faith, and the faith of the English nation, was plighted to the Catholics by a folemn treaty; for, instead of recommending to them, in the speech of his Lord Deputy, to proceed to confirm the articles of Limerick, he told them that he was intent upon the great work of a firm fettlement of Ireland upon a Protestant intereft.* The Parliament were not backward in promoting his object. They first of all paffed an act to deprive the Catholics of the means of educating their children either at home or abroad, and of the privilege of being guardians either of their own or of any other perfon's children.† Then they passed an act to difarm the Catholics, another to banish their priests, *Comm. Journal, 2. 279. +7th W. III. c. 4. of this act, Mr. Burke fays, "Whilst this restraint upon foreign and domestic education was part of a horrible and impious fyftem of fervitude, the members were well fitted to the body. To render men patient, under a deprivation of all the rights of human nature, every thing which could give them a knowledge or feeling of those rights was rationally forbidden. To render humanity fit to be insulted, it was fit that it fhould be degraded. Indeed, I have ever thought the prohibition of the means of improving our rational nature, to be the worst species of tyranny that the infolence and perverfeness of mankind ever dared to exercise." -Letter to a Peer in Ireland. 7th W. III. c. 5, * priests, and, strange as it may appear, they then thought proper in the year 1697 to pafs an act to confirm the articles of Limerick.† Of this act it is to be obferved, in the first place, that the very title of it is a proof of its injustice; for it is styled "an act for the confirmation of articles," and not, as it ought to be, "of the articles" made at the furrender of Limerick." The preamble affords further evidence of the intention of the framers of it to evade its proper object. It runs "That the faid articles, or fo much of them as may confift with the fafety and welfare of your Majesty's fubjects of this kingdom, may be confirmed," &c. But the whole act goes to convict the Parlia ment, (and as this Parliament was completely under the controul of the Lord Deputy,); even. William * 9th William III. c. 1. 9th William III. c. 2. キ "He (Lord Capel, the Lord Deputy) undertook to model a Parliament in such a manner, that they should comply with all the demands of the Ministry, and he fucceeded in his endeavours, by making such arbitrary changes in offices as best fuited his purpose.-Smollet Hift. 232. "He William himself, of grofs injuftice towards the Catholics. For the first article of the treaty is wholly omitted, which guarantees to the Catholics the free exercise of their religion, and an exemption from all disturbance on account of it; and each clause of the act has the effect of limiting the terms of the other articles, and depriving the Catholics of the benefit of them, instead of ratifying and confirming them. The first clause, which refers at once to the second article, explains who are entitled to the benefit of it, and the rights conferred upon them; affuming as a fact, for which there could be no foundation, that this article required explanation. With refpect to the perfons entitled to the benefit of the treaty, a most remarkable difference occurs between the words of the second article, and those of this clause in describing them. In the ratification of the treaty by William, there is the following paffage: "And whereas it appears to us, that it was agreed between the parties to the faid articles, "He carried the projects of the Crown in Parliament, and was recommended as an excellent governor, in a special addrefs fent by the Commens to the King."-Macpherson's Hift. 2. 94. articles, that after the words Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Cork, and Mayo, or any of them, in the fecond of the faid articles, the words following, viz. “And all fuch as are under their protection in the faid counties," fhould be inferted and be part of the faid article; "Our further will and pleasure is, and we do ratify and confirm the said omitted words." Thefe words, according even to the ftrict letter of the article, extended the benefit of the treaty to the whole Catholic population of thefe counties, which certainly was the object of the treaty, as it may be collected from the preamble to it, in which it is stated that the Irish generals acted in behalf of the Irish inhabitants of these counties. But in this claufe of the act of Parliament to confirm the treaty, these words are omitted, and therefore the benefit of the treaty is limited, by this explanatory and confining act, to the Irish army and the inhabitants of the city of Limerick, and a few more garrison towns: a limitation in every respect most perfidious, and wholly unjustifiable upon any plea of ambi. guity in the language of the article, even if such a plea could for a moment be allowed. With respect to the rights conferred by the fecond . fecond article, this claufe affords a ftriking proof of the paltry fubterfuges to which the Legiflature of that day could have recourse in order to defeat the ends of justice, and to oppress the Catholics. The fecond article declares that all those comprised in the treaty," shall hold, poffefs "and enjoy all and every their estates of free"hold and inheritance; and all the rights, titles "and interefts, privileges and immunities, which they every or any of them hold, enjoyed, or "were rightfully and lawfully entitled to in the reign of King Charles II." The claufe of the act correfponds with the article, except in these moft material points; after the word "inheritance:" the stop, instead of being a femicolon, as it was in the original treaty, is altered to a comma; and after the words "privileges and immunities," the words" to the said eftates" are inferted; and thus the meaning of the fecond article is wholly altered, and the words, "rights, privileges and immunities," made to refer to the estates of the Catholics, instead of to their perfons and. liberties, to which only by the original article they can refer. If any authority were wanting to maintain this conftruction, a very unquestionable one may be adduced from the fpeech of Sir Theobald F |