estates in that county. They all claim those estates under the same grant, and the same title, from James the First; and the property in question was granted, at the same time, by King James the First; but it not being capable of being divided among the Companies, it has remained in the hands of the Society. Now the Irish Society, who hold this property in their hands, continued, till a very late period, to hold this property, according to their acts and declarations, as trustees for the Companies in London, and the profits were divided amongst the Companies yearly; but of late years this property has not been managed consistently with their duties as trustees; they have set up claims which are inconsistent with that character. They have claimed to have a control over the management and disposal of this property, which is wholly inconsistent with the character in which they hold it; and they have moreover been guilty of expenditure, wasteful and extravagant, in a degree which cannot be justified in any character which they may assume to hold it. Those claims which have been set up by the Irish Society, (and there cannot be any dispute as to the fact,) have rendered it imperative upon the City Companies to take these proceedings against them, in consequence of the extraordinary claims, which have, within the last year or two, been set up by this Society; because before we filed this bill, the Irish Society not only stated that they were not trustees of this indivisible property which was in their hands, but they actually claimed to have control, and a paramount interest over the City Companies, in the estates which have been held by the City Companies, distinct and separate for their own use, from the time of King James the First to the present moment. I do not mean to say, that in this suit they have set up any such claim; of course their counsel would tell them at once that any such claim was wild and extravagant, and they have not done it here; but I think your lordships will see, upon the statement of this case; and the evidence we shall lay before your lordships, that there is no more pretence for one of those claims than for the other; that not only the property which the City Companies hold in their own hands, but that also the property which is held by the

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Irish Society, is their property, subject to no control of any sort or kind; but that the Irish Society are simply trustees for the benefit of the Companies.

My Lords, that is the question we shall set before your lordships. I undertake to satisfy the Court of that, by incontrovertible evidence, by the whole history of these proceedings, and by proceedings and documents of every sort on the part of the Irish Society; and I apprehend that if we satisfy the Court of that, that they are trustees for the Companies, that they have been wasting and expending improperly the funds of the Company;—and above all, when your lordships recollect that the Irish Society has no property whatever,—that there is no means whatever of getting from the Irish Society any money which they might misapply, inasmuch as they have no property whatever of any sort, kind, or description whatever, except the property which they hold in trust for those Companies, I apprehend that it will follow as a necessary consequence, that we shall be entitled to have the funds in their hands paid into this Court, and a Receiver appointed to receive the rents and profits of the estates. That is the case which we mean to present before your lordships.

The history of the property is this: Your lordships are perfectly aware, as a matter of history, of the mode in which this property got into the hands of the City Companies: your lordships remember the rebellion by the Roman Catholic chieftains, in the north of Ireland, during the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth and the beginning of the reign of King James the First. Those rebellions were suppressed, and the effect of it was, that at the beginning of the reign of King James the First, the whole of the lands of six of the northern counties of Ireland were vested in the hands of the Crown, by the attainders and forfeitures consequent upon those rebellions. King James the First, instead of granting those lands out again to the rebellious chieftains, or to their families, or to any of the favourites of the Court, took that opportunity of carrying into effect the project he had entertained of colonizing the north of Ireland with the Protestants from England and Scotland-a project which, your lordships are aware, did

ultimately prove successful, and which had the effect of converting that part of Ireland from the most barbarous and turbulent into the most quiet and civilized; and, I think I may say, the most prosperous. It commenced in the early part of the reign of King James the First, by certain printed proposals, which were circulated under the authority of the Privy Council, and under the advice of the Earl of Salisbury. Those printed proposals were addressed to the public generally-to the public of England and of Scotland, and to the Protestants of Ireland; and the object was to hold out to them inducements to take grants of the land in the northern counties of Ireland: and your lordships are aware, that the greater part of the land in the northern counties is held by individuals who have held under these grants of the Crown. I am not speaking now of the City grants, which are confined to one county. It may become necessary to call your attention now to the form of these proposals, because it is upon the history of those transactions, upon what took place between the King and the City of London, respecting the Companies of London

Sir C. WETHERELL.-Now is the time that I must call your lordships' attention, as soon as the name of the City of London is brought in.

Sir W. FOLLETT.-The mere history of these transactions which took place between the Crown, and the City of London, who represented the Companies of London, and the mode in which the Irish Society was formed, and the purposes of its formation, would alone satisfy your lordships, if we were without any other evidence, that the Irish Society held this property simply as trustees for the Companies. I do not mean to say that we are without other evidence; but it is to the history of the origin of the grant of this land that I pray your lordships' most particular attention. The printed proposals were, in effect, these:-The object was to induce persons to settle in Ireland. They were to receive grants of land at small feefarm rents. Upon those lands they were within a certain time limited, by the proposals, to build, according to the extent of the land, houses or castles, or whatever might be sufficient to resist the encroachments of the natives in that part of Ireland,

Having so done, the parties were to hold their lands subject to those quit-rents. And they have so held them, and are as such their property, and, I believe, never were supposed to be clothed with any trust for any purpose whatever. They were given to them expressly subject to the rent, and subject to the conditions in the printed proposals, which were to be performed within a certain specified time.

Now the printed proposals were, in effect, the following; and I should state that I am now reading from a book to which I shall have occasion to refer more than once-a book printed by the authority of the Irish Society; and as far as the documents go, it is borne out by the documents. The title of the book is, "Concise View of the Origin and Proceedings of the Irish Society, compiled principally from their Records, in 1822." It is admitted by them in their answer. These written proposals are thus intituled: "A Collection of such Orders and Conditions as are to be observed by the Undertakers upon the Distribution and Plantation of the escheated Lands in Ulster." Then it goes on: "Whereas the greatest part of six counties in the province of Ulster, within the realm of Ireland, named Armagh, Tyrone, Coleraine, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Cavan, being escheated and come to the Crown, hath lately been surveyed, and the survey thereof transmitted and presented unto his Majesty, upon view whereof his Majesty, of his princely bounty, not respecting his own profit, but the public peace and welfare of that kingdom by the civil plantation of those unreformed and waste countries, is graciously pleased to distribute the said lands to such of his subjects, as well of Great Britain as of Ireland, as being of merit and ability, shall seek the same with a mind not only to benefit themselves, but to do service to the Crown and commonwealth; and for as much as many persons, being ignorant of the conditions whereupon his Majesty is pleased to grant the said lands."

Then he sets out the conditions: he first of all describes the proportions: they are to be divided into three; the smallest is to consist of 1,000 English acres at the least; the next, of 1,500 English acres; and the next of 2,000 English

acres. Then the persons, the undertakers of the several proportions, shall be of three sorts, "English and Scotch, as well servitors as others, who are to plant their portions with English or inland Scottish inhabitants. There was one condition, that they were to have no Irish upon their estates; but either English, or English and Scotch. Then, secondly, "Servitors in the kingdom of Ireland, who may take mere Irish, English, or inland Scottish tenants, at their choice." Then, thirdly, "Natives of Ireland, who are to be made freeholders." Then, after having stated this, came the articles applying to each of the three descriptions. There are, first, the articles concerning the English and Scotch undertakers, who are to plant their portions with English and Scotch tenants. "First, his Majesty is pleased to grant estates in fee-farm to them and their heirs. Second, they shall yearly yield unto his Majesty, for every proportion of 1,000 acres, 5l. 6s. 8d. English, and so rateably for the greater proportions, which is after the rate of 6s. 8d. for every 60 English acres. But none of the said undertakers shall pay anyrent until the expiration of the first two years." Then is stated the mode in which they are to hold them, which I apprehend not to be important.

Then comes this,-a condition imposed upon them,-Every undertaker of the greatest proportion, which was 2,000 acres, shall, within two years after the date of the letters patent(it is important your lordships should observe that every condition imposed had a data affixed to it)-that they "shall, within two years after the date of his letters patent, build thereupon a castle, with a strong court or bawn about it; and every undertaker of the second or middle proportion, of 1,500 acres, shall, within the same time, build a stone or brick house thereupon, with a strong court or bawn about it; and every undertaker of the least proportion, of 1,000 acres, shall, within the same time, make thereupon a strong court, or bawn at least. And all the said undertakers shall draw their tenants to build houses for themselves and families, near the principal castle house or bawn, for their mutual defence and strength; and they shall have sufficient timber, by the assignment of such officers as the Lord Deputy and Council of Ireland shall