Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-08-02
Prom the Cincinnati COMMERCIAL
COnfiscation I'm Ireland 4.

From the Cincinnati Commercial
Confiscation I'm Ireland.
The numerous historians of that unhappy
country, Ireland, however they may ditier on
other questions. agree in this, that never was
there q country so given over to political disturb
snce, violence and discomfort Ii is impossible
to resist the conclusion that the dominion of the
English in Ireland has been little else than one
prolonged tyranny. In the very next century
after the conquest, we find Henry the Second in
vadiug ireland, under the authority of bull OF
Pope Adrian Nv, bestowing upon him that king
dom. The Church, at that epoch, was the grand
cisposer of the sovereignty of empires. The
army with which the king took possession con
sisted of bis vassals, who in return for grants of
land, rendered military service restricted within
narrow limits This feudsl army was neither
permanent nor reliable, not being bound TO serve
in any but a defensive war; aud whenever a
conquest undertaken il on the clear
condition that the conquered country should be
divided among all. according to the rank of each
A conquest was not effected in the middle ages
as in the present. In our DAYS, the Government
which subdues u country commonly garrisons it
with paid aud permanent army, and remains
master OF the conquered territory, either by col
onizng is with its own citizens, or leaving the
possession OF the soil to the NATIVES, with suf
tcient military force TO maintain whatever form
of governments il sees proper to establish But
in the year 1863, things were done differently
Henry III could not require his vassals to 90 TO
ireland, nor could he conquer it. preserve
his conquest without them. He had no way for
paving their services, or securing their devotion
save by bestowing lands; so he granted them all
over Ireland, with the exception of some royal
reserves and on this condition he had an army .
The seventies which enforced against the
Irish, TO crush out any vestiges OF nationality,
were early begun, aud il may be said with entire
truth, have never ceased By statute of Ed
ward LII, A. ID. 1866, MARRIAGE trith the Irish
pas punished as high treason 1t enacted
that any man of English descent using the Irish
name, speaking the Irish language. or observing
Irish customs, should forfeit, absolutely his
estate.
In the year 1887 We find the earliest of those
sweeping enactments or conhscaton the mum
Der and quick succession of which, as well as the
late period down 10 which they continued TO
pass amazed every student of political history
By this act, the Earl of Kildare, and host OF
other mobiles, attainted traitors, and their
estates forever forfeited The statute book
from an early period OF Irish history, is over
loaded with these monstrous enactments. A sim
gle statute frequently extingushed every title 10
property throughout whole principally.
During the sixteenth century. the authority of
| the crown was upheld in Ireland by series Of
wholesale tyrdnDles, exercised DIV the mouse Oh
Tudor. The work of conhscaton was begun by
Queen Mary, who sequestered the Kings and
Queens counties. containing almost million of
| acres. liz was carried on with a high hand by
Elizabeth, who extirpated the powerful house OF
Desmond, and confscated 574 67S acres of private
property-beDg about one fifth of the realm of
Irelsnd-and it was completed by James |, who
grasped enormous track in Tyrone and other
Norther counties, of over sou 900 acres, while in
Wicklow and the midland counties he confsca
| ted 446, 000 more
These repeated con6scations, or plantations,
as they we're termed, actually proceeded upon the
| design of erferminating the natire Irish, and
repeopling the country pith Englishmen and
Scofchmsn. Ezabeth's scheme of establishing
| a great English colony in Munster, made much
noise in its time and was certainly we'll organized
Circulars were scattered all over England, offer
| ing estates TO younger brothers on almost Domi-
nal terms, the settlers TO employ no Irish tenantry
| but to be maintained a separate and superior
race. and defended by gdrrisORs along the from
tiers. Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir c. Hatton, and
many other men of quality, received grants upon
| these terms. But the odious character of their
| rights and the unattractiveness to men of breed
| ing of the garrison life necessary to maintain
| them soon led them TO violate the conditions of
| the grants, and become absentee propretors. The
utter failure Of Eiizabelh's confscations
means of quetng districts, is attested by all the
historians But il did not prevent her successor
James, from attempting far more extensive in
road upon the tenure of landed property in Ire
land. Instead OF vast domains granted to few
MOBILES the issue of small parcels TO actual settlers
was substituted, and these settlers we're bound
not to sub rent To any Irish, and to pay, every
one, an annual rent 10 the crown. This greedy
and covetous monarch was unable to resist the
temptation of enriching himself by the numerous
considerations and sales of forfeited lands which
fortune placed in his power.
After ages OF civil war, there necessarily
listed much uncertainty as to the titles to estates
in Ireland. Taking advantage of this lrregu
larty. James determined to deprive of their lands
all whose titles were not strictly regular, and TO
seize them for the Crown. Immediately. herd
of LAWYERS spurred on by the hope of sharing the
spoils, bounced upon that country like a flock OF
hsrpies, shook the dust from old parchments,
and. by their chicanery and ingenuity IN finding
flaws in titles, succeeded 10 such degree that
hardly proprietor was left who enjoyed the
shadow of security The King obtained vast
multitude of estates. which he took care to be-
stow Cor, more frequently, to SELL, TO eolonists
trh0 trere his 0,cn adhererts
AS If the Wholesale con6scation of James |
we're not enough, his successor, Charles /, found
more work for laws of forfeiture There was
in Ireland one province which had escaped every
attempt at colonization his was Connaught
The Viceroy of Charles. Wentsorth, Earl Of
STAFFORD. resolved to dispossess all the inhabi-
tants of that vast territory, and confscate it to
the King. To accomplish this, he took Nth him
judges and an army; the former TO find legal
authority for sequestering half q kingdom, the
latter TO enforce the sequesstion at the point OF
the sword. Both agents admirably answered MS
end. The lawyers suddenly discovered that all
grants oy preceding kings to actual proprietors
or their ancestors, we're null and void and that
Connaugh. had no lawful propretors but the
King Preceded by an imposing army, Stafford
traversed the country, spreading terror every
where, and enforcing his lawle decress.
IL is probable that Charles the First would
have carried much further bis plumber of the
Irish. but eren his tyranny in Ireland could not
procure him pardon for Ais arbitrary SoUsra-
uenf Of England. In l6iO. when the royal au-
thority VAS already deeply shaken. the king sud
denly ceased from expressing the Irish, hopeful
of securing their support for his tottering throne
The entire project OF colonization was abandoned.
and the Irish were assured that there never was
a thought of plundering them. When Stuart
began TO be just toward Ireland, il was authentic
evidence that his sovereignty in EnglsLd was be-
coming precarious.