The History of Ireland: 17th Century. Bagwell Richard

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СКАЧАТЬ petty chapman’s son, who by peddling left him some 200l. a year,’ who opposed everything and who recklessly misstated facts. Wentworth determined to make an example of him, and the motion for his expulsion was carried by sixteen. After this things went smoothly, and all the Government Bills were passed into law.[199]

      Sir Vincent Gookin’s case.

      An impeachment threatened.

      Judicial functions of Parliament.

      Gookin on the English settlers.

Soon after the beginning of the second session both Houses were much excited by a letter of Sir Vincent Gookin, an enterprising English settler who had much property in the county of Cork. It was addressed to the Lord Deputy, though never delivered to him, and it is doubtful whether it was printed or not. In any case it was freely circulated in Munster, and a copy of it read out in the House of Commons. It was, says Wentworth, ‘a most bitter invective against the whole nation, natives, old English, new English, Papist, Protestant, captains, soldiers and all … it was evident they would have hanged him if they could. The libel indeed is wondrous foul and scandalous.’ An impeachment was threatened, and the two Houses had a conference, where Lord Mountnorris pointed out that the House of Commons had no power to administer an oath, but that the Lords would examine their witnesses and give sentence even in the delinquent’s absence. The judges were consulted, and declared that his land could not be seized as security for his appearance. Mountnorris said nothing about the Deputy and Council, and Wentworth, to prevent the assumption of judicial authority by Parliament, had already sent a pursuivant to arrest Gookin, who made haste to get out of Ireland, where his life was hardly safe. Wentworth in person informed Parliament that the principle of Poynings’ Act extended to judicial as well as to legislative functions, and that moreover the case was already in his hands. He observed that the King had no reason to be pleased with the exercise of parliamentary jurisdiction in England, and having always an eye to revenue, he added that Sir Vincent, who was a very rich man, was well able to bear a fine great in proportion to his offence. Early in the following year Gookin was brought back from England and imprisoned in the Castle, and Wentworth received the thanks of Parliament with a request that he would continue the prosecution, which the English Government left in his hands. It does not appear whether this was done, but Gookin, who paid 1,000l. a year to labourers and fishermen in the neighbourhood of Bandon, and who had thirty years’ experience of Ireland, came into frequent collision with Lord Cork, which was likely to make Wentworth lenient. Gookin was a strong Protestant, who hated the Irish and their priests, and was quite willing to be hated by them in return, but he thought the English Irish even worse. It might have been different if the settlers could have been kept to themselves, but as it was the English influence had a constant tendency to grow weaker. ‘As soon as any Englishman cometh over and settleth himself in this country and hath gotten any estate, he findeth himself environed with the Irish, and hath no safety both for himself and posterity but by some way to stick themselves by marriage and gossiping or the like.’ Gookin died some four years later, and his son, who played a considerable part during the Commonwealth, took a somewhat different view of the country.[200]

      Wentworth’s regard for privilege of Parliament.

      Submissiveness of the Commons.

      A parliamentary bravo.

Another incident occurred during this same session which is important only as an illustration of Wentworth’s high-handed methods. Sir John Dongan having made a speech unpleasing to the official party in the House of Commons, Captain Charles Price remarked in a loud tone that he did not know what he was doing. An altercation followed which Dongan evidently tried to avoid, for he said he meant no harm. Price then called him saucy, and Sir John very naturally gave him the lie. All this happened inside the bar of the House of Commons, yet the Council took the case up. Dongan was imprisoned in the Castle, forced to give a written apology, fined, and ordered to be brought by the constable of the Castle to the bar of the House and to repeat his submission there upon his knees. This was carried out to the letter a few days later, and entered in the journals, without comment. A committee of six was appointed to wait on the Lord Deputy and beg him to remit the penalty for offending the King, the offence to Parliament and to the Lord Deputy having been already purged. Price was employed by Wentworth as an agent at Court, for which purpose he had very long leave from his military duties. We may judge from a letter of Lord Keeper Coventry what sort of man he was. ‘Your servant, Captain Price, is now with us, and I assure you is not silent in anything that concerns your honour, and in truth serves you with his tongue and protests he will not fail to do it with his sword. I hope your lordship hath no need of the latter in Ireland, and your friends here are well pleased to hear how he lays about him with the former, and therefore it is hoped you will yet spare him from his garrison till he have done here what is meet to be done.’[201]

      Assessment of the subsidies.

      Wentworth wishes to keep his Parliament together,

      but the King insists on a dissolution.

      Parliament dissolved, April 18, 1635.

No subsidy had hitherto yielded more than about 30,000l., but there had been many exemptions and many cases of fraud whereby the great transferred their share of the burden to the poor. Wentworth succeeded in raising each subsidy to rather more than 40,000l. from the Commons, with over 6,000l. from the nobility, and 3,000l. from the clergy. The two last sums were to be levied by the Government, but the House of Commons, fearing lest the Deputy should be tempted to take even more than had been agreed upon, themselves assessed the amount which their constituents were to pay in each county. Leinster was set down for 13,000l., Ulster for 10,000l., Munster for 11,200l., and Connaught for 6,800l. The highest rated county was Cork, which with the city paid nearly 4,000l. Dublin city and county were assessed at 1,000l. apiece. The House of Commons also inquired into arrears due by the Crown, and these they found amounted to about 130,000l. They recommended that certain sums due to the Archbishop of Dublin, the Bishop of Meath, and the Dean of Christchurch should be paid at once in full. The next to be satisfied were ladies, the attainder of whose husbands or fathers had enriched the Crown; Lady Desmond and her daughters, Lady Mary O’Dogherty, and Lady Mary O’Reilly being mentioned by name. Arrears of pay due to civil or military officers were to be satisfied in proportion to the actual benefit derived from their services, sinecurists being left in the lurch, and all useless places recommended to be abolished. When the work of the Parliament was done, Wentworth wished to prorogue it. ‘This House,’ he said, ‘is very well composed; so as the Protestants are the major part, clearly and thoroughly with the King, which would be difficult to compass again, if you were now to call another.’ He thought that the existence of this obedient majority would serve to overawe the Roman Catholics, who alone were dangerous, and who would be deterred from opposing schemes of colonisation by the knowledge that the English recusancy laws might be passed over their heads at any moment. But Charles was of opinion that Parliaments ‘are of the nature of cats, they ever grow curst with age,’ and directed Wentworth to dissolve as soon as the necessary business was done. Coke had intercepted a large budget of letters between the Irish Recusants and their French friends, and he had no doubt that as soon as there was danger either from Spain or France ‘all would join together to replant themselves at home.’ Wentworth thought a Parliament well in hand would be a useful instrument to have ready, but he was not allowed to keep it. The royal consent was given to a number of Acts, and the subsidy arrangements being complete, the two Houses had little to do except to squabble about matters of etiquette, and were dissolved without settling them. ‘We have now,’ Wentworth wrote, ‘under the conduct of our prudent and excellent master, concluded this Parliament, with an universal contentment, as I take it.’ He thought it had done more than all former Parliaments СКАЧАТЬ