diers were employed to till the lands round their
posts. Corn had to be imported to Dublin from Wales. So scarce
was meat that a widow was obliged to petition the authorities for
permission to kill a lamb; and she was 'permitted and lycensed to kill
and dresse so much lambe as shall be necessary for her own eating,
not exceeding three lambes for this whole year, notwithstanding
any declaration of the said Commissioners of Parliament to the
contrary.'[A] This privilege was granted to Mrs. Buckley in
consideration of 'her old age and weakness of body.' In 1654 the Irish
revenue from all sources was only 198,000 l., while the cost of the
army was 500,000 l. A sort of conditional amnesty was granted from
necessity, pending the decision of Parliament, and on May 12,
1652, the Leinster army of the Irish surrendered on terms signed
at Kilkenny, which were adopted successively by the other principal
armies between that time and the September following, when the Ulster
forces surrendered. By these Kilkenny articles, all except those who
were guilty of the first blood were received into protection on
laying down their arms; those who should not be satisfied with the
conclusions the Parliament might come to concerning the Irish nation,
and should desire to transport themselves with their men to serve any
foreign state in amity with the Parliament, should have liberty
to treat with their agents for that purpose. But the Commissioners
undertook faithfully to mediate with the Parliament that they
might enjoy such a remnant of their lands as might make their lives
comfortable at home, or be enabled to emigrate.

[Footnote 1: Prendergast, the Cromwellian Settlement, p.16.]

The Cromwellian administration in Ireland effected a revolution
unparalleled in history. Its proceedings have been well summarised by
Mr. Darcy Magee:--

The Long Parliament, still dragging out its days under the shadow of
Cromwell's great name, declared in its session of 1652 the rebellion
in Ireland 'subdued and ended,' and proceeded to legislate for that
kingdom as a conquered country. On August 12 they passed their Act of
Settlement, the authorship of which was attributed to Lord Orrery, in
this respect the worthy son of the first Earl of Cork. Under this act
there were four chief descriptions of persons whose status was thus
settled: 1. All ecclesiastics and royalist proprietors were exempted
from pardon of life or estate. 2. All royalist commissioned office