to distinguish them from the ‘new English,’ who have come into the kingdom along with the modern heresy.  These parties are opposed to each other principally on the following grounds:  the old Irish, entertaining a great aversion for heresy, are also averse to the dominion of England, and have Biased, generally speaking, to accept the investiture of Church property offered to them since the apostacy of the Kings of England from the Church.  The others, on the contrary, enriched with the spoils of the monasteries, and thus bound to the King by obligation, no less than by interest, neither seek nor desire anything but the exaltation of the crown, esteem no laws but those of the realm, are thoroughly English in their feelings, and, from their constant familiarity with heretics, are less jealous of differences of religion.”

The Nuncio then goes on to state how even the military command was divided between these two parties,—­O’Neill belonging to the old Irish interest, and Preston to the new.  He also mentions the manner in which this difference of feeling extended to the lower classes, and particularly to those who served in the army.[482]

I have given this lengthened extract from Rinuccini’s report, because, with all the advantages of looking back upon the times and events, it would be impossible to explain more clearly the position of the different parties.  It remains only to show how these unfortunate differences led to the ruin of the common cause.

The Confederates now began to be distinguished into two parties, as Nuncionists and Ormondists.  Two sets of negotiations were carried on, openly with Ormonde, and secretly with Glamorgan.  The Nuncio, from the first, apprehended the treachery of Charles, and events proved the correctness of his forebodings.  Glamorgan produced his credentials, dated April 30th, 1645, in which the King promised to ratify whatever terms he might make; and he further promised, that the Irish soldiers, whose assistance he demanded, should be brought back to their own shores, if these arrangements were not complied with by his master.  Meanwhile a copy of this secret treaty was discovered on the Archbishop of Tuam, who had been killed at Sligo.  It was used as an accusation against the King.  Glamorgan was arrested in Dublin, and the whole scheme was defeated.

The General Assembly met in Kilkenny, in January, 1646, and demanded the release of Glamorgan.  He was bailed out; but the King disowned the commission, as Rinuccini had expected, and proved himself thereby equally a traitor to his Catholic and Protestant subjects.  Ormonde took care to foment the division between the Confederate party, and succeeded so well that a middle party was formed, who signed a treaty consisting of thirty articles.  This document only provided for the religious part of the question, that Roman Catholics should not be bound to take the oath of supremacy.  An Act of oblivion was passed, and the Catholics were to continue to hold their possessions until a settlement could be made by Act of Parliament.  Even in a political point of view, this treaty was a failure; and one should have thought that Irish chieftains and Anglo-Irish nobles had known enough of Acts of Parliament to have prevented them from confiding their hopes to such an uncertain future.