Ireland under the Stuarts and During the Interregnum, Vol. 1 (of 3), 1603-1642Bagwell, Richard
History
Ireland under the Stuarts and During the Interregnum, Vol. 1 (of 3), 1603-1642
Bagwell, Richard
Ireland -- History -- 17th century
[267] Sir P. Warwick's _Memoirs_, p. 110. Clarendon's _Hist. of the
Rebellion_, ii. 101; iii. 204. 'A wise and promising face ... yet a
dark and promiscuous countenance, clouded, unlovely, and presaging an
envious and cruel disposition,' The Earl of Strafford Characterised,
1641, _Somers Tracts_, iv. 231; and the often printed lines 'Here lies
wise and valiant dust,' etc., _ib._ 297. Strafford is at his best in
the beautiful letter to Lady Clare, August 10, 1639, and in that to his
son from the Tower, April 23, 1641, _Strafford Letters_, ii. 381, 416;
and see his character by Radcliffe, _ib._ p. 433.
CHAPTER XIX
THE REBELLION OF 1641
[Sidenote: Parsons and Borlase Lords Justices, Feb. 10, 1640-1.]
[Sidenote: The Irish Parliament turn against Strafford.]
[Sidenote: Radcliffe and the Irish Committee.]
As soon as Wandesford's death was known Robert Lord Dillon and Sir
William Parsons were appointed Lords Justices. As Master of the Wards
Parsons had been useful in increasing the revenue, and he was an able
official, though he has a bad name on account of his dealings with
land. Dillon, whose son had married Strafford's sister, had been Lord
Justice before, and was obnoxious to the Irish Committee in London; he
was therefore quickly superseded in favour of Sir John Borlase, who was
a soldier without political experience, and not young enough to learn.
Wandesford's daughter, who was nearly fifteen when he died, says that
these two old gentlemen 'having lived in Ireland many peaceable years
could not be made sensible that the Irish had an ill-design against the
English,' and perhaps that is not far from the truth. They were fully
occupied at first with the difficulties made by the Irish Parliament.
Strafford was in the Tower, and the two Houses who had been his very
humble servants now joined in protesting that the complimentary
preamble to the Act of Subsidy was 'contrived, penned, and inserted
fraudulently without the privity of the House either by the said Earl
of Strafford himself or by some other person' by his orders. Ormonde
spoke against this, but in vain. The London Committee worked in the
same direction, though Radcliffe, prisoner as he was and without
papers, made a good case against them. They told the King that they had
heard 'with terror and amazement' of Wandesford's tearing the leaves
out of the journals, and maintained that the subsidies, if raised
according to his plan, would be more than the country could bear,
while the ports were closed so as to prevent access to his gracious
Majesty. Radcliffe showed that the trade of Ireland had doubled during
Strafford's reign, and maintained that substantial justice had been
done. The late Remonstrance of the Irish House of Commons had been
rushed through and did not represent the facts. To this the Irish
Committee replied that Radcliffe was a member, and had not risen in his
place to object, that many illegal acts had been done, and that the
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