played but a minor part in this struggle, though he thought, and in fact was led by Louis to believe, that he was a principal actor in the drama then being unfolded on the stage of history. As such he wanted to attack his successor directly in England and thus bring matters at once to a head. It was Louis, however, who really directed the strategy of this campaign, and his aim was to weaken, not to destroy his enemy. He wanted England to be so occupied with its internal troubles that it would have no time to spare for what happened in or across the Channel. In days gone by, Richelieu had employed such methods in Scotland, and they had prolonged the civil war. What Richelieu had done in Scotland, Louis could do in Ireland. The French King felt more drawn to the latter country than to the former. So far back as 1666, he had received an offer from some Irish Roman Catholics of the submission of their country if they were aided in their attempt to throw off the yoke of England. Now Tyrconnel made a similar offer; and this, harmonising with French plans, determined Louis to send James to Ireland. If James went to England, he might succeed at once or he might fail. The expedition of Monmouth ended swiftly in disaster. If James went to Ireland, France, which in 1689 still had control of the sea, could easily hinder English reinforcements. Louis would best be served by a long-continued and desultory warfare, rendering William incapable of action in Europe and making the Channel a cipher in naval affairs. The 1641 rebellion had lasted ten years, and there was no reason why that of 1689 should not last a similar period, especially when the French generals were urged to pursue a Fabian policy of masterly inactivity. If nothing decisive ensued, sooner or later William must feel it to be his duty to go to Ireland, and, once there, Louis must see to it that sufficient occupation was provided for a term of years.*

When William saw that events had reached a crisis, and that his presence was imperatively demanded, he resolved to set out for Carrickfergus in order to bring matters to a clear and final issue. We can conceive the exultation with which the news of his departure was

* Cf. the writer's 'Revolutionary Ireland and its Settlement,' Chap. 1.

received at Versailles. The astuteness of the French monarch seemed about to meet with the success it deserved, for William was destined in the mind of Louis to remain away eight or ten years; and this absence from Europe left the way open to Holland by way of Belgium, practically destroyed the alliance with Leopold, and ensured the triumph of Louis's plans in Spain.

With the raising of the siege of Derry James saw the fall of his prospects. It was no longer possible for him to go to Scotland or even to promise to send men to Dundee, and it was just as impossible to prolong the contest in England. Another of Louis's aims was accomplished. The struggle was to be confined to Ireland. But the determined stand of Ulster made possible the landing of William, though in the dark days of uncertainty it had looked as if all the designs of Louis would be successful. To this day the descendants of the besieged take the deepest pride in the noble achievement of their ancestors. The walls of the city are zealously preserved. The anniversary of the day on which the gates were closed, and the anniversary of the day on which the siege was raised, have been annually celebrated from 1689 to the present time. Last July a fine window in memory of the relief of Derry was placed in St Columb's Cathedral. The picture on its extreme right represents the thanksgiving procession to this cathedral on August 12, 1789, when the Bishop of Derry (the famous Earl of Bristol) and his clergy, the Roman Catholic Bishop, Dr M'Devitt, and his clergy, the Presbyterian ministers and elders, the Mayor and Corporation, and others, united in a common act of thanksgiving to God.

All Ulstermen feel a deep pride in the defence of the walls of the maiden city, but they feel an even deeper pride in the battle of the Boyne. In the north the farmer invariably possesses a picture of this battle, while in the south he possesses a picture of Robert Emmet in the dock; the two pictures are representative of the two nations. They bear witness to what John Stevens regretfully observed in 1690 as 'the irreconcilable hatred. between Ulster and Munster.'* The Ulsterman knows that the military triumph of William at the Boyne was

* Journal,' p. 162.

slight, but he also knows that the flight of James to France converted it into a victory of the first magnitude. For in deciding the fate of the lesser it decided that of the greater, and finally that of Europe.

Louis XIV, then, has left a lasting impression upon the character of the Ulster farmer, but he has left an even more lasting impression upon the character of the Ulster artisan. It is not too much to say that indirectly he created the latter. He had expelled the Huguenots from their native land; and many of these refugees, who in character, conduct and energy were the fine flower of France, came to Ulster. The men of the north welcomed the exiled Huguenots and exiled the unwelcome King. Of all the unequal exchanges ever made, surely this is the most amazing. The Ulstermen possessed courage and determination-that they proved to all the world. But they received in the first decade of the 18th century hard-working men of business, sober and patient; and these qualities were impressed upon the artisan of Belfast. The Celt, the Scot, and the Frenchman all assisted in making the northern province what it is today; and to this intermingling of kindred races observers trace the energy and the enterprise so often characteristic of such blending of blood. Many of the best men in Ulster come from the strong stock of the Huguenots, from Puritan ancestors who scorned delight and lived laborious days, doing strenuously what their hand found to do, forming a type of character which constitutes the greatest of national assets.

That the influx of fresh blood was urgently required is clear from the report of Louis Crommelin. He found the inhabitants near Lisburn entirely ignorant of the art of managing and working flax, spinning the yarn, and whitening the cloth; they had little practical acquaintance with looms and other indispensable machinery. In spite of these drawbacks they quickly adapted themselves to the employment; and cloth advanced in price from 12d. and 15d. to 8s. and 9s. a yard. The majority of the workers were dissenters, and the authorities watched with jealousy the practical methods by which the Presbyterians extended their influence. William King points out that the arts by which they keep up their party are to take no apprentices that will not engage to

go to the meetings with them, to employ none nor trade with any that are not of their own sort, if they can help it.' Irish weaving had been markedly inferior to the French, and France supplied the English market. Of course, the coming of the Huguenots led the way to many improvements. Before the days of the Industrial Revolution skilled labour was more important than capital in improving a backward manufacture like that of linen. Though the refugees did not bring much property with them, their nimble fingers and their busy brains more than compensated for this deficiency. There were many difficulties in the way of the acclimatisation of the linen industry. The farmers were obliged to import flax seed, and this proved a costly process. Crommelin, however, persevered in his efforts and formed a company. The machinery was valued, and each operative was assigned his share of capital in proportion to the estimate of the worth of his tools. The growth in capital was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the number of the immigrants. In the year 1702, 389,382 yards of linen cloth were exported, while in the year 1714 the amount was no less than 2,188,272 yards. The efforts of the immigrants were successful, but it took them a long time to love their new home. These settlers, like the Cromwellian planters, intermarried and remained somewhat apart from their neighbours, long cherishing the hope that one day they might return to their beloved France.

Henceforth manufactures were developed. To-day the northern metropolis proudly claims to have the largest linen mill in the world. Belfastmen have improved upon the example of the Huguenots, and have four other establishments ranking as the largest in the world; these are the largest ship-yard, the largest mineral water factory, the largest tobacco factory, and the largest rope-walk. The farmer was fortunate in possessing a certain amount of security of tenure for his land by the custom of the country.' He was no less fortunate in finding industries for his younger sons. The troubles of Ireland at the present time are largely economic, and this means that they are agrarian. If there had been manufactures in the south as there are in the north, the land question could never have become as acute as it has proved to be. For if agriculture were

depressed, thriving industries, like those in Ulster, might have compensated for the deficiency; but the paucity of manufactures in the other three provinces rendered this source of relief out of the question.

The merchant princes received little help and much hindrance from the Government of the day. Not a few were discontented with the working of the Test Act. By it all serving in any capacity under the authorities, all practising in the law courts, and all acting in any town council, were obliged to attend the Holy Communion service of the Church of Ireland. A Presbyterian could not serve in the militia when a Jacobite invasion threatened Ireland in 1715; nevertheless he was then allowed to enter the service. The Government, however, was obliged to pass an act of indemnity to free him from the penalties he had incurred by serving his country and breaking the Test Act. Some landlords forbade the building of meeting-houses in the terms of the leases. As a result of this oppression the Presbyterians began to emigrate to America in 1718 and 1724. In 1728 there were over 4200 emigrants and in 1729 about 1000. Of the 6308 emigrants who landed at Philadelphia in 1729 5655 were Irish Presbyterians. The emigration had been hastened by the famine which broke out in 1728. The discontent of the Ulstermen was greatly augmented by an increase of the hated tithe. Those who had not sufficient money for their passage to the colonies raised loans on the understanding that they would repay them after four years' work in the New World. The extent of this emigration may be gauged from the fact that the whole population of the country was in 1714 less than two millions. In consequence of the famine of 1740 the volume of emigration swelled to an annual average of 12,000. Lecky estimates that from 1771 to 1773 the total emigration from Ulster was some 30,000, of whom 10,000

were weavers.

When the American War of Independence broke out, the Ulster emigrants were among the most resolute opponents of George III. As their ancestors had saved Europe by the siege of Derry and by the battles of Aughrim and the Boyne, so they did more than their share in resisting the pretensions of the English Government. At the meetings and banquets held in preparation