1709. A parliament in Ireland. and popery of April 1710, together with colonel Hunter, governor of that country, The earl of Wharton having been made lord-lieutenant of Ireland, arrived there the 2d of April 1709. A fortnight after his landing, he opened a feffion of parliament, and made a fpeech to both houfes, part of which was as follows: My lords and gentlemen, I A M obliged and directed to lay before you another confideration of infinite confequence; and that is, to put you in mind of the great inequality there is, with re"spect to numbers, between the proteftants and papists of "this kingdom, and of the melancholy experience you have "had of this fort of men, whenever they had it in their "power to distress or deftroy you. "These reflections must neceffarily lead you to think of "two things; the firft is, seriously to confider, whether "any new bills are wanting to inforce or explain those "good laws, which you have already, for preventing the "growth of popery. And, in the next place, it makes "evident the neceffity there is of inculcating and preferv"ing a good understanding amongst all the protestants of "this kingdom. What the most proper methods are to compleat fo defirable and neceffary an end, yourselves, "who have the opportunities of knowing the uneafinefs that any of your fellow-fubjects may lie under, are the fittest "to judge. 66 "I will only add, That the queen, who is all goodness, "never had any thing fo much at her royal heart, as the "bringing to pass, and perfecting the union of her subjects "of Great-Britain: and I may venture to fay, that fhe "looks upon her fuccefs in this great undertaking to equal, "if not to exceed, any other of the glories of her reign." Union re- In this fpeech the lord Wharton recommended a good commended, understanding between the churchmen and diffenters, as the difcouraged fureft means to weaken the popish intereft, by ftrengthenby the earl ing the proteftant. The Irish papifts doubted not, by diof Wharton. viding the proteftants, to find an opportunity to destroy them. The lord Wharton was refolved to let the papifts know, at his firft coming, they were to expect no favour from him. As popery had increased under the late adminiAtration, he procured a bill to prevent the growth of it, by enacting, 1709. taken into enacting, "That the eftates of the Irish papists should de"fcend to their proteftant heirs." But his care to discourage popery did not hinder his being reprefented by the tories, in England, as a perfecutor of the church in Ireland. He had not only made Dr. Lambert dean of Downe, and Dr. Lloyd dean of Connor, but it was alfo reported, that he had sent a bishop to prifon. This matter was thus; the houfe of peers having (on the 28th of June) adjourned to The bishop the next day, the feaft of St. Peter and St. Paul, Dr. John of Raphoe Pooley, bishop of Raphoe, took upon him to protest against cuftody. it. His reafon was, Because he conceived it against the "laws of the church to do business upon a holiday, which "might hinder divine fervice, prayers and facraments, fer66 mons or homilies, and catechifms, left it fhould be a robbery of God, as well as tythes and offerings." The lords, the next day, refented this proteft, and fignified to the bishop, that, unlefs he withdrew it, they must send him to the caftle. But he being obftinate, and adhering to his proteft, the house ordered him to be taken into the cuftody of the black-rod, and adjourning for a month, the ufher had him fo long in durance, which, by the lord Wharton's direction, was made as easy to him, as was confiftent with the orders of the house. Trinity The provoft and fellows of Trinity-College near Dublin, A fellow of having lately expelled Edward Forbes for afperfing the me- college exmory of king William, and they having fhewn a fteady ad- pelled for herence to the revolution, a motion was made in the house afperfing, king Wilof commons for an address to the lord-lieutenant, that he liam. would lay before the queen the defire of the house, that five thousand pounds might be given for erecting a public library in the college. tines. The commiffioners appointed in England for the fettle- Votes about ment of the Palatines, having fent into Ireland five hundred the Palafamilies of these refugees; the commons took their distressed condition into confideration, and agreed, that the fending a proportion of these Palatines into Ireland was a ftrengthening the proteftant intereft, and the encouraging them to fettle there would greatly contribute to the fecurity of the kingdom, and therefore that the queen be addreffed to allow five thousand pounds annually for three years towards their fupport and fettlement, which fhould be made good to her in the next aids granted by parliament. The convocation of the clergy of Ireland fat with the Proceedings parliament, and by this time the fame ill temper, that had of the Irith prevailed in the English convocation, began to ferment and 0 4 fpread convocation. 1709. fpread itself among the clergy of Ireland. None of the dif putes about the power of proroguing had been thought of formerly in that church, as they had no records or minutes of former convocations. The faction in England found out proper inftruments, to fet the fame humour on foot, during the earl of Rochester's government, and, as was faid, by his directions: and, it being once raised, it continued by reafon of the indolence of the fucceeding governors. that the clergy were making the fame bold claim in Ireland, that had caused fuch disputes in England. Accordingly, on the 5th of Auguft, the power of proroguing was by the lower-house contefted in a very high and warm debate. The lord-lieutenant (who was refolved to put a stop to these matters) being informed of it by Dr. Brown, chairman of the committee, fent orders in the midft of the debate to prorogue the convocation to the 5th of October next, to their great furprize and mortification. Dr. Brown, for giving this intelligence, was fome time after, by the procurement of the lord Wharton, promoted to the fee of Cork; yet upon the change of the miniftry he became the most violent of all the Irish prelates against the earl of Wharton, the archbishop of Canterbury (who was his friend( and indeed against the whole whig-party, to whom he rendered himself still more obnoxious, by discountenancing the drinking to the glorious memory of king William.' Against which he wrote and preached fome tracts and fermons, but fo little answering the purpose, that king William's memory was afterwards more frequently drunk than before, with an additional mark of contempt to the bishop, and the facrednefs, which he weakly imagined to be tacked to commemoration-healths, became univerfally exploded. Lord-lientenant'sfpeech at the clofe of the feffion. When the bill to prevent the further growth of popery, with thofe for the fupply, were ready for the royal affent, the earl of Wharton came, on the 30th of August, to the house of peers, and concluded the feffion with a speech to both houses, in which were these paragraphs: My lords and gentlemen, Make no queftion but that you underftand too well the true intereft of the proteftant religion in this king"dom, not to endeavour to make all fuch proteftants as ealy as you can, who are willing to contribute what they can to defend the whole against the common enemy. .. 66. It “ "It is not the law now paft, nor any other law, that the wit of man can frame, will fecure you from popery, whilft you continue divided among yourselves; it "being demonftrable, that, unless there be a firm friendship and confidence among the proteftants of this king"dom, it is impoffible for you either to be happy, or to be fafe. "And I am directed to declare it to you, as her ma"jefty's fixed refolution, That as her majefty will always "maintain and fupport the church, as by law established, "fo it is her royal will and intentions, that diffenters shall "not be perfecuted, or molefted in the exercife of their "religion." The parliament being prorogued to the 13th of March, the lord-lieutenant, attended by Mr. Addison fecretary of ftate, imbarked for England, where he arrived on the 9th of September. 1709. mons. The great business of the feffion of parliament this winter Dr. Sacherelated to Dr. Sacheverel. This affair not only took up verel's fermoft of their time, but, in conclufion, had alfo great Burnet, effects. As it was one of the most extraordinary transactions of the time, it will deserve a particular notice. Dr. Sacheverel was a bold, infolent man, with a very small share of religion, virtue, learning, or good fenfe; but he resolved to force himself into popularity and preferment by the most petulant railings at diffenters, and low-churchmen, in several fermons and libels, penned without either chaftness of file, or liveliness of expreffion, and full of indecent and fcurrilous language (g). When he had pursued this method (g) He was grandfon of John Sacheverel, the prefbyterian minister of Wincaunton in Somerfetshire, who was bred in St. John's college Oxford, and filenced foon after the restoration. This John, being taken at a conventicle, fuffered three years imprisonment, which occafioned his death. John's eldest fon (father of Dr. Henry Sacheverel) was bred in king's college Cambridge, and entertained notions very oppofite to his father's prin for ciples, and died minister of St. hofpital Aug. 15. 1709. for feveral years without effect, he was at laft brought up from the country by a popular electoin to St. Saviour's in Southwark, where he began to make great reflections on the miniftry, representing, that the church was in danger, being neglected by thofe who governed, while they favoured her moft inveterate enemies. At the fummer affizes in Derby, where he preached before the judges, and this winter, on the 5th of November, at St. Paul's, he gave a full vent to his fury, in the most violent declamation, that he could contrive, upon thefs words of St. Paul, Perils among false brethren,' in which, after fome fhort reflections upon popery, he let himself loofe into fuch indecencies, that both the man and the fermon were univerfally condemned. He afferted the doctrine of non-refiftance in the highest strain poffible; and faid, that to charge the revolution with refiftance, was to caft black and odious imputations on it; pretending that the late king had difowned it, and cited for proof fome words in his declaration, by which he vindicated, himself from a defign of conqueft. defign of conqueft. He poured out much fcorn and fcurrility on the diffenters, and reflected severely on the toleration; and faid, the church was violently attacked by her enemies, and loosely defended by her pretended friends. He animated the people to ftand up for the defence of the church, for which, he faid, he founded the trumpet, and defired them to put on the whole armour of God. After the preaching of this fermon, the lord-mayor, Sir Samuel Garrard, invited the doctor to dinner, took him hofpital for diftreffed widows at Tent against bishop Burnet, his mother's benefactor. Being prefented to a small living in Staffordshire, he fell in, both there and at Oxford, with the most furious of the high-church and jacobite party, made fcurrilous reflections on the death of king William and the Hanover fucceffion, and, when the queen appeared against the high-church memorial, he called her a waxen queen, alluding to the jeft paffed upon her at Oxford by thofe, who put her motto femper eadem upon a weather-cock. He was proceeding in this manner, when his friends got him preferment in London. |