Pickering was to have a great number of maffes, and Grove fifteen hundred pounds, for killing the King.

4. That Harcourt employed him three feveral times to carry their confults beyond the feas; and that, in Harcourt's prefence, he received Coleman's thanks for his fidelity; and that Harcourt recommended him to the Lord Arundel, who promised him great favour, when the times were turned: Alfo, that he faw Harcourt give Wakeman a bill to receive two thousand pounds, in part of a greater fum; and heard Sir George fay, fifteen thousand pounds was a fmall reward for the fettling of religion, and preferving the three kingdoms from ruin.'

Befides thefe evidences, there was a letter found amongst Harcourt's papers, from one Petre a Jefuit, which named a meeting, defigned on the 24th of April, 1678. This letter ferved to fortify Oates's evidence of the grand confult; but this was explained, by the prifoners, to fignify a triennial meeting about the choice of a Procurator to be fent to Rome; though not to the full fatisfaction of the Court, which looked upon it as an evasion.

The defence made by the prifoners was various and long: Befides their frequent affeverations and proteltations of their innocence, and their ignorance of any defigns against the King, they much argued against the witneffes, infifting: That, to the making of a credible witnefs, there must be integrity of life, truth of testimony, and probability of matter; but that the witneffes against them, Oates, Bedloe, Prance, and Dugdale, were men of defperate fortunes, and flagitious perfons, and that falfe fwearing was their livelihood.'

I cannot forbear remarking here by the way, that, if this maxim, That, to make a credible witness, there must be integrity of life,' was received without reftriction, it would be almost impoffible to prove fuch plots as this, because, commonly, only villains engage in them, and they are difcovered by accomplices.

They alledged particularly the great improbability of trufting Oates with fecrets of the highest importance, when he was turned away from St. Omer's for his misdemeanors and immoralities, which were fo great, that he was denied the Sacrament. They charged him with contradictions,

with relation to his former evidences.'

These contradictions confifted, in that Oates had faid, before the Council, that he knew no more, and yet added many things afterwards.

They produced about fixteen witneffes to prove, that Oates had been all April,

May, and till the latter end of June, 1678, at St. Omer's; and that they faw him every day, and converfed and dined with him; and that he was never out of the college, except two days and one night he was at Watton, and two or three he was in the infirmary, &c. and confequently he could not be at the consult of the 24th of April.'

And further they proved, That Sir John Warner and Sir Thomas Prefton, whom Oates had fworn to come over with him to the confult, were all that time beyond the feas, one at Watton, the other at Liege.

And moreover, to fhew that Oates was not a man to be credited, they produced eleven witneffes to prove, that father Ire. land, who was executed, was not at London, and made it appear, directly contrary to what he had sworn upon his trial.' They added, that if the evidence of their fide fhould be rejected, because they were Roman-catholics, all commerce with several countries would be destroyed.'

The Chief Juftice replied, that they had no room to complain of the witneffes being rejected by the Court, fince, on the contrary, their depofitions were received with out any fcruple; and that it belonged to the Jury to determine upon their evidence as they faw cause.

In answer to thefe accufations, Oates alledged, that his coming to London to the confult was very private; yet he produced fix witneffes to teftify they faw him there about that time, but in a fort of a disguise." But none spoke very home, but Mr. Smith, a fchoolmaster of Iflington, whe afterwards, in the reign of King James II, retracted all that he had faid.

As to Ireland's being in London, Oates produced one witnefs, who did affirm to have feen him there at that time.

Gawen offered to undergo the ordeal, or hiery trial over red-hot plough-fhares, as a teft of his innocence. But, befides that this way of proving an accufed perfon's innocence had been abolifhed fix hundred years, and confequently was not to be allowed by the Court, it is certain, that, when the trial by ordeal was practifed, it was never admitted, but where evidences failed, which could not be faid of Gawen.

Harcourt urged in his defence, with regard to the letter, faid to be writ by him to Evers concerning Godfrey's death, that he must have been mad to fend fuch a letter by the post.

The Jury, after a fhort confideration, returned, and brought in all the five prisoners guilty of high treafon; but fentence was refpited till the next day, on which came

on

on the trial of Richard Langhorn, a Popish Counsellor at law of the Temple, and much employed by the Papifts. Being brought to the fame place with the five Jefuits, and before the fame persons, with a new Jury, Oates appeared and swore:

1. That the prifoner held correfpondence with la Chaife and others, and that the witneffes carried feveral letters to perfons beyond the feas; in one of which he faw, under his own hand, words to thie purpose: That the Parliament began to flag in promoting the Proteftant religion, and now they had a fair opportunity to begin and give the blow; with other expreffions plain enough concerning the plot.

2. That he had orders from the Provincial Whitebread, to give Mr. Langhorn an account of the refolve of the great confult, April the 24th, 1678; and, upon acquainting him with it, Langhorn lifted up his hands and eyes, and prayed to God to give it good fuccefs.

3. That he faw in his chamber certain commiffions, which they called patents; and that he permitted the witness to peruse several of them: One was to the Lord Arundel of Wardour, to be Lord Chancellor; another to the Lord Powis, to be Treafurer; and one to the prifoner, to be Advocate of the army; all figned Johannes PauJus de Oliva, by virtue of a brief from the Pope.

6

4. That, being employed as a follicitor for several of the fathers of the Society, the prifoner prevailed upon the Benedictine monks to raise fix thousand pounds for carrying on the caufe; and faid, in his hearing, That he would do his utmost for procuring the money.

5. That he was difgufted, that Sir George Wakeman was not contented with ten thousand pounds to poison the King; and called him a narrow-spirited and narrow-fouled phyfician, who, for so public a caufe, ought to have done it for nothing.

6. An inftrument being produced, figned Paulus de Oliva, found in Langhorn's chamber, Oates fwore, that the forementioned commiffions were figned by the fame hand; but they were all conveyed away, and this, being only an ecclefiaftical bufinefs, and not dangerous as they thought, was left behind."

1.

were: To let la Chaise know, they waited only now for his anfwer, how far he had proceeded with the French King for the fending of money; for they only wanted money, all other things being in readiness. That the Catholics of England were in fafety; that places and offices had been difpofed to them; and that all garrisons either were, or fuddenly would be, in their hands; and now they had a fair opportunity, having a King that was fo easy to believe what was dictated to him by the Catholic party.*

2. That he brought other letters from Harcourt to Langhorn to be registered; of which letters, one was for the Rector of the Irish college at Salamanca, which fpecified, That the Lord Bellafis, and the reft of the Lords concerned, fhould be in readinefs, for that they had fent fome Irish cafhiered foldiers, with many lay-brothers, under the notion of pilgrims from St. Jaga, who were to take shipping at the Groyne, and to land at Milford-haven, and there to join with the Lord Powis.'

Mr. Langhorn, in his defence, befides the folemn proteftations of his innocence, alledged, That Oates and Bedloe, the witneffes against him, were parties in the crime, and defired to know whether they had their pardons. Upon understanding that Bedloe had three, and Oates had two under the Broad-feal, he infifted, that they were ftill approvers in the eye of the law, and therefore not to be heard; and defired to know, if they expected any rewards for their difcoveries.' Oates replied upon oath, That he had been rewarded by expending fix or seven hundred pounds out of his own pocket, without knowing if he fhould ever fee it again. Langhorn then alledged, he had heard Bedloe had received five hundred pounds;' but he was answered, That that was for the difcovery of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey's murder, and not for the plot.' And Bedloe swore,

That he was fo far from having any benefit for that discovery, that he was seven hundred pounds out of pocket.' When the prifoner infifted upon the improbability of their affertions, by reafon of their great neceffities and poverty, when they first made their discoveries, he was told, that fuch inquiries were foreign to the matter in hand. And fo he proceeded to prove Oates to be perjured, with refpect to the confult in April 24, and to the bufinefs of father Ireland, by the fame witneffes that had been ufed by the five Jefuits the day before. Whereupon the Chief Juftice told him, that a witness could not be rejected as perjured,

Q ૧.

unless

unless he was declared fo upon a trial, and therefore his allegation could not be of any fervice to him.

As Oates had formerly fworn, that he lay at Grove's house about the time of the confult, he brought Mrs. Grove to teftify, that he never was there about that time; which was confirmed by her maid; and both affirmed, that the house was taken up, and that there was no room to lodge him. The Court thereupon faid, that, being difguifed, he might lodge there without being known.

While this trial was depending, Roger Palmer, Earl of Caftlemain, came into the Hall, and told the Judges, that the mob ufed violence to the witneffes who had depofed in favour of the prifoners, and that they were in danger of their lives; upon this, the Court ordered immediate inquiry to be made after the authors of thefe violences, in order to punish them according to their defert.

In conclufion, the Jury brought in Langhorn guilty, and he received fentence, together with the five Jefuits, who had been tried the day before.

On the 20th of June, the five Jefuits were executed, protefting their innocence. Whitebread, in particular, declared, That he renounced from his heart all manner of ab folutions, difpenfations for fwearing, &c. which fome had been pleased to lay to the Jefuits charge, thinking them unjustifiable and unlawful. Langhorn was reprieved for a month; he was executed the 14th of July, and died, protefting his innocence of the crimes for which he was condemned. It was the wonder of many, that fo able a Lawyer, if he was innocent, had made fo weak a defence.

The 10th of July, the King, contrary to the advice of his new Council, which he feemed to have refolved to follow with an intire deference, diffolved the Parliament, and fummoned another to meet the 17th of October. He hoped to find the next more tractable, but was very much deceived. The people, who no longer regarded what came from the Court, affected to fend fuch Members as were of the Country-party, as being the most proper to oppofe the defigns of the King. The Earl of Shaftesbury was at the head of this party, and, without doubt, greatly contributed to inflame the paffions of the people; but it is, perhaps, faying too much to charge this Lord with all the King's late mortifications. If it could be proved, that the King had never given any occafion of difcontent to his people, we fhould be obliged to recur to fome extraordinary cause of the Parliament's

ill-humour, as the intrigues, cabals, and artifices of fome powerful and popular perfon: But what need is there to feek for an extraordinary caufe, when one fo naturally offers in the whole conduct of the King, who had hitherto fhewn, that his interefts and thofe of his people were intirely different ?

The 18th of June, Sir George Wakeman, the Queen's Phyfician, was brought to his trial, together with James Corker and William Marthal, two Benedictine monks, and William Rumley, a lay-brother of that order. Oates and Bedloe were the wit.. effes against them; but, befides that their depofitions were imperfect, and the greatest part upon hearfay, and could pass for proofs only on the fuppofition of the defign to poi fon the King, which was not well proved; the Jury doubtless confidered, that a perfon of Sir George Wakeman's fenfe would never truft fuch a fecret to Bedloe, whom he fcarce knew; nay, he fwore, that he never faw Bedloe before in his life. However this be, the prifoners were acquitted, to the great mortification of the two witneffes, fince it was eafy to fee, that Oates and Bedloe were evidences capable of swearing to things of which they had no perfect knowledge.

About the end of Auguft, the King, being at Windfor, was feized with three violent fits of an intermitting fever, which gave great apprehenfion. The Earl of Effex and the Lord Hallifax, two of the four Counsellors which then managed the King's affairs, fearing, if the King died, to fall into the hands of the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of Shaftesbury, advised the King to fend for the Duke of York, which was done with all poffible speed and secrefy; for the Duke was at Wind for the 2d of September. But the King, being then out of danger, pretended a surprise at his arrival. But this diffimulation was not capable to deceive the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of Shaftesbury. On the other hand, the Earl of Effex and the Lord Hallifax, finding that they had made Monmouth and Shaftesbury their irreconcileable enemies, joined with the Duke of York for their deftruction. They fucceeded fo well, that the King removed the Duke of Monmouth from his poft of Captain-general, and fent him into Holland, to the great furprise of the whole Court; for the Duke of Monmouth was in the height of the King's favour before the Duke of York's arrival, Shortly after, Shaftesbury alfo was turned out from being Prefident of the Council. Thus the Court had a new face, and the Duke of York was more powerful than ever. He improved

this happy juncture to obtain the King's leave to retire to Scotland, representing to him the danger of his being in the Lowcountries, in cafe of his Majefty's death. Accordingly, he returned- to Bruffels, to bring home his Duchefs and the Princefs Anne, and, arriving fhortly after at London, departed for Scotland. If Dr. Burnet is to be believed, in the Hiftory of his own Times, he governed Scotland in an arbitrary manner, and gave manifelt tokens of his cruelty, and inveterate hatred to the Prefbyterians.

Every one impatiently expected where would end the late alterations at Court, and it was not long before it appeared. The 15th of October, the King, fummoning his Council, after a little paufe, told them, That upon many confiderations, which he could not at present acquaint them with, he found it necessary to make a longer prorogation of the Parliament than he intended: That he had confidered all the confequences, fo far as to be absolutely refolved, and not to hear any thing that fhould be faid against it: That he would have the meeting put off till that time twelve month.' The Counsellors, furprifed at this refolution, and still more at the manner of propofing it, were moft of them filent. Some however, offering to reprefent to the King the dangerous confequences of this refolution, were injoined filence, But Sir William Temple, more bold than the rest, stood up, and with great freedom told his Majesty, That, as to the refolution he had taken, he would fay nothing, because he was refolved to hear no reason. ing upon it; therefore he would only prefume to offer him his humble advice, as to the course of his future proceedings; which was, That his Majefty, in his affairs,

would please to make use of some Council or other, and allow freedom to their debates and advices; after hearing which, his Majefty might yet refolve as he pleased. That, if he did not think the perfons or number of this prefent Council fuited with his affairs, it was in his power to diffolve them, and conftitute another of any number he pleased, and to alter them again, when he would: But, to make Counsellors that should not counfel, he doubted whether it was in his Majefty's power, or not, because it implied a contradiction; and, fo far as he had obferved, either of former ages or the prefent, he queftioned whether it was a thing ever practifed in England by his Majefty's predeceffors, or were fo now by any of the prefent Princes in Chriftendom; therefore he humbly advised him to conftitute fome fuch Council, as he would think fit to make ufe of, in the direction of his great and public affairs.*

This proceeding caufed feveral Counfellors to furrender their commiffions to the King; and others to absent themselves from the Council; not thinking proper to encourage by their prefence the King's fecret refolutions, and give occafion to believe they approved them. The Earl of Effex refigned his place of firft Commiffioner of the Treasury; the Lord Hallifax, Sir Wil liam Temple, and fome others, retired into the country. Thus the Council, which the King had appointed to amufe the people, was almoft diffolved; and the direction of the public affairs remained in the hands of the Earl of Sunderland, Mr. Laurence Hyde, and Mr. Sidney Godolphin, or rather the Duke of York, whose interests they had embraced, and who, though abfent, directed their refolutions.

[To be continued.]

Whitehall, June 14, 1759. ESTERDAY morning Colonel

Y Clavering and Captain Leflie, late

Commander of his Majefty's fhip the Buckingham, arrived, with letters from the Honourable General Barrington and Commodore Moore to the Right Honourable Mr. Secretary Pitt, of which the following

are extracts:

Extract of a Letter from the Honourable General Barrington to the Right Ho

nourable Mr. Secretary Pitt, dated,

Head-quarters in the Capes Terre, Guardaloupe, May 9, 1759.'

IN my last letter, of the 6th of March, I had the honour to acquaint you, that the troops under my command at Guardaloupe (except the garrison of Fort Royal) were all embarked, with their baggage, &c. without the loss of a man. The fleet failed the next morning for Fort Louis; but, from the very great difficulty of turning to the wind

ward,

ward, were not able to reach it till the 11th, at four in the afternoon, when all the fhips of war, but only twenty-five of the tranfports, came to an anchor; the others were either driven much to leeward, or prevented by the winds and ftrong currents from weathering the point of the Saintes.

I went on fhore at Fort Louis, that evening, to fee the fort and works carrying on by the detachment that had already been fent thither from Baffe Terre.

On the 12th I went in a boat to reconnoitre the two coats of this bay, as well the Grand Terre fide as that of Guardaloupe, to find a proper place for making a defcent; but, Commodore Moore having acquainted me, in the evening of that day, that he had received certain intelligence of a French Squadron of ships of war, confifting of nine fail of the line and two frigates, being feen to the northward of Barbadoes, and that it was therefore neceffary for him to quit this place, with all the fhips of war under his command, and go into Prince Rupert's bay, in the island of Dominico, as a fituation more advantageous for the protection of Baffe Terre and this place, as well as the English iflands; I thought it adviseable, the next day, to call together the General Officers to confider what, in our prefent fituation, was best to be done; and it was determined, notwithstanding the divided frate of the troops by the feparation of the tranfports, the weak fate of Fort Louis, and the impoffibility of fupplying it with water but from the fhips, and the many other difficulties which then appeared, that it would be moft for his Majefty's fervice, and the honour of his arms, to do the utmost to keep poffeffion of the fort, and to wait fome further intelligence of the motions of the enemy.

Commodore Moore failed the next morning for Prince Rupert's bay, with all the thips of war, except the Roebuck of 40 guns, which he left, as fome protection to the tranfports.

From this time to the 17th I continued to direct works to be made for the fecurity of the camp, and for the finishing as well as strengthening the lines; when, the chief Engineer, who was on board one of the tranfports that could not before get up, being arrived, and having made to me a report of the weakness of the fort, I thought it neceffary to call a Council of war to consider the state thereof; and, it being debated whether the fort might not be made tenable, and kept as a garrifon for his Majetty's fervice, on a more circumfcribed plan, though it appeared impoffible to keep it in the prefent extent of out-pofts, it was de

termined, after much confideration, that from its weakness and bad conftruction, its being commanded by feveral heights very contiguous to it, as well as the great diffi culty (I may indeed fay the impoffibility) of procuring for the prefent, and establishing a conftant fupply of water, and other more neceffary things for the fupport and defence of a garrifon in this part of the world, not to be tenable. However, Sir, I was determined to hold it, until fome future event might convince me what was beft to be done for his Majesty's service.

I reflected on the ftate of the army under my command, and of the little probability there was of fucceeding in any attempt of reducing the country by the troops I had, without the affiftance of the fhips of war to cover them in landing; but however I determined to make a defcent on the coast of Grand Terre, and for that purpose I ordered Colonel Crump, with a detachment confifting of 600 men, to go in fome of the transports, that carried most guns, and endeavour to land between the towns of St. Anne and St. Francois, and destroy the batteries and cannon, which was happily executed with very little lofs.

As I imagined, by my fending Colonel Crump to attack the towns of St. Anne and St. Francois, the enemy would be obliged to detach fome of their troops from the poft of Gofer, I ordered, two days after he failed, the only 300 men I bad left to be put on board transports, and lie off that town; and in the morning of the 29th I went to reconnoitre the battery and intrenchments; and, perceiving that the enemy appeared lefs numerous than for fome time before, I made a difpofition of forcing them by two different attacks. This was executed, the next morning at fun-tifing, with great fpirit and refolution, by the troops; and, notwithftanding the fire of the enemy, from their intrenchments and battery, both were foon carried with little lofs, and the enemy drove into the woods. The troops immediately destroyed the cannon and battery, with the

town.

This being happily effected, I ordered the detachment to force its way to Fort Louis; and, at the fame time, fent orders for the garrison to make two fallies, one to the right, in order to put the enemy between two fires, and the other to attack their lines, as I knew that which I had juft made would oblige them to fend troops to oppofe our paffage on that fide. The firft was made, but the latter, by fome mistake, was not executed; which, had it been done, we must inevitably have been in poffeffion of their lines. The detachment from Gofier forced