Jury, as I am to recover the Lands of the Church. and as Solomon ſaith, becauſe the puniſhment is deferred, the hearts of the children of men are altogether ſet, to do evil; and my Divinity aſſureth me, that to puniſh a perjured perſon, and a tranſcendent Tranſgreſſour of the Law, is as acceptable unto God, as the relieving of the Oppreſſed; becauſe that hereby we do our beſt that thoſe, which will not be perſwaded by good Counſel to be honeſt, and vertuous, may be forced with ſtripes, to do their duties, or at leaſt terrified from being ſo vicious, for that as St. Bernard ſaith, Qui non vult duci debet trahi.

And therefore, with what means that God hath given me, I will with his aſſiſtance, do my beſt, to repair Gods Houſe, to relieve the Diſtreſſed, and to puniſh the Perjured, and the Oppreſſors of Gods People; and the rather, becauſe that here, in the parts, where I live, I have ſeen, in three or four years, more forcible Entries, Riots and Oppreſſions than I have ſeen in England, or Wales, that might be thought a little more wild than England in all my life, ſo that a Stranger, might rather think it a Country of Robbers, Tyrants, and Oppreſſours, much like unto Albion, when Brutus entred it, than a Country where with ſafety he might dwell amongſt them; for I do profeſs, were it not for ſome honeſt Iriſh, that are not all of my Religion, nor I of theirs, that do further me, incourage me, and protect me, in Gods ſervice, and the advancement of Gods Church, I had rather live a poor Curate in my own Country, than a Biſhop among ſuch a company of Crumwellian Anabaptiſts, Quakers, and other worſer Sectaries, that do live in theſe parts, and the wind of his Majeſties happy Government, and the prudent care of my Lord Lieutenant, hath driven them, like the Church Papiſts in Queen Elizabeths daies,As by their actions and hatred I do perfectly diſcern them. to come within the Pales of our Church; and yet are as falſe-hearted, if the ſame might be ſeen, both to the King and the Church of Chriſt, as ever they were in Crumwells daies; as I conceive it to appear, by the oath of one of my Witneſſes, that ſwore he heard the Captain of theſe forcible Enterers, that I indicted, incouraging his followers, to keep the poſſeſſion for Sir George Ayskue, and to aſſure themſelves, things ſhould never be quiet untill they returned and come again as they were before; which was a ſtrange ſaying, as I underſtood it.

Yet I would not have my Reader here to think, but that as the Scripture diſtinguiſheth betwixt the ſeed of the woman and the ſeed of the Serpent, the Children of God and the Sons of Belial, ſo I do here in no waies prejudice, nor think the leaſt evil of the true-hearted Engliſh and true Proteſtants, the worthy Gentlemen, the Officers, Captains and Commanders of the Army, that are likewiſe many in theſe parts; but I make a great deal of difference betwixt them, ſo much, as that I do as much love and honour the one, as I do hate and abhor the doings and wickedneſs of the other.

So you may ſee, what it is to live in Ireland, For here now the Poet may well ſay, that Terras Aſtraea reliquit. among Anabaptiſts and other Sectaries, worſe than Pagans; and how it is my Fortune to feel the brunt, and taſte the poyſon of their Malice, to publiſh the ſame to all poſterities: God deliver his Servants from them. Amen.

ANd now, untill I ſhall ſee whether the Star-Chamber will think it Juſtice, as I do, that this — Jury ſhould bear all the damage that I ſuſtain by their Verdict, and which I ſhould have recovered upon the forcible Enterers, if they had gone according to their Evidence, I thought good to prefer this Petition to His Majeſty.

To the Kings Moſt Excellent Majeſty. The Humble Petition of Gruffith, Lord Biſhop of Oſſory, Sheweth,

THat Juſtice is a vertue and grace moſt acceptable with God; yet your Petitioner hath been infinitly injured, and your Majeſty likewiſe wronged:

1. By forcible Enterers that drove your Petitioner out of his houſe of Biſhops Court and Freſhfoord.

2. By a wicked forgerer of the Indictment of thoſe perſons, that were indicted for that entry.

3. By a packt Jury, that, when the forcible Enterers were three times indicted, by three ſeveral Juries, quitted them, contrary to their evidence, and the mind of all the Judges.

May it therefore pleaſe your Majeſty to cauſe that Juſtice may be done to your Petitioner, and that you would write to the Sheriff of the County of Kilkenny, that, as formerly he hath ſetled your Petitioner in this Biſhops Court and Freſhfoord, by vertue of an Order of the Houſe of Lords, ſo he would now ſettle him in his right and poſſeſſion of the ſame by vertue of an Order from your Majeſty.

And your Petitioner doth here promiſe, and ingage himſelf to God and to your Majeſty, that, as he beſtowed about four hundred pounds already, ſo having the four hundred pounds per annum, that your Majeſty granted, ſetled upon him, according to the Act of ſettlement, pag. 71, & 73. he will lay out a thouſand pounds more to repair the flat fallen, formerly fair Cathedral Church of St. Keny.

And ſhall ever pray for your Majeſty, &c.

The ſad condition of the Church and Clergy in the Dioceſs of Oſſory; and I fear not much better in all Ireland.

THE Church of Ireland in former times was very famous and glorious for many things eſpecially for Piety, and neighbourly Charity, and bounty of the people one towards another, as it appeareth by the rare and many many Edifices of Churches and Monaſteries, endowed with ample means and revenues, dedicated for the honour of God, and the ſervice of Jeſus Chriſt; all to be ſeen at this very day: for which cauſe it was wont to be admired and applauded, and by the bordering Nations, that obſerved their ſedulity in pious works, and neglect of worldly pomp, when, as the holy Patriarchs lived in Tents, ſo moſt of them were contented to lie in Booths, and poor earthly Cabins, or houſes made of Earth, that they might build to God houſes of Marble, moſt ſumptuous and glorious; and that they might be the better able, to beſtow the more, to adorn and beautifie the houſes and Temples of God; it was called, and not amiſs, Eccleſia Sanctorum, the glorious Church of holy Saints; that aimed only to go to heaven.

But now ſince the unhappy time of that potent K. H. 8. when Sacriledge, through his diſcontent with the Pope, about his divorce with Queen Katherine, Ut fama vagatur, began to get the upper hand, and to throw away Piety from the Church, and trample it under foot, and cover it over with the Cloak of hypocriſie, and the vain ſhadow of no Religion, inſtead of the true ſervice of God, you may ſee reliquias danaum, the ruines of Troy, and in all places the carkaſs of Religion, lodged in the thrown-down walls of all the Abbies and Monaſteries, and moſt of the Cathedrals, and the other Churches of Ireland, that are now, as the Prophet ſaith, defiled and made heaps of ſtones, Pſal. 79.1.

For if you walk through Ireland, as I rode from Carlingford to Dublin, and from Dublin to Kilkenny, and in my Viſitation thrice over the Dioceſs of Oſſory; I believe that throughout all your travel, you ſhall find it as I found it, in all the waies that I went, ſcarce one Church ſtanding, and ſufficiently repaired, for ſeven, I ſpeak within compaſs, that are ruined, and have only walls, without ornaments, and moſt of them without roofs, without doors, without windows, but the holes to receive the winds to entertain the Congregation.

And what a lamentable thing, and a miſerable ſight is this? If you ſay, that in the time of blindneſs the people were over zealous in building too many Churches, and thinking to merit much thereby: I ſay, that now, in the fulneſs of knowledge, and the Sun-ſhine of the Goſpel, they are too riotous to pull them down, and too negligent of Gods honour, and of the Peoples good, to waſte and ruinate ſo many Churches, and to let the people want them to meet together, to ſerve God; which will merit a worſe reward for them, than they ſhall have that built them.

You may remember, that when Moſes was to erect the Tabernacle, in the wilderneſs, within a deſart place, of no trade or traffick, and therefore not eaſie to get any wealth in it: Yet Moſes requiring their aide and free will offering to do the ſame; they were ready, and ſo willing, every man, beyond his power, to bring in their oblation in ſuch abundance, that Moſes was fain to tell them, they had brought enough, and too much: and therefore forbade them to bring in any more; he like a good man and juſt, being not deſirous to make any gain of their bounty.

And you may read in 1 Chron. 29.3.1 Chron. 29.3. when King David reſolved to have the Temple built, what great proviſion he left for the erecting of it; and how Solomon his Son did moſt gloriouſly finiſh the ſame in ſeven years,1 Reg. 6.37. and furniſhed the ſame with all things neceſſary for the ſervice of God; and after that Nebuchadnezzar had deſtroyed it, the Jews under Zorobabel did moſt readily, beyond the ability of captived men, newly releaſed, contribute, and offered their free-will offerings towards the re-edifying of the ſame, which they finiſhed in the ninth year of Darius Hiſtaſpes, Joſeph. lib. 11. c. 4. that made it to be forty ſix years in building, from the ſecond year of Cyrus, who began it, according as the Jews ſay, to our Saviour Chriſt. And becauſe theſe newly releaſed Jews, that had ſcarce taken root in the Land of Jury, and were but ſcarce ſeated, and unſetled in Jeruſalem, were not able to make this their Temple anſwerable in glory and ſumptuouſneſs, to that moſt rare and admirable Temple, which thoſe two mighty Kings, and Kings of all Iſrael, David and Solomon, had joyned their wealth and ſtrength together to make it a moſt glorious houſe, for the moſt glorious and Almighty God; therefore Herod, that was but an alien, an Idumean, knowing that great and glorious things are to be offered, aſcribed, and dedicated to the great and glorious God, re-edified and finiſhed the ſame moſt ſumptuouſly in eight years, Joſeph. l. 15. c. ult. as Joſephus writeth; and he built the ſame ſo exceeding excellent, and more admirable than the Egyptian Pyramides, that Cheops builded of rare Theban Marble, ſo that for the rareneſs thereof, the Diſciples ſhew it our Saviour Chriſt, ſaying, Maſter, ſee what manner of ſtones, Mar. 13.1. and what buildings are here.

And the Jews generally were ſo zealous of Gods ſervice, and ſo ready to build and erect houſes for his ſervice, that, beſides this glorious, great, and magnificent Temple, they had many Synagogues, that is, other leſſer houſes, like unto our Pariſh Churches, dedicated and conſecrated for the worſhip of God; and he was counted a very good man, and worthy of all love and reſpect, that had built one of theſe, as they tell Chriſt, that the Centurion was worthy to have that favour ſhewed him by Chriſt, as to heal his Daughter, Luk. 7.5. becauſe he had loved their nation, and had built them a Synagogue, that is, a houſe for the people to meet in it, to pray, and to ſerve their God in it.

And it is moſt likely, they began to build theſe Synagogues when the Tribes were ſetled in the Land of Canaan; becauſe the Ark, that remained in Shilo, and afterwards the Temple, that was erected in Jeruſalem, Why the Synagogues of the Jews were built. were ſo far diſtant from them that dwell in the remoteſt parts of the Land, that they could not come ſo often, as they would, unto it, therefore they built to themſelves Synagogues, to pray to God, and to ſerve him in them, inſtead of the Temple: for ſo we read that Moſes of old time, probable, I ſay, from their very firſt beginning of their ſettlement,Acts 15.21. had in every City them that preached him, being read in their Synagogues every Sabbath day: where, by the way, you may obſerve, that of old time, contrary to the conceit of our new Fanaticks, the reading of the holy Scriptures was accounted the preaching of Gods word; though I deny not, but after it be read and ſo preached, Luk. 4.18. it may be further explained, as Chriſt did that place of Iſa. 61.1.

And you ſee they had theſe Synagogues in every City, ſo they muſt have as many Synagogues as there were Cities in all their Land;The number of their Synagogues. and Sigonius writeth, that there were four hundred and eighty of theſe Synagogues in Jeruſalem; and the Scripture ſheweth that in other Cities and Provinces there were many other Synagogues, as in Galile, in Damaſcus, in Salamis, and in Antiochia: and Maymonides, one of their prime Doctors, ſaith, the tradition of their Elders was, that whereſoever ten Families of Iſrael were, they ought to build them a Synagogue.

And ſhall the Jews, that were under the Law, and burdened with ſuch infinite Taxes and Ceremonies of their Religion, as were more than they were able to bear, Acts 15.10. as the Apoſtle teſtifieth, be ſo zealous, ſo religious, and ſo ready to part with their wealth and the beſt things they had to build ſo ſumptuous, and ſo glorious a Temple, and ſo many Synagogues, to perform thoſe ſervices that God required of them, which notwithſtanding were but the types and ſhadows of that true Religion which we have, and do profeſs to embrace it; and ſhall we, that have the ſubſtance of thoſe ſhadows, which they had, and the truth of the Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt, which they never had, but in aenigmate, preached ſo clearly and ſo amply among us, and are freed from all the legal Ceremonies and Ordinances of the Law, be ſo cold and ſo careleſs as we are to repair the houſes of Jeſusr Chriſt? I fear then that theſe Jews ſhall riſe in judgment againſt us.

Nay, more than this, if you look into the ſtories of the Gentiles, Grecians, or Barbarians, that knew not God, but knew that there is a God which all men ought to worſhip; you ſhall find how zealous they were to build Temples and Oracles to their unknown Gods, that were no other than the devils, as the Oracle of Delphos, Amphiaraus, Hamonium, Dodonaeum, the Temple of Diana, at Epheſus, of Veſta, Ceres, Minerva, and other Goddeſſes of the Gentiles, and the many many Temples, that the Romans and other Nations built, to Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, and the reſt of their falſe and faigned Gods and Goddeſſes, that were indeed but very devils; Quia dii gentiim daemonia. and how ſumptuouſly they erected and gloriouſly adorned and beautified thoſe houſes of theſe deceitful Oracles, and were ſo exceeding bountiful, almoſt beyond belief, in their oblations and donations, to theſe holy places, as they deemed them, as it appeareth in Herodotus, Herodotus l. 1. by the large gifts of ineſtimable value that Creſus ſent to the Temple of Delphos, and other Temples of thoſe Gentile gods.

And becauſe they knew no otherwiſe, but that theſe infernal devils were Celeſtial Gods, and ſo worſhipped them as gods, with Temples, Altars, Sacrifices, Prayers, and Oblations, dedicated unto them, which do only and properly belong to the true and eternal God: therefore Horace ſaith to them that neglected the erecting and beautifying of theſe Temples, that belonged to theſe no Gods.

Delicta majoram immeritus lues Romane, donec templa refeceris, Horat l. 3. Ode 6. Aedeſque labentes deorum, & faedanigro, Simulachra fumo.

The which Ode, that worthy and learned Imitator of this beſt Lyrick Poet thus excellently tranſlateth, in this elegant Lyrick Verſe.

Roman reſolve thou ſhalt deſertleſs taſt Sins ſcourge, for vice of Predeceſſors paſt; Untill thou dost again repair Decayed Temples, and make fair The falling houſes of the gods, diſgrac'd, And cleanſe their Images, with ſmoak defac'd; To think thee leſs than gods, thy power commends, Hence take beginnings, hither aime thy ends; The gods neglected did impoſe On ſad Heſperia many woes; Twice Pacorus, and twice Manaeſes hand Our inauſpicious forces did disband; Who with a plentious prey made glad, To little chains new links did add.

And if by the judgment of this learned man they ſhall ſuffer for all the ſins and offences of their Fathers and Fore-fathers, untill they re-edifie the Temples, and raiſe the flat-fallen houſes of theſe gods, and beautifie the defiled Monuments and Sepulchres of their Heroes, and other noble perſons that were dead: What ſhame and what puniſhment do we deſerve, for ſuffering the Tombs and Sepulchres of our heroick Fathers, and the Temples, Houſes, and Altars of our good God and our Redeemer Jeſus Chriſt to lye ſo waſte, ſo ruined, and ſo defiled as they are here in this Kingdom of Ireland; for I do believe that of about 100 Churches that our fore-fathers built and ſufficiently endowed in the Dioceſs of Oſſory, there are not 20 ſtanding, nor 10 well repaired at this day.

Truly, I have done my beſt, beyond my ability, let Demas and the detractors ſay what they pleaſe, to repair the Quire of St. Kenny, and I have privately vowed, and publickly proteſted often, and engaged my ſelf to God, to His Majeſty, and to the People, and I am contented to be bound in a bond of one thouſand pounds, that if the Biſhops Court and Freſhford, (that were given to the Church, and dedicated to God, for the ſervice of Jeſus Chriſt,) ſhall be reſtored to the Church, there ſhall not one penny, or penniworth, of all the rents, and profits thereof, be retained or transferred to me, or any of mine; but it ſhall wholly and fully be imployed and laid out for the raiſing and reparation of that Cathedral Church which the Lord hath now committed to my charge.

But if I ſhall ſtill ſee, as I have ſeen hitherto, that Rebels and Traytors that have been, (if ſuch as have fought under the Standard of the beaſt and Great Antichriſt, againſt their own King, to bring him to be murdered, may be ſo ſtiled,) ſhall be countenanced, furthered, and upheld, to carry away, and enjoy the Lands and Houſes of the Church, and ſo little regard had of that juſtice we owe to render unto God, what belongs to God, and leſs reſpect to the ſervants of Jeſus Chriſt than to the followers of the Antichriſt; then ſeeing, as the Prophet ſaith, in vacuum laboravi, I have laboured in vain; I have ſpent my ſtrength, my time, my means, and my money for nought, in ſeeking to bring to God what is Gods, and to the Church what of right belongs unto the Church, Liberavi animam meam, and I hope I may freely turn the leaf, and as God ſaid of the houſe of Eli, I ſaid indeed that the houſe of Eli, 1 Sam. 2.30. and the houſe of his Fathers ſhould walk before me for ever: but now, ſaith the Lord, be it far from me. And ſeeing they had ſo far diſhonoured him, and ſo much prophaned his ſervice, it was juſt with God ſo to do.

And ſo I ſaid indeed, I would do my best, and I would beſtow as much as I was able, and perhaps more than many would imagine, to repair the Cathedral Church of St. Kenny; yet now being diſappointed of my hope, and finding men preferring fleſh and bloud before the dictate of the Spirit of God, favouring thoſe, that have been rebels, before ſuch as are religious. Seeing I cannot build the Church of Chriſt, I have reſolved, to the uttermoſt of my power, to overthrow the Synagogue of Satan; that is, to puniſh perjurers, and ſuch others, high tranſgreſſors of Gods Laws, and to leave the houſes of God (as finding my ſelf unable to prevail to do therein any good,) waſted and ruined as they are. And if this I cannot do, but that Scelera ſceleribus tuebuntur, one falſe and perjured Jury ſhall be defended, and protected, and juſtified by another falſe Jury; and one wicked oppreſſor excuſed by another the like oppreſſor; or that the fear of great men will not ſuffer poor ſpirited Lawyers to afford us Law for any money: then ad te domine clamabo, that we can have neither truth nor juſtice in the earth.

But to proceed to ſhew the miſeries of the Church of Ireland, though it be a very lamentable thing, and an unanſwerable argument of the decay of Piety, and of ſmall Religion in the nobleſt perſons, to ſuffer the houſes of God to lie as they do, for hogs and other beaſts to dig up the bones of holy Saints, it may be, the Fathers or Mothers of the now great Lords and Ladies of the Kingdom. Yet as the Lord ſaid unto his Prophet Ezekiel, Turn thee yet again, and thou ſhalt ſee greater abominations, Ezek. 8.6. ſo I ſay to my Reader: For,

2. The great want of able Miniſters in this Kingdom, and why they are ſo ſcant.2. As God is without Churches for his people to meet in to ſerve him, ſo he is without ſervants, enabled to do him ſervice, to praiſe his name, and to teach his people; and to have Churches and no Churchmen is to no purpoſe.

But why have we not ſuch Churchmen as are able to inſtruct Gods people?

I ſay, it is eaſily anſwered; that it is not ſo eaſie to get able, worthy, and ſufficient Churchmen, unleſs there were ſufficient means and livings to maintain them: for as Seneca truly ſaith, Sublatis ſtudiorum premiis ipſa ſtudia pereunt, where there is no reward for learning, there will be want of learned men, as one demanding why there were no Phyſitians in Lacedemon, anſwer was made, becauſe there was no ſtipend nor allowance ſet forth for the Profeſſours of that faculty; but as Martial ſaith to Flaccus, Sint Maecenates non deerunt Flacce marones, Virgiliumque tibi vel tua rura dabunt. But here in Ireland ſince Hen. 8.Why we want learned and painful Preachers here in Ireland. overthrew the Abbies and Monaſteries that were as Univerſities to breed Schollars, and to ſend them forth to feed the flock of Chriſt, and gave the Revenues thereof, which were the Eccleſiaſtical Livings of the Church, unto his Nobility and lay Gentry, that ſpend the ſame, in many places, in hawking and hunting, and perhaps in ſome other worſer employments, the Church of Chriſt wanteth Schollars, and which is worſe, wanteth means to maintain thoſe Schollars, that otherwiſe would ſupply the defects of this Kingdom from other Ʋniverſities, if they ſhould have maintenance to ſupport them, and to ſupply their neceſſities.

If you ſay, Queen Elizabeth to make up the breach which her Father made, cauſed the Colledge to be built by Dublin, to breed up Schollars, to inſtruct the Natives.

I wiſh the Natives were bred therein, according to the Statutes and Inſtitutions thereof; but the Natives ſay, I know not how true, that the Engliſh by friends do carry away the places, and the Iriſh, as they loſt their Friends, and their Lands, and their ſtrength, ſo they loſe their right. But the truth is, that the whole Society of this Colledge cannot adequate, that number that the Priories and Monaſteries formerly bred; or if they could, yet the means and maintenance being alienated the Labourers cannot make up the full tale of bricks, when the ſtraw is taken from them, and they muſt run over all the Land, like the Iſraelites, to gather ſtubble, and to uſe other labour to maintain themſelves and their Families.

And to make this apparent unto my Readers, I have here ſet down all the Rectories and Vicaredges in my Dioceſs, and what Procurations, (beſides their Subſidies and twentieth part, which they are, and ought, to pay unto his Majeſty,It may be at ſome dear year they may be of more worth or that the cunning Farmar may make more of them then the Miniſter doth. and beſides many other Taxes, that muſt lye upon them,) they are to pay every year, to the Archdeacon, to the Biſhop, and to the Archbiſhop, every third year, and to the Primate, when he cometh to viſit them: and I have in my laſt Viſitation, with the help of my Archdeacon, Mr. Teat, and my Regiſter Mr. Conell, and two or three more of my graveſt Clergy men, ſearched, and inquired, as diligently as we could, what was the value, that every Living might be worth communibus annis: and accordingly I have here ſet them down; that my Readers may themſelves judge, whether theſe many Livings, that each Clergy man holds, are more, or enough, Deductis deducendis, to make one competent Living for a worthy and able man, that will conſtantly reſide, and conſcionably preach unto Gods people.

And theſe be the names of the Livings, their Procurations, their yearly value, and the perſons that do hold them. viz.

Procurat. Value. l. s. d. Com. Orm. R. Offerulam 0 12 0 Segrave V. Ibid. 0 6 0 Epiſc, R. Bordwel 0 3 4 Epiſcop. V. Ibid. 0 1 8 Neyland R. Aghavo Cul. Jun. V. Ibid. 1 2 8 Epiſcop. R. Rath-Sarau. 0 4 8 C. Orm. R. Rath-Downy 0 10 8 Epiſcop. V. Ibid. 0 5 4 Bar. de Oſſor. R. Cowlkerry 0 4 8 Cul. Jun. R. Delgnie 0 1 6 Teate R. Donnogh-more 0 5 4 Teate V. Ibid. 0 1 8 Civit. Kilk. R. Skirke Cul. Sen. V. Ibid. 0 14 Cul. Sen. R. Kildermoy 0 4 8 R. St. Nicolai. 0 4 8

2. Decanatus de Aghor. Eccleſ. Cath. R. De Skaffin 0 3 4 Com. Deſm. R. Donnogh More 0 14 8 Williams V. Tubbrid Britt. 0 4 0 Eccleſ. Cath. R. Clontabrit. 0 4 0 Sir Ro. Foord R. Killahie 0 4 8 Partridge V. Ibid. 0 2 4 Baro de Oſſ. V. Killenie and Cahire 0 7 4 Willams R. Cloghmant. and Kilruſh 0 7 6 Eccleſ. Cath. R. Rath-Logan 0 5 10 Eccleſ. Cath. R. Cowlkaſhin 0 5 8 R. Deane R. De Eirke Kerney V. Ibid. 0 14 8 Decan. R. Irlingford C. Orm. R. Glaſhard 0 4 8 Eccleſ. Cath. R. Ballilorcan 0 4 8

3. Decanatus de Odogh. Archd. Bulk. R. Caſtrie de Odogh 0 8 4 Driſdale V. Ibid. 0 4 4 Barry R. Glaſh-crowe 0 2 4 Spencer R. Rath-behath 0 4 0 Eccleſ. Cath. R. Durho 0 14 8 Teat R. Roſconnel 0 8 8 C. Orm. R. 0 4 4 Goburne R. Attanagh 0 5 0 Moore V. Ibid. 0 2 6 Co. Orm. R. Kilmenan 0 5 0 Kilkormicke 0 2 8 Com. Orm. R. Donnogh-more 0 6 8 Driſd. V. Ibid. 0 3 4 Com. Orm. R. Kilcolman 0 6 8 〈1 page duplicate〉〈1 page duplicate〉 Spenſer R. Cowlcrahin 0 7 6 Driſcall R. Kilmocar 0 4 8 Spenſer V. Ibid. 0 2 4 Driſcall R. Comer 0 13 4 Cull. Sen. V. Ibid. 0 6 8 Collegium V. Diſart 0 11 0 Cull. Jun. V. Mothell 0 9 0 Civit. Kilk. R. Macully 0 18 6 Cull. Sen. V. Ibid. 0 0 9 Com. Deſm. R. Don-mors 0 5 8 Spenſer V. Ibid. 0 2 4 Moore Jun. V. Agharnie 0 7 0

4. Decanatus de Syller. Archd. Bulk. R. Kilferegh 0 4 8 Moore Sen. V. Donfert 0 6 8 Idem. V. Kiltranie 0 4 8 Wilſon R. Inſhiolaghan 0 10 8 Idem. R. Tulloghanbroge 0 9 8 Idem. V. Ibid. 0 4 10 Kerney V. Kilmanagh 0 6 8 Collegium R. Dromdelgnie 0 8 8 Collegium R. Bally-bur 0 3 4

5. Decanatus de Claregh. Civit. Kilk. R. Dromerthe 0 2 4 Cull. Jun. R. Kilmadimocke 0 3 4 Idem. R. Kilderie 0 5 0 Civit. Kilk. R. Fennel 0 0 0 Collegium R. S. Martini 0 2 0 Miler. R. Gowran Driſdall V. Ibid. 1 12 0 Vic. Dubl. R. Blanchfield 0 6 8 Mr. Moore R. Dongarvan 0 12 8 Miler V. Ibid. 0 6 4 Cull. Sen. R. Claregh 0 5 0

6. Decanatus de Obercon. R. Thomaſtowne Teat V. Ibid. 0 4 8 Co. Orm. R. Diſart 0 2 8 Kerney V. Rosbercon and Shambogh 0 2 10 Cap. Holſey R. Kilkolbin 0 5 4 Kerney. V. Ibid. 0 2 8 Spenſer. R. Liſterling 0 5 6 V. Ibid. 0 3 2 Civit. Watf. R. Kilmahevog Blake V. Ib. & Bally Margur. 0 2 2 Kerney V. Kilkoan and Kilbrit 0 4 0 Idem. V. Triſtle Maure 0 2 0 Com. Orm. R. Rower 0 8 8 R. Deane V. Ibid. 0 4 4 R. Tannerveghan 0 6 8

7. Decanatus de Kells. Teate V. Jerpoint 0 6 8 Co. Orm. R. Knoctopher Bulkley V. Ibid. 0 3 10 Barry R. Aghaviller 0 5 0 V. Kilknedie 0 4 0 Collegium R. Kilkeis 0 4 0 R. Innethart 0 4 0 Moore V. Mallardſtowne 0 3 0 V. Ballegh 0 4 8 Moore V. Earleſtowne 0 4 0 Dr Chamberl. R. Callan 2 15 0 & pro Synodalibus 0 7 0 R. Deane V. Callan 1 8 1 & pro Synodalibus 0 4 2 Capella villae de carti 0 3 4

8. Decanatus de Over • e. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 • ath Pat •• ck 0 1 4 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •• ll • k ••• han 0 3 4 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Dunk •• 0 3 4 〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Illud 0 0 1 • 〈◊〉〈◊〉 . •• lmaboy 0 3 4 〈7 letters〉 ll 〈◊〉 . • allymartin 0 1 4 D • ll • l •• V. Po •••• ſ •• lly 0 1 4 •• ll ••• um V. ••• h ••• an 0 1 8 • ull • l •• y V. 〈◊〉 0 2 4 Wil • on R 〈◊〉 0 1 4 D • l • ley R. 〈◊〉 0 2 8 W • l •• n V 〈◊〉 0 14 8 • u •• l •• R. 〈◊〉 0 1 8 〈◊〉 V 〈◊〉 0 1 2 〈◊〉 R. 〈◊〉 0 3 4 〈◊〉〈…〉 0 3 0 〈…〉 0 0 8 〈◊〉〈…〉 0 • 0 〈…〉 0 0 •• R 〈◊〉 • 1 8

〈…〉 • •• • 〈…〉 0 •• • 〈…〉〈…〉 • • • 〈…〉〈…〉 • • • 〈…〉〈…〉 • • • 〈…〉〈…〉 • • • 〈◊〉〈…〉 • • • 〈◊〉〈…〉 • •• • 〈◊〉〈…〉 • • • 〈◊〉〈…〉 • • • 〈◊〉〈…〉 • • • Col. Welch R. Kilbecocke and Killahie 0 6 8 R. Roſſenan 0 2 0 Clarke R. Thomaſtowne 0 15 0 Iniſteog 0 15 0 Cap. Holſey R. Kilcoan 0 5 0 Clarke Collankill 0 3 4 Civit. Wat. R. Caſhlane 0 10 0 Mr. Welch R. Donkitte 0 13 4 Co. Sup. Oſſ. R. Killenie and Cahire 0 4 4 Preb. Whiting. R. Attyre and Attan. 0 5 0 Total 69 4 11 procurat.

Theſe be all the Rectories and Vicaridges in the Dioceſs of Oſſory; and of theſe

1. The Dean and Chapter have ſix: that is, 1. Skaffin 3 s 4 d 2. Clontabrit 4 s 8 d 3. Rath-Logan 5 s 10 d 4. Bally Lorcan 4 s 8 d 5. Durho 13 s 8 d 6. Coulcaſhin 5 s 8 d

2. The Colledge of the Vicars have ſix: that is, 1. Diſart 11 s 2. Dromdelgney 8 s 8 d 3. Bally-bur 3 s 4 d 4. St. Martin 2 s 5 Kilkeyſe 4 s 6. Rath-Keran 1 s 8 d The Cathedral 1 l 11 s And the Colledge 19 s

3. My L. Duke of Ormond, for himſelf and my Lady Duches have 1. R. Offerulam 12 s 2. R. Rath-downy 10 s 8 d 3. R. Glaſhard. q. 4. R. Lawkil. q. 5. R. Donnaghmoore 14 s 8 d 6. R. Kilmenan 5 s 7. R. Kilcolman 6 s 8 d 8. R. Donnoghmoore 6 s 8 d 9. R. Kilmocar 4 s 8 d 10. R. Donmore 5 s 8 d 11. R. Diſart 2 s 8 d 12. R. Rower 8 s 8 d 13. Knoctofer q 14. Prior Jerpoint 15 s 4 d 15. Prior Kells 6 l 13 s 4 d 11 l 6 s Iriſh. 8 l 9 s 6 d ſterling. procurations.

But I do underſtand that this pious and moſt honourable Duke doth moſt religiouſly (as it is ſaid of Arauna, All theſe things as a King did Arauna give unto the King, 2 Sam. 24.23.) intend to yield up, and to beſtow them all for the building of a Colledge in Kilkenny, to bring up Schollars for the ſervice of God, and the perpetual honour and glory of himſelf and the ſucceeding Race of his Family for ever; and I beſeech God continue his grace in that moſt godly reſolution: And let the God of heaven multiply his bleſſings upon him, to ride on with his honour more and more.

4. My Lord of Upper Oſſory hath 1. Koolekerry 4 s 8 d 2. Aghamacartie 2 〈◊〉 3. Calline and Caſhire 4 s 4 d 2 l 3 s Iriſh. 1 l 3 s 9 d ſterling.

5. My Lord of Ga • moy hath Far • inageratgh 2 〈◊〉

6. My Lord of Cavan hath 1. Thomaſtowne •• 〈◊〉 • . •••• ſteog 4 〈◊〉 and •• 〈◊〉

7. Sir Robert Foord hath R. Killahie, and Kilbecocke, 6 s 8 d

8. Captain Holſey hath R. Kilcolbin 5 s 4 d R. Kilcoan and Kilbrit 5 s

q. 9. Sir Jo. Ponſonby hath R. Fidown 6 s 8 d

10. Collonel Dillan hath R. S. Keiran. R. Capel: S. Nicolai.

11. Mr. Welch hath R. Dunkitt 13 s 4 d R. Roſenan 2 s

12. Archdeacon Bulkley hath 1. R. Bananagh 2. R. Kilferagh 3. R. Odogh. 4. R. Diſort. c. or. q. 5. R. Tulloherin

And I did alwaies conceive, that no Churchman, that underſtood what Sacriledge is, and the hainouſneſs of that ſin, would ever accept of any impropriate Livings, and hold the ſame as a lay fee from the Church of God; for, if a Clergy man holds it lawful to take five, I do not wonder that a lay man ſhould hold twenty.

13. The City of Kilkenny hath 1. R. Skirke. 2. R. Tubbrid brittaine 4 s 3. R. Maculli 18 s 6 d 4. R. Dromerthin 2 s 4 d 5. R. Fennell 6 s 6. Prior S. John 4 l.

14. The City of Waterford hath 1. Prior S. Katharin 6 l 8 s. 2. Prior. Kilkellihine 6 l 6 s 8 d 3. R. Portneſcolly.

The beſt Livings in all the Dioceſs are held by the Nobility, Gentry and Cities.And all theſe Rectories are the beſt and the chiefeſt Livings, that are of any worth, or of any note within the Dioceſs of Oſſory: and as I ſhewed you, the Nobility, Gentry, and Cities do hold them from the Church, and do yield little or nothing for the ſervice of God in thoſe Churches, neither dare the poor Vicars and Curates, according to the Biſhops appointment, ask them any thing for the ſerving of theſe Churches; nor is it to any purpoſe for any Incumbent to ſue for any Tythes or rights that belongs unto his Church, for when he ſueth, and hath proved the truth of his Allegation, and to his great expences expecteth judgment, then preſently, upon a falſe ſuggeſtion, comes a prohibition, to ſtop all juſt proceedings in the Court Christian; which is the uſual and common practice againſt all the Chriſtian Miniſters in Ireland, when they ſue for any right; and which is the cauſe that the Chriſtians wanting Vicars and Curates, that will not undertake to ſtrive againſt the ſtream, or to labour in Gods Vineyard, and to want bread, our good God is thereby diſhonoured, the People uninstructed, and ignorance, ſuperſtition, and Popery, very like to continue ſtill unrooted out amongſt them.

A memorable Inſtance. Mr. Partridge. And to make this more plain unto you, I will here ſet down a thing recenti memoria factae; A poor Miniſter, and very honeſt man, expelled by the Iriſh Rebels from his Livings, and plundered of all that ever he had, and kept out of all, (as we all were, by far more wicked rebels,) was lately reſtored and placed by my ſelf in the ſmall Vicaredge of Killahie; but Sir Robert Foord, having the impropriate Rectory, beſtowed the ſame with his Daughter to a very great rich man, powerful,Collonel Stopford. in former times, with the Long Parliament, and he forbids his Tenants to ſuffer the poor Vicar to have his Vicarial Tythes; that were not all worth five pounds per annum, becauſe they paid none for all the time of the Rebellion: therefore the poor Vicar ſueth for his Tythes, and by ſufficient Witneſſes proved the payment thereof, before the Wars, unto the Vicar: whereupon the great Gentleman came unto me, and ſaid that ſuch a Miniſter of my Dioceſs ſued the Tenants and Servants of Sir Robert Foord, that was a Privy Counſellour, and a great Parliament man, and therefore deſired me to ſtop the Suite: I anſwered, that I could not do ſo; for what if all the men in the Pariſh were the Tenants and Servants of Parliament men, and denied to pay their Tythes to the Vicar, ſhall the poor man be without his means, during all the continuance of the Parliament? So he may ſtarve for want of food, and the people periſh for want of inſtruction: Then he ſhewed me a writing under the hand and Seal of another Biſhop, that ſtopped the proceeding of a Miniſter in his Dioceſs againſt the Defendants, upon the Allegation and proof, that they were Tenants and Servants of Sir Robert Foord: And I anſwered, that I was not to guide my actions by the doings of other men, though reputed never ſo wiſe, but to do what I conceived to be juſt and honeſt without the fear of the greateſt man; and I anſwered him, there ſhould be nothing done in his cauſe but what was juſt; ſo we parted; and his Agents gave it out, that he would ſpend a hundred pounds before the Vicar ſhould have any Tythes there: and the next news that I heard was a Prohibition from the Chancery to ſtop the proceeding in the Court Chriſtian, which I conceive to be no furtherance of the Chriſtian Religion. And ſo M. R. Deane, Vicar of Callan, having ſued one for his right, in mine Eccleſiaſtical Court, when the matter was ready to be ſentenced, there comes a Prohibition to ſtop it; and ſo in many other the like cauſes. And how can a poor Miniſter, not worth five pounds in all the world, nor ſcarce cloaths to his back, when he was put into this Vicaredge, wage Law with ſuch a man, of a vaſte eſtate, ſo that he could offer fourteen hundred pounds (ſome ſay more) for a Purchaſe? Cuncta trahit ſecum, vertitque aerarius omnis, Nec patitur certa currere quemque via. Let the world judge, what would become of Religion, if all Impropriators ſhould thus deal with their Vicars, and all great men and powerful Pariſhioners with their poor Parſons? Even as I am dealt withal; to ſpend above four hundred pounds to gain the rights of the Church: and to be not one jot the nearer to prevail, than I was the firſt day.

But to proceed; having ſeen how the beſt Livings are held and diſpoſed of, and how the poor Parſons, Vicars and Curates are commonly dealt withal,What Livings the Clergymen do hold in their poſſeſſions. you ſhall underſtand what Livings the poor Clergy men hold in their poſſeſſion, and of what value they are unto them (deductis deducendis,) communibus annis, as by the inquiſition of three or four of the ableſt Clergy-men in my Dioceſs, with my ſelf, I have underſtood the ſame in my Viſitation; and thereby my Reader may underſtand the meanneſs of our Iriſh Livings.

Their Procurations. Worth. M. Barry hath 2 s 4 d 1. Glaſhcrowe 5 l. 5 s 2. Aghaviller 8 l. 3 s 4 d 3. Bewley 10 l 4. V. S. John 10 l 10 s 8 d 33 l Mr. Blake hath 2 s 2 d 1. Kilmahevog and Bullymagarney 10 l 1 s 4 d 2. Rath-Patrick 5 l 1 s 2 d 3. Caſhlane 5 l. 4 s 8 d 20 l Mr. Bulkley hath 11 d 1. Illud 8 l 2. Kilmaboy 16 l 1 s 4 d 3. Portneſcolly 6 l 10 s 2 s 4 d 4. Polroan 7 l 2 s 8 d 5. Clonmore 3 l 10 s 3 s 10 d 6. Knoctofer 6 l 1 s 8 d 7. Tibbrit 1 l 3 s 8. Tibrahaine 1 l 10 s And he hath the Prebend of Clonamry 6 l 15 s 9 d Mr. Cull Senior hath 14 s 8 d 1. V. Skirke 16 l 4 s 8 d 2. R. Kildermoy 30 l 6 s 8 d 3. V. Comer 2 l 10 s 1 s 9 d 4. V. Macully 3 l 5 s 5. V. Clarech. 1 l 12 s 9 d Mr. Cull Junior hath 1 l 2 s 8 d 1. V. Aghavo 15 l 9 s 2. R. & V. Mothell 5 l 3 s 4 d 3. Kilmadimoy 4 l 5 s 4. Kilderie 4 l And he hath the Prebend of Tiſcoffin 10 l 2 l Dr. Chamberlain hath 2 l 15 s 1. R. Callan 10 & pro Synod. 7 s Mr. R. Dean hath 4 s 4 d 1. Rower 11 l 1 l 8 s 1 d 2. V. Cullan 40 l 3. R Eirke 50 l 1 l 12 s 5 d And he hath the Prebend of Kilamerie 20 l & pro Synod. 5 s 2 d The Dean of S. Keney hath 1. Irlingford 2 l 2. R. S Patrick 30 l The Church down, and the people have neither Sermon nor Service. Mr. Driſdall hath 4 s 4 d 1. Caſtrie de Odogh 5 l 3 s 4 d 2. Donnoghmore 8 l 13 s 4 d 3. R. Comer 25 l 1 l 12 s 4. V. Gowran 14 l 1 s 4 d 5. Bally-martin 4 l Roſenan 2 l 10 s 2 l 14 s 5 d Dr. Edwards hath 1. The Prebend of black Ruth 16 l Mr. Goburne hath 5 s 1. R. Attanagh 30 l Mr. Kerney hath 6 s 8 d 1. V. Kilmanagh 30 l 2 s 10 d 2. V. Roſbercon and Shambogh 10 l 2 s 8 d 3. V. Kilcolbin 8 l 4 s 4. V. Kilkoan and Kilbrit 3 l 2 s 5. V. Triſtle-maur 5 l 3 s 4 d 6. R. Kiltokeghan 5 l 7. V. Dun-kitt 5 l 14 s 8 d 8. V. Eirke 35 l And he hath the R. of Kilmanagh for his Prebend 24 l • l 16 s 2 d Mr. Miler hath 1. R. Gowran 40 l 6 s 4 d 2. V. Dungarvan 10 l Dr. Neyland hath 1. R. Aghavo 50 l Mr. Moore Senior hath 6 s 8 d 1. V. Dunfert 4 s 8 d 2. R. Kiltranie 3. V. Bailytobin 6 l 3 s 4. V. Mallardſtowne 6 l 4 s 5. V. Earleſtowne 10 l 6. V. Ketts 15 l 18 s 4 d Mr. Moore Junior. 2 s 6 d 1. V. Attanagh 10 l • s 2. V. Agharney 7 l Mr. Segrave hath 6 s 1. V. Offerulam 15 l M. Spenſer hath 4 s 1. R. Rathbehath 8 l 7 s 6 d 2. R. Cowlchrahin 5 l 2 s 4 d 3. V. Kilmocar 2 s 4 d 4. V. Donmore 8 s 8 d 5. R. and V. Liſterling 10 l 5 s 6 d 6. V. Mayne 10 l 1 l 10 s 4 d And he hath N. Mayne for his Prebend 10 l. Mr. Teate hath 1 s 8 d 1. R. Donnaghmore 15 l 8 s 8 d 2. R. Roſeconnel 16 l 4 s 8 d 3. V. Thomaſtowne 10 l 6 s 8 d 4. V. Jerpoint 13 l 1 l 1 s 8 d And he hath the R. of Kilfane for his Prebend 15 l Mr. Whitingham hath 1. V. Killanie and Cahire 2. Killinkar And he hath Aghore for his Prebend 12 l Mr. Williams hath q. 1. V. Tibbrid-brittain 4 l 7 s 6 d 2. R. Gloghmantagh and Kilruſh 16 l Mr. Wilſon hath 10 s 8 d 1. R. Inſhiologhan 8 l 4 s 10 d 2. V. Tullaghanbroge 3 l 1 s 4 d 3. R. Ballytarſney 12 l 14 s 8 d 4. V. Fidowne 12 l 1 l 11 s 6 d.

Theſe be the reſt of the Livings within the Dioceſs of Oſſory; Whether the foreſaid means and rates be able to maintain a ſufficient Miniſtry and the juſt value (ſo far as I could learn) of each of them; and do you think that this value is ſufficient to maintain an able Miniſtery to ſupply all theſe Churches and Pariſhes as they ought to be, or that Popery ſhall be ſuppreſt, and the true Proteſtant Religion planted amongſt the people, by the unition of Pariſhes, and the diminution of Churches without any augmentation of their means? Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego.

But you will ſay, his Majeſty hath moſt graciouſly provided,Object. and it is confirmed by the Act of Settlement, that a very ample augmentation is added to all the meaneſt Biſhopricks of Ireland, and he hath moſt royally and religiouſly beſtowed all the Impropriations forfeited to his Crown upon the ſeveral Incumbents, unto whoſe Churches they did belong.

I anſwer, That when God placed man in Paradice, Anſw. the devil was ready to caſt him out: and when God maketh our paths ſtraight and eaſie, Satan will ſtraight put rubbs and blocks in our way to ſtumble us: ſo, though I gave above fifty pounds for Agents money to follow the Churches cauſe, and ſpent above thirty pounds to procure a Commiſſion, to gain that augmentation, which his Majeſty was ſo graciouſly pleaſed to add unto the Biſhop of Oſſory; yet preſently there comes a Superſedeas, to ſtop the proceeding of my Commiſſion,How the devil hindereth all intended good and I am not the better, either by Augmentation or Agents, ſo much as one penny to this very day: and ſome devil hath put ſome great rub for a ſtumbling block in my way: untill God removes the ſame, and throws it where blocks deſerve to be. And though his Majeſtie hath been pleaſed to beſtow his Impropriations upon the Incumbents, yet my Lord Lieutenant and the Council thought it fit, to take forty pounds per annum out of thoſe Impropriations for the better proviſion of the Quire in Dublin; and ſo by that means, the Clergy of Oſſory are not the better by one penny: that the Clergy might be like unto their Biſhop: for I find but four impropriations forfeited to his Majeſty, and beſtowed upon the Church in all the Dioceſs, and theſe being ſet by Mr. Archdeacon Teate, to the uttermoſt pitch that he could, they did not reach to forty pounds the laſt year.

And to ſay the truth, without fear of any man, we are not only deprived of the Vicarial Tythes and offerings by the Farmers of the great Lords Impropriate Rectories, but our Lands and Globes are clipped and pared to become as thin as Banbury Cheeſe, by the Commiſſioners and Counſel of thoſe illuſtrious Lords: for though his Grace, our moſt excellent Lieutenant, the Duke of Ormond, is (I ſay it without flattery) a man of ſuch worth, ſo noble, ſo honourable, and ſo religious, as is beyond compare, and for his fidelity, and Piety, and other incomparable parts, ſcarce to be equalized by any Subject of any King, and ſo many other great Lords are in themſelves very noble and religious; yet as Rehoboam, in himſelf conſidered, was not ſo very a bad King, but had very bad Counſellours that did him a great deal of diſhonour and damage: ſo this moſt honourable Duke,

And thus, as Chriſt was crucified betwixt the good thief and the bad, ſo are we, betwixt the good Lords, and their bad Agents.

But let them fear, leaſt by making their Lords great here on earth, they do make themſelves little in heaven,

and other great Lords, may have, as I fear ſome of them have, ſuch Commiſſioners and Counſel, that, as well to make themſelves a fortune, as to enlarge their Lords revenues, will pinch the Parſons ſide, and part the Garments of Chriſt, betwixt themſelves and their Lords, as my Lord Dukes Agents have diſtrained and driven away my Tenants Cattel for divers great ſums of Chieferies, and challenged ſome Lands, that as I am informed, were never paid nor challenged within the memory of man.

And who dares oppoſe theſe men, or ſay unto them, Why did you ſo? Not I, though they ſhould take away my whole eſtate; for as Naboth had better have yielded up his Vineyard, than to have loſt his life, ſo I conceive it better to yield to their deſires quietly, than to loſe both my Lands and my labour by ſuch a Jury, as will give it away though never ſo Unjuſtly: whereof I have had experience, and a ſad proof non ſine meo magno malo. Yet,

The Civility and Piety of the 49 men.I confeſs the 49 men have been very civil, and ſhewed themſelves very fairly conditioned, and religious both to my ſelf, and as I underſtand, to all other Clergymen; and I wiſh that all Noblemens Commiſſioners and Agents would be ſo likewiſe, that their doings may bring a bleſſing and not a curſe upon them, and perhaps upon their Lords and Maſters,Lords and Maſters ſhall anſwer to God for the oppreſſions that their ſervants do under their power. that muſt give an account to God for the ill carriages, and the oppreſſions of the poor by their ſervants, who diſhonour their Lords, and make them liable to Gods wrath for the wrongs that they do, to make them the greater, and ſo receive the greater condemnation: for great men muſt not only do no wrong themſelves, but they ought alſo to ſee, that none under their wings, and through the colour of their power and authority, do any wrong unto the poore.

But to deal plainly, and to ſhew what reſpect, favour, and juſtice we the poor Biſhops and Clergymen have from the great Lords and Courts of juſtice in this Kingdom, I will inſtance but in the example of my ſelf; who, after I had expoſed my ſelf to the dayly and continual hazard of my life, by my preaching and publiſhing ſo many Books againſt the Rebels and Long Parliament, which I have unanſwerably proved to be the Great Antichriſt, and had, for all their Reign, ſerved, duram ſervitutem, and ſuffered more hardſhip than any Biſhop, and upon my reſtitution to my Biſhopprick, by the happy reſtauration of our moſt gracious King, having ſpent above four hundred pounds to gain the Biſhops Manſion houſe, where Biſhop Bale ſaw five of his Servants kill'd before his face, and himſelf driven to flee to ſave his life, and which was given to Sir George Askue by Cromwel for his ſervice to the Long Parliament, I have fully ſhewed the favour and the juſtice that I had at the Kings Bench, though I muſt ingeniouſly confeſs my Lord Chief Juſtice dealt as fairly and as juſtly as any Judge in the world could do. And I do pray to God that both Judges and Jury and all the pleaders may have better at the Bar of the King of Kings.

Then letting paſs the proceeding of the Court of Claim, that gave away the Lands and Houſes that were in my poſſeſſion, while I was in London, though a chief Member of that Court promiſed that nothing ſhould be done againſt the Church untill I returned home, and acknowledging the civility and fair reſpect that was ſhewed me by my Lord Chief Baron, and the other Barons of the Exchequer, in doing right both to the King and to my ſelf, by putting the Biſhops Lands out of charge. His M jeſty having moſt graciouſly conferred four hundred pounds per annum o me and my Succeſſors, out of the fee Farmes forfeited to his Majeſty, and the Parliament confirming the ſame by the Act of ſettlement; I took a Commiſſion of enquiry, and when all my Witneſſes came together, and were ready to proceed, there comes a Superſedeas to ſtop our way: but his Majeſties Atturney Sir William Dunvil, and Sir Audley Mervin, and the reſt of the Kings Sergeants and Sollicitors did ſo faithfully, ſo learnedly, and ſo religiouſly plead on his Majeſties behalf and the Church, (for which the God of heaven will reward them,) that they had the Superſedeas ſuperſeded and vacated by our moſt honourable and moſt religious Lord Chancellour; and then I proceeded, and the Jury found this Biſhops houſe and Freſhford forfeited to the King, and worth a hundred pounds per annum; then coming to Dublin, to have my Commiſſion put upon the file, and to get a Pattent according to the Act and the Kings Grant to enjoy the ſame, after I had ſpent above a hundred pounds to bring the matter to this paſs, I received this anſwer, that my Lord Deputy and Council were reſolved to do nothing unleſs they received the Kings Letter and Command to do it; and though I was ſorry for the vaſte expence of money that I laid out to no benefit, yet I am glad to ſee men ſo obſervant of the Kings Word and Command: I would to God they and all others the Kings Subjects would have obeyed Solomons Counſel to obſerve the words and commands of our late moſt gracious King Charles the Firſt. I ſhould not have needed to ſuffer ſo much as I have done, and ſo often to have troubled our now moſt gracious King; and to have ſpent near ſixty pounds for Agents money for the good of the Church; and above four hundred pounds to repair the Chancel of S. Keney, and in all above five hundred pounds to recover the Biſhops Manſion houſe, and Freſhford, from Captain Burges and Sir George Ayskue, and to be not one jot the nearer, nor one penny the richer for all this money that I have ſpent; nor have any more by one pennyworth than what my moſt gracious King, and late loving Maſter gave me to this very day, and I conceive this to be nothing elſe, but —

But then after I received this anſwer, I preſently went to London, and preſented this Petition to his Majeſty.

To the Kings moſt Excellent Majeſty. The humble Petition of Gruffith Lord Biſhop of Oſſory. Sheweth,

THat your Petitioner hath ſuffered the loſs of all that he had, and the continual hazard of his life, during all the time of Cromwel and the Long Parliament, for his ſervice and faithfulneſs to your Majeſty, and your Royal Father, of moſt bleſſed memory.

That your Majeſty hath been moſt graciouſly pleaſed, to grant four hundred pounds per annum out of the forfeited Fee-farmes for an augmentation to his poor Biſhopprick of Oſſory; and that your Petitioner, being by the Sheriff put into the poſſeſſion of the former Biſhops Manſion houſe, called Biſhops Court, by vertue of an Order from the Houſe of Lords, and being forcibly driven out by the Tenants of Sir George Askue, whom your Petitioner hath therefore indicted three ſeveral times by three ſeveral Juries, yet after the expence of above four hundred pounds could not be righted. And your Petitioner having got a Commiſſion of inquiry, what Fee-farmes were forfeited to your Majeſty, and when the ſame Commiſſion was ſuperſeded, having, with a great expence, ſuperſeded that ſuperſedeas, and had, by the fourth Jury, found the ſaid Biſhops Court to be a Fee-farme held from the Biſhop of Oſſory, worth by improvement a hundred pounds per annum, and forfeited to your Majeſty; yet, after the expence of above a hundred pounds to bring the Commiſſion to this paſs, your Petitioner received this anſwer from the Lord Deputy and Counſel, that they were reſolved to paſs no Pattent of any Lands, granted by your Majeſty, and the Act of Settlement unto the Biſhops, but to ſuch as had your Majeſties ſpecial Letters to do the ſame.

And foraſmuch as it had been better for your Petitioner to have had nothing granted unto him, than after ſuch a vaſte expence (above five hundred pounds) to miſs of gaining one hundred pounds per annum; Your Petitioner humbly prayeth, that your Majeſty would be graciouſly pleaſed to write your Letters to the Lord Deputy to paſs a Pattent according to what the Jury found, and according to your Majeſties former Grant, and the Act of Settlement.

And your Petitioner doth oblige himſelf to lay it out all for the repair of the now ruinous Cathedral Church of S. Keney, and he ſhall ever pray, &c.

And his Majeſty did moſt graciouſly read it every word himſelf; and then ſaid, I will ſpeak to my Lord of Ormond to do it.

So whether I recover it, or not, Non hujus facio, I weigh it not a ruſh, for I hope my Saviour Jeſus Chriſt (whoſe Sollicitor I am only in this ſuit) will not impute the loſs of this to me, ſeeing I have done my very beſt to regain it for his ſervice; yet could not do it, by reaſon of the great Friends of Sir George Askue, who made me, like Ixion, (that embraced a Cloud for Juno,) to ſpend five hundred pounds to hunt after a ſhadow, and to loſe the ſubſtance, and to have his Majeſties gracious 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , to become 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; but, let him take heed of Moſes Emphatical Prayer for Levi, and of Davids Prophetical Prediction, what ſhall become of them that keep the Revenues of the Church, and the Houſes of God in their poſſeſſions; and let his great Friends, and his Jury pray to God, that they may have more favour from Jeſus Chriſt, than they have ſhewed for his honour; and if this be the reward that Sir George Askue and the Biſhop of Oſſory ſhall receive for their ſervice to King Charles the firſt, I will ſay no more, but pray to God, as I do, both day and night, to be a juſt Judge betwixt me and them, that have oppoſed me, in this the Churches right, Amen.

So you have ſeen ſome part of the miſeries of the Church of Ireland, and all the Livings in my Dioceſs of Oſſory, and who holds them, and what they are deemed to be worth, communibus annis, unto the Incumbents: and this, together with the ſtate and condition of the Biſhoppricks in Ireland, which are now like Anthropophagites, eating up and devouring one another, (excepting the poor Biſhopprick of Oſſory, that ſtandeth yet alone like the trunke of a goodly Oake, without boughs, without leaves, without beauty;) when as many Biſhops here in Ireland have two or three Biſhoppricks apiece: As the Biſhop of Cork hath alſo Roſſe and Cloyne; the Biſhop of Limricke hath alſo the Biſhopprick of Kerry; the Biſhop of Waterford hath Lyſmore; the Biſhop of Laghlin hath the Biſhopprick of Fermes; the Biſhop of Dublin hath alſo the Biſhopprick of Glandelo; the Biſhop of Downes hath likewiſe Conner and Kilmore, whoſe Lands and Lordſhips the great Lords and Gentry hold, and they the names of thoſe Biſhoppricks, whereof, formerly, each Biſhopprick was ſufficient to maintain an able Biſhop. If you ſay, the Biſhops themſelves made away their Lands in Fee-farme: I dare boldly and truly ſay, as Chriſt doth of the like caſe, that they who did it were thieves and robbers, Joh. 10.8. and they that received them were no better, but they that retain them worſe. When as now two or three Biſhoppricks muſt be ſoddered and conglutinated together, to make an honeſt competent means for one learned Biſhop. This I ſay ſheweth he miſeries of our Churches, and the difference betwixt the fruits that the purity of the Goſpel produceth in our times, and the Piety of our forefathers that lived in the Primitive times, and afterwards under the manifold myſts and ſeveral Superſtitions of the Romiſh Church, when the Lands and revenues that they gave to God to maintain the Biſhop of Oſſory to do him ſervice, is nowAs I believe: worth fifteen hundred pounds per annum, and our zealour Goſpellers have brought it, in the laſt Biſhops time, to be ſcarce worth two hundred pounds per annum; and I believe the other Biſhoppricks are not now and then much unlike it, and ſo we and our forefathers are not much unlike thoſe two Sons, whereof our Saviour ſpeaketh, whoſe Father ſaid unto the firſt, Go work to day in my Vineyard, and he ſaid, I will not, but afterwards he repented and went; and he came to the ſecond, and ſaid likewiſe, and he anſwered and ſaid, I go Sir, and went not: So our forefathers lived in the times of blindneſs, and knew not well what was acceptable unto God; yet they did to the uttermoſt of their endeavours and knowledge, what they were able, to pleaſe God, and to ſerve him; and we have his Truth, and his Will, his Goſpel, and his Mercies plentifully publiſhed, and poured forth amongſt us, and we do all that we can, to obſtruct his ſervice, and to evacuate the Religion of Jeſus Chriſt.

And therefore I do much fear that theſe blind Chriſtians, as our Gnoſticks contemptuouſly call them,The Papiſts ſhall riſe in judgment to condemn our fruitleſs and ſacrilegious Proteſtants. ſhall riſe in judgment to condemn the great and quick-ſighted worldlings, and fruitleſs Chriſtians of our time: who, by their prophaneneſs and Sacriledge have ſo much hindered Gods Service, and cauſed our moſt holy Profeſſion to be ſo much blaſphemed, and ſlighted among Infidels and Pagans, and the reſt of the enemies of Jeſus Chriſt.

Object.But you will ſay, how can that be Sacriledge, or thoſe men blamed, that, for the reformation of the Church, took away thoſe things that were uſurped by the Pope, and abuſed by the Monks and Friers to uphold Maſſes and Dyrges, and to continue their Superſtition, to the great diſhonour of God, and the hazard of many thouſand ſouls?

Anſw.I anſwer, if a thief ſteals my horſe, wilt thou take it away from the thiefe, and keep it ſtill from me? Art thou any better than the thiefe to me, or any juſter in the ſight of God? So the Pope and his Popelings took away the Tythes and Oblations, the Lands and the Livings of the Church, and thou tookeſt them from the Pope and his Friers: And why doſt thou not reſtore them to the Churches, to the which they do belong? For, thou mayſt remember that when Nebuchadnezzar had, like the Pope, robbed the Temple of God at Jeruſalem, and abuſed the Veſſels thereof in the ſervice of his falſe God; and Belſhazar his Son had in like manner prophaned the ſame, by his laſcivious quaffing therein with his Queens and Concubines, for which he was juſtly puniſhed by the revenging hand of God, Dan. 5.3, 25. yet Cyrus, when he had taken Babylon, and ſo robbed the thiefe that had robbed God, and underſtood, that theſe holy Veſſels did belong to the Service of God in the Temple of Solomon, he durſt not meddle with them, to retain them for himſelf, but, leſt he ſhould be puniſhed for his Sacriledge, as Belſhazar was, he commanded them to be carried to Jeruſalem, and to be reſtored to their former proprietors, and for their former uſe in the divine Worſhip of Almighty God.

And ſo ſhould Hen. 8. and thoſe Lords and Ladies, that have taken away the Revenues of the Church from the Pope, have reſtored them to the Proteſtant Biſhops, and the reformed Miniſters of our Church.Cod. Theod. l. 4. C. 16. tit. 44. contra Donat. And ſo S. Aug. ſheweth all the godly Emp did Ep 50 ad bonifac. militem. For ſo you may find a Decree of the godly Emperours Honorius and Theodoſius againſt the Montaniſts in theſe words, If there be now any of the Edifices of the Montanists ſtanding, which are rather to be termed Dens of wild beaſts, than Churches of Chriſt, let them with their revenues, be appropriated to the Sacred Churches of the Orthodox Faith; and in the ſaid Code it is ſaid, let the Biſhops, Prieſts, and Prelates (that is of the Donatiſts) be ſtript of all their Revenues, and be baniſhed to ſeveral Iſlands; and let thoſe poſſeſſions where Superſtition hath reigned, be annexed to the holy Catholick Church.

And good reaſon for it; for as the Ark of God, when it was taken and abuſed by the Philiſtines, yet did it not then ceaſe to be the holy Arke of God, and therefore when it was afterwards ſent home by the Philiſtines, it was received, reſpected, and as much reverenced, and to the ſame ends uſed by the Iſraelites as it was before; as were alſo the Veſſels of Solomons Temple, after their return from Babylon: So the Revenues of the Church, though taken from the Church, and abuſed by the Pope, yet, being reſtored again to the Church, as they ought to be, they have the ſame effect, notwithſtanding their former abuſe, to promote the ſervice of God, as they had before: For being once dedicated for Gods ſervice, they ought never be to alienated from it, as I have moſt fully ſhewed in my Declaration againſt Sacriledge; but, as thoſe Cenſers (wherewith the two hundred and fifty Rebels, impiouſly uſurping the Prieſts Office, would needs offer Incenſe to God,) were hallowed; and therefore God would not ſuffer them afterwards, to be at any time employed for any common uſes, but commanded, that they ſhould be made into broad plates for a covering of the Altar, Num. 16. and ſo the Braſs which thoſe Rebels had ſo wickedly abuſed, ſhould be religiouſly uſed by the true Prieſts for Gods ſervice: So the Lands and Revenues of the Church that were once hallowed, and conſecrated for Gods Divine Worſhip, though the Idolaters did abuſe them, and the Lay Lords uſurp them, yet God cannot endure, that being once in his poſſeſſion, and given for his ſervice, they ſhould be ſnatched out of his hands, and transferred to Lay and prophane uſes, but that, like thoſe Cenſers, they ſhould ever continue for the ſervice of his Altar; and ſo St. Augustine ſheweth as much in his 154 Epiſtle to Publicola.

And thus you ſee, how God is robbed, his Service neglected, and his Servants deprived of their means and maintenance, ſo that they can neither diſcharge their duties to God, nor feed the flock of Chriſt, and inſtruct the people committed to their charge; as they ought to do, and would no doubt do the ſame, if they were enabled to do it, which is a lamentable thing: and yet I can ſhew you a greater abomination, Ezek. 8.6. even in the Viſitations of theſe poor and pillaged Clergy-men: I remember God hath a twofold viſitation, the one in mercy, to relieve the oppreſſed, to deliver the Captives out of their Captivity, as he viſited the Iſraelites in Egypt, and the like; the other in juſtice; to puniſh the malefactors, and the tranſgreſſors of his Laws, as he viſiteth the ſins of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him; but whether the Viſitations of our Clergy-men be in mercy, or in juſtice, or whether it be pro correctione morum, or collectione pecuniarum, and refectione corporum, or both, I will not determine; I believe their firſt inſtitution aimed at our good, for the praiſe of them that do well, and the puniſhment of the refractory and evil doers; but time and craft corrupteth the beſt things, and as the wicked turn the graces of God into wantonneſs, ſo covetous men and corrupt minds, do abuſe all the good inſtitutions of our Anceſtors; ſo the ſervice of the true God was, in time, tranſlated to become the ſervice of the Idols of the Gentiles; and ſo, I fear me, theſe Viſitations of the Clergy, that at firſt aimed at their good, and for their reliefe, are now become, in many places, an oppreſſion, and a heavy yoak upon their necks, and a burden ſcarce portable upon their ſhoulders. As

1. In the multiplicity of them,1. The multiplicity of Viſitations. three or four that may be in one year; as firſt the Archdeacon, he viſits, and gathers up his Procurations, perhaps all the money that the poor Clergy can procure; then comes the Biſhop, and he viſits, and the Clergy muſt now double their file, his Procurations being twice as much as the Archdeacons; then, every third year, the Archbiſhop comes about in his triennial viſitation; and if in either the Biſhop, or the Archbiſhops viſitation, the Clergy fail, either in the payment of their Procurations, or making ſuch refections as ſhall be to the ſatisfaction of their Viſitors, their Livings may be ſequeſtred, and let them live as they liſt; and after all this, the Lord Primate, if he pleaſe, may come in the ſame year, to make a regal Viſitation; and he being ſo good a man, and coming from ſo good and ſo gracious a King, deſerves no leſs than the beſt; and the beſt entertainment, that can be made for his Grace is fit to be made for him; And can theſe many viſits, think you, be for the profit of the poor Clergy? But,

2.2. The Refections. The refections ſeem to be more burthenſome than the Procurations; eſpecially becauſe the Procurations are certain, what every man muſt pay, but the Refections (contrary to the mind of our Saviour, that ſaith unto his Diſciples, Into what houſe ſoever ye enter, eat what ſhall be ſet before you, Luk. 10.7.) muſt be to the ſatisfaction of the delicate and delicious company of the viſitors, and not according to the power of the poor Clergy; when they remember not the old Proverb, That the full dog knoweth not how, or what the empty dog doth bark; and if they be diſcontented with their entertainment, their Cenſures muſt be as they pleaſe, and none dares ſay, that it is unjuſt, or how can it be ſo from the men of God? Yet, as all powerful great men can eaſily find a ſtaffe to beat a dog: ſo the ſuperiour Biſhop or Archbiſhop can (if they pleaſe) ſoon find a fault in a poor inferiour Clergy man.

Now I will ſet down (for I fear no man living,) what information I have by Letters from the laſt Viſitation of the Archbiſhop of Dublin, that was held in my Dioceſs of Oſſory, by his Surrogate Mr. Archdeacon Bulkley: and theſe be the very words of the Letters, that the World may thereby ſee, and the Judge of all the World may judge in what caſe the poor Clergy do ſtand.

My Lord,

IT pleaſed God a little after your journey to Dublin to take out of this life your Grandchild Mrs. Cull, who diſcovered much Religion on her death bed; and as ſhe wanted not attendance in her ſickneſs, ſo neither decency, nor ſolemnity at her Funeral; Since your Lordſhips departure your Maid did, unknown to me, marry Mr. Barry the Smiths man, whom ſhe brought to lye in your Lordſhips houſe, whereupon there aroſe ſome quarrels between Thomas and her, inſomuch that Thomas ſate up a whole night with Candle-light for fear of the men, as he complained unto me, whereupon I charged the man not to lye at night time in your Lordſhips houſe till your Lordſhip did return; which hath prevented the like inconvenience ſince: As to the triennial Viſitation I ſhall give your Lordſhip this brief account, The Lord Archbiſhop did not come in perſon, but ſent Mr. Bulkley, whom we waited on three miles to bring him into Town, he told us what noble refections he met with in the Dioceſs of Kildare, Leighlin, but that here he was reſolved to lodge at his Daughters houſe, he asked what Proviſion we had made for his Regiſter, we told him Mr. Connels houſe; when his Regiſter came to Town, though his men ſome of them and his Portmantle were in Mr. Connels houſe, he did not like his lodging, and complained to the Vicar General; On Monday, after the Commiſſion was read, he told us, that in regard the refection for the Archbiſhop was neglected, he ſuſpended the Juriſdiction for ſix months, and whereas he thought to behave himſelf as a loving brother, he would prove a ſevere Judge, and that we ſhould expect nothing but utmoſt juſtice; we invited him that day to dine at Whitles, where we beſpoke a Dinner for his refection, which coſt ſix or ſeven pounds; but he refuſed, and every day we invited him, but could not prevail,; on Tueſday, and Wedneſday he ſeemed very mild and reſpective, and earneſtly deſired to be an happy Inſtrument in the reconciliation of Mr. Dean and my ſelf, Mr. Cull, and Mr. Driſdale, upon which importunity that we might not diſcover our ſelves to be litigious, I was willing to be reconciled to him, whom I had no viſible quarrell with, ſo was Mr. Driſdale, but Mr. Bulkleys awe upon Mr. Cull made him condeſcend to a great ſubmiſſion, and aske him forgiveneſs flexis genibus; the next day the Archdeacon told me, that if we would diſcharge his Servants quarters, he would take off the Inhibition upon the Juriſdiction, whereupon Mr. Connel and my ſelf engaged to diſcharge the Reckoning; and ſo we thought that all things had been ended in a fair correſpondence, but upon his departure, he did privately ſequeſter all the Livings of Mr. Cull Junior, the Vicaredge of Aghaboe into the hands of one Manby the Archbiſhops Chaplain, he ſequeſtered out of my own poor means Donnoghmore and Roſconnel, and two Livings more of Mr. Cull Senior, and there were many other Sequeſtrations that I could not get an account of, which they carried to Dublin; Thus praying for your Lordſhips ſpeedy return to countenance and ſupport the Clergy; I reſt,

Kilkenny, July 23. 1664. Your Lordſhips moſt obliged Servant, Joſeph Teate.

And now having ſet down this Letter, I would have my Reader to underſtand that whatſoever I ſet down here, touching my Lords Grace his Viſitation, I ſay it not to accuſe any of his Officers of the leaſt fault, or to lay the leaſt blame on them for any unjuſt proceeding therein.

The things acted by Mr. Archdeacon Bulkley in my Lords Grace his Viſitation, which the Biſhop of Oſſory underſtands not, as 1. The ſuſpenſion of the Biſhops juriſdiction. Canon 24.But I only ſet down rem gestam, to ſhew how heavy the Cenſure was, and how burthenſome (which a juſt judgement may be) unto the poor Clergy, whoſe neglect or fault, I excuſe not, if they committed any, but only pitty their caſe under their Cenſure; and likewiſe to ſhew how far, beyond my underſtanding, (which notwithſtanding might be moſt juſt) many things were acted therein; As,

1. The Suſpenſion or inhibition of the Juriſdiction, I know not for how many months together, nor for what cauſe, if as Mr. Teates Letter ſaith, for the neglect of the Archbiſhops Refection, I find the Canons ſay, that neither the Archbiſhops in their Viſitation ſhall charge their Suffragans, nor the Biſhops their Clergy, with any noctials or refections, over and above their ordinary Procurations, (reſerving notwithſtanding unto the Archbiſhops the refections heretofore uſually received in thoſe Dioceſs, where the ſame Procurations are not received by them, which are yearly paid by the Clergy unto their Biſhops.)

But the Archbiſhops do receive from the Clergy of the Dioceſs of Oſſory all the Procurations that they do yearly pay unto their Biſhops.

And yet notwithſtanding this exemption of Refections by the Canon, I am ſure I paid ſeventeen pound for the Archdeacons refection in the Archbiſhops laſt Viſitation, which is a great deal more than the Subſidy and twentieth part that I pay unto his Majeſty any year, and it may be more than ever was beſtowed upon a Dinner for the bleſſed Apoſtle S. Paul.

But you ſee in the Letter, how highly they do extoll the Biſhop of Kildare, which is the prime Biſhop in the Kingdom, for the noble entertainment that he made at this Viſitation, ſpending, as ſome ſay, forty pounds at leaſt for their Refection; and the Biſhop of Lachlin and Fernes in like manner, that was not much behind the former, to ſhew his love and reſpect to his Metrapolitan, my Lords Grace of Dublin.

Truly, I do honour, reſpect, and reverence, and do heartily love my Lords Grace of Dublin, as a moſt noble Gentleman, and a moſt reverend and a worthy Father of the Church, and as much, and it may be more than any of them, and have ſuffered ſomewhat for the love I bare him; though my large expence for the rights of the Church darkened the expreſſion thereof in the Archdeacons Refection, as the Archdeacon repreſented it to his Grace.

Or it may be, as ſome ſay, my Juriſdiction (for the Juriſdiction is mine, and not my Archdeacons, nor Regiſter,) was ſuſpended becauſe I appeared not, at the Viſitation, but went to England without my Lords Grace his leave; eſpecially after I had notice of his Viſitation.

Indeed, I muſt confeſs, I went after I had notice of the Viſitation: but my only buſineſs was the buſineſs of the Church, and I had my Lord Lieutenants leave, under his hand and ſeal, to go without any prejudice unto me; neither was I ſo forgetful of my duty, or of civil reſpect, as to neglect my Lords Grace, but I went unto his Grace to excuſe my abſence from his Viſitation, and to deſire his leave, to go on my journey; and he very graciouſly yielded unto me.

And why, after ſuch leaves obtained, my Juriſdiction, which is half my Epiſcopal Function, ſhould be inhibited, I underſtand not; If Mr. Bulkley ſaith, quomodo conſtat, that you had my Lords Grace leave to be abſent: I anſwer quomodo conſtabat, how did I know, that Mr. Archdeacon Bulkley ſhould viſite me, and would think me ſo uncivil, and ſo ill bred, as to forget my reſpect and duty to my Lords Grace, as to go away without his leave?

I, but why did not you, ſaith the Archdeacon, ſend a Certificate under the Archbiſhops hand, that you had his Grace his leave?

1. Becauſe I did not underſtand, that, if I were at Corke, or Kerry, or ſome other ſuch remote place from Dublin, it is abſolutely neceſſary by any Canon or Law, that I muſt either go or ſend to Dublin to get my Lords Grace his leave to go about my moſt unavoidable occaſions, of what conſequence ſoever they be, or elſe, to be ſequeſtred from my means, or to be ſuſpended from my juriſdiction.

2. Becauſe that, having his leave ore tenus, by word of mouth, I did not believe that Mr. Archdeacon would imagine, that a man ſhould not truſt the Archbiſhops words except he had it under his hand and ſeal, when as I never doubted of any honeſt mans word, and much leſs of the words of my Lords Grace of Dublin.

Yet the Juriſdiction was ſuſpended, as they ſay, for ſix months, till all the harveſt and the profit of the year ſhould be paſt over; and what a grievance this is, to all thoſe parties, that have ſuits depending in the Biſhops Court, to have juſtice retarded all this while, and to thoſe alſo, that would ſue for their Tythes, or for any other right within the cognizance of the Eccleſiaſtical Court, I do not underſtand it, but am ſorry for it: and let others judge of it.

2. The taking of the Articles exhibited againſt the Dean out of the Biſhops Court.2. When as Articles were exhibited unto me of high nature, againſt the Dean of S. Kenny, and I calling him into my Court, to anſwer them, and giving him his own time, that he deſired to have, to make his anſwer, that he might not be ſurprized, and this long before any inhibition of my Juriſdiction came into my hands, I do not underſtand how the ſame ſuit, depending in my Court, could be taken off, but by an appeal, and tranſmitted by a due Courſe of Law: or otherwiſe, all the ſuits and cauſes depending in my Court might be cancelled and taken off, as well as this: and what a grievance is this, to the proſecutors of any ſuit, and of how much damage I cannot imagine.

3.3. The giving of Relaxations of the Biſhops Sequeſtrations without hearing what the Biſhop could ſay for ſequeſtring them. When the Deane of Kilkenny came to be inſtituted into his Deanery that was Sequeſtred into the hands of Alderman Butler, and would neither pay the Fees for his Inſtitution, nor take a Relaxation of that Sequeſtration to this very day; and I letting him alone for this, and for many other prejudices, that concerned my ſelf, yet when divers of his Pariſh came unto me, and complained how duely they paid their Tythes and all duties unto him, and yet how roughly he uſed them, and how negligent he was of them, when as they had neither Service, nor Sermon, nor Miniſter, to Chriſten their Children, Marry their Youths, and Bury their Dead, but they muſt go, and entreat this man or that man to do it, and that I could not perſwade him to have a better care of his Flock, nor to pay any Dues to his Majeſty, to my Lord Duke of Ormond, and the Biſhop, I Sequeſtred his Living for the better Service to be done unto his people, and the ſooner to get thoſe Duties due both to the King and Biſhop; and he underſtanding thereof, inſtead of coming to me for to deſire a Relaxation, (which I expected,) he went and deſired to ſee the Sequeſtration, and the man that had the Sequeſtration, gave it him to read, and he put it in his Pocket, and keeps it to this day, and gathered his Tythes, giving many opprobrious terms, and uſing great threatnings againſt the honeſt man to whoſe hands I had ſequeſtred his Living.

And when Mr. Archdeacon Bulkley came to the Archbiſhops Viſitation, he, without my privity, and without any appeal, or demanding what I had to ſay againſt him, gives a Relaxation of that Sequeſtration.

And all this I cannot well underſtand; but it puts me in mind of a Play Book that I ſaw on a Bookſellers Stall, intituled, A King and no King; and of what the Jews ſaid to Chriſt, Hayl King of the Jews, that is in their mind, Rex ſine Regno: For thus, taking the Articles out of my Court, and relaxing the Sequeſtration, and undoing whatſoever I had done, I conceived I ſhould be a Biſhop and no Biſhop: or a Biſhop without the authority and power of a Biſhop.

And truly, I do think, I were better to uſe no Juriſdiction, than in vacuum laborare, and to do things to no purpoſe, but only to be undone againe; which is not ſo much a prejudice unto me, as it is to all thoſe Parties that had, or ſhould have any Suits depending in the Biſhops Court, and muſt every third year go fifty or ſixty miles to follow their Suits, and with a vaſt expence in Dublin; and I wiſh his Majeſty would conſider this agrievance of his People.

But now, as Abraham ſaid to God, Gen. 18.30. I have taken upon me to ſpeak unto the Lord, let him not be angry, and I will ſpeak; ſo I ſay to my Lords Grace of Dublin, The things that the Biſhop of Oſſory obſerveth to be conſidered out of the Letters. 1. Touching the Refection. ſeeing I have taken upon me to ſpeak of theſe things, let not his Grace be angry, and I will yet ſpeak a little of what I have obſerved in the afore-cited Letters; And

1. For the Refections, I will ſay no more but what you ſee in the Letters; and what I ſaid before touching this Point, but deſire (if we muſt ſtill continue to give Refections to the Biſhops and Archbiſhops,) that the uncertainty of the expence might be remedied, and either commuted for a certain Sum of money, or limited not to exceed a Sum as ſhall be agreed upon, to be convenient, that the poor Clergy might be certain what they are to do, and underſtand in what caſe they ſtand, and not be puniſhed for their ill-doing and neglect of their duty, when they think they have been very bountiful and have done very well; And,

2.2. For the reconciliation of the diſagreeing perſons. For the Reconciliation of the perſons diſagreeing it was a very good, and a very charitable work; but for the ſubmiſsion of the Senior Cull unto the Deane, it puts me in mind of Aeſops Fable, Lupus ad caput fontis, bibens videt agnum procul infra bibentem; for to ſay the truth, Ea fama vagatur, the Dean is reported, and I will not juſtifie the report, to be very litigious, and covetous, and to have much wronged the poor Vicars; and to have been, as Chaplain to one Delboire a Coſin of his, at the Siege of Baſing Houſe, againſt his late Majeſty; which, if true, makes me believe him to be a very unworthy man, and not worthy to be countenanced againſt any honeſt man; and I know Mr. Cull is reputed to be a very honeſt man, preſented ſo to me by the Maior and Aldermen of Kilkenny, and I am ſure a very conſtant and painful Preacher; and yet the Deane charged him with ſuch hainous crimes, that, if proved, were ſufficient utterly to undo him; Whereupon Mr. Cull, to quit himſelf of the Accuſations, preferred theſe Articles following againſt the Deane, and delivered the ſame to me, and I finding, that, if Fame be true, they might be all very eaſily proved, did put the ſame into my Court, to be anſwered by the Deane: And not to prejudice the Reputation of the Deane, (the things alleadged being not proved,) but that my Reader might the better underſtand the truth in this place.

And the Articles, being exhibited unto me, by the Junior Cull from his Father, as I ſhewed before, I required his Proctor to draw up the ſame in forma juris, and my Regiſter to deliver them to the Dean; and in open Court, I gave the Dean his own deſired time to anſwer them; & all this being done, the Articles exhibited, the Dean having his own time to anſwer them, and lying long in the Court before any tidings of the Archbiſhops inhibition came unto us, I conceive it ſtrange, and cannot underſtand, quo jure, how theſe Articles ſhould be taken out of my Court, as they were, without my privity, without an appeal, or any other due courſe of Law, and the offendor quitted, and ſet free without any anſwer to any Articles, (which I conceived to be rather a covering of faults, and cheriſhing offences, than a reformation of manners,) but eſpecially to conſider that the party wronged, and ſo highly injured,The ſtrange injunction laid upon Jo. Cull. ſhould be enjoyned to make ſuch a ſubmiſſion, as flexis genibus upon his knees, to ask forgiveneſs to him that did the wrong: hoc mihi magnum eſt, hoc miram, I pray you forgive me, that I did not thank you for abuſing me: to juſtifie herein the foreſaid Fable true; for, I know no wrong that Cull did to the Dean, but I can make it good, that the Dean did many waies exceedingly wrong poor Cull; And yet Cull muſt be enjoyned to ask the Dean forgiveneſs upon his knees; and truly, to this day, I could not learn for what, unleſs it were for complaining that the Dean dealt with him, as the Wolfe did with the Lamb.

And not only ſo, but the report goeth, that the poor man (who ſpends what he hath, to maintain his two Sons in Oxford,) was awed, (as the word of my Letter is,) that is, threatned and terrified, that if he did not do as Archdeacon Bulkley enjoyned him, he ſhould be deprived of all the means he had, and ſhould not be ſuffered to ſerve in all Ireland: which if true, (as I eaſily believe it,) is the readieſt way to encreaſe the oppreſſions and wickedneſs of men, to the great diſhonour of God, and not to further the reformation of thoſe offences, that ought moſt ſeverely to be reproved; eſpecially in thoſe men, that by the dignity of their places, ſhould be the light and good example unto others, yet will be indeed the very ſcandal, ſhame, and reproach of their Calling: I ſay no more, but that ſuch proceedings do ſeem very ſtrange to me, that never ſaw the like in the Kingdom of Ingland, nor ever read the like done in any Eccleſiaſtical Court.

3. For the Sequeſtration.And for the Sequeſtrations, I can ſay little or nothing to them; becauſe I know not well the cauſes, for which they were ſequeſtred; but I pity the poverty, and the loſs and want that muſt thereby follow to the ſequeſtred parties, to diſinable them for a while to do that good, which otherwiſe they might do to themſelves and their Families.

Yet, as the old Axiom is, that Corruptio unius eſt generatio alterius, ſo their loſs is a gain to the Officers and friends of the Sequeſtor, (though perhaps they have not ſo much need of it, as thoſe that are ſequeſtred,) becauſe Mr. Archdeacon Bulkley (as I am informed) wrote his Letters to the Dean, and to his Coſin Mr. Lloyd (who, notwithſtanding his Letters, dealt like a Gentleman with the ſequeſtred parties) to make the beſt agreement they could with the Sequestred Clergy for their own profit and advantage, before they ſhould have their relaxation; which I believe was never ſo intended when Sequeſtrations were firſt ordered to be extended.

But for Jonathan Cull, that is ſaid to be ſequeſtred for not going to his Grace, to aske leave to go to Oxford, before he went, (which was indeed a fault in Cull,) and no man will excuſe him, unleſs he can yield a very good reaſon for his neglect.

But for his Non-reſidency from his Livings, I think, that the Statute doth allow him to be abſent from his Living, and to live in the Univerſity ſtudendi gratia untill he be forty years old, and I having ſent him word, from the Rector of Lincoln Colledge, where he is a ſtudent, that he muſt make haſte to come before the Act; and his new-married Wife being lately dead, he might be thereby ſo troubled, and in ſuch an extaſie, as to forget his duty and obedience to my Lords Grace, not ſo much out of contempt or neglect of his Grace, as out of ignorance, baſhfulneſs, or forgetfulneſs, that might well excuſe him before any mild, and no ſevere Judges à tanto licet non à toto; and therefore conſideratis conſiderandis, the fault, which might be accounted venial, might be conceived not to deſerve ſo heavy a Cenſure, as to be deprived of all his means, whereby he is diſinabled to continue his ſtudy in the Univerſity; which makes me believe, the Sequeſtrator conceived ſome greater cauſe to ſequeſter him, either againſt him, or againſt ſome other of his relation, which is probable, as I conceive it, to be againſt my ſelf, whom ſome thought to wound through the ſide of Jonathan Cull, becauſe I know the man to be ſo civil, and of ſo fair a carriage, as to give no juſt offence to any one, or in any place; I would the accuſer of his brethren were ſo blameleſs: but many times Ariſtides is puniſhed for being juſt, and Clodius applauded for his wickedneſs.

Or if he, or any other of my Clergy hath juſtly deſerved puniſhment, I will not be their Advocate to juſtifie or to excuſe any hainous crime.

And for the Viſitations themſelves;The Viſitations of this Kingdom. the Biſhops Viſitation ſeems to be clipped here in this Kingdom of Ireland more than ſeems convenient; for the chief parts and duties of this Office of Epiſcopacy, different from Presbytery, do conſiſt in theſe two ſpecial things:

1. Ordination of the Prieſts and Deacons to be the Teachers and Paſtors of the Church, to feed the flock of Chriſt.

2. Juriſdiction, to rule and govern all the members of the Church, Clergy, and Layty, according to the Laws, Canons, and Conſtitutions of the Church.

And if in this Triennial Viſitation of the Archbiſhop, he inhibits the Biſhops Juriſdiction for two or three months, before he viſits, and then when he viſits, ſuſpends the Juriſdiction for ſix months more, as here you ſee he doth, or for more than that if he pleaſe, and this every third year: and in any part of the year, when he will; hath not the Archbiſhop ſwallowed up almoſt all the Juriſdiction of the Biſhop? And then as the Pope ſends his Legatos a latere, to do only what the Pope directs him; ſo the Biſhop ſhall ſtand by the Archbiſhops ſide, and ſhall be ſet aſide, as oft as he pleaſeth, which ſeems to me to be a Juriſdiction ad placitum, and ſo little better than a Cypher, that ſtanding by himſelf, ſignifieth nothing, and ſo is worthy of a Presbyterial correction.

But, as Monarchy is the beſt kind of Government in the World, when the ſame is well ordered, and rightly uſed, as I have moſt amply ſhewed in my Book, of the Right of Kings, ſo the multiplication of powers into one hand, being abuſed, hath produced Tyranny among the Tyrants of the Gentiles; and, as Presbyterians ſay, in the Popes of Rome: Therefore our Saviour Chriſt, ſeeing how ambitious, and how greedy his Diſciples were to uſurp authority, forbiddeth them, (not, to uſe their authority, and the juriſdiction that he gives them,) but he forbiddeth them to abuſe it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , i. e. not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , to domineer one over another, as the heathen Tyrants did, 1 Pet. 5.3. and to that end, the moſt Divines ſay, and I think all, except the Popes Paraſites, I am ſure all the Presbyterians affirm it, that Chriſt equally diſtributed the power and authority, that he gave, to the Governours of his Church, which were the twelve Apoſtles, amongſt them all:See Biſhop Howſons Sermons that proves this Point at large. and therefore they had all equal juriſdiction; though S. Peter had the priority of nomination, in reſpect of order, which muſt be obſerved in all the actions and the works of God, which is the God of order.

Yet I, that am and will be as obſervant, reſpective, and obedient to my Archbiſhop as any Biſhop in Ireland ſhall be to his Metrapolitan, ſay not this, as finding any fault, or laying the leaſt blame, upon the Canons and Conſtitutions of the Church, and the Laws of theſe Kingdoms (for all muſt confeſs, that the Office and Calling of an Archbiſhop was not ſo from the beginning, nor is, jure divino, of Chriſts inſtitution,) that ordered and appointed the ſame to be governed and guided by the Biſhops ſubordinate to their Archbiſhops, that are to have the overſight of them; which is a moſt excellent way, that all things may be done right in the rule and government of Gods Church: So it be done with that temper and moderation that it ought to be done.

But I ſay this, to the ſame end as our Saviour ſaid it to his Diſciples, that all things might be done, Leni ſpiritu, non dura manu, rather by an inward ſweet influence, than an outward extream violence, and that all the Biſhops, and the Archbiſhops in their Viſitations, and in all their actions ſhould ſtudy and ſtrive to be like Moſes, that in the Government of Gods people was the gentlest, and the meekeſt man upon earth, and endeavoured, as he ſaith himſelf, to carry them in his boſome, which is the greateſt commendation, and the beſt quality that can be in any Biſhop, of whom, it is a ſhame to ſay, Non pater est Aeacus, thou art not the ſon of Moſes, ſed te genuere ferae, but thou art more like the ſavage beaſts: when thou art ſo cruel, ſo unmerciful, and ſo ſevere in the cenſure of thy brethren of thine own Coat.

For as I ſaid long ago, ſo I ſay now, and will ſay it ſtill,One of the chiefeſt cauſes of the late diſtractions in our Church. that the rigid carriage of ſome ſevere Biſhops, and their undiſcreet Surrogates, on the one ſide: and the high ſtomacks and proud behaviour of the Presbyters, on the other ſide, when the Governours ruled, and domineered like Tyrants, and the Presbyters, like ſtubborn Children, refuſed to be obedient, hath been one of the chiefeſt cauſes of the late diſtraction and miſeries, that we have felt in this our Church,

But I will demand of the Lay men, whether that Cenſure, be commendable, when for a fault that deſerves a penny fine, the offender ſhall be puniſhed with a pound? And that delinquency, which ſprings through ignorance, or forgetfulneſs, and not of obſtinacy, ſhall be equally puniſhed with the higheſt tranſgreſſours; which is, in my judgment, like Draco, that wrote his Laws in bloud: Yet may you ſee the like Draco's ſometimes in the Sequeſtrations and Cenſures of ſome Clergymen: Poor ſouls, I can but pity them. And I will not be the Judge, but let the Reader conſider it; A young man is newly inſtituted into a little Living, and becomes bound to his Majeſty for his firſt fruits, then goeth to his ſtudy to the Univerſity, that he may be the better enabled to do God ſervice, in the Church of Chriſt; yet, becauſe that either through baſhfulneſs to go to ſo great a Prelate, that he never was acquainted with, or through ignorance of his duty, or forgetfulneſs, or perhaps for haſte to ſave his paſſage by Sea, when as time and tide ſtay for no man; or ſome other excuſable cauſe, he goeth to Oxford without his Archbiſhops being acquainted therwith, though his own Biſhop ſent for him in all haſte to come up before the Act: yet for this hainous crime and great piccadillo fault, he is ſequeſtred from all the means he hath, before he receives the firſt harveſt fruits, or perhaps one penny from the ſame, whereby he is diſinabled to pay the Kings firſt fruits, and to maintain himſelf in the Univerſity, and ſo undone: and if this Cenſure be equivalent, and not exceeding the fault, judge you.

And as diſlike and diſaffection produce ſometimes heavy Sentences upon the poor Clergy for light faults; ſo I have often ſeen great oppreſſions, and much baſeneſs uſed by ſome great dignified Clergy-men, that I could name, and yet they were ſo far from Cenſure, that others were upheld and applauded in their wickedneſs and ſo,Juven. 1. Satyr. 13. as the Poet ſaith, — Multi Eadem committunt diverſo crimina fato Ille crucem pretium ſceleris tulit, hic diadema:

One man is applauded and crowned for the ſame fact for which another man is condemned and hanged.

The laſt Viſitation of the Archbiſhop in this Dioceſs of Oſſory. But for the laſt Viſitation of the Archbiſhop in this Dioceſs of Oſſory, I ſhall, beſides what I have ſaid already of the Inhibition and Suſpenſion of the Juriſdiction, ſay ſomewhat more than I ſaid of the Sequeſtrations of the Clergy; And, 1. Of the Number of thoſe perſons that were ſequeſtred. 2. Of the Cauſes for which they were ſequeſtred. 3. Of the Conſequents of their Sequeſtrations.

1. You muſt underſtand, that in all my Dioceſs of Oſſory, I have but twenty two beneficed Clergy-men, and of them twelve are non-reſident, and eight of the twenty two were ſequeſtred; viz.

1. Mr. Barry. 2. Mr. Cull Senior. 3. Mr. Cull Junior. 4. Mr. Driſdall. 5. Mr. Moor. 6. Mr. Spencer. 7. Mr. Teate. 8. Mr. Kerny.

Whereof ſix were continually reſident, and in my judgment, the moſt learned, and moſt frequent conſtant Preachers, that have any Eccleſiaſtical preferment in my Dioceſs.

2. For the Cauſes, why their Livings were ſequeſtred, I cannot, and I do not ſay but that they may be very juſt, either for not rendering to Caeſar what belongs unto Caeſar, as the twentieth part, Subſidies, and the like payments, due unto his Majeſty; or for not rendering to God what is Gods, as the due and diligent ſerving of their Churches, and the payment of their Procurations, and the diſcharging of all other dues and accuſtomed duties unto his Grace, or to them whom he ſent to viſit them; or for holding their Livings contrary, either to the Civil or the Eccleſiaſtical Laws of the Land; or for the unworthineſs of the perſons uncapable of them, or ſome other juſt and lawful cauſe.

My Regiſters Letter informs me, that Mr. Cull Juniors Livings were ſequeſtred for going to the Univerſity without his Grace his leave, whereof I have ſpoken before; and others for diſtance of miles, if they were above ſix miles one from another, though they ſay, that for the tenuity of their Livings they had the Kings Pattent under the Broad Seal, to hold them ſome thirty, and others twenty miles diſtant; in which caſe, I ſay no more, but, if they ſhall not keep them above ſix miles diſtant, they might live better and grow richer here in Ireland by keeping Sheep, than by feeding of Chriſt his flock; or if the Law prohibits them, to keep them, beyond that diſtance, I wonder, why they are admitted, by the Relaxations of the Sequeſtrations, to keep them ſtill if they were ſequeſtred, to get Fees for the Relaxation, to Mr. Proby, my Lords Grace his Regiſter, and not to deprive them of either Living; my Lords Grace dealt more graciouſly, and like himſelf, in granting the Relaxation of them, than his Surrogate did in the Sequeſtration of them.

But if they were Sequeſtred, for not paying the Archbiſhops Procurations, or other duties due unto his Grace, I blame them very much, that they paid them not; for though by reaſon of the ſmalneſs of their means, and the worthineſs of the men, in their pains taking, I forgave all my Procurations and other dues alſo, to moſt of the poorer ſort of them, ever ſince his Majeſty came in, and, to my remembrance, have not received ſo much as ten ſhillings in Procurations from all my Clergy to this very day; yet that ſhould not make them careleſs or forgetful to pay all duties, that are due to other men; and therefore I told Mr. Barry, that ſaith, for not paying eighteen pence Procurations to the Archbiſhop, he paid thirty two ſhillings to his Regiſter, for his Relaxation, that he did very unwiſely therein; though, to excuſe himſelf to me, that was angry with them all that were negligent to pay all dues to his Grace, he had ſaith, that eighteen pence is not in my List, nor in the Archdeacons Liſt of Procurations, neither was it ever paid, or demanded to be paid, either by me, or by my Archdeacon, or by any other Biſhop or Archbiſhop before; or otherwiſe, if he known how it came into Mr. Archdeacon Bulkleys Rowle, he would rather have paid his eighteen pence than thirty two ſhillings; and ſo I told every one of the reſt of them that were ſequeſtred, and paid thirty two ſhillings for each of their Relaxations, that it was their own fault, and their folly, that they had not paid what was ſo juſtly due unto his Grace.

3. The conſequents of their Sequeſtrations,3. For the Conſequents of theſe Sequeſtrations, as they were very beneficial and profitable to the Archdeacons Friends, and to my Lords Grace his Officers, as I could ſhew you in what particulars, ſo they were very fatal and grievous to the poor Prieſts, that were ſequeſtred; for I, charging them, upon their Canonical obedience, to ſhew me the truth of the proceedings and ſufferings which they ſuſtained, I received a Petition from the Senior Cull, and a Letter of Mr. Manby, my Lords Grace his Chaplain, to a friend of his; (which I once thought to inſert in this place,) but I did not, yet I perceived thereby, how heavily this burthen lay upon the poor mans back, that proteſted unto me, he ſpent near thirty pounds before he was quitted from all his troubles in this buſineſs, and he was brought ſo low, that I was fain to lend him twenty pounds to be ſent to Oxford to relieve his two Sons, leſt otherwiſe they ſhould be expelled out of their Colledge for want of money to pay their arrears; and how great a prejudice and hinderance it was to the Junior Cull in his proceedings in the Univerſity, himſelf beſt knoweth, and can beſt inform you: the which things I conceived were very much to be pittied by any compaſſionate Father in the Church of God, that hath a fellow-feeling of anothers miſery.

And I underſtand likewiſe, from the reſt of the Clergy, and the poor Clarks of the Pariſh Churches, what an infinite charge the reſt of the ſequeſtred parties had been at, in paying about thirty two ſhillings Fees for every Relaxation, and Sequeſtration granted againſt them; beſides their own proper expences, and, if I am not miſinformed, beſides two pence a mile from Dublin to Oſſory, (which in ſome places is betwixt fifty and ſixty miles,) to the Apparator that ſerved the Sequeſtration; and beſides a far greater trouble and loſs which theſe ſequeſtred perſons had from the Tenants, to whom they had ſet their Tythes before they were ſequeſtred, and (by reaſon of the great charge, and ſmall means of ſome of them) were fain to take ſome part of their money before-hand; for when the Farmers of their Tythes, ſaw that their Livings were ſequeſtred, and put into other mens hands, yet, (though they had a Relaxation of them afterwards,) they pretended a far greater loſs than it may be they had, and ſo made the loſs very great unto the Incumbent, that muſt bear all the damage, and ſave the Tenant harmleſs; as to inſtance in one example for all.

The Dean and Chapter having paid me no Procurations, An inſtance of the loſs of the ſequeſtred parties. for all the Livings that they held, ſince his Majeſties happy reſtauration, I ſequeſtred the ſame into the hands of two of the ableſt and beſt experienced Prebends, Mr. Teate, and Mr. Kerney, who, I knew, would give a juſt account to me, and to the reſt of their fellow Prebends; and they did ſet the Tythes unto thoſe Tenants that were moſt able, and gave moſt for them; but when Archdeacon Bulkley came to viſite the Chapter, his great friend, and old acquaintance, the Dean, that had all the former years Revenues in his hand, and had given none account of any part thereof unto the Chapter, and was much grieved at my Sequeſtration of it, out of his hands, would not pay the Procurations due to my Lord Archbiſhop of Dublin, no more than he would pay to me any of my Procurations; whereupon Archdeacon Bulkley, whether to pleaſe the Deane, or to pleaſure his Coſin Bulkley, I know not, ſequeſtred the ſame again into the hands of his Coſin Mr. Thomas Bulkley, and the reſt of the Prebends had loſt no leſs than five pounds by reaſon of that Sequeſtration, if the Law had not forced Mr. Tho. Bulkley to yield it up into the former Tenants hands. And ſo did the reſt of the Clergy loſe very much by reaſon of their Sequeſtrations, which they had never been acquainted with ſince my reſtauration; though I received not forty ſhillings from all my Clergy ſince I came to be Biſhop to this very day, nor ſo much as one penny from the Dean in all my life.

Then about two months after the Archbiſhops Viſitation was paſt, I received a Letter from Mr. Proby, the Archbiſhops Regiſter.

And therein a Liſt of them that had not paid their Procurations unto his Grace.

At the reading of which, I did greatly wonder at the partiality of Archdeacon Bulkley, that could ſpare to ſequeſter Mr. Richard Seagar, Mr. Whittington, Mr. Williams, Mr. Richard Deane, Mr. Goburne, Mr. Wilſon, and Dr. Chamberlain, that were the Deans friends, and for whom he interceded, though five of them were non-reſident, and yet would preſently ſequeſter thoſe eight (whereof ſeven were alwaies reſident, and took moſt pains in all the Dioceſs,) whom he knew the Biſhop therefore had a very good opinion of them, as well as of thoſe whom he ſpared; and the Dean had ſo eagerly, I will not ſay maliciouſly, but I dare ſay cauſeleſly, complained of them; and theſe alſo to have their Relaxations granted before they had paid their Procurations; I hope it is not to ſequeſter them again, which they well deſerve, if their former warning hath not taught them to pay them. And therefore, I that have alwaies perſwaded and taught obedience to be obſerved by all inferiours to their ſuperintendents, would not be negligent of my duty, to do according to my Lords Grace his Order, but I ſent my Apparitor to all the particulars of my Clergy mentioned in the Schedule, to come and make ſatisfaction for their Procurations, or to expect what might ſucceed, which they were better, like wiſe men, to prevent.

And they, when they came unto me, ſhewed me their Acquittances, under Mr. Juxe his hand, that they had already paid them.

So I thought this ſtorm was over: Yet within a while I heard that about ſome ten poor Pariſh Clarkes, and five of the Clergy were cited to appear at Dublin, (a journey to ſome fifty or ſixty miles, in the ſhort Winter daies, and over waies as foul as any is in Ingland,) to anſwer Articles that ſhould be objected againſt them.

Then divers of the Clerks came crying to me, that they had rather leave their Clerkeſhip than to take ſuch a journey to Dublin; and one of the Clerks the Archdeacon Bulkley had given a Licence to, and yet cited him to Dublin to ſhew his Licence, the which, when he ſhewed, the Officers of the Court ſaid, they miſtook it, and diſmiſt the cauſe, and yet afterwards ſent a Citation for the Fees. And my Clergy entreated me to intercede for them that did not know wherein they had offended, nor what could be objected againſt them: and I anſwered them all, that I would neither meddle nor make in their buſineſs; but, if they have done well, then all would be well, if otherwiſe, let them ſuffer for it, I would never excuſe their negligence, nor Patronize their offence; then ſome of them appearing at Dublin, expecting their Charge, and deſiring earneſtly to be diſpatcht, Archdeacon Bulkley anſwered, Your Biſhop is writing of Books, (for he had ſome inkling of mine intent,) and will not apply himſelf to my Lords Grace to intercede for you.

Yet my Lord Archbiſhop very nobly and graciouſly willed the Archdeacon to take their anſwer, and to diſpatch them that they might go home; and the Archdeacon Bulkley willed them, to confeſs their faults, and to ſubmit unto the Court, and they ſhould be diſcharged; and I hearing of this advice, willed them to confeſs the truth, but not of any guilt, wherein they were innocent.

And therefore when they had their Articles, ten or twelve, read unto them, (for they had no Copy of them,) they ſaw, they were but meer ſuggeſtions, and not any thing in any of them, that could any waies touch them, or prejudice them in any thing, and they preſently made their anſwers unto them.

And when they had anſwered and confeſt no fault that they committed; upon the payment of their Fees, for the charges of the Court, they were diſmiſt.

Whereby, it ſeems to me, that, if they were guiltleſs, and nothing could be proved againſt them, they might as well cite all the Clergy, and all the men in Kilkenny, and ſuggeſt Articles againſt them, to bring them unto Dublin, to pay Fees to enrich the Officers of the Court; and that being done, to ſend them home glad that they are diſmiſt.

Then after this the Churchwardens of S. Maries in Kilkenny, having very juſtly, as I underſtand, preſented divers perſons at the Archbiſhops Viſitation,Canon 65. and 67. they were, contrary to the Canons, cited to appear at Dublin, forty ſeven miles, to make good their Preſentation, as the Churchwardens informed me; which was ſo ill reſented, that we could hardly get any that would take the Churchwardenſhip upon them, for fear of the like troubles if they preſented any man. But, when I demanded of the Archdeacon why the Churchwardens were cited to make good their Preſentment: He anſwered, it was not ſo; but they retained a Proctor to proſecute againſt thoſe that refuſed to pay the Church taxes, and they not following their ſuit, they were ſent unto, either to come and proſecute, or the Defendants ſhould be diſmiſt: which if ſo, I blame not the proceeding, but let the Churchwardens ſuffer for their own errour, when they ſue out of my Court without a diſmiſſion, or an appeal.

Yet out of all my former diſcourſe, it appeareth what an heavy burthen and an infinite charge this laſt triennial Viſitation of the Archbiſhop hath been to the indigent Clergy of Oſſory, both in their threefold Procurations, their manifold Sequeſtrations, and long Winter journeys to procure their Relaxations, and the manifold loſſes that they ſuſtained by their Tenants, that, by reaſon of the Sequeſtrations were diſappointed of thoſe tythes that they had taken from the Incumbents, which makes me think, that we do not follow our Saviours Counſel and Precept to S. Peter, To feed his flock; nor what we learnt in the old Adage, that ſaith, Boni paſtoris eſt pecus tondere non deglubere; for certainly theſe foreſaid things do ſeem deglubere pecus non tondere; and to cauſe his ſhepwards to ſtarve, and not to enable them to feed his Lambs.

And therefore, as the ſin of Solomon moved God to raiſe up Hadad the Edomite, and Rezon the Son of Eliadah, and Jeroboam the Son of Nebat, to vex Solomon for the ſins of Solomon, 1 Kings 11.14, 23, 26. So I do not wonder, that God ſuffereth the devil to ſtir up Presbyterians, and Quakers, Why God ſuffereth Sectaries to vex the Biſhops. and other Anabaptiſtical Sectaries to vex the Biſhops for theſe and the like ſins of the Biſhops againſt God and his poor people, when they ſuffer and countenance their Commiſſaries, Regiſters, and other Officers, to be like a talent of lead upon the necks of Chriſt his Sheep.

But I do therefore demand, if theſe things,Whether the foreſaid abuſes ought not to be redreſſed. and all the things I ſhewed to be amiſs in this Treatiſe, ought not to be reformed and amended?

I know ſome will ſay, they ought not thus to be publiſhed to the World, to diſcover the weakneſs and imperfections of our Brethren, to make them more contemptible in the eyes of the ſcoffers of our Calling, than they are; and therefore will much blame me for this my publication of theſe things.

But as Caligula was ſo wicked, and his life ſo beaſtly, Reynolds in the life of Caligula fol. 31. that ſome Hiſtoriographers have been in doubt, whether it were beſt to bury them in oblivion, or commit them unto memory: and it is anſwered by mine Author, That, ſeeing it is profitable to the Readers, and to Poſterity, to know the evil doings of others, and the diſgrace they have thereby, to m ke them affraid to do the like evils, leſt in like manner they ſhould be publiſhed to their ſhame: therefore it is far better to diſcover the faults of Governours and great men, than to conceal them; becauſe it is done,Why great mens faults ought to be diſcovered. not with any deſire of any evil to the doers of thoſe evil deeds, but out of an earneſt endeavour to amend them, and to prevent the like carriages in all others; not to diſgrace any, but to prevent the diſgrace of all.

But though it be not amiſs to make known the injuſtice and the faults of Great men, that there may be a redreſs of them; yet who dares complain and ſpeak of the Vices of their Superiours? An tutum eſt ſcribere in eos qui poſſunt proſcribere: I have read how the Mice held a Conſultation, The Fable of the Mice. how they might eſcape the fury of the Cat; and one wiſer than the reſt, ſaid, it might eaſily be done, if there were but a Bell tied about the Cats neck; for ſo they might heare her coming, and they might get away; and all liked well, and applauded the device; but to this day they could never agree, which of them ſhould tie the Bell about the Cats neck: So all the poor and inferiour Clergy, all ſigh, and groan, and complain of their Taxes, and Preſſures, and Oppreſſions, by the Biſhops, and Archbiſhops, and Archdeacons, and their Suffragans, and all that come to Cenſure them; but not one of them all dares tie the Bell about the Cats neck, and complain of theſe Great Powers unto the Higher Powers, to have their abuſes redreſſed, for fear of a worſer conſequence; no leſs than to be cruſht and torn all to pieces.

Yet I remember, what Seneca ſaith, that he which is careleſs of his own life, may when he will, be Maſter of another mans life; ſo he that is careleſs of his own ſtate or promotion, and regards not the confluence of wealth and worldly things, may without fear do things that other timorous men dare not venter to do.

The manifold deliverances of the Author.And truly I muſt confeſs, that ſince the great Jehovah, my continual deliverer, hath delivered me from that multitude, of thoſe malicious Enemies, that ſought after my life, when I was ſcarce budded in the world, and ever ſince hath preſerved me ſo many times from ſuch great, and ſo unimaginable dangers, as from Captain Flaxen, when I was carried Priſoner to North-hampton; from Captain Beech, when I was taken priſoner at Sea, from the drunken Captain that would have delivered me to the Power of the Par iament, hard by Aber-yſtwith; from Sir John Carter and Courtney, that would have clapt me in priſon when I preached for his now Majeſty at Conway; from the wicked Committee of plundered Miniſters, that ſaid I deſerved rather to have my head cut off, than to have any Articles performed with me; from ſo many deſperate Sea-voyages and Land journeys that I p ſſed through; and from Captain Wood, when I was under his hands in the Parliament Ship; from the Great Antichriſt, the Long Parliament; and eſpecially from the devil himſelf, when he threw me down at Weſt-Wickham, and God ſaid unto him, as he did of Job, He is in thy hand, but ſave his life; I never feared what man could do unto me: but as the Prophet David ſaid, the Lord delivered me from the mouth of the bear, and of the Lion, and he will deliver me from this uncircumciſed Philiſtine: So I ſay, the Lord that preſerved me ſo many times, from ſo many dangers, will ſtill preſerve me, while with a ſincere heart I endeavour to diſcharge my duty: eſpecially ſeeing the Lord ſaith, I, even I am he that comforteth you; and who art thou that art affraid of a man, and of the ſon of man that ſhall be made as graſs, and forgetteſt the Lord thy Maker, that hath ſtretched forth the heavens, and laid the Foundations of the Earth, and haſt feared every day becauſe of the fury of the oppreſſour, as if he were ready to deſtroy.

Therefore, as I have been alwaies reſolute, and in a manner, deſperate, in the judgment of the timorous, as it appeareth, by the three Books, that, in the behalf of our late King, I printed in Oxford, and the three Books that I writ of the Great Antichriſt, while the Long Parliament and the falſe Prophet were in their greateſt prevalency; and by the Sermons that I preached at St. Nicholas, and other Churches in Dublin, at Conwey before the Judges, at Llan Sannan, and in all places: So now in mine old age, when I am ſo near my grave, I have leſs reaſon to fear, and more cauſe to be reſolute, to ſay the truth, to diſcharge my duty, and to implore my moſt honourable Friends, my Lords Grace of Canterbury, my Lord of London, and my old familiar Acquaintance my Lord of Wincheſter, whom God hath placed ſo near his Majeſty, and hath raiſed to that eminency of dignity pre conſortibus above their brethren, not ſo much for their own ſakes, as for his honour and ſervice, and the good of his Church, and like ſo many religious Joſephs, to relieve their diſtreſſed Brethren, to joyn in mine aſſiſtance, moſt earneſtly to beſeech, and moſt humbly to petition to his Sacred Majeſty, that he would be graciouſly pleaſed to relieve and help the Church of Ireland in thoſe threefold grievances that I have foreſhewed: as, that

1. Seeing the Lands and Revenues of the Church, were I am ſure, in many places of my Dioceſs, given for their reward that fought againſt his late Majeſty; and that by reaſon of their wealth and great friends to uphold them therein they do poſſeſs them; and we that would erect our Churches therewith, are diſinabled to do it without our means, that are ſo forcibly with ſtrong hands, and by ſuch friends detained from us; his Majeſty would be pleaſed to cauſe them, or ſome others, ſome waies, and by ſome means, to have the Churches of God, for the ſervice of Jeſus Chriſt, to be erected and repairedEſpecially the Biſhops Cathedral Church in Kilkenny. , and not, to the ſcandal of our Religion, (which the Jews, Turks, and Gentiles would not do,) to ſuffer our very Cathedrals, and ſo many other Pariſh Churches to lie ſo ruinous, and ſo rooted up as they are.

2. That ſeeing ſo many great and goodly Impropriations are taken away from the Church of Chriſt, and from the ſervice of God, and are held in the hands of ſuch great perſons and powerful men, that will not part with them, (as I ſhewed to you before,) and the poor Vicars of ſuch Rectories impropriate, have ſcarce ſo much means belonging to the Vicaredges, as will put bread into their mouths, whereby they are conſtrained, for the relief of their Families, to take Farms, and other Lands to occupy, like Lay men, and to neglect their duties, and the ſervice of Gods Church, and to ſuffer the poor people either to be inſtructed, and to have their children baptized, married, and buried by the Popiſh Prieſts, or to have no Prieſts at all; and we that are the Dioceſſans, by reaſon of the ſmall values of thoſe Vicaredges, can find no men that are worthy and able Ministers, that will come and accept of thoſe ſlender maintenances; and thoſe that do accept them, we cannot make them, by reaſon of their ſmalneſs, to diſcharge them; And ſeeing, as I ſaid, the Churches are down, and the Lands, Livings, and Revenues of the Church, are thus, as I ſhewed, in the hands of the great and powerful men, and rich Cities, and we can as eaſily pluck the club out of Hercules hands, as get any of them out of their fingers, when the poor men dare not, ſcarce, aske their dues of them, or if they ſue for them, the remedy will prove far worſe than the diſeaſe, to go to Law with Corporations, or with mighty men, to ſpend their money, and commonly to go without their right, as they have a plain-example in my proceedings with Sir George Ayskue, and the detention of all my Procurations, (which, as Biſhop Bale ſaith, in the Page of his Book, was almoſt half the Revenue of the Biſhopprick of Oſſory,) by the foreſaid great men and Cities ever ſince his Majeſties reſtauration; and I know not how to get them; it is no wonder to me, that Popery ſhould, not only continue, but encreaſe more and more, and the Service of God decay more and more, and injuſtice, Idolatry, and wickedneſs abound in this Kingdom more and more, and I tell you herein the plain truth; let who will be angry, and let others think what they pleaſe.

And further, ſeeing, that beſide the payments and taxes that they are bound to pay to his Majeſty by the hand of their Biſhop, and to their Biſhop, and Archbiſhop, and all other payments for their Churches, they are frequently, contrary to the Acts of Parliament, exceedingly moleſted, taxed, and diſtrained, for the ſame taxes, which they have formerly paid, by the Lay Collectors: and the trouble to be diſcharged from thoſe unjuſt Taxations is worſe, then the repayment of them again, when as exceſſit medicina modum, the remedy is worſe than the diſeaſe.

Therefore that it would pleaſe his Majeſty, for the honour of God, and the good of the poor people, and the poor Clergy likewiſe, to cauſe the Churches to be builtEſpecially the Biſhops Cathedral Church at Kilkenny. , and ſome competent means and ſum to be deducted out of thoſe Impropriations, and to be added for the augmentation and better ſupport of the poor Vicars, and ſome fairer and eaſier way to be deviſed for the poor Clergy to recover their right; and a prohibition of the Layty under a Subpaena to recharge them for thoſe payments which they are charged with, and enjoyned by the Act of Parliament to pay to their Dioceſſans.

3. That ſeeing three or four Viſitations, that may be, of the Archdeacon, Biſhop, Archbiſhop, and Primate, in one year cannot chooſe but be a grievance and a great burthen unto the poor Clergy, that are poor enough without the charge of ſo many Viſitations, added unto the reſt of their taxes: That it would pleaſe his Majeſty to cauſe the Government of the Church of Ireland, to be brought to the ſame form, manner, and faſhion, that is uſed in the Church of Ingland, that is, for the Archdeacon to Viſit for two years, and the Biſhop to viſit every third year, and then the Archdeacons Viſitation to ceaſe for that year the Biſhop viſits, and the Archbiſhop to viſit once in his time, and both the Archdeacons and the Biſhops Viſitations to ceaſe when the Archbiſhop ſhall viſit.

And thus the Clergy and the Church-Officers ſhall have but one Viſitation, quot annis, in every one year; which I think is very ſufficient for the rectifying of all abuſes, and for the far greater eaſe both of the Clergy and Layty: and which, I believe, none ſhould be againſt the ſame, unleſs it be ſuch, as are too miſerably covetous; for a ſmall matter unto themſelves, to bring a heavy grievance to very many; which for my part, the Lord knoweth, that I never liked it; and I ſuppoſe, it ſhould be for the honour and praiſe of the Chief Governours and Fathers of the Church, as we are ſtiled, to deal with our Clergy as with our Children, to eaſe them what we can, and not to make them faſt for our feasting.

And I find great reaſon, that we ſhould in all things here in Ireland conform our ſelves to the Church of Ingland; for as Polydor Virgil writeth, that Pope Adrian, Polyd. Virg. l. 13. Hiſt. Angl. and after him Alexander, moved S. Chriſtian the famous Biſhop of Liſmore, their Legate, to call a Synod at Caſhel, wherein they defined eight Articles, whereof the laſt was, That foraſmuch as God hath Univerſally delivered the Iriſh into the government of the Engliſh, they ſhould in all Points, Rights, and Ceremonies accord with the Church of Ingland: and Gelaſius, Campians hiſt. of Ireland, l. 2. c. 1. Primate of Ardmagh, in the preſence of King Hen. 2. gave his conſent to thoſe Articles.

And therefore I wonder what hath altered or hindered this our conformity with the Church of Ingland, unleſs it be pride, covetouſneſs, or ambition, & aviditas dominandi; which are weeds fitter to be rooted out of Churchmens hearts than to be cheriſhed in the Primates of Gods Church, and which I verily believe are now far enough from the thoughts of our moſt grave and moſt religious Archbiſhops, who, as I hope, will moſt eaſily yield to this conformity, that neither the Biſhops be ſo abridged in their Juriſdictions, nor their Clergy ſo much oppreſſed in their Viſitations, as they have been.

Yet here I would not have my Reader to imagine that I ſpeak for the eaſe or remittance of the Procurations, Taxes, or other Impoſitions, of them that hold the Abbies, Priories, and Impropriate Rectories, which they have for nothing, and as it appears to me, contrary to all divine right; and therefore ſhould pay the ſame continually every year to them that do the Service of God: but I ſpeak it only for the eaſe and benefit of the poor incumbent Rectors and Vicars that labour and take pains for the good of Gods people, and for the ſaving of their ſouls that hold their means from them.

And, if this may not be done, to reduce the Government of the Church of Ireland to the ſame form, and after the ſame manner as the Church of Ingland is governed, yet that the Archbiſhops and Biſhops ſhould take ſpecial care to ſee that their Surrogates, Chancellours, and Deputies ſhould not any waies to enrich their Friends, Officers, and Servants, and to feaſt themſelves, oppreſs the poor Clergy, and others the poor Servants and Officers of the Church of Chriſt. I doubt not, but the Biſhops and the Archbiſhops are all juſt, and merciful, and tender-hearted towards all their inferiour Clergy; and can no waies be juſtly blamed for the faults of their ſubordinate Officers or Deputies, which they are ignorant of; And I do profeſs without flattery, and in the word of a Chriſtian, that my Lords Grace of Dublin, in all that he did, or ſaid, was ſo noble, juſt, and gracious towards thoſe honeſt Clergy men, whom his Archdeacon ſo ſeverely trounced, that the leaſt ſhadow of the leaſt blame cannot be laid upon him. And I believe Archdeacon Bulkley would never have done what he did, but to ſatisfie the mind and deſire of a moſt unworthy perſon, and malicious ſlanderer and falſe accuſer of his Brethren, which can be neither true wiſdom, nor honeſt pollicy, to pleaſe men, and to offend Almighty God.

And now to conclude our ſad condition, when, after all my many years ſufferings, and had ſpent above four hundred pounds to repair the Quire and Chancel of S. Kenny, and about ſix hundred pounds in Law againſt Sir George Ayskue for the right of the Church, and did perceive the ſucceſs like to be fruitleſs, I once thought to preſent this Petition to his Majeſty.

To the Kings moſt Excellent Majeſty. The humble Petition of Gruffith, Lord Biſhop of Oſſory.

THat wheras your Petitioner hath ſeen how highly your Majeſty hath been abuſed, and how ſlowly and ſcantly righted by one Jury, and how much both your Majeſty and your Petitioner have been wronged by another Jury, and how mightily he is obſtructed to gain your Majeſties gracious Grant, and the right of the Church, where your Petitioner is but the Sollicitor, and aymeth at no benefit, not ſo much as one penny for himſelf.

Your Petitioner, that deſireth nothing, but that Juſtice (which eſtabliſheth the Thrones of Kings) may be done to God, to your Majeſty, and to himſelf, he humbly prayeth that the whole matter betwixt him and Sir George Ayskue may be heard at the Council Table, or tried by an honeſt Jury here in Ingland.

And your Petitioner ſhall pray, &c.

But, conſidering my years, full 78, and mine infirmities, and eſpecially how heavy the Seas are alwaies to me, and perceiving the impoſſibilities of prevailing contra ſtimulum calcitrare, when ſuch greatneſs doth ſo viſibly oppoſe me: I conceived, that, till God ſhould otherwiſe diſpoſe of things, Sat mihi poſſe pati, and pray to God that he would ariſe and maintain his own cauſe: Et det mihi velle mori: and let them that detain the Right of the Church, and them that maintain and uphold them in it, remain under the prayer of Moſes, Deut. 38.8, 9, 10, 11. Pſal 84 10, 11, 12, &c. and the Propheſie of David, and the judgment of God betwixt me and them.

Jamque opus exegi; and with the two-edged ſword of truth I ſmote at the impieties and corruptions both of the Clergy and Layty, of Church and Commonwealth, and of the great men and rich men without fear. In me convertite ferrum; and I doubt not but I ſhall attract unto my ſelf the malevolency, detraction, and perſecution from many men; but I have alwaies armed my ſelf with the reſolution to endeavour to do my duty, and diſcharge a good conſcience; and as Queen Heſter ſaid, ſo ſay I; if I periſh, I periſh, having publiſhed my own funeral Sermon in the Sermons I made for others, and commiting my ſelf, as I have done ever:

Jehovae Liberatori.

In Impios Sacrilegos. HEu mala progenies, fatis ſervata nefandis, Genſque inimica deo: dominans voraxque ſacrarum Quid fuer as quid ſiſque vide: tua prima propago Sancta fuit, ſobolemque petet lues atra ſecundam, Cum leo terribilis virgineis editus oris Flammiferam ex orco pellagique plangentibus undis Educens aciem, magnos urbeſque viroſque Sternet, & antiquis ſolem lunamque movebit Sedibus: ille etiam patrio jure infima ſummo Reddet, & oppreſſos in coelum mittet inermes.

A Prayer of the Author.

O Sweet Jeſus Chriſt, as thou art God in Heaven, and haſt a care of thy Church here on Earth, I beſeech thee, ſuffer not thy Servants, that ſtand for thee, to be caſt down and trampled under feet, and thoſe that have fought againſt their King, to bring thine anointed Vicegerent to be murdered, to carry away the Inheritance of thy Church, and the Lands that were dedicated for thy Service, to be enjoyed for the Reward of that tranſcendent wickedneſs; leſt thy Servants ſhould be too much dejected and diſheartened to ſtand for thine honour, and thine Enemies encouraged to proceed on in the like malicious wickedneſs: but rather let them feel the power of Moſes Prayer for Levi: and Davids Propheſie againſt them that will rob thee and thy Servants of their Houſes and Poſſeſſions: and be thou a juſt Judge betwixt us and them. Amen.

FINIS.