y were absent. It could not be terrible till
victory sanctioned it, and then it would be needless and cruel to
execute. Yet, let us judge the men rightly. James had been hunted out
of England by lies, treachery, bigotry, cabal, and a Dutch invader, for
having attempted to grant religious liberty, by his prerogative. Those
attainted were, nine out of ten, in arms against him and their country.
They had been repeatedly offered free pardon. Just before the Act was
brought in, a free pardon, excepting only ten persons, was offered, yet
few of the insurgents came in; and James, instead of forbidding
quarter, or hanging his prisoners, or any other of the acts of rigour
usual in hereditary governments down to our own time, consented to an
Act requiring the chief persons of the insurrection to come, in periods
specified, and amply long enough, to stand their trials. Certain it is,
as we said before, that though many of these were or became prisoners,
none were executed. The Act was a dead letter; and considering the
principles of the time, surely the Act was not wonderful.

In order, then, to judge them better, let us see what the other
side--the immaculate Whigs, who assailed the Irish--did when they were
in power. Of anything previous to the Revolution--of the treachery and
blood, by law and without law, under the Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts,
and the Commonwealth--'tis needless to speak. But let us see what their
neighbours, the Williamites, did.

The Irish Attainder Act was not brought in till the end of June. Now,
this is of great value, for the dates of the last papers on Ireland,
laid before the English Commons, having been 10th June, 1689, they, on
the 20th June, "_Resolved_, that leave be given to bring in a Bill to
attaint of high treason certain persons who are now in Ireland, or any
other parts beyond the seas, adhearing to their Majesties' enemies, and
shall not return into England by a certain day."[29]

The very next entry is--"A Bill for the attainting certain persons of
high treason, was read the first time." "_Resolved,_ that the Bill be
read a second time."

Here was a bill to attaint persons beyond seas in another kingdom where
William had never been acknowledged--where James was welcomed by nine
men out of ten--from whence, so far from being able to procure evidence
or allow defence, they could but by accident get intelligence and
reports once in some months. It is not here pretended that the
attainted