should march out with arms, baggage, and all the honours of war, and be conducted, together with whatever persons or property they may choose to take with them, to Limerick.

Marlborough did not venture an objection to those terms: they were instantly granted. He had begun to despair of taking the fort before the weather should compel him to raise the siege. And if this had happened, it would have afforded a triumph to the Dutch party, who would not fail to mock at his vauntings, and to retort upon him the criticisms he had not spared upon the sieges of Limerick and Athlone. The surrender of Charles Fort relieved him in a great measure from this awkward predicament. Marlborough's extreme impatience of the siege, and the little impression he had made upon the castle, induced a suspicion that he had used stronger solicitations than cannon-balls to bend the stubborn spirit of the governor. However this was, it is certain that the terms he found himself compelled to grant put an end to the censures, of which he had been very liberal, upon the capitulations made by William with the Irish garrisons.

This was the commencement of Marlborough's brilliant career in war. His success in this enterprise laid the foundation of that reputation which afterwards obtained for him the highest commands; and yet it is certain, that as to the

taking of Cork it was an affair of no military merit, and at Kinsale he did not succeed. The small share of success of which he could boast was purely accidental. With this exploit of Marlborough's the campaign closed for the

winter.

CHAP. X.

THE winter, which had put an end to all regular military operations, had no effect in suspending the activity of the commissioners of forfeited lands and goods. The industry of the commissioners in discovering the goods, chattels, and domains of disloyal persons was full of a zeal which no severity of climate or season could cool or abate.

The commissioners had got the names of almost all the Irish proprietors serving in James's army, or adhering to the cause of the king, and some accounts of the situation of their property, and in several instances the names or general denominations of the lands. They now published proposals for letting those lands for a year. But the tenant was required to specify the correct name of the land or farm he proposed to take, and the exact number of acres it contained, under a penalty of being compelled to pay for every acre understated at the rate of twentyeight shillings per acre for arable, and five shil lings for pasture land. It was evident that this

proposal for letting was a mere manoeuvre of the commissioners for fishing out the particulars of the property which they were longing to clutch.

Mr. Serjeant Osborn, their majesty's serjeant at law, moved the court of King's Bench in Dublin, that all indictments for high treason found in the several counties of the kingdom against those in rebellion against the king and queen be removed by certiorari to the superior courts. This was a process in support of the proceedings of the commissioners; and was a short and easy one, such as they were accustomed to in those days, when forfeitures had been a regular Irish traffic for some centuries; but this trade, which had reached the period of its greatest activity under Cromwell, did not thrive greatly under William.

The indictments found in the "several counties" were very numerous; the more so, as the parties indicted could have no notice of what was doing; and when the proceedings were transferred to Dublin, they were completely shut out from any knowledge of the matter.

It had been long the fashion of the courts in Ireland to be content with the forms of law only, and to be satisfied with mere names upon paper or parchment instead of living beings, which were often difficult to be procured. Bills were sometimes found by juries that had no existence in nature, or returned as found; the

sheriff acting the double part of jury and returning officer. The same economy of human labour was of frequent occurrence in the return of members to serve in parliament. The sheriff representing in his own person the whole constituency, and frequently returning himself. Sometimes, indeed, this was a matter of necessity, where there happened to be no such place as that specified in the writ, or no one living there; and in this case the writ was sometimes accompanied with the name of the person whom the sheriff was commanded to insert in his return; sometimes it was left to his discretion, which might generally be done with safety, as he was himself the nominee of the ruling party. In this manner it was easy to have at one time a parliament of Catholic zealots, and immediately after a house of Protestant fanatics.

Even in Dublin one of the Temple family, being returning officer of the university a few years previous to the period we treat of, saved the college all the bustle of an election by simply inserting his own name, and returning himself. This abuse had become very general in the country, especially under Cromwell, who, even where there were electors that were entitled and desirous to vote, ordered that they should not be permitted to do so without his special authority. The despotism of the Stuarts was liberty