went to London to urge the repeal of the obnoxious Act. But they found no favour with either King or Council; and the insults to which they were exposed from the London mob proved how hateful was the Irish name to the mass of the English people.
But on the other hand Catholics were admitted to the army, and to the corporations; Protestant soldiers were disbanded,[1] the charters of corporations were called in, and new ones issued giving to the Catholics a preponderance among the freemen, even in places like Derry where practically the whole population was Protestant.
In 1687 there were Catholic sheriffs, and Catholic Justices of the Peace: before that Protestant judges had been removed and replaced by Catholics, and several of that religion had been admitted to be Privy Councillors.[2] A Protestant officer who had murdered a Catholic gentleman was tried, convicted and hanged. These measures of course caused widespread alarm amongst the colonists. Rumours of an impending massacre were spread and believed.[3] The colonists began to draw together for safety, or to fly to England. The native element, on the other hand, became
- ↑ According to Murray 300 officers and 6000 men were turned adrift, p. 61.
- ↑ According to Murray the new Lord Chancellor, Fitton, a convert—he was descended from an Elizabethan "Undertaker"—held that among 40,000 Protestants there was not one who was not a traitor, a rebel and a villain. Naturally the Irish Catholics were still more convinced of this.
- ↑ An anonymous letter, dated Dec. 3rd, 1688, was found in the street at Comber, Co. Down, purporting to be a warning to Lord Mount Alexander that there was a plot to massacre all Protestants. Murray, p. 71. He admits that the letter "was a hoax." This is strikingly reminiscent of recent events.
