Page:Confiscation in Irish history.djvu/137

 the Act which provided that they were to have the benefit of any articles of surrender which had been granted to them at the time they laid down their arms. And of those in the first clause some were equally protected by terms of surrender, the others were insignificant people against Whom the new government did not trouble to proceed.

Very different was the case of those condemned to death and forfeiture by the fourth clause. This pronounced sentence of death on all who had both as principals and accessories since October 1st, 1641, committed murder.

But it defined murder as the killing of any person not publicly entertained and maintained in arms by the English, and furthermore as murderers were to be held all who had killed any Englishman so entertained and maintained in arms if the killer had himself not been an officer or soldier in the pay of the Irish against the English.

Now during the first weeks or even months after the rising the Irish had had, over large districts at least, practically no organised forces. Therefore anyone who had killed an English soldier in fair fight in those months and those districts would, under the second part of this definition, be counted as a murderer.

Moreover, on the first news of the rising, many English landowners dwelling in strong castles had put these into a state of defence, armed their English tenants, and such of the Englishry as took