them public; but the answer returned satisfied the contracting
parties:[g] Monk supplied O'Neil with ammunition, and O'Neil undertook to
intercept the communication between the Scottish regiments of the north and
the grand army under Ormond in the heart of the kingdom.[2]

[Footnote 1: On this obscure subject may be consulted Walker, ii. 150;
Carte's Collection of Letters, i. 216, 219, 221, 222, 224, 267, 272, 297;
ii. 363, 364; and the Journals, Aug. 31.]

[Footnote 2: O'Neil demanded liberty of conscience for himself, his
followers, and their posterity; the undisturbed possession of their lands,
as long as they remained faithful to the parliament; and, in return for his
services, the restoration of his ancestor's estate, or an equivalent. (See
both his draft, and the corrected copy by Monk, in Philop. Iren. i. 191,
and in Walker, ii. 233-238.) His agent, on his arrival in London, was asked
by the grandees why he applied to them, and refused to treat with Ormond.
He replied, because the late king had always made them fair promises; but,
when they had done him service, and he could make better terms with their
enemies, had always been ready to sacrifice them. Why then did not O'Neil
apply to the parliament sooner? Because the men in power then had sworn to
extirpate them; but those in power now professed toleration and liberty
of conscience.--Ludlow, i. 255. The agreement made with him by Monk was
rejected (Aug. 10), because, if we believe Ludlow, the Ulster men had been
the chief actors in the murder of the English, and liberty of religion
would prove dangerous to public peace. But this rejection happened much
later. It is plain that Jones, Monk, Coote, and O'Neil understood that the
agreement would be ratified, though it was delayed.--Walker, ii 198, 231,
245. See King's Pamphlets, 428, 435, 437.]

[Sidenote a: A.D. 1649. August 31.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1649. Feb. 20.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1649. March 16.]
[Sidenote d: A.D. 1649. March 21.]
[Sidenote e: A.D. 1649. April 25.]
[Sidenote f: A.D. 1649. May 8.]
[Sidenote g: A.D. 1649. May 22.]

Though the parliament had appointed Cromwell lord lieutenant of Ireland,
and vested the supreme authority, both civil and military, in his person
for three years, he was still unwilling to hazard his reputation, and
his prospects in a dangerous expedition without the adequate means of
success.[a] Out of the standing army of forty-five thousand men, with
whose aid England was now g