ltitudes with writs
of ejectment and writs of trespass. In his court the government attacked
at once the charters of all the cities and boroughs in Ireland; and he
easily found pretexts for pronouncing all those charters forfeited. The
municipal corporations, about a hundred in number, had been instituted
to be the strongholds of the reformed religion and of the English
interest, and had consequently been regarded by the Irish Roman
Catholics with an aversion which cannot be thought unnatural or
unreasonable. Had those bodies been remodelled in a judicious and
impartial manner, the irregularity of the proceedings by which so
desirable a result had been attained might have been pardoned. But it
soon appeared that one exclusive system had been swept away only to make
room for another. The boroughs were subjected to the absolute authority
of the Crown. Towns in which almost every householder was an English
Protestant were placed under the government of Irish Roman Catholics.
Many of the new Aldermen had never even seen the places over which they
were appointed to bear rule. At the same time the Sheriffs, to whom
belonged the execution of writs and the nomination of juries, were
selected in almost every instance from the caste which had till very
recently been excluded from all public trust. It was affirmed that some
of these important functionaries had been burned in the hand for theft.
Others had been servants to Protestants; and the Protestants added, with
bitter scorn, that it was fortunate for the country when this was the
case; for that a menial who had cleaned the plate and rubbed down the
horse of an English gentleman might pass for a civilised being, when
compared with many of the native aristocracy whose lives had been spent
in coshering or marauding. To such Sheriffs no colonist, even if he had
been so strangely fortunate as to obtain a judgment, dared to intrust an
execution, [119]

Thus the civil power had, in the space of a few months, been transferred
from the Saxon to the Celtic population. The transfer of the military
power had been not less complete. The army, which, under the command
of Ormond, had been the chief safeguard of the English ascendency, had
ceased to exist. Whole regiments had been dissolved and reconstructed.
Six thousand Protestant veterans, deprived of their bread, were brooding
in retirement over their wrongs, or had crossed the sea and joined
the standard of William. Their place was supp