not return against the next feffion of par- CHAP. liament.

On the 7th of December, a writ was iffued in the room of fir Arthur Baffet, member for Bangor, in the county of Down, at his own defire, as he had occafion to go to England; and on the following day, for the fame reasons, in the room of Thomas Bettesworth and William Kingsmill, members for Mallow; which laft is the eighth instance of a writ iffuing in the room of a member at his own defire.

On the 11th and 12th of December, two fimilar inftances occur in the perfon of Lott Price efq. member for Baltimore, having occafion to go to England; and of fir Henry Lynch baronet, member for the county of Galway, who was fick, and wifhed to retire into the country: which laft was the tenth instance.

On the 14th of December a petition was prefented to the lord deputy for a mint, in the

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1634.

CHAP. the name of both houses, and the parliaIII. ment was prorogued. -But the inftrument 1635. of prorogation is not recorded.

The extraordinary ufage of iffuing writs at the defire of members, which I have particularly noted, feems to have been regularly established during this feffion.

The parliament affembled, after a fhort prorogation, on the 26th of January, O. S.: this was the third feffion in one thousand fix hundred and thirty-four, in which the commons fat thirty-two days.

On the 3d of February an order for a writ of the last feffion, in the room of fir Henry Bingham baronet, who had been hurt by a fall from his horse, was countermanded; and it was ordered that he fhould ftill continue, notwithstanding the order of the laft feffion, as member for Castlebar.

On the 14th of February several bills for naturalizing certain English fubjects, as they

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they appear from their names, were read. CHAP. From this circumftance, probably, in those times, it was neceffary to be naturalized in 1635. Ireland by act of parliament-to have the benefit of natives-and this opinion is ftill farther confirmed by a bill in the adminiftration of lord Strafford, for naturalizing all the Scottish nation born fince the acceffion of James the first.

On the 16th of February a writ was issued for Charlemont, in the room of Chichester Fortefcue efq. who had licence to travel beyond feas. This was the eleventh precedent in this parliament of a fimilar proceeding.

And on the fame day a bill was read, whereby the Irish nobility residing in England were rendered liable to the charges of those who refided. This had a particular reference to the ancient mode of raising money by a poll tax, as the nobility were affeffed according to their rank in these contributions.

The

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CHAP. The twelve laft days of this feffion were employed in affeffing the fubfidies upon 1635. the different counties.

The four fubfidies were rated at near forty-one thousand pounds each, and ten commiffioners for each province were appointed,

These payments were fubdivided by the counties, of which the city and county of Dublin paid 1,000l. each.

On the 20th of March, it was ordered that every knight fhould give the clerk twenty fhillings, and every burgess ten shil. lings, over and above his ordinary allowance, in aid of the fees on bills; after which parliament was prorogued.

year,

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The next feffion of the fame. hamely, one thousand fix hundred and thirty-four, began the 24th of March O. S., 1635. and the commons fat eighteen days, when parliament was prorogued on the 18th of April one thousand fix hundred and thirtyfive. The very few transactions which deferve notice this feffion are as follow: - On the 7th of April eleven members were fined, fome twenty, and others ten pounds, for non-attendance, and one as high as fifty pounds.

On the 15th of April I find an adjourn

ment noted till four of the clock that afternoon. In these early times the house had often two fittings, one before, and the other after dinner; and this is faid to have been the practice in the English parliament.

On the 16th of April fome difpute between the earl of Ormond and fir Thomas Butler caused a difference between the two houses, and a proteftation was ordered to be drawn, and entered in the journals, in cafe VOL. II. thofe

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