The territory of Annaly, mainly possessed by the O'Ferralls and their dependents, had been made into the county of Longford by Sir Henry Sidney. Chichester marked it as a good field for plantation in 1610, but there were many difficulties, and nothing was actually done until St. John's time. In this, as in other cases, the general idea was to respect the rights of all who held by legal title, to give one-fourth of the remaining land to English undertakers and to leave three-fourths to the Irish, converting their tribal tenures into freeholds where the portions were large enough, and settling the rest as tenants. There can be no doubt that the new comers on the whole improved the country, and much might be said for these schemes of colonisation if they had been always fairly carried out. The intentions of the King and his ministers were undoubtedly good, but many causes conspired against them. Not a few of the undertakers in each plantation thought only of making money, and were ready to evade the conditions as to building, and above all as to giving proper leases to their tenants whether English or Irish. And among the natives there were many who hated regular labour, and preferred brigandage to agriculture. The old tribal system was incompatible with modern progress, but the people were attached to it, and their priests were of course opposed to the influx of Protestants. In the early part of 1615 James gave his deliberate decision that plantations of some kind offered the best chance for civilising Ireland. In this way only could the local tyranny of native chiefs be got rid of, and the people improved by an intermixture of British accustomed to keep order and qualified to show a good example. The turn of Longford came next to that of Wexford, and with it was joined Ely O'Carroll, comprising the baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybritt in King's County not contiguous to the rest of the plantation. In Ely there were no chief-rents or other legal incumbrances, but 200_l._ a year were due to the heirs of Sir Nicholas Malby out of the whole county of Longford and 120 beeves to Sir Richard Shaen the grantee of Granard Castle. These rent-charges were irregularly paid, and were the source of constant bickerings. There were no similar incumbrances in Ely, and neither there nor in Longford was there any pre-eminent chief at the moment, which made the task somewhat easier. It was part of the plan that there should in future be no O'Ferrall or O'Carroll with claims to tribal sovereignty.[148] [Sidenote: Attempt to apply the Wexford lesson.] [Sidenote: The O'Ferralls.] [Sidenote: A careful survey.] [Sidenote: Ely O'Carroll] [Sidenote: Cases of hardship.] [Sidenote: Troubles from landless men.]