y had abundant
occupation. Roscommon was selected for a commencement. The sheriffs were
directed to select jurors who would find for the crown. The jurors were
made clearly to understand what was expected from them, and what the
consequences would be if they were "contumacious." The object of the
crown was, of course, the general good of the country. The people of
Connaught were to be civilized and enriched; but, in order to carry out
this very desirable arrangement, the present proprietors were to be
replaced by new landlords, and the country was to be placed entirely at
the disposal of the Sovereign.[472]

It was now discovered that the lands and lordships of De Burgo, adjacent
to the Castle of Athlone, and, in fact, the whole remaining province,
belonged to the crown. It would be useless here to give details of the
special pleading on which this statement was founded; it is an
illustration of what I have observed before, that the tenure of the
English settler was quite as uncertain as the tenure of the Celt. The
jury found for the King; and as a reward, the foreman, Sir Lucas Dillon,
was graciously permitted to retain a portion of his own lands. Lowther,
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, got four shillings in the pound of
the first year's rent raised under the Commission of "Defective Titles."
The juries of Mayo and Sligo were equally complacent; but there was
stern resistance made in Galway, and stern reprisals were made for the
resistance. The jurors were fined L4,000 each and were imprisoned, and
their estates seized until that sum was paid. The sheriff was fined
L1,000, and, being unable to pay that sum, he died in prison. And all
this was done with the full knowledge and the entire sanction of the
"royal martyr."

The country was discontented, and the Lord Deputy demanded more troops,
"until the intended plantation should be settled." He could not see why
the people should object to what was so very much for their own good,
and never allowed himself to think that the disturbance had anything to
do with the land question. The new proprietors were of the same opinion.
Those who were or who feared to be dispossessed, and those who felt that
their homes, whether humble or noble, could not be called their own,
felt differently; but their opinion was as little regarded as their
sufferings.

The Earl of Ormonde's property was next attacked, but he made a prudent
compromise, and his party was too powerful to permit