184

HISTORY OF ENGLAND,

chap. Celtic races. The interval between the Episcopalian and thePresbyterian seemed to vanish, when compared with the in-terval which separated both from the Papist. During the latecivil troubles the greater part of the Irish soil had been trans-ferred from the vanquished nation to the victors. To thefavour of the crown few either of the old or of the new occu-pants had any pretensions. The despoilers and the despoiledhad, for the most part, been rebels alike. The governmentwas soon perplexed and wearied by the conflicting claims andmutual accusations of the two incensed factions. Those colo-nists among whom Cromwell had portioned out the conqueredterritory, and whose descendants are still called Cromwellians,represented that the aboriginal inhabitants were deadly ene-mies of the English nation under every dynasty, and of theProtestant religion in every form. They described and exag-gerated the atrocities which had disgraced the insurrection ofUlster: they urged the King to follow up with resolution thepolicy of the Protector; and they were not ashamed to hint thatthere would never be peace in Ireland till the old Irish raceshould be extirpated. The Roman Catholics extenuated theiroffence as they best might, and expatiated in piteous languageon the severity of their punishment, which, in truth, had notbeen lenient. They implored Charles not to confound the in-nocent with the guilty, and reminded him that many of theguilty had atoned for their fault by returning to their alle-giance, and by defending his rights against the murderers ofhis father. The court, sick of the importunities of two parties,neither of which it had any reason to love, at length relieveditself from trouble by dictating a compromise. That cruel, butmost complete and energetic system, by which Oliver had pro-posed to make the island thoroughly English, was abandoned.The Cromwellians were induced to relinquish a third part oftheir acquisitions. The land thus surrendered was capri-ciously divided among claimants whom the government chose