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that the primary purpose kept in sight by Carew in forming this collection of documents was to illustrate that period of Irish history in which he himself had been employed, and which formed the most brilliant epoch of his own career. What were his sentiments respecting James I. we do not know, for he was ever cautious and taciturn as he was brave and statesmanlike; but of the love, admiration, and deep devotion he entertained for Elizabeth, in common with all the most distinguished of his competitors, there is no doubt whatever. If, in spite of some defects of character and temper, the deep and profound impression, not unmixed with as profound regret, which she left in the minds of all who served her, may be accepted as any index of true greatness and genuine royalty, no Sovereign was ever more happy in this respect than Queen Elizabeth. Men felt, as she herself felt, that she was God's Vicegerent. They felt towards her as perhaps they never felt towards any other Sovereign, something of that thorough dependence and loyalty expressed in the words, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

But whether this may be considered as a satisfactory explanation or not, of the much less value of Carew's collections for the reign of James I., as compared with

those illustrating the previous reign, there is no doubt of the fact, so far as the papers have come down to us, and are now preserved at Lambeth Palace. Valuable, therefore, as they may be in supplementing other collections, they are too disjointed and too miscellaneous to furnish materials for a consistent and adequate report of their contents, especially under the restrictions which the Master of the Rolls has thought proper to impose upon his editors. The most important are those which belong to

the year 1611,* and generally such as relate to the various arrangements made for the plantation of Ulster, the measures adopted for compelling the colonists of Munster to fulfil their engagements, and for the division of certain escheated lands in Wexford and Longford. I may add to these the curious account of the bitter disputes which took place at the assembling of the Parliament in Dublin. in 1613, a most characteristic incident of such Parliaments. Besides these, we have Carew's own report of the state of Ireland in 1614, which fully sustains the reputation of the writer, and is well worth the study of the Irish historian. The proportions of lands distributed among his Scotch and English favourites by James I. in Armagh, Tyrone, Donegal, Fermanagh and Cavan, with the names of those to whom these grants were assigned, will be read with interest.† Not less so is the number of acres reserved to British undertakers and the Londoners, as compared with those granted to servitors and natives, to bishops and other dignitaries, to the new and ancient endowments of incumbents, at p. 235. Add to these the report of works and buildings done by the English settlers in Ulster as early as 1611, with the number of workmen employed by each undertaker, the progress made in erecting good houses of stone and brick, the transportation into the new colony of English household stuff and English oxen for labour; thus laying the foundation of that settled prosperity and civilization in which Ulster, from being the most disorderly and uncivilized of any part of Ireland, soon found itself after the new arrangements, and has

* When Carew was sent into Ireland as Principal Commissioner to inquire into the state of that country and the progress made in the plantation of Ulster and Munster. See his Instructions, p. 68.

† See p. 231.

enjoyed with little interruption to the present hour.* The reader may advantageously compare this document with another of similar character at p. 392, showing what progress had been made by the British settlers in Ulster seven years afterwards.

The success of James' policy in the administration of Ireland as compared with that of any of his predecessors, even of that of Elizabeth herself, is the most redeeming feature in a reign which has been often stigmatized by historians and romancers as the most ignoble and mean to which these kingdoms ever submitted. It is at least an indication that, in spite of his many personal defects and failings, James wanted not for that straightforward good sense and sagacity which are the never-failing characteristics of his race and nation, whenever an occasion arose of sufficient magnitude and interest, to conquer his natural indolence and overcome his wonted aversion to business. It is easier to talk than to do; easier to talk well than to do well; and whenever the former could stand him in the place of the latter he preferred that alternative which caused him the least trouble and seemed to excuse the necessity of action. But no man had a clearer judgment than James, when he chose to exert it; no man less suffered his own pedantry, or the pedantry of those by whom he was surrounded, to interfere with his proceedings when exertion became imperative. That was not often; for under Elizabeth loyalty was a romance and a sentiment, and his English subjects, at least so long as Cecil was alive, transferred to James that extravagant idea of submission and non-resistance which had grown up in their minds during the reign of a Sovereign, who was at one and the same time the impersonation of Protestantism, the

See p. 220.

defender of their national independence, the glory of her sex; and whose solitary and unmarried state, and even defenceless condition, as a woman, seemed to evoke in her favour all the sympathies of the brave and the chivalrous, the ardent and devout. That loyalty and devotion they were quite as ready to pay as James was ready to accept. James therefore in England reigned over very submissive subjects, to whom his will was a law; and as he was extremely good-natured, hated the fuss and burthen of majesty, was willing to oblige every suitor, without considering the consequences, it was not often that James experienced any serious opposition to his wishes. The condition of Ireland and his desire to bring it into better order was the only serious concern of his reign; and the steadiness and ability displayed by him in reducing it to a much quieter and more prosperous condition than any former ruler had been able to do, is an evidence of better qualities in James than are generally suspected. Though somewhat hyperbolical, the remark of Sir John Davys is substantially true; that the defects in the previous government of Ireland had "been fully supplied in the first nine

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years of James' reign. In which time," he adds, "there "hath been more done in the work and reformation of "this kingdom than in the 440 years which are past "since the Conquest was first attempted.

These reforms consisted not merely in the plantation of Ulster, to which reference has been already made, and of which more will be said hereafter, but in the establishment of stricter order and discipline in all departments of the State. Those who have consulted the previous volumes of this Calendar will remember the bitter complaints made against the English troops, in the Pale and elsewhere, for

*Discovery, &c., p. 206, ed. 1786.

their extortions and oppressions of the unhappy inhabitants. War was fed by war, and the wages of the soldiers irregularly paid seemed an excuse for disorderly actions, not less subversive of discipline than they were constant inducements to discontent and insurrection. Another great defect was the want of a uniform and regular administration of justice. Many parts of Ireland were not yet divided into shires; in others the Justices never attempted to execute their commissions, either from neglect or paucity of number, or both causes combined. The native Irish chiefs, whose interest consisted in promoting disorder, and to whom the English law was especially offensive, as interfering with their privileges in misruling their tenants, could still carry on their old irregularities and excesses, and set all improvement and steady industry at defiance, when there was no stronger arm than their own to interfere with their caprices. Regular tenure of land, inheritance, vested rights, were unknown among them, each man having no more "than a "scambling and transitory possession at the pleasure of "the chief of every sept." The more careful and industrious the tenant, the more liable he was to oppression of all kinds, the more likely to be turned out of his holding. What chance could there be for order or improvement? Who would build farmhouses or granges, in the possession of which he could not be assured for a twelvemonth? Who would venture to oppose the dictates of his chief, and prefer obedience to laws which he never saw duly administered and from which he could derive no protection ? In such a state of things, not only devotion to his lord, a strong incentive in the mind of every Irishman, but his own interest and personal safety were entirely on the side. of disorder. The former of these abuses James removed by the more regular pay and support of his army, the latter by a more searching, uniform, and impartial administration

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