In arranging the terms of surrender the Cromwellian generals sometimes excluded the bishops and clergy from protection， and at best they granted them only a short time to prepare for leaving the country. The presence of the priests was regarded as a danger for the projected settlement of Ireland， and hence the order was given (1650) that they should be arrested. In 1650 a reward of ā20 was offered to any one who would betray the hiding place of any Jesuits， priests， friars， monks， or nuns. At first those clergy who were captured were sent into France and Spain， but later on large numbers of them were shipped to the Barbadoes. Thus， for example， in 1655 an instruction was sent to Sir Charles Coote that the priests and friars then captive in Galway who were over forty years of age should be banished to Portugal or France， while those under that age were to "be shipped away for the Barbadoes or other American plantations." For those who returned death was the penalty that was laid down. Since the priests still contrived to elude their pursuers by disguising themselves as labourers， peasants， beggars， gardeners， etc.， an order was issued in 1655 that a general search should be made throughout Ireland for the capture of all priests. Five pounds was to be paid to any one who would arrest a priest， and more might be awarded if the individual taken were of special importance. When the jails were well filled， another instruction was issued that the priests should be brought together at Carrickfergus for transportation. Here it was claimed that some offered to submit to the terms of the government rather than allow themselves to be sent away， but as the statement comes from an unreliable source it should be received with caution. In 1657 Major Morgan， representative of Wicklow in the United Parliament of England and Ireland， declared： "We have three beasts to destroy that lay heavy burthens upon us. The first is the wolf， on whom we lay five pounds a head of a dog， and ten pounds if a *****. The second beast is a priest， on whose head we lay ten pounds， and if he be eminent， more.
The third beast is a Tory， on whose head， if he be a public Tory we lay twenty pounds， and forty shillings on a private Tory." Towards the end of the Protectorate the government， instead of transporting the priests abroad， sent them in crowds to the Island of Aran and to Innisbofin. "The Lord Deputy and Council，" wrote Colonel Thomas Herbert (1658)， "did in July last give order for payment of ā100 upon account to Colonel Sadleir， to be issued as he should conceive fit for maintenance of such Popish priests as are or should be confined to the Isle of Boffin， according to six-pence daily allowing， building cabins and the like. It is not doubted but care was taken accordingly， and for that the judges in their respective circuits may probably find cause for sending much more priests to that island， I am commanded to signify thus much unto you that you may not be wanting to take such care in this business as according to former directions and provision is made."[65]
Already in 1642 the English Parliament had passed measures for the wholesale confiscation of Catholic Ireland， and had pledged the land to these "adventurers" who subscribed money to carry on the war. In 1652， when the reduction of Ireland was practically complete， it was deemed prudent to undertake the work of clearing Leinster and Munster of its old owners to prepare the way for the adventurers and for the soldiers， whose arrears were paid by grants of farms or estates.
According to the terms of the Act and of the Instructions issued in connexion with it all Irish Catholics were commanded to transplant themselves to Connaught before the 1st May 1654 under pain of being put to death by court-martial if they were found after that date east of the Shannon. Exceptions were indeed made in the case of those women who were married to English Protestants before December 1650， provided that they themselves had become Protestant； in case of boys under fourteen and girls under twelve in Protestant service and who would be brought up Protestants， and lastly in case of those who could prove that for the previous ten years they had maintained "a constant good affection" towards the Parliament. The order to transplant was notified throughout Ireland， and a commission was set up at Loughrea to consider claims and to make assignments of land in Connaught， all of which was to be at the disposal of the Irish except a prescribed territory along the sea-board. Even the inhabitants of Galway， who had submitted only on the express condition of retaining their lands， were driven out of the city， and the city itself was handed over to the corporations of Gloucester and Liverpool to recoup them for the losses they had suffered during the Civil War. Petitions began to pour in for mercy or at least for an extension to the time-limit， but though on the latter point some concessions were made， few individuals were allowed any reprieve. The landowners were marked men， and they were obliged to go. It would be impossible to describe the hardship and miseries suffered by those who were forced to leave their own homes， and to seek a refuge in what was to them a strange country. To ease the situation large numbers of the men capable of bearing arms were shipped to Spain， or to others of the Continental countries， but soon it was thought that this was bad policy likely only to serve some of England's rivals. It was then determined to transport large numbers to the West Indies， the Barbadoes， Jamaica， and the Caribee Islands.
Ship-loads of boys and girls were seized according to orders from England， and were sent out of the country under the most awful conditions to a land where a fate awaited many of them that was worse than death.[66] The magistrates had no scruple in committing all Catholics who remained east of the Shannon and who were brought before them， as vagrants， and then they were hurried off to the coast.