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CHAP. VII.

POPISH

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PLOT.

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DUKE COLEMAN'S LETTERS. MOTIONS AGAINST THE OF YORK. IMPEACHMENT OF LORD DANBY. PROROGATION AND DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT. LETTER OF LORD RUSSELL.

THE opposition at this time seem to have almost despaired 1678. of the cause of liberty. Many of them had thoughts of withdrawing altogether from public affairs, For, in spite of all their efforts, the King had been able both to maintain his friendship with France, and to delay disbanding the army which had been raised to oppose her. But at this time an event occurred which baffled all the powers of foresight, and seems for a time to have suspended the faculty of judgment. I allude to the discovery of the Popish Sept. Plot; which, although its credit rested almost entirely upon the attestations of infamous and despicable men, to vague, improbable, and ridiculous stories; yet having some foundation in truth, and falling in with the prevailing fears of the nation, cost the lives of considerable men, and had nearly disturbed the regular many succession of the throne.

A detailed history of this plot does not enter into my plan. But although the charge is now withdrawn, it is right to mention such circumstances as serve to exculpate the country party from the guilt of inventing this story, for the purpose of taking away the lives of the innocent. This accusation is easily disproved: nay, so far is it from the truth, that the plot was brought to light by Lord Shaftesbury and his friends, that it might have been suppressed but for the following circumstance. The Duke of Buckingham, who was a great enemy of Lord Danby, had been long banished from Court, but had lately been privately admitted to kiss the King's hand at Chif

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finch's. Upon being informed of this circumstance by the Duke of York, Danby expressed great indignation at the King's want of firmness to stand by his friends. From this time he expected to be supplanted by Buckingham in the royal favour, and he became proportionably anxious to obtain the good opinion of the country. The enquiry into the plot, he seems to have thought, would serve both to show his zeal for the Protestant religion, and to divert the attention of Parliament from his own impeachment. With this view, he advised the King to go to Newmarket, and leave to his council the unravelling of this mysterious business. And as soon as Parliament assembled, he, contrary to the wish and express command of the King, laid the whole business before them. Upon the first discovery, the High Church party were eagerly bent on pursuing the plot; but when they saw Lord Shaftesbury and his friends take up with still more vehemence and activity, they became cool in the prosecution. Another circumstance may be mentioned, which tends to exculpate Shaftesbury from any share in inventing the story. It was a part of the pretended plot, though not generally noticed, that Popish priests should assume the disguise of dissenting ministers, in order to preach liberty of conscience. * This could never answer the purpose of Lord Shaftesbury,. who was at this time chiefly supported by Non-conformists. It is also remarkable, that the first time Oates was examined respecting the Duke of York, he affirmed him to be totally ignorant of the plot, and gave many reasons in support of that opinion. Besides, the whole story is so wild and so absurd, that it is impossible for any one to believe that it was the invention of so able a man as Shaftesbury.

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1678.

Parliament met on the 21st Oct. In the King's speech Oct. 21. the plot was taken notice of in the following terms. "I now intend to acquaint you (as I always shall do with any thing that concerns me) that I have been informed of a design against my person by the Jesuits, of which I shall forbear any opinion, lest I may

* See Oates's Narrative.

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seem to say too much or too little; but I will leave the matter to the law, and in the mean time will take as much care as I can to prevent all manner of practices by that sort of men, and of others, too, who have been tampering in a high degree with foreigners, and contriving how to introduce Popery amongst us.'

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Lord Chancellor Finch, following the King, said, "His Majesty has told you, that he hath lately received information of designs against his own life by the Jesuits; and though he doth in no sort prejudice the persons accused, yet the strict enquiry into this matter, hath been the means to discover so many other unwarrantable practices of theirs, that His Majesty hath reason to look to them."

The letters of Coleman, and the murder of Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey, seem to have fully confirmed the general belief of the Popish Plot. Every party shared in this delusion, and Oates was generally styled the Saviour of the Nation. The country party, in general, were probably deceived with the rest. They were, indeed, more open to be imposed upon by a feigned plot than others, as they were thoroughly convinced that a design was carrying on against the Protestant religion. * In the paper which Lord Russell delivered to the Sheriffs on the scaffold, he speaks thus: "As for the share I had in the prosecution of the Popish Plot, I take God to witness, that I proceeded in it in the sincerity of my heart, being then really convinced (as I am still) that there was a conspiracy against the King, the nation, and the Protestant religion ;' and I likewise profess, that I never knew any thing either directly or indirectly, of any practice with the witnesses; which I looked upon as so horrid a thing, that I could never have endured it."

The sincerity of Lord Russell is so generally acknowledged, that credit must be given to him for upright intentions at this singular

* So also was Mr. Evelyn. "For my part," he says, "I look on Oates as a vain insolent, man, puffed up with the favour of the Commons, for having discovered something really true, more especially as detecting the real intrigue of Coleman, proved out of his own letters, and of a general design which the jesuited party of the Papists ever had, and still have to ruin the Church of England," &c. Vol. i. p. 479.

period. The character of Lord Shaftesbury is not so pure as to free him equally from reproach. Perhaps he may have reasoned to himself in this manner:-"It is clear that designs exist somewhere to subvert our laws and religion. But the people who would never listen to us when we informed them of the conspiracy carried on with France, are now thoroughly awakened to a sense of their danger, when it has been drest up in wonders and horrors by the knavery of Oates. It is much better to promote their credulity than, by letting this plot fall, to incur the risk of their sinking again into a fatal apathy.” Shaftesbury, who was not very scrupulous, may have satisfied his conscience with such arguments. But whatever may have been his secret views, the party in general seems to have given into the belief of this plot with the rest of the nation, including a majority of the ministers, and nearly the whole of the church.

The enquiries to which the plot gave rise soon involved the Duke of York.

Coleman, formerly the Duke's secretary, afterwards in disgrace, and at that time secretary to the Duchess, was the agent of a correspondence during the years 1674, 1675, and part of 1676, between James and the King of France, through the means of Fathers Ferrier and Le Chaise. It related chiefly to advances of money from the French king to obtain the dissolution of the English parliament, and promote the French and Catholic interest. But nothing seems to have been concluded, the effectual negociations having been carried on, as we have seen, by other hands. In one of these letters, Coleman says, "We have here a mighty work upon our hands, no less than the conversion of three kingdoms; and by that perhaps the utter subduing of a pestilent heresy, which has domineered over great part of this northern world a long time. There never were such hopes of success since the days of Queen Mary, as now in our days, when God has given us a prince, who is become (I may say by miracle) zealous of being the author and instrument of so glorious a work; but the opposition we are sure to meet with is also like to be great, so that it imports us to get all the aid and assistance we can; for the harvest

is great and the labourers but few. That which we rely most upon, next to God Almighty's providence, and the fervour of my master the Duke, is the mighty mind of His Christian Majesty, &c."

Upon Coleman's examination by a committee of the Commons, he confessed the correspondence, but said there were not three men in England privy to it, of whom the Duke of York was one, and he believed Lord Arundel another. He also confessed he had been sent by the Duke of York to Brussells upon a proposal from the Pope's nuncio, of money from the Pope, on condition that the Catholics should receive proportionable favour. But the nuncio had afterwards disowned any authority from the Pope. Undoubtedly this correspondence, though but a small part of the Duke of York's intrigues, would have been sufficient grounds for the impeachment of any other subject. It is to be attributed to the moderation and prudence of the country party that the first motion they made on this subject was only for the removal of the Duke from direct influence in the administration.

Lord Shaftesbury moved, in the House of Lords, on the

Nov. 2. 2d of November, that he might be removed from all councils and public affairs. Two days afterwards the King desired him not to come to the foreign committee, and to decline meddling any more in public business. The Duke reluctantly obeyed. But the popular party, not satisfied with this concession, resolved to move an address in the Commons, to remove him from the King's presence

*

Nov. 4. and councils. The person chosen to make this important

motion was Lord Russell. It was not because he was endowed with extraordinary sagacity to detect the intrigues of the Duke, or with remarkable eloquence to rouse the passions of a popular assembly, that he was the fittest person to take the lead; but the great stake which he had in the country, and, above all, the personal integrity and temperate love of liberty which distinguished his character, pointed him out for this important duty.

In the prevailing temper of the House, the ministers did not

* Life, p. 524.

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