bishops could have to impower a clergyman to do the church and them a fervice, without any imagination of intereft for himself. Mr Harley has invited me to dine with him to-day : but I fhall not put him upon this difcourfe fo foon. If he begins it himself, I fhall add it at the bottom of this. He fays, Mr Secretary St John defired to be acquainted with me, and that he will bring us together. That may be a further help; although I told him, I had no thoughts of applying to any but himfelf; wherein he differed from me, and defired I would speak to others, if it were but for form; and seemed to mean, as if he would avoid the envy of being thought to do such a thing alone. But an old courtier (an intimate friend) advised me still to let him know, I relied wholly upon his good inclinations, and credit with the Queen, &c. I find I am forced to fay all this very confufedly, juft as it lieth in my memory; but perhaps it may give your Grace a truer idea how matters are, than if I had writ in more order. 1 am, &c. JONATHAN SWIFT. XCIX. I LETTER The Archbishop to Dr SWIFT. Reverend SIR, Dublin, Oct. 16. 1710. Thank you for your's of the 10th inftant, and fend you inclosed a farther power by my Lord Primate and me. My Lord is not able to come to town; which obliged me to wait on him at Johnston, and hindered the joining of two or three bishops in it, who are yet in town: but I fuppofe our figning is fufficient. I went in the morning to wait on his Grace, and intended, when he had figned it, to have applied to other bishops; but he was abroad taking the air, and I could not get it until it was late, and thought it better to fign and fend it as it is, than wait for another poft. You may Afterwards created Lord Viscount Bolingbroke. expect by the next a letter to his Grace of Canterbury, and another to the Archbishop of York. I apprifed them both of the business. The latter, if I remember right, fpoke to her Majesty about it. I am not sure that her Majefty remembers what I faid on that subject; but am fure the was pleased to seem fatisfied with it, and to fcruple only the time: I fuppofe, not thinking it fit to confer the favour the defigned the clergy of Ireland by the hands it must then have paffed through; but faid, that in the interval of a change, or abfence of a chief governor, it should be done. I hope now is the proper time, and that her Majefty will rather follow the dictates of her own bountiful inclinations, than the intrigues of cunning covetous counsellors. I thought to have troubled you with a great many things; but fuch a croud of vifitors have broken in upon me before I could lock my gates, that I am forced to break off abruptly, recommending you to GOD'S care. 1 am, &c. WILLIAM, Dublin. LETTER C. The Lord Primate* and Archbishop of Dublin to Dr SWIFT. SIR, Dublin, O&. 24. 1710. E directed a letter to the bishops of Offory and WE Killaloo laft Auguft, defiring and impowering them to folicit the affair of our firft-fruits and twentieth parts with her Majefty; which hath depended fo long, notwithstanding her Majefty's good intentions, and feveral promifes of the chief governors here to lay our addreffes before her Majefty in the best manner. We were then apprehenfive, that thofe bishops might return from England before the bufinefs could be effected and therefore we defired them to concern you in it; having fo good affurance of your ability, prudence, and fitness to profecute fuch a matter. We find the bishops Dr Narciffus Marsh. ; returned returned before you came to London, for which we are very much concerned; and judging this the most proper time to profecute it with fuccefs, we intreat you to take the full management of it into your hands; and do commit the care of foliciting it to your diligence and prudence; defiring you to let us know from time to time what progrefs is made in it. And if any thing farther be neceffary on our part, on your intimation we fhall be ready to do what shall be judged reasonable. This, with our prayers for the good fuccefs of your endeavours, is all from, SIR, TH Dublin, Dec. 16. 1710. His is to acknowledge the receipt of your's of the 20th paft, which came not to my hands till Thursday laft, by reason of winds that kept the packets on the other fide. I find the matter of our first-fruits, &c. is talked of now. I reckon on nothing certain, till her Majefty's letter comes in form; and quære, why fhould not you come, and bring it with you? It would make you very welcome clergyman to Ireland, and be the best means to fatisfy mankind how it was obtained, although I think that will be out of difpute. I am very well ap prifed of the dispatch you gave this affair, and well pleafed, that I judged better of the perfon fit to be employed than fome of my brethren. But now it is done, as I hope it is effectually, they will affume as much as their neighbours; which I fhall never con tradict. Things are taking a new turn here, as well as with you; and I am of opinion, by the time you come here, few few will profefs themfelves Whigs. The greatest danger I apprehend, and which terrifies me more than perhaps you will be able to imagine, is the fury and indif cretion of fome of our own people, who never had any merit; but by imbroiling things they did, and I am afraid will yet do mischief. I heartily recommend you to God's favour; WILLIAM, Dublin. N. B. Dr Swift ufed bis credit with the miniftry for the benefit of the church of Ireland, fo heartily and fo effec tually at this critical time, that he procured a grant from the Queen for exonerating the clergy of Ireland from paying twentieth parts, dated the feventh of February one thou fand feven hundred and ten; and another grant, bearing the fame date, to Narciffus Lord Archbishop of Armagh, Sir Confantine Phipps, Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, William Lord Archbishop of Dublin, John Lord Archbishop of Tuam, and others, of the firft-fruits payable out of all ecclefiaftical benefices, in trust to be for ever applied towards purchafing glebes, and building refidentiary houses for poor-endowed vicars. The fuccefs of which charitable fund hitherto may be seen in the printed pamphlet containing an account of the firft-fruits of Ireland. SIR, LETTER CII. The Archbishop to Dr SWIFT. London, Suffolk fireet, Nov. 22. 1716. Read your's of the 13th inftant with great fatisfac that there should be a good correfpondence between us, but also to the public; and I affure you I had much ado to perfuade people here, that we kept any tolerable measures with one another; much less, that there was any thing of a good intelligence: and therefore you judged right, that it ought not to be faid, that in fo many months I had not received any letter from you. VOL. VIII. T I I do a little admire, that those that should be your fafteft friends, fhould be fo oppofite to acknowledge the service you did in procuring the twentieth parts and firstfruits. I know no reason for it, except the zeal I fhewed to do you justice in that particular from the beginning. But fince I only did it, as obliged to bear teftimony to the truth, in a matter which I certainly knew, and would have done the fame for the worst enemy I had in the world; I fee no reason why you should fuffer, because I among others was your witness. But be not concerned ingratitude is warranted by modern and ancient custom; and it is more honour for a man to have it asked, why he had not a fuitable return to his merits, than why he was overpaid? Benefacere et male audire, is the lot of the best men. If calumny or ingratitude could have put me out of my way, God knows where I should have wandered by this time. I am glad the bufuefs of St Nicholas is over any way. My inclination was Mr Wall; that I might have joined the vicarage of Castleknock to the prebend of Malahidart; which would have made a good provifion for one man, ferved the cures better, and yielded more then to the incumbent, than it can do now, when in different hands. But I could not compass it without ufing more power over my clergy, than I am willing to exert. But as I am thankful to you for your conde. fcenfion in that affair; fo I will expect, that those with whom you have complied, fhould fhew their fenfe of it by a mutual return of the like compliance, when there fhall be occafion. Such reciprocal kind offices are the ground of mutual confidence and friendship, and the fewel that keeps them alive: and I think, nothing can contribute more to our common ease, and the public good, than maintaining thefe between you and me, and with the clergy. We have a strong report, that my Lord Bolingbroke will return here, and be pardoned; certainly it must * The Dean and chapter of St Patrick's are the appropriators of that church, and have the right of bestowing the cure on whom they pleafe. not |