Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 08.djvu/59

 An attempt by Ormonde to induce the Irish catholics also to carry out the articles of the cessation and furnish the king with an army was entirely futile. Meanwhile the king called for Lord Leicester's resignation, and made Ormonde lord-lieutenant by a commission which he received in January 1643-4. In pursuance of his instructions he vigorously forwarded the expedition of the Irish forces, prepared by the Earl of Antrim, to assist Montrose in Scotland; and to prevent a renewal of the war gave favourable terms to the catholics. He was not, however, able to prevent many of the English troops from joining the Scotch forces in Ulster in taking the covenant, or wholly to keep the latter, a point much pressed by Charles, from joining their fellows in Scotland. In April, Monroe, who commanded in Ulster, received a commission from the English parliament to command in chief all the forces in Ulster, both Scotch and English. He at once seized Belfast, and in breach of the cessation marched against the Irish. Ormonde knew that Monroe was acting in the parliament's interest. At the same time the council of Kilkenny urged him to declare the Scots rebels, and the council offered him the command of all their forces. It appeared therefore that he must either assist the parliamentary party or that of the catholic rebels. He refused to listen to the suggestion of the Irish, and contented himself with assisting them to send agents to the king at Oxford to represent them at the treaty then being carried on. The demands, both of protestants and catholics, were referred by the English council to him for settlement on 26 July, and negotiations for a definite peace, the cessation having been renewed, were opened on 6 Sept. at Dublin. So irreconcilable, however, were the rival demands, that they were broken off in October, and not again renewed until April 1645. Ormonde meanwhile had, in despair of any favourable settlement, urgently requested to be relieved of his govern- ment. Charles refused to comply with this request, and not only appointed a commission to inquire into the amount of his personal sacrifices in his service and to arrange for their repayment, but sent him full discretionary powers for concluding a peace, even to the restoring of the rebels, who should submit, to their estates and possessions; the entire repeal of the penal statutes was alone denied him. Meantime his government was much harassed by frequent plots among discontented officers. He succeeded, however, in making a temporary arrangement with Monroe, the commander of the Scotch forces, whereby union was established until the arrival in October of Sir R. King and Arthur Annesley, who came as a commission from the English parliament. Through great difficulties the treaty of peace gradually drew to a conclusion. As the weakness of the king became more apparent the demands of the rebels increased. On the subject of the penal laws they insisted upon entire freedom being granted, and they refused Ormonde's demand for the restoration of the churches to the protestant clergy; while they further insisted upon the maintenance of their provisional government until every article had been confirmed by act of parliament. These demands Charles utterly refused, and Ormonde then drew up a list of the 'concessions' which he thought proper for the king's consideration. There were exemptions from penalties and incapacities on the score of religion, concessions of places of command, honour, and trust, and the removal of many minor grievances. It was at this point that the Glamorgan episode occurred which cut the ground from Ormonde's feet. On 25 Aug., representing himself as empowered by the king, who had given him merely a roving commission, Glamorgan signed a private treaty with the Irish agents, by which the catholics obtained the entire repeal of the penal laws, the possession of all the churches which they had seized since 23 Oct. 1641, exemption from all jurisdiction of protestant clergy, and the enjoyment of the tithes, glebes, and church revenues then in their possession. In return they promised a force of 10,000 men for England under Glamorgan's leadership. The warrant which Glamorgan produced was utterly repudiated by Charles and his ministers as a forgery, and Glamorgan was imprisoned at Dublin. This naturally excited the Irish to the utmost, and the difficulties in the way of the treaty were rendered still greater by the indefatigable efforts of the pope's nuncio to defeat it. Nevertheless Ormonde succeeded in bringing it to a conclusion on 28 March 1646, upon the basis of the above mentioned 'concessions,' with the condition that it should not be held of force until the Irish had despatched 10,000 men to England by 1 May. Meantime Charles, now in the hands of the Scots, sent to Ormonde, through the Prince of Wales, private assurances of his full confidence; and Digby, on the king's part, declared that the immediate conclusion of the peace was absolutely necessary. The peace was therefore published, although the conditions had not been fulfilled, on 29 July. Supported, however, by the pope's nuncio, the Irish rebels strongly opposed it, and it seemed probable that Dublin would fall into their hands. In this extremity Ormonde determined to apply to the