Statement by Henry Jones relating to the rebellion

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No. 11

202

I Henry Jones Deane of Kilmore in obedience to his Maiesties Commission requiring an accoumpt of the losses of his loyal subjects wherein they suffered by the preasent Rebellion in Ireland: requiring also a declaration of what traeterous wordes projects or actions were donne saide or plotted by the Actors or abettors in that Rebellion, do make & give in this following Report of the premises to the best of my knowledge.
And first to beginne with the preasent troubles in this Kingdom, with the groundes pretended by the cheife Actors therein for the colouring of there Rebellion; & there Intentions for ordering all thinges all beeing (which god forbid) reduced to there power: all which I was given to vnderstand by my dayly conversing & discoursing with some of the popish Clergie, into whom, for this end, I had insinuated my self.
Howsoever on very probable grounds I ame induced to beleeve this treason so have been in hatching long since; yet to give some colour to the breaking out thereof by casting aspersions on the preasent goverment as the sole cause of it, this following discourse is by them given out in
They report, that in May last there was a Resolution taken in the Parliament of England for the cutting off of all the Recusants in Ireland, there beeing a day set downe for the execution thereof vizt the 23 of November after, & now last past. that the same resolution was sett downe also by the lords Justices, & Privy Councel of this Kingdom. that the meanes for effecting thereof without suspicion was, in commaunding the officers of his Maiesties Exchequer in Ireland not to be forward in calling in for the Kings rents payable at Easter tearme last; but by suffring a general default of those payments to gaine a colour for issuing writts returnable in Michealmas tearmes following for all persons in that Kind delinquent; who personally appearing at dublin, some on this occasion, the rest at the Parliament of all the Recusants, Nobility, Knights, & Burgesses in the Parliament, and all others of that profession in the City showld be seized upon on the said 23 of November & so be cutt off. They say that this whole plott was discovered vnto the Recusants: which alone occasioned there rising out, for prevention heereof, a moneth before the massacre intended for them, they standing for themselves on the 23 of October, which was the day of there general breaking out.
At there meeting upon the said pretended discovery of what, they say, was plotted against them, it was long debated betweene the chiefe heades among them, what course showld be taken with the English and all other that were found to be protestants. there Councel was divided into these two parts (All which I heard from the popish clergie whom I yet forbeare to name).
Some were for then banishment of the English without attempting on there lives for this there was given the Instance of the King of Spaines expelling out of Granada & other parts of his dominions the Moores to the number of many hundreds of thousands; all of them beeing dismisssed with there lives, wives & children & with some part also of there goodes. that this merciful proceeding redounded much to the honour of Spaine; whereas the slaughter of so many Inocents would have b r ought laid an everlasting blemish of cruelty on that State. That the like usage of the English, there auncient neighbours & to whom many there preasent owed if no more, there education, would gaine much to the Cause both in England & other parts. that there goodes & estates beeing seized upon would might be sufficient, & not to medle with there persons. that if the contrary course were taken & there bloud spitt, besides the Curse it might drawe from heaven on the cause they were now in promoting; it might withall incense & provoke the neighbouring kingdom of England & that justly to the taking of a moste cruel Revenge of them and theres even to utter extirpation if they it had the upper hand.
On the other side it was urged and a contrary proceeding. & to the Instance given of the dismissed moores out of Spaine it was answered: That it was the sole act of the King & Queene of Spaine contrary to the advice of there Councel; which though it might gaine the prince a name of mercy, yet therein the effect shewed him moste vnmerciful not only to his owne dominions but to all chrestendom besides. That this was evident in the greate & excessive charge that Spaine hath since that time beene put vnto by those Moores & there posterity to this day. All Christendom also hath & doth still groane vnder the miseries it doth suffer by the Pyracies of Algiers, Sally, & the like denns of theeves. that all this might have been prevented in a fewe houres worke by a general Massacre. That it was no less to be considered how dangerous the like expelling of the English might prove to this kingdom. That these robbd & banished men might againe returne with swordes in there handes, who by there <V> hard usage in spoiling, & for recovering there former seates seates & livelihoodes, would prove farre more cruel, & be more earnest in prosecution of there revenge, then any strangers not in there owne persons injured & newly sent over out of England could be. That therefore a general Massacre was the safest & readiest way for freeing the kingdom of any such feares.
In which diversity of opinions howsoever the first did prevaile with some; yet others inclined to the second, some againe, leaning to a mide way, neither to dismiss nor kill and according heerevnto do we find the event & course of there proceedinges. in some places they are generally put to the sworde & other miserable ends. some restraine there persons in durance Knowing it to be in there handes if they see cause to end them when they please; in the meane time they may be reserved either for profit by there ransoms; or for exchange of prisoners & so in part secure there owne pardons, or by there death to satisfie there furey. the third sort againe altogether at first dismissed them; but first having spoiled them of there goodes & after of there easment exposing the miserable wreches to cold & famine whereby many persisted by a death worse then sword or halter.
I come now to there conclusions for the setling the affaires of this Kingdom, all beeing, as they hoped it showld be, in there owne disposall; for all thinges are allready of peremptorily sett downe; a s and that notwithstanding there offer of humbly remonstrating as if there desires were confined to reasonable or certaine bounds; this serving them only to gaine time from the State; & by shewing themselves (as they thinke) reasonable in there demaunds to winne the greater number to there party. But the power beeing in there hands all thinges are concluded to be ordered in this manner following. first

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First: That there loyalty to his Ma shall be still reserved, but his government and revenues reduced to some bounds: the rule of the kingdom to be as after is declared, his Maiesties rents to be brought to the ancient reservations before the Plantation; and the customs brought to such a certainty as to them shall be thought fitting.
Secondly: The Goverment of the Kingdom to be in the handes of two lords Justices, one of them beeing of the Auncient Irish race, the other of the Auncient Brittish inhabiting the Kingdom.
Thirdly: That a Parliament be forthwith called consisting of whom they shall thinke fitt to be admitted, wherein there owne Religious men shall be assistants.
Fourthly: [ ] Poynings Act to be repealed, and Ireland declared a Kingdom indpendent on England, without any reference to it in any case whatsoever.
Fiftly: All Acts prejudicial to the Romish Religion to be taken away. And that it be enacted that there shall be no other profession in the Kingdom but the Romish & the contrary professions to be expelled.
Sixtly: That only the Auncient Nobility of the Kingdom showld stand, and of them such as shall refuse to conforme to the Romish Religion shal be removed & others put in there roomes. But particularly without any such considerations the Earle of Kildare to be put by, & one Morice fitz Thomas, of the same house & a Recusant, put in his place.
Seventhly: All Plantation Landes to be recalled: & the Auncient proprietors to be reinvested in there former estates, with the limitations in there covenant expressed, that they have not sold there Intrest therin before on valuable consiserations.
Eightly: That the respective Counties of the Kingdom be subdivided; & certaine bounds or Baronies to be given into the hands of the chiefe Septs and others of the Nobility dwelling in them who are to be answerable for the Goverment thereof. And for the Keeping of a standing army in the kingdom, & the fortifying of all places therein, The Respective Governors of these divisions are to build in the most convenient places fortifications: & to be ready on all risings out of with such a number of men well appointed as shall be sett downe for them & that these Governors be of absolute power in there owne precincts, only responsible as aforesaid to the Parliament.
Lastly, for maintaining a correspondencie with other Nations, & for securing the Coasts, that also they may be rendred formidable to others, A Navy of a certaine number of ships is to be maintained. That to this end five howses be appointed, one in each province accompting Meath for one, with an annual pension of some thousands of pounds to be made up of part of the Lands appropriate to Abbeys & of a further contribution raised in the respective provinces. That these houses are to be assigned to a certaine Order of Knights answerable to them of Malta who are to be seamen & to maintaine this fleete. That of all prizes be a certaine proportion to be Laid up in the Common banke for the further maintenance of the said fleete, the rest to be divided. That for this purpose the felling of woods serviceable for this use to be forbiddening. And that the house to this end for the Province of Leinster showld be Kilmanam, or rather Howth, the Lord of Howth beeing otherwise accommodated; that place beeing esteemed very convenient in respect of the situation <X For effecting of all which besides the forces in the X kingdom they do expect armes & ammunition from Spaine & the Irish forces there: besides there beeing furthered in the like plott and within England & Scotts by their partners to whom the Irish who hoped to make the speediest dispatch would give there assistance marching into England with 30000 men, to which the forces of Spaine & France against England was to be joined. only the Irish in Flanders to be sent [of In directors]. they will after all joine with Spain against the Hollanders>
These are there projects for the future; which as they are vaine, so let god disapoint them.
As for my private suffrings by this Rebellious route I have lost
in Cowes, sheepe, swine, riding horsses & my studd of mares & colts________500 li.__0 s._0 d.
in Corne and hay and turffe_________________________________________100 li.__0___0
in plate houshold goodes & bookes & buildings at Togher_________________1200___0___0
in debts by rents in areare & now due__________________________________483___0___0
2283 10 0
in annual rents__________________________________________2283_____ 736__ _0____0
3019 li._10 s. 0 d. Much heereof was seized upon by Mulmore McEdmond Rely of Cavet then shirive of the County of Cavan heade of those Rebells [ ] who with many horss & foote tooke possession of my house at Ballanenagh in the said County on friday the 28 of October 1641 Some of my Cattell were driven away by some Rebells out out of Longford & Letrim, & that some of them by those of the County of Cavan, whose names I knowe not, the servants not beeing heere who might give me notice of them. the rest of my goodes which I had conveighed into the house of Philip McMulmore o Rely at Lismore in the County of Cavan I was enforced to leave there & shift away for my life & with greate hazard of my life & of the lives of my wife & 7 children with other English in all about forty did I recover dublin comming on foote, beeing 8 several times assaulted on the way, & all of vs stript some in our company to the skinn on the way also I lost many writings and [ ] evidences which I most esteemed off besides what I could not carry with me out of the County of Cavan. some writinges concerning the Bishop of Kilaloe & that sea I were taken from me by the way by Richard Darcy dwelling neere Killucan in the County ofwho with his company of 100 rebels tooke away all what wearing clothes & other thinges necessary I could conveniently carry along with me.
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Hen: Jones