Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 3.djvu/442

422 conquer his enemy, but rather exasperate him to more malice; and, to be plain, unless my Lord Deputy use another moderation than he hath done of late, he shall be more meet to be ruled than rule, for he hath lost the hearts of English and Irish, friend and foe.'

Allen, the writer of this passage, was, with the exception of Ormond and his son, the only person in Ireland competent to furnish the commission with any tolerable information; and the Butlers were supposed to be interested parties, and open to exception as witnesses. On the Master of the Rolls, therefore, St Leger chiefly depended; and with his assistance soon saw his way, not to Lord Leonard's removal, but to a limitation of the confidence which had been placed in him. Allen and St Leger together might have struck out some reasonable plan of action, if left uncontrolled. Unluckily, the commission was composite. Paulet, who belonged to the party in opposition to Cromwell in England, attached himself in Ireland to the deputy; and the reports sent home by the different commissioners contradicted each other little less than those which had before perplexed the English Government. It appeared, however, at least, that the revenue ought to be something, though it was actually nothing. It depended chiefly on the rents of lands confiscated for rebellion, which the tenants would not pay unless they were compelled; and with a diminished army would be diminished the means of compulsion. This was a fact which both