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    History of the Irish Presbyterians * 645

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    posed them to many , privations , and at last forced them to abandon the kingdom . Many of , tjie ministers returned to Scotland—some remained hx privacy in the counti y , * suid a few prepared to transport themselves to North America , which at that time > vas an

    asylum for all persecuted Protestants , Three of tliSin ? pr ^ p ^ red a vessel at Belfast , and , wiih about 140 jjersdj ^ embarked for New England in Se | itember 1636 ; but they encountered

    such tempestuous weather off Newfoundland , that they were driven back to CamekfeVgus Lough ; whence th ^ y afterwards succeeded in reaching Scotland in safety , j

    About this time , an oath , commonly called the Black Oath , was imposed in Ireland , without any parliamentary authority and sanction , on all persons of the Scottish nation of the age of sixteen years and upwards , under heavy penalties ^ The Pre sbyterians re fused to take this oath , both because it was imposed in an illegal manner ,-and because it tended to the destruction of

    liberty and property ; and for so doing , multitudes of sincere Protestants were miserably persecuted and driven into banishment . These violent and unjust proceedings greatly contributed to depress the Protestants ^ and to strengthen the Roman Catholic party in Ireland .

    The countenance and encouragement which the Papists received from Charles and his ministers , was one of the causes to which may be attributed the bloody massacre of 1641 . Vast multitudes of Protestants perished in

    the insurrection of that year ; but as many Presbyterian ministers had been driven put of the kingdom by Wentworth ' s persecution and the Black Oath , a remnant was providentially saved , and reserved for farther

    usefulness . These returned , and werejoy-* [ These were , Blair , Livingston and M'Clelland ; the vessel was called the Sea-Wing , and was about 150 tons burthen . ]

    t The oath obliged them to swear as follows : — " I will not bear arms , or do any rebellious or hostile act , against any of the king ' s royal commands , but submit myself in all due obedience thereunto . And I will not enter into any covenant w bond of mutual defence or assistance

    against any person whatsoever , by forces , without his Majesty ' s sovereign and regal authority ;"

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    fuUyiieqeived ^ yilheir flocks , after the storm of persecution had subsided , fii the breifciVig out of &e Irish rebellion , the Lords Justices iuiportijnately applied to England for a supply of men , \ money and arms ; and as the

    Scot 3 pjild be more ^^ B ^] i ^ i ; % fiB 0 ported $ int <> the Nortl £# f Ire ^ di tp ^ government agreed that 10 , 000 Scotch soldiers should be sent over , to oppose the insurgents . (> wiiig to a * hfference of counsels between the King and the Parliament , the first division

    of these troops did not arrive until April 1642 . The several regiments Were accompanied by their ministers , who united with those that remained in the kingdom , and founded a Presbytery , ^ yhich met at CamckS ^ m July 10 th , 1 ^^/ . [ abc | ? plaguiied' -joaiiiiii- * ters in various t > arts of the adjacent

    country , who , as their predecessors had done , enjoyed the tithes and churches of their respective parishfi ^ [ The gentry now felt that the reestablishment of the Protestant religion depended principally upon the ministers , while the power of the Scots , at this conjuncture , in Ulster ,

    still farther promoted their views . Lord Viscount Montgomery , of Airds , Lord Clandeboy , Sir John Clotworthy , and others , wrote to the Presbytery that they would €€ join them in discicline , " and support their cause . ] The former nobleman afterwards

    accepted of a commission under the Marquis of Ormond , who had projected a union of the King ' s forces with the Irish insurgents , and thereby incurred the strong displeasure of the

    Presbytery . [ One of the first acts of the Presbytery in July 1642 , was to forward a memorial to the General Assembly of Scotland , for a mission of ministers

    to supply the destitute remnant of Presbyterians in the kingdom . They a ^ ain petitioned the same body with a similar view , in August 1643 , and May 1645 , and were gradually

    furnished with preachers , who disseminated extensively the principles of the Protestant faith . The government of the kingdom at this period was in the hands of the Marquis of Ormond , a staunch friend to Charles I ., who was

    now at war with his Parliament in England , and whose authority tvas but low in Ulster , where that of th $ » lWliument was principally respected . The

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1824, page 645, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2530/page/5/