cited to the ecclesiastical courts, and if they failed to
appear there, they stood excommunicated; and he adds, 'possibly when a
writ _de excommunicato capiendo_ is taken out, and they find they have
7 l. or 8 l. to pay, _they run away_, for the greatest part of the
occupiers of the land here are so poor, that an extraordinary stroke
of 8 l. or 10 l. falling on them is certain ruin to them.' He further
states that, to his own knowledge, many of the clergy had chosen
rather to lose their 'small dues' than to be at a certain great
expense in getting them, 'and at an uncertainty whether the farmer
would not at last _run away without paying anything_.'

Such was the condition of the Protestants of Ulster during the era of
the penal code; and it is a curious fact that it was the Presbyterians
and not the Catholics that were forced by the exactions of the
Protestant landlords and the clergy to run away from the country which
their forefathers had been brought over to civilize. But there was
another fact connected with the condition of Ulster which I dare say
will be almost incredible to many readers. The tenantry, so cruelly
rack-rented and impoverished, were reduced by two or three bad seasons
to a state bordering upon famine. There was little or no corn in the
province. The primate set on foot a subscription in Dublin, to which
he himself contributed very liberally. The object was to buy food to
supply the necessities of the north, and to put a stop to 'the great
desertion' they had been threatened with. He hoped that the landlords
would 'do _their_ part by remitting some arrears, or making some
abatement of their rents.' As many of the tenants had eaten the oats
they should have sowed their lands with, he expected the landlords
would have the good sense to furnish them with seed; if not, a great
deal of land would lie waste that year. And where were the provisions
got? Partly in Munster, where corn was very cheap and abundant. But
the people of Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Clonmel objected to have
their provisions sent away, although they were in some places 'as
cheap again as in the north; but where dearest, at least one-third
part cheaper.' Riotous mobs broke open the store-houses and cellars,
setting what price they pleased upon the provisions. And, what between
those riots and the prevalence of easterly winds, three weeks elapsed
before the 3,000 l. worth of oats, oatmeal, and potatoes could be got
down to relieve t