Cassell's History of England, Vol. 3 (of 8): From the Great Rebellion to the Fall of Marlborough.Anonymous
History
Cassell's History of England, Vol. 3 (of 8): From the Great Rebellion to the Fall of Marlborough.
Anonymous
Great Britain -- History
Glamorgan was as zealous in his loyalty as in his speculative pursuits.
He and his father had spent two hundred thousand pounds in the king's
cause, and he was now engaged in an enterprise where he risked
everything for Charles--name, honour, and life. He was furnished
with a warrant which authorised him to concede the demands of the
Catholics regarding their religion, and to engage them to send over ten
thousand men. After many difficulties he reached Dublin, communicated
to Ormond the plan, saw with him the Catholic deputies in Dublin, and
then hastened to Kilkenny, to arrange with the council there. But at
this time occurred the revelation of the scheme by the seizure of the
Archbishop of Tuam's papers. The Parliament was thrown into a fury;
the Marquis of Ormond, to make his loyalty appear, seized Glamorgan,
and put him into prison, and the king sent a letter to the two Houses
of Parliament, utterly disavowing the commission of Glamorgan, and
denouncing the warrant in his name as a forgery. All this had been
agreed upon before between the king and Glamorgan, should any discovery
take place; and on searching for Glamorgan's papers a warrant was
found, not sealed in the usual manner, and the papers altogether
informal, so that the king might by this means be able to disavow them.
But that Ormond and the council of Kilkenny had seen a real and formal
warrant, there can be no question. The king, by a second letter to the
two Houses, reiterated his disavowal of the whole affair, and assured
them that he had ordered the privy council in Dublin to proceed against
Glamorgan for his presumption. The proceedings were conducted by Lord
Digby, who assumed a well-feigned indignation against Glamorgan,
accusing him of high treason. The animus with which this accusation
appeared to be made has induced many to believe that Digby was really
incensed, because he had not been let wholly into the secret of
Glamorgan's commission; and his letter to the king on the subject,
noticed by Clarendon as rude and unmanly, would seem to confirm this.
However, Glamorgan, on his part, took the whole matter very cheerfully,
allowed the king's disclaimers without a remonstrance or evidence of
vexation, and produced a copy of his secret treaty with the Catholics,
in which he had inserted an article called a _defeasance_, by which the
king was bound by the treaty no further than he pleased till he had
seen what the Catholics did for him, and by which the Catholics were
to keep this clause secret till the king had done all in his power to
secure their claims.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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