princely endowments of charitable inftitutions; the incredible fums, fufficient almost to beggar the common people of any other country, subscribed for the relief of fufferers by fire or otherwife; the chastity of the stage, and the discouragement of every exhibition which has the leaft tendency to lewdness or immorality, with many other indications of public virtue we could enumerate, fufficiently refute our author's charge. We shall observe once for all on this fubject, that the moderation of the dignitaries of the church is the great fource of a reformation which, in point of morals, is as furprizing as that in religion was under Henry VIII. and Edward VI. Dr. Warner mentions as vouchers for his hiftory, extracts which he had from authentic manuscripts at Dublin; the original return of the depofitions figned by the commiffioners who were appointed to examine into the maffacre at the be ginning of the rebellion; lord Clanricarde's Memoirs and Letters, published too late for other hiftories to make use of; the Harleian manufcripts in the British Mufeum; and, what is of still greater importance, the Memoirs of Rinuccini, the pope's nuncio in Ireland at the time of this rebellion. Our author gives us a curious account of the manner in which thofe Memoirs were compiled and preferved; and fays, that they appear to be written with candour, and a strict regard to the materials. Without pretending to condemn either the candour or the authenticity of those Memoirs, we may venture to question them in the fame manner as we did * his evidences for the Antient Hiftory of Ireland. How is the public to judge of the veracity of this tranfcript; for the Doctor tells us, that he is informed the original manufcript is in the Vatican library? But fuppofing the authenticity to be established, what criterion has the author laid down which can induce us to believe the facts advanced by this venerable popish agent? A pope's nunció may be a very bad man and a very filly fellow; nay, it is poffible he may know very little of the true fpring even of the affairs he is employed about; and nothing is more common with popifh writers, witnefs Philips's Life of Carcinal Pole, than to palm high-founding titles upon the public for argument and authority. Towards the end of his preface our historian makes the strongest profeffions of candour and moderation, and concludes with a wish, that the fevere and vindictive statutes made against the Irish Roman catholics in the reign of queen Anne, which, he fays, are as contrary to found policy as true religion, might be repealed. Dr. Warner next prefents us with a catalogue of the aut thorities from which he has compiled his hiftory; In which, befides the manufcript I have already mentioned, there is another containing extracts made by the author from the books in the council office at Dublin, from the college manuscripts there, and from the examinations figned by the commiffioners appointed to enquire into the murders, &c. at the beginning of the rebellion, in the poffeffion of the author.' As to the reft of the Doctor's authorities, they confift of printed books which are in every body's hands. * In opening his hiftory, the author fills us with a very different idea of the earl of Strafford's government in Ireland from what we entertain in reading Mrs. Macaulay's history of that nobleman's adminiftration; but he agrees tolerably well with that lady in reprefenting the state of the Irish Roman catholics upon Strafford's removal and death. We believe the Doctor's view of the caufes and occafions of the dreadful rebellion and maffacre, which he deduces even from the English conqueft of Ireland, is very faithful and authentic. He imagines, that while the native Irish appeared to be the beft reconciled to their conquerors, they ftill entertained an inextinguishable antipathy to the English name and nation. This part of the work is worthy the attention of the public; and we are of opinion, that it would puzzle a very fubtle cafuift to vindicate either the principles or the condust of the English government towards the Irish, from the reign of Henry II. to that of George I. Our author very fenfibly thinks, that there fubfifted three differences between the English and the Irish, that of name, intereft, and religion. The last he inclines to believe was the most prevalent. The converfation (fays he) of the Irish priests abroad, where the character of being fufferers for their religion made their access to great men very practicable, and where feveral of them had been enabled to cultivate an intereft with the ministers of state in thofe countries, gave them opportunities of folliciting fupplies of men and money to re-eftablish their religion in Ireland: and in taking thefe opportunities, it is plain, from the hiftory of thofe times, that they had not been idle. Nor is the zeal for this work of maintaining the popish religion in Ireland to be afcribed only to their clergy. For as another proof that this was one of the causes of the rebellion, I fhall give the reader a letter, which I copied from the manufripts belonging to the Dublin Society, with which they fayour'd me, taken from the "Black Book of Christchurch.' * See page 88 of this vol. The The letter was written at Rome by the then bishop of Meath to the great O Neil of that time, by order of the college of cardinals, and is in these words. Thou and thy fathers were all along faithful to the mother church of Rome. His holiness Paul, now pope, and the council of the holy fathers, have lately found out a prophecy there remaining of one St. Latefianus, an Irish bishop of Cafhel; wherein he faith, "that the mother church of Rome falleth when in Ireland the catholic faith is overcome." Therefore for the glory of the mother church, the honour of St. Peter, and your own fecurenefs, fupprefs herefy in his holinefs's enemies; for when the Roman faith, there perifheth, the See of Rome falleth alfo. Therefore the council of cardinals have thought fit to encourage your country of Ireland as a facred ifland; being certified whilft the mother church hath a fon of worth as yourself, and of those that fhall fuccour you and join therein,' fhe will never fall, but have more or less a holding in Britain in fpite of fate. Thus having obeyed the order of the most facred council, we recommend your princely perfon to the holy Trinity, to the bleffed Virgin, St. Peter, and St. Paul, and all the heavenly hoft, Amen. Romæ 4 Kalen. Epifcopus Metenfis.' This curious letter, if authentic, is fufficient to evince the ignorance as well as the credulity of thofe ecclefiaftics who held the confciences of the Irifh in leading-ftrings. Having thus difcuffed the causes which gave birth to the rebellion, the Doctor next gives us an historical detail of the occafions which brought that design into action. He believes the Irish Roman catholics to have been powerfully influenced by the rebellious but fuccefsful infult of the Scots, who had invaded England, and had forced the king and parliament to grant them all they defired. He fuppofes that the oppofition of the English house of commons to the king, was another encouragement to the rebels; and as we are determined to review with candor and impartiality: every work that falls under our review, we cannot fupprefs the following fpecimen of the author's freedom in animadverting upon the proceedings of that parliament.. Another occafion of the infurrection of the Irish at that jun Sure, was the difbanding of an army of eight thousand men which had been raised by lord Strafford, in order to affift the king against the Scots: and the old ftanding army, confifting only of about two thoufand foot and nine hundred horse, was fo ftrangely difperfed into remote parts of the kingdom for the guard of forts, as to make it almoft impoffible to draw together in any time a fufficient number for the defence of Dublin, or to make head against the rebels in the northern parts of the island. But the difbanding of the army raised against the Scots gave a fatal occafion to this dire attempt. The king perceiving there was no likelihood of making use of this army, not that use at least for which it had been raifed, and hearing that mention was often made of it very maliciously againft him in this houfe of commons, which in concert with the Irish committee had addressed him for that purpose, determined to difband it; and tho' he had no money to pay them, to free himfelf from a pretence of flander on that account. Rapin indeed fays, "that the commons had provided for their payment;" but he fays it without authority, and it is contrary to truth. At the fame time that the king's orders were fent to the lords juftices, and the earl of Ormonde his lieutenant general, to disband that army, he directed that any of the of ficers should have free leave to tranfport what number of men they could prevail upon to enter into the fervice of any prince in amity with this fate. In a fhort time after, upon the earnest entreaty of the Spanish ambaffadour, his majesty confented that four thousand foldiers of that army might be fent into Flanders for the fervice of the king of Spain; and if any of them defired it, that they might be allowed to transport themfelves into France. This was no fooner known, than the English house of commons, who had nothing at all to do with it, interpofed with their accustomed confidence and dif temper" fays lord Clarendon to befeech his majefty to revoke his licence; and by flight and impertinent reafons boldly urged and infifted on, as they did in every thing elfe, prevailed with the king to inhibit the tranfporting any of these foldiers out of that kingdom for the fervice of any prince whatever. Many were of opinion at that time, that this activity in a bufinefs of which they had not the leaft cognizance, proceeded from the inftigation of the French minifter, who certainly fomented those humours out of which the public ca lamities were engendered; and several affirmed on their own knowledge, that the honeft upright patriot Mr. Pym had five thousand pounds for preventing that fupply for the king of Spain. Others believed that this interpofition proceeded only from the proud and petulant fpirit which then governed, in order to leffen the king's reputation, and to cross him in the exercise of the regal power. There was probably a foundation for all these opinions, and there might be fome truth in all of them: but the principal motive to this interpofition, accord - ing to the noble hiftorian abovementioned, was the advice and fequeft of the committee of parliament from Ireland, whose counfel, he says, was always followed in what concerned that kingdom. Be this as it might; it is certain that the public reafons alleged for this conduct of the English parliament relating to that army, and drawn from mere poffibilities only, were trifling and impertinent: and if these men had not been kept at home at a time when this turbulent fpirit was infused into the people of Ireland, there would either have been no rebellion then in that kingdom, or the rebels would not have been able to form an army, and muft eafily have been fuppreffed by the first regular troops that fhould be fent against them.' With all due deference to Doctor Warner's impartiality, we with he had fuppreffed all mention of Mr. Pym's five thousand pounds, as fuch a fuggeftion betrays a degree of credulity, which often proves fatal to hiftory. He thinks, that if the earl of Strafford had lived, the frifh rebellion and maffacre would have never happened; but upon the whole, after he has canvaffed all the causes and occafions of this rebellion and maffacre, he leaves it very uncertain whether the authors of both had any other view than that of extirpating and destroying all the English and proteftants fettled in Ireland. He even renders it probable, that the lords and gentlemen of the Pale, which comprehends the county of Louth in the province of Ulfter, and the counties of Dublin, Meath, and Kildare, in the province of Leinster though they did not appear pubficly in it, were the first that were engaged in this confpiracy. The chief of thofe confpirators was Connor Macguire, baron of Innerfkilling, a graceless spendthrift, upon whofe character our author copiously moralizes, according to the duties of his facred function. Roger Moore, Efq; was the fecond head of the confpiracy, and well fitted both as to his understanding and perfon for fo infernal a part, tho' the Doctor fays, that he afterwards used all his endeavours to put a stop to the massacre, and to establish a regular difcipline among the rabble which he commanded. The Doctor then proceeds to characterize the other chiefs of the confpiracy, and tranfcribes from Nalfon the lord Macguire's narrative of its rife and progrefs. In the fubfequent part of this hiftory, the author very copiously defcribes the hellish operations of the rebels, but without adding many new particulars. He cenfures Rapin with fome severity for his obfervations upon the commiflion which the rebels forged, as being granted them by Charles, whom he vindicates in this period of his hiftory. The limits of our Review will not permit us to be prolix. We cannot, however, omnit obferving, R 4 that |