1689] James before Derry. "No Surrender" 309 Lundy's position was a peculiar one. He was a Protestant, and had been appointed military governor of Derry at the instance of one of the most. trusted leaders of the party, William Stewart, Viscount Mountjoy. Yet he had from the first failed to give entire satisfaction to the more resolutely-minded citizens, who suspected him, perhaps not altogether without reason, of being secretly a Jacobite; and it must be admitted that, whether he was a traitor at heart or not, his conduct had the effect of nearly wrecking the Protestant cause. Sligo in particular, with almost as good a chance of holding out as Enniskillen, was lost by his contradictory orders. On the other hand, his advice to evacuate Coleraine appears to have been founded on sound military reasons; and he cannot be held responsible for the panic-stricken flight that followed its rejection. Owing to bad weather, the almost impassable condition of the roads, and the difficulty of finding provisions in a country almost devoid of inhabitants, James' army advancing in two divisions—the one under Hamilton against Derry, the other under Galmoy against Enniskillen made slow progress. On April 13 the former came up with Lundy's outposts at Cladyford, about three miles above Strabane on the Finn, and, after some sharp fighting, succeeded two days later in forcing a passage at Castlefinn. Finding their flank turned and their retreat menaced, Lundy's raw levies broke and fled in wild confusion to Derry, closely followed for some miles by Hamilton's cavalry. The bulk of them got safely into the city, but a number of isolated parties were wiped out. Disgusted and dismayed at the conduct of his troops, Lundy saw no chance of holding out against the overwhelming force which, with King James at its head, was now rapidly approaching the city. At a council of war he gave his advice in favour of capitulation. In the light of subsequent events his conduct may be regarded as an act of treachery; but it should be remembered that all competent military authorities agreed in believing that Derry was indefensible. Military opinion proved wrong; but, if the successful defence of Derry forms one of the most brilliant pages in Irish history, the odds were that, like that of Drogheda, it would prove one of the bloodiest. Informed of what had passed at the council, James appeared under the walls of the city on April 18, expecting an easy surrender. But both he and Lundy failed to reckon on the fierce spirit of racial hatred that burned in the breasts of the citizens. While negotiations for a surrender were proceeding, a cannon-ball, fired either by accident or of set purpose, came very near to cutting short James' life, while at the same time it put an end to his hopes and Lundy's authority. A feeble apology followed; but that same night Lundy slipped out of the city; the defence was reorganised, and next morning, with a defiant shout of "No surrender," Derry entered on her memorable fifteen weeks' siege. The unexpected resistance with which he had met completely upset 310 Opening of the Irish Parliament [1689 James' plans; and on April 29 he left the camp, to open the Parliament summoned by him to meet at Dublin on May 7. Considering the precautions taken by Tyrconnel to regulate the elections, it was only to be expected that the Parliament, which assembled on the day appointed, should have consisted almost exclusively of men who either in their own persons or in those of their fathers before them had suffered most severely by the plantations that had in large measure caused their rebellion, and by the confiscations that had followed on its suppression. They had now, as they thought, got the upper hand of their enemiesthe colonists; they had got a King of their own religion; and it was only natural that they should have determined to use their power to recover possession of those estates of which they had, in their opinion, been most unjustifiably robbed. In his opening speech James, after gratefully acknowledging their loyalty, expressed his firm resolve to put an end to all calumnies against him, by granting full liberty of conscience to all his subjects, and to recognise no test or distinction between them but that of loyalty; as for those who had been injured by the late Acts of Settlement, he was ready to agree to any plan that might be found to relieve them "as far as might be consistent with reason, justice, and the public good of his people." It was from his own point of view a politic speech; though to most of his hearers his reference to the necessity for a revision of the Acts of Settlement must have seemed rather lacking in warmth. Unfortunately the object he had before him of uniting Protestants and Catholics into a body of loyalists, quite apart from the fact that it suited nobody's purpose but his own, was utterly impracticable. The protection of a King who could not protect himself was not likely to impress the Protestants; and, to gratify the Catholics, he was bound to upset the Act of Settlement. To do this, however, was equivalent to forfeiting all chance of recovering England. The question as to which course he would pursue was soon brought to a practical issue. On May 12 a Bill was introduced into the House of Commons for repealing the Acts of Settlement and Explanation. In the preamble to it, in which the causes which gave rise to those measures are discussed, nothing is more remarkable than the intense hatred displayed against Ormond, who "by his interest and power cherished and supported a fanatical republican party . . . and to transfer the calamitous consequences of his fatal conduct from himself upon your trusty Roman Catholic subjects. . . interposed betwixt them and his late Majesty's general indulgence and pardon." The absurdity of the charge is apparent on the face of it; but a scapegoat had to be found, and it would hardly have suited the purposes of those who were trying to procure its repeal to remember that the Act of Settlement was simply the price Charles had paid for his restoration. As James listened to the debates in the House of Lords, the hopelessness of his position began to dawn upon 1689] Its legislation. Proceedings in England 311 him. Not he, but Tyrconnel, was master of the situation, and nothing would satisfy Tyrconnel but an absolute repeal. To his intimates James admitted that he had no other choice than to consent. The Irish, he said, were determined to "ram that and much more down his throat." When the session came to a close on July 20, he had given his assent to thirty-five Acts, some of them no doubt of great, others of questionable, utility. Taken together, they represent the political ideal of the party led by Tyrconnel-parliamentary independence, the restoration of the land to its original owners, and freedom of trade. Unfortunately, however legitimate they were in themselves, they were claims that could only be made good by the sword. Meanwhile the situation in general had undergone little change. Though hard pressed and with a garrison sadly diminished by hunger and sickness, Derry still continued to bid defiance to her besiegers; but, as July drew to a close, her powers of resistance rapidly declined, and any day, any hour could see her forced to capitulate. The fate of Enniskillen hung in the same balance. Hitherto, by distracting the attention of James' generals the Enniskilleners had rendered Derry excellent service. But even to their powers of resistance there was a limit; and, if Derry fell, they too were bound to succumb. Absorbed in their own affairs, Englishmen had at first paid little attention to Ireland. After his flight there had been a natural revulsion of feeling in James' favour; but this feeling had quickly given place to one of intense resentment, when the news arrived of his landing in Ireland. In its indignation, Parliament insisted on an instant declaration of war against France. Putting his own construction on the address, William thought that the hour had at last arrived for setting his scheme of the Grand Alliance in motion. Parliament thought otherwise. From being a subject of secondary importance, Ireland suddenly became the sole topic of interest. As time went on and Derry remained unrelieved, public opinion grew restless. In June, a committee of the Lords was appointed to enquire into the causes of the MARSH miscarriages in Ireland. Witnesses, including Archbishop ***were examined: the minute books of the Committee of Council for Irish affairs and the Admiralty books were called for and closely inspected. The evidence elicited was of a contradictory sort; but it was generally admitted that with a little foresight the rebellion might have been prevented. Even after Tyrconnel had declared for James, the Protestants could, with a little help, easily have held their own; but no attention had been paid to their appeals for assistance; on the contrary, Sir William Harbord had been heard to say that "Ireland could wait: land there would be cheap enough shortly. The fact is the muddle was due to causes which in the circumstances were unavoidable. The Committee for Irish affairs had been active enough. Already on March 30 orders had been issued for an 312 army Derry relieved. Schomberg in Ireland [1689 of over 22,000 men to be got ready to march on May 1; and on April 29, when it was evident that Derry, contrary to all expectation, was managing to hold out, instructions were sent to Major-General Kirke to sail with four regiments and what provisions he could collect to its relief. But weeks passed away; and it was only after receiving a second order that Kirke, "un homme capricieux," as Schomberg called him, at last set sail. The middle of June had arrived before his fleet appeared in Lough Foyle. Even then he could not make up his mind to attack the boom which the besiegers had thrown across the river. At last a peremptory message from Schomberg, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the forces for Ireland, compelled him to move. The task proved easier than had been expected, and on July 28 Derry was relieved. His failure to capture Derry was a terrible disappointment to James; but the news of the complete defeat, on July 31, at Newtown Butler, of the army he had sent to reduce Enniskillen under Viscount Mountcashel, followed as it was by that of the loss of Sligo, was in the circumstances little less than a calamity. Dundee's death (July 27) had put an end to his hopes of assistance from Scotland, and the question of how he was to maintain himself was becoming daily more difficult to solve. From raising the nominal value of the currency he had proceeded to the issue of a debased coinage, with the natural result of ruining what little commerce there was left to the country. Provisions for the army could only be obtained at the sword's point; and, with bankruptcy staring him in the face, the temptation to follow d'Avaux' advice and lay forcible hands on the Protestants became almost irresistible. In the midst of his troubles came the news that Schomberg, with an army which rumour placed at about 20,000 men, had landed in county Down. The feeling at Dublin was one of utter consternation. The advisability of retiring beyond the line of the Shannon was discussed; but neither James nor Tyrconnel would listen to the suggestion; and, when it was found that Dublin was not immediately menaced, the feeling of panic gradually yielded to boldet dounsels. As a matter of fact the situation was not nearly so critical as it had at first sight appeared to be. So far from being 20,000 men strong, Schomberg's army, composed mainly of raw recruits, badly equipped and worse officered, was barely more than half that size. Belfast of course fell into his hands; but Carrickfergus had to be reduced by force. Having been joined by most of the Enniskillen horse Schomberg on September 2 moved southward by way of Lisburn and Newry to Dundalk. Here he was brought to a standstill by lack of provisions; and, recognising the necessity of keeping open his connexion by sea, he entrenched himself on a little slip of land to the north of the town, where he was practically secure from attack, and where reinforcements could easily reach him. His action, unavoidable under the circumstances, revealed his 1689-90] Schomberg's campaign.-William in Ireland 313 weakness to the enemy. Enthusiasm took the place of despondency in the Irish ranks, and with an army over 20,000 strong James marched northward. On September 21 the two armies stood face to face at Dundalk, both eager for the fray, but neither willing to yield the other the advantage of an attack. Finding it impossible to draw Schomberg, James, after laying the country bare of provisions, retired with his army to Ardee, where, owing to the bad roads and broken-down bridges, he was as inaccessible to Schomberg as the latter was to him at Dundalk. The autumn was cold and wet, and both armies suffered severely from sickness; so that, when at the beginning of November James moved into winter-quarters, Schomberg promptly followed his example. The campaign, which closed with the recovery of Sligo by Sarsfield, had ended better for James than could reasonably have been expected after his successive defeats. On the other hand, Schomberg's management of the war caused great dissatisfaction in England, where it was generally felt- and the feeling was shared by William — that he might have risked a little more than he did. The feeling was excusable; but the real blame lay with the commissariat department; and the fact that the commissary-general, Henry Shales, was, or had been, a Papist, furnished the Whigs with an admirable opportunity of pointing their argument that nothing but mismanagement could be expected, so long as Tory influence was allowed to make itself felt in the King's counsels. To William, however, it had become evident that the subjugation of Ireland was a matter of first necessity, if he was not to become a mere puppet in the hands of the Whigs. In this dilemma, he announced his intention of going himself to Ireland. The proposal was not agreeable to the Whigs, and even his own friends thought it a risky experiment; but it was received with applause by the country, and, taking advantage of the situation, he dissolved Parliament. The general elections answered his expectations; and on June 11, 1690, he set sail from Chester for Carrickfergus. Meanwhile, in Ireland both sides had been busily occupied in recruiting their armies for the coming campaign. The priests worked hard for James, and many a man who came to mass found himself before the day closed enrolled in the army. Provisions seem to have been plentiful in the Irish camp; but there was a great dearth of money and war material. Schomberg's difficulties, on the other hand, arose chiefly from scarcity of provisions and forage, in which respect the loss of Sligo, which was only partly made good by the capture of Belturbet by Colonel Wolseley in December, 1689, made itself severely felt. In January he was compelled to disband a number of regiments, and to send their officers to gather recruits in England. Suffering as he did from ill-health, it was with a feeling of intense relief that he heard of William's determination to come to Ireland himself. From that moment things began perceptibly to improve. Under the management |