, as between William and England on the one hand, and
James and France on the other, the Prince of Orange, accustomed to the
German way of settling such differences, had made formal offer to
Tyrconnel of a working compromise--the free exercise of their religion
to the Irish Catholics: half the Churches of the Kingdom: half the
employments, civil and military, if they pleased, and even the moiety of
their ancient properties. "These proposals," says the Chevalier Wogan,
Tyrconnel's nephew and confidant, who is our informant, "though they
were to have had an English Act of Parliament for their sanction, were
refused with universal contempt." In other words, the party which with
the assistance of France still hoped to obtain all, refused to be
content with half. It is true that Wogan, in the letter from which we
have quoted,[6] after stating that the exiles, "in the midst of their
hard usage abroad, could not be brought to repent of their obstinacy,"
justifies their refusal by the way in which the Articles of Limerick
were afterwards disregarded by the Irish Parliament. But this is
evidently an argument of retrospective invention, and it may fairly be
argued that the position would have been very different if peace on
equal terms had been made on the direct authority of the King before
Aughrim rather than by his deputies after Limerick.

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

And if the separatist theory has involved, as we have seen, such
external dangers to the Empire, the case for the old Irish Parliament
from the point of the "vital interests" of Ireland itself is even
weaker. By it the bulk of the Irish people were treated for a century in
a fashion described by an Irish Chief Secretary as "ingrafting absurdity
on the wisdom of England and tyranny on the religion that professes
humanity." It was conspicuous for its corruption even in a corrupt age,
and, as was inevitable, it involved Ireland in constant conflicts with
England, conflicts that were vexatious and injurious to both countries.
Swift, who, amongst those who have not read his works, passes for an
Irish patriot, is at his savagest when inveighing against this sham
Parliament.[7]

Its members are, he says--

"...three hundred brutes
All involved in wild disputes,
Roaring till their lungs are spent
Privilege of Parliament'!"

And if only the Devil were some day to come "with poker fiery red,"
and--

"When the den of thieves is full,
Quite