James II
the lists were very hastily and carelessly framed. When, however, the conditional character of the sentence is remembered the force of this objection is materially diminished. "Common fame" can scarcely be a sufficient ground for condemning a man to death or forfeiture; but it may be, and often is, a perfectly reasonable ground for ordering him to stand his trial.
It has also been repeatedly asserted that the Irish parliament were guilty of the horrible and almost unparalleled cruelty of causing the Act to be concealed until the time within which the royal pardon was valid had expired.103 It is, however, in the highest degree improbable, or rather impossible, that a measure which had passed three times through both Houses, many of whose members regarded it with detestation, should have remained a secret for any considerable period; and an entry in the London Gazette for July 4th, 1689—a very few days after the passing of the bill—containing a brief but accurate summary of the principal measures passed in the Irish Parliament, shows that the nature of the Act was known at that date in London, although a complete list of attainted persons may not have been obtained until some time afterwards.104
Of the provisions of which the authenticity is
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