s been already mentioned that one of the ways in which the Lord Deputy had hoped to render Ireland useful to the English Crown was by supplying Charles with a body of efficient troops, who would be wholly under his control, and could be used, if necessary, to crush the pretensions of the English Parliamentary party. At the time of his arrival in Ireland the army was in a most unsatisfactory state. Almost from the beginning of the preceding reign, the complaints contained in the correspondence of the Irish authorities, of the quality, discipline, and treatment of the troops had been almost incessant.

Wentworth at once took the matter in hand. His grasp of detail was marvellous, his industry untiring, and within a short time, he had brought about a surprising improvement. He himself declares that, of the £90,000 of arrears which he found, all had, in 1636, been paid. The soldiers, who before had been constantly robbing the people, now did not dare to take a chicken without paying for it.

He had in reserve £4,000′ worth of arms and horses. The ,000 foot and 600 horse were so well drilled that they could act as officers to a force of 20,000. In all this there may have been a certain amount of boastful exaggeration, but everything shows that the statements made were substantially true. The seas surrounding Ireland were infested at this time with pirates.