's answer to his own petition, and to the Lord Primate of
Ireland, who put the persecuting decree into execution. The Earl
of Devon, then lord-lieutenant, had taken from him the lands of his
ancestors called the Fews, in Armagh, and given them to other persons.
He was deprived of the annual tribute of sixty cows from Sir Cahir
O'Dogherty's country called Inishowen, which tribute had never been
brought into question till James's reign. The same lord-lieutenant had
taken from him the fishings of the Bann, which always belonged to his
ancestors, and which he was forced to purchase again. Portions of his
territory had been taken 'under colour of church-lands, a thing never
in any man's memory heard of before.' One Robert Leicester an attorney
had got some more of the earl's land, which he transferred to Captain
Leigh. 'So as any captain or clerk had wanted means, and had no other
means or device to live, might bring the earl in trouble for some part
or parcel of his living, falsely inventing the same, to be concealed
or church-land.' The Archbishop of Armagh and the Bishop of Derry
and Clogher claimed the best part of the earl's whole estate, as
appertaining to their bishoprics, 'which was never moved by any other
predecessors before, other than that they had some _chiefry_ due to
them, in most part of all his living, and would now have the whole
land to themselves as their domain lands, not content with the benefit
of their ancient registers, which the earl always offered, and
was willing to give without further question. O'Cahan, 'one of the
chiefest and principalest of the earl's tenants, was set upon by
certain of his majesty's privy council, as also by his highness's
counsel-at-law, to withdraw himself and the lands called
_Iraght-I-Cahan_ from the earl, being a great substance of his
living;' and this although O'Cahan had no right to the property except
as his _tenant at will_, yielding and paying all such rents, dues,
and reservations as the other tenants did. He complained that at
the council table in Dublin it was determined to take two-thirds of
O'Cahan's country from him; and he perceived by what Sir John Davis
said, that they had determined to take the other third also. They
further made claim in his majesty's behalf to four other parcels of
the earl's land, which he named, being the substance of all that was
left, and began their suit for the same in the court of exchequer.
In fine he felt that he could not assu