VVHEN there is such a general Expectation of some great Matter to be made appear against the Person these Sheets relate to; and much Pains is taken to calumniate and misrepresent him to the World; it may not be amiss to give the World some true State of his Case, that none may be impos'd upon thro' Ignorance, how far soever Malice may carry some.

[Page 2] The Matter draws towards a Cri­sis; the Question will soon be trans­ferr'd, from between Party and Par­ty, to a Bar of Justice; and the Blood of an English Nobleman is to be the Subject of the Pleadings and Defence.

The Earl of Oxford seems to resolve to appear, and to stand in his own Defence. I advance one thing with­out Doors in Defence of his Case in general, before the Particulars come to be enquired into. If it be just to say of my Lord Bolingbroke, that he knows himself to be guilty, why else did he fly? It will be as reasonable to say of my Lord of Oxford, he is satis­fied in his own Innocence, why else does he stay?

Besides the Opinion his Lordship has of his own Innocence, it must be acknowledg'd, his Lordship pays the greatest Honour to the British Nobility that is possible to do, and perhaps more than was ever done before; that however the Turns of [Page 3] the Government since his Admini­stration, may have given Impressions of things very different from what were in his Time; and as it might be suggested, very much to his Dis­advantage; nay, however Interest may seeem to run, even in a very strong Stream against him; yet that he pays such a profound Respect to the unspotted Honour of the Peer­age, as to cast his Life into their Hands, at a Time when Thoughts less generous might be apt to en­tertain some Fears of the Impressions, which Party might have made on the Minds of the Nobility, at a Time when it is scarce to be said, that any other Sett of Men in the Nation are entirely free.

Either my L. O—must have some surprizing Evidence in himself of his own Innocence; and not only so, but of his being able to set that Innocence in a clear Light to the World; or else he makes the great­est Compliment to the Nobility of Britain that ever Man made. He supposes their Lordships untainted [Page 4] with the Prejudice of the Times; and that nothing can byafs their Minds, nothing artfully prepossess their Judg­ments; that they cannot be blind­ed by any humane Infirmities, mov­ed by any Passions, imposed upon by the Perswasions, or affected by private Views of any kind; that they cannot be hurry'd by popular Winds or Storms, from whatever Corner they may blow, whether of Faction, Tumult, Envy, or Ambi­tion: But that they will move in a direct Path of Justice, guided by Truth, without the least Deviation or Inclination one Way or other, ei­ther from Parties, Persons, Interest, or Power, of any kind whatsoever.

Besides this, his Lordship seems to pay a most dutiful and honourable Regard to the personal Justice, Cle­mency, and Honour of His Majesty; declaring, by thus putting himself on his Trial, at such a Juncture as this, that he firmly depends upon His Majesty's Royal Virtue; that nothing will, on the King's Part, be offered or encouraged to byass, or lead to [Page 5] awe, or any Way influence the Judg­ment that shall be given in his Case; that shall not so much as be ima­gined, that the Votes of the Peers, one Way or other, shall in the least affect them in their Interest, or in the Favour of His Majesty.

It must be acknowledged, that in this his Lordship acts from a Prin­ciple of great Justice and Duty, as well to His Majesty, as to the House of Peers; and no Man can say, with­out manifest Injury to his Majesty, or to that Honourable House, that he so much as believes his Lordship will be the worst treated for that dutiful and generous Behaviour.

Without Doors we cannot say it will be the same; it were to be wished, the People, who shew such a Warmth in their Desires to bring on the Trial of this Lord, would shew the like Disposition to having him fairly acquitted, if his Innocence shall appear, as they seem to shew for his Destruction, on a Presumption of his Guilt.

[Page 6] It is now come to the great Que­stion: Nothing less than his Life, or his Death, is the Case. If we were to make a Judgment of him by the Opinions and Tempers of Men without Doors, it would be easy to conclude, what should be his Fate; and his Courage must be thought greater than his Discretion, to put himself upon his Tryal; which makes the Honour done to the Ju­stice and Impartiality of His Majesty, and the Peers, of which mention is made already, be the greater.

Yet we would hope, that seeing it is now brought this length, Men will begin to be more serious, and forbear to importune the Justice of the Nation, by their Invectives, and indecent Treatment: My Lord has appealed from the Clamours of the People, to the Justice and Ho­nour of the Peers; and being thus in the Hands of Justice, what is there that Men can desire more? They who occupy their Pens or Tongues, now to blacken, defame, or reproach [Page 7] him, openly challenge the House of Peers, reproach their Justice, and villify that August Assembly, as if not disposed to do Justice in the Case when it comes before them: As his Lordship has thrown himself upon the Honour and Justice of the Peers, and put his Life and Honour into their Lordships Hands; so should we do, and not either lead or direct them, which would be, in the grossest Manner, to suspect their Proceedings.

The Clamours which have hither­to been made on this Account, have been, as the Authors pretended, on­ly to have Men impeached; and we have seen Writers tell the Govern­ment, They expect it: It is now done, we hope they will be satisfy'd, and not tell the House of Peers, whether they shall acquit or condemn: This must be left in their own Breasts; and there is no Doubt but they will act as Justice, and their own Honour, shall direct; and of this we must all wait the Issue.

[Page 8] That we may attend this great Event with less Curiosity and Im­patience, it may be proper to state the Facts of this noble Lord's Con­duct, as they appear at present in those very Cases wherein he is so much impugned and attack'd, that when People have cool Thoughts about them, they may be disposed to read them over; perhaps when they have done so, they will be the backwarder to blame the House of Peers, if they should not find it as they may expect.

In the latter End of King William's Reign, we found Mr. Harley chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. He was, in the Session before, one of those Members, who stood firm to the Resolution of disbanding the Army; having always an Opinion, that the Security of the Prince was sufficient­ly provided for in the Affection of his faithful Commons; and that all the Dangers, which, as was then pretended, appeared from the grow­ing Power of France, were far less, [Page 9] and easier to be struggled with, in any Incident which might happen, than those which might proceed from a standing Force of Mercenaries, to be kept up in Time of Peace; by which very thing this Kingdom had more than once been in great Dan­ger of having her Liberty over­whelmed, and the worst of Slavery entailed upon her; and that there­fore the War being over, the Nation ought to take effectual Care of their own Liberties; and to limit the Number of the Forces to such, and no more, as might be thought sufficient for the publick Safety.

It was not altogether so agreeable to His Majesty's Thoughts at that Time, as could have been wish'd; and e­specially the Regiment of Dutch Guards were exceedingly desired by the King; but it could not be: The Members declar'd, That it was not from a Jealousy or Disrespect for the Person of His Majesty, who, they were throughly satisfied, would nei­ther himself, or by his Permission, ever suffer an Army to oppress them; [Page 10] but that the Precedent would be dangerous to Posterity, when the Successors of His Majesty might, perhaps, make a fatal Use of that Advantage, of which he would make no Advantage at all.

It was reported at that Time, that Mr. Harley was chosen against the Measures of the Court; and that the King was disobliged by him to the last Degree, on Account of the aforesaid breaking of the Forces. But His Majesty himself removed the Scandal of that Rumour, by assuring Mr. Harley, that he was very well satisfy'd with him; and indeed the Principles upon which the English Gentlemen went at that Time, were so evidently essential to the preserving their Liberties, that the King himself, who was a great Patron of Liberty, was perfectly satisfy'd with the thing afterwards; and likewise with the Persons, expressing a very particular Esteem for Mr. Harley to the Time of his Death, which happened soon after.

[Page 11] At the Accession of the Queen to the Crown, Her Majesty was pleas­ed to chuse Her Ministry among a Sett of Men, who, there was some Reason to have expected other Con­duct from them to Her Majesty, at least the Queen expected it; but they who knew them better, were not so much disappointed in them as Her Majesty was.

It imports not to record their Fail­ings farther than thus; to let Poste­rity know, they began to precipitate the Crown, in many Cases, to a Degree that must, in Time, have been fatal.

In all these Cases Mr. Harley sig­nalized himself, by that famous Stand which he made in Behalf of the Li­berties of his Country; of which those who shared in the Advantage cannot entirely forget the Particu­lars. Those who were nearest the Queen, and most faithful to Her In­terest, finding the Influence he had in the House, was of use to them on many Accounts, began, about this [Page 12] Time, to see he was a Person neces­sary to keep a closer Correspondence with; and having found the Queen of the same Opinion, he was receiv­ed into the Cabinet Measures, and the nicest Affairs communicated to him.

In this Station he obtain'd, upon the Opinion not only of the Persons who he necessarily was embark'd with; as the late E. of Godolphin, the Duke of M—and some others; but of the Queen more especially, who, with my L. Godolphin, had a singular Esteem for him.

It was easy for Mr. Harley, in this Scituation, to convince Her Majesty, of the absolute Necessity She was in, of changing Her Measures, and of dismissing a furious Faction, who began to be odious to the People, by their pushing the Government upon such things as tended to embroil Her Majesty with Her best Subjects; and make the War abroad, which was then newly entred into, be either impracticable, or unsuccessful, by [Page 13] reason of the Discontents at Home, which were rising to a great Height among the People, and sometimes between the Two Houses of Parlia­ment themselves.

In the Pursuit of this Council, the Advantage whereof the whole King­dom feels to this Day, the Queen was pleased to dismiss Sir Edward Sey­mour's Party, so they were call'd, and fill up the Houshold with such a Mi­nistry, as the present Age pretends to be very well satisfy'd in; the prime Ministry, as it is call'd, resting in the late Lord Treasurer Godolphin; the Army, in the D. of M— h; and Mr. Harley was made Secretary of State, in the Room of the E. of N— m; Sir Charles Hedges keeping the Seals as the other Secre­tary of State, as he was before.

Thus the Introduction of that Ministry was the Work of Mr. Har­ley; and it was to his Counsels that they ow'd their being established in the full Administration of Affairs; which, whilst they carry'd on with Unanimity of Councils, and without [Page 14] Jealousy of one another, were admi­nistred with great Satisfaction to Her Majesty, and all Her People at Home, as well as with glorious Suc­cesses abroad; during this Time, the Animosities among the good People began exceedingly to abate; the Remembrances of Occasional Bills, Tackings, &c. wore much off of the Minds of the People, and the Court generally discouraging the Breaches among the Queen's Subjects; an open and free Administration was carry'd on, by which Room was left for all Her Majesty's Subjects, of whatever Party, to restore themselves to Her Favour, by their Merit; and to wipe out the Remembrances of any Miscar­riages, by a future dutiful Behaviour. A Method of Government exceedingly agreeable to the Queen, as it would, had it gone on, have been, in Time, healing to the Nation.

But this happy Scheme was not a­like pleasing to all; and some, who had Cravings in Nature to satisfy, which were not so consistent with this disinterested Manner of Manage­ment, [Page 15] began to be uneasy at the Apprehensions of letting in the Mob, as it was call'd, into their Affairs. The Interest in Her Majesty, which, as it was call'd, was not a thing of so little Value to be laid open, and Her Favour and Confidence to be made Common to the People: They found that as they had made it a Property, so their Success gave them an Advantage above all that went before them, by seeming to make themselves necessary to Her Majesty: This Point was carried on to such an Extremity, the Sweet­ness of governing, even their Sove­reign, alluring, that finding Mr. Harley inflexible; and that he would not join in such narrow Measures; but desir'd, that the Queen might Reign for Her self, and all Her Sub­jects have Access to Her; that She might be fully apprized of all Her Affairs; and act as well by Know­ledge as Advice: Finding this was the Scheme he had laid; and that it was directly opposite to their own, and would, in the End, over­throw it: They from that Time [Page 16] entred into Measures either to sup­plant him in Her Majesty's Favour, or in his Employment.

The first, notwithstanding many Misrepresentations and mean Steps taken, they could not effect; the last, they brought to pass for a Season.

It seems that they brought the last to pass with Difficulty; and it was evident to them, as also to others, that as her Majesty parted not with Mr. Harley without great Reluctance; so that altho' he was dismiss'd from the Office of her principal Secretary, that yet he had access to her Person, and had opportunity to communicate such Councils as occasion offer'd, ha­ving the Honour, from that time, of a Confidence with his Sovereign, which those, who had Power to displace him, had then no Share in.

This Favour of his Prince was much encreased by some foul things which had been discover'd to her Ma­jesty to have been practised upon him, in order to render him suspected to [Page 17] be concern'd in the Treason of Mr. Gregg, and more especially by some Steps which were privately taken by some Persons, in order, by Fear of Death, or Hope of Mercy, to induce the said Gregg, when under Sentence of Death, to accuse Mr. Harley; and as her Majesty receiv'd the Account of those Designs with Tokens of great Displeasure, and even of Detestation; so the Declaration which the Crimi­nal gave, even just before his Executi­on, of the Innocence of Mr. Harley▪ as it was a particular Satisfaction to the Queen, so it confirm'd the Opinion her Majesty had conceived of Mr. Harley, as a Person proper to be en­trusted, and fit to be employed in her Service.

It might have been useful to have descended to the Particulars of this Matter, and to the Persons likewise, but another time may be thought more proper; this suffices to shew, that there was at that time a horrid Conspiracy against the Life of this noble Lord; how far it has been car­ried on, or revived since▪ and whe­ther [Page 18] it be by the same Hands or not, will likewise appear, the Time being approaching, when there may be reason to lay the blackest part of this Trans­action open to the View of the Sun.

Mean time, it is worth notice, that as the Persons concerned would not have failed to have accepted the E­vidence of Mr. Gregg against Mr. Harley, if he had either known any thing whereof to accuse him, or had been prevailed with to have forged any Accusation, in order to have sa­ved his Life; yet some of them were not backward to depretiate the dy­ing Words of the same Man, when it appeared they tended to clear the Person, who they desired rather should have been accused; discovering thereby such a Partiality as her Majesty was pleased to take notice of, to be as cri­minal in its Degree, as the Design aforesaid against his Life. It's strange, said she once upon that Occasion, that they would not have us believe the Man now he acquits Mr. Harley, when they would have believed him if he had accu­sed him; and that they will not believe the [Page 19] Man's dying Words, when it is evident they would have laid great Weight upon them if he had lived; her Majesty was pleased likewise many times, when this Affair was, upon any Occasion, mention'd to her, to express her Con­cern, that any Methods so unchristian and unjust should be taken by Persons so near Her, to destroy an innocent Person.

Yet could not this put a Stop to the Enemies of Mr. Harley, who, it seems, were restless in their own Scituation, while they observed his to be so near her Majesty's Person as would, upon all Occasions, interrupt the farther Designs which they had calculated for their own Advantage, in being single and uninterrupted in the Administra­tion; and therefore, tho' they could not impose upon her Majesty in the Case above-mention'd of Mr. Gregg, they left not any Stone unturn'd to keep the People of their own Party deceived, and to have it, by Pamphlet-Writings, and private Emissaries, suggested throughout the Kingdom, that Mr. Harley was guilty of Gregg's [Page 20] Treason, tho' nothing could be pro­ved that ever justified so much as a Suspicion. And altho' Gregg himself, who could never have been convi­cted but by his own Confession, had been induced by Mr. Harley to make that Confession; so that Mr. Harley seemed that way to have been the very Instrument of detecting him more fully, and by consequence of his Death; a Provocation sufficient to make any one expect, that if he could have saved his Life at Mr. Harley's Expence, he would have made no Difficulty of the Exchange, and not a little the Reason of that low Step some Persons (otherwise Persons of Honour) took to bring it to pass, which it may be believed they would not for their own Sakes have been seen in, if they had thought it could have failed of Success.

But Gregg, tho' a Traytor, would not be a Murtherer. Whether they were not so, who endeavoured to make him so, will be tryed at another Tri­bunal.

[Page 21] As these things concurr'd to improve that Interest which Mr. Harley had in her Majesty's Favour, so it made way for, and not a little contributed to the Breaches which followed, and the Impressions they made in her Majesty, in Prejudice of those Men who were concern'd, were such as were not easily wiped out. Her Ma­jesty, who was a Princess of exceed­ing Piety, believing that Men, who could stoop to such wicked, and even bloody Methods, to remove a Person out of the Way of their Administra­tion; would stick at few things that could occur, and were ill qualify'd to bring about the Blessing of Her Reign, in the Felicity of Her Peo­ple, which was Her utmost Desire.

But things were not yet brought to Maturity, nor the Grievance of the Administration come to its Height; and several things were yet to hap­pen, which should concur with the Impressions Her Majesty had re­ceived before, to lessen the Pleasure She took in the Services of some a­bout [Page 22] Her; and, consequently, make Way for their Remove: But as these do not concern Mr. Harley, they shall be no otherwise mentioned, than as they served to introduce the Re­volution which followed.

It was in the Year 1708. when Mr. Harley was dismiss'd from the Office of Secretary of State; and Mr. Boyle, now Lord Carleton, succeeded him in that Place; a modest inoffensive Gentleman, and concerned neither one way or other in the Brigues above­mentioned. And now it was thought they who had the Administration would have gone on in their Business without any Interruption, that they had none to disturb them, but that he, who, they pretended, would have supplanted them, being laid aside, they were out of Danger; and it may be said of them, that they were weak enough to think thus themselves; but they soon found themselves deceived, and that the very Persons, who had push'd them upon the Breach with Mr. Harley, on pretence of supplanting them with the Queen, were in a [Page 23] strong Confederacy or Plot to sup­plant them with the People, and by the Consequence thereof with the Queen; and wanted nothing, but to remove Mr. Harley from them, to make way for the Execution of their Design, as the Person, whose Inter­est in the Queen, as well as his Capa­city to disappoint them, they, above all other, thought to be dangerous to them.

It is with the more Reason that it is said, they thought, by the Conse­quence of supplanting the Ministry, they should effectually supplant them with the Queen; because, having made the Experiment in the Case of Mr. Harley, that the Queen might be prevailed on by their new Method of treating her Majesty to part with Ministers, tho' She was not dissatis­fied with them; they concluded they might take the same Method, and bring her Majesty to the Necessity, so they undutifully called it, of part­ing with others: And that this is true in Fact, that this was their View at that Time, is proved by a [Page 24] Letter, written by a noble Lord then in the Ministry, who, when their Plot broke out, had the Weakness, or Want of Decency, to write a Let­ter to the D—of R—into Scotland, wherein he treats her Ma­jesty and Ministry both in the Words following: ‘'I would not have you be bullied by the Court-Party; for the Queen her self cannot support that Faction long.'’

This was strange Language from a Secretary of State actually in Office, and eminently discovered, that the Charge publickly laid against Mr. Harley, of a Design to supplant the Ministry, should have been laid on another Hand, who now publickly viewed a Design, not only of sup­planting the Ministry, who he called a Faction, but of bringing the Queen into such a Condition as not to be able to support them.

It became soon evident, that the Persons, who this noble Lord called a Faction, were no other than the late Earl of Godolphin, and his Grace the [Page 25] D—of M—. The One at that Time at the Head of the Army, the Other of the Treasury, as by their farther open Declarations in the Ele­ction of the next Parliament appear­ed, in which the Juncto to the Whig-Noble-Men, embarkt in this Design, were called, openly joined with the male-contented Party, so the high Church were then; nay, even with the Jacobites against the Ministry, villifying and exposing the said Lord and Duke, and especially a certain Dutchess, in a Manner far exceeding all that unjustifiable Rudeness that has been made use of since that Time.

This however obliged her Majesty to concern her self in the matter, and to let the Juncto see, that She was able to support her Servants, and that She would not be reduced to the Necessity they boasted of; the Con­sequence of this was, that they were effectually disappointed, and after­wards made no Difficulty to make their separate Peace with her Maje­sty and her Ministry. To which Transaction Fame refers us for an [Page 26] eminent Original of abandoning Al­lies, &c. for it was observable, that when they made their own Peace, they left all their Confederates to the Discretion of the Ministry.

But this Matter had another Ef­fect, for which Reason it is made a necessary Part of this Account, ( viz.) that in the interval of this Breach, much was discovered of the Infirmi­ty, to say no worse of it, of both Sides; and while they were villifying one another, to render their Designs black in the View of the People, they really, as it often happens in lesser Cases, made the Persons on both Sides look less in the Esteem of the World than they did before; there was much Dirt cast on both Sides in the Quarrel, and it cannot be said, that it was all wiped off in the Re­conciliation, nor did the Breach leave either Side in the same Station of her Majesty's Esteem as it found them.

Her Majesty was a strict Observer at that Time, of every Article of the Conduct of either Side; and it made [Page 27] no small Impression on her Mind, that She found both Sides were to make a Property of her Authority, and that She was to be reduced to a Necessity of acting their Measures, which Side soever prevailed. From which just Observation, tho' her Ma­jesty sound it needful to support the Ministry then in her Service, against those who so openly affronted her Administration as well as her Person, in opposing them at that Time; yet from that Time her Majesty enter­tained Thoughts of a general Change in her Measures, and resolved to set her self free as soon as might be from the unhappy Necessity, which, it seems, it was so easie to reduce her to, ( viz.) of not being able to sup­port her own Administration.

This was perfectly agreeable to the Scheme formerly proposed by Mr. Harley to the Lord Godolphin, and often explain'd to her Majesty before that Time, ( viz.) to restore her Majesty to an entire Freedom of acting; that all her Affairs should be explained to, and laid before her Majesty; that She [Page 28] should no more wear the Crown without the Scepter; that the Doors should be opened to all Her Subjects, and a free Access to Her Person be given to all; that Cases of Conse­quence might not come cover'd with the Representations of the Ministers; but every thing be laid fairly before the Queen, that She might act with open Eyes, see for Her self, and give to, not receive Commands from, Her Ministry. Her Majesty had, with some Regret, received the former Im­portunities of some about Her, in the Case of placing or displacing of Per­sons; and especially that unpleasant, uncomely, as well as undutiful Ex­pression of, I cannot serve Your Ma­jesty, unless, &c. and began to be tir'd with some Peoples personal Conduct, whose Services were otherwise very acceptable to Her, and their Fidelity entirely unsuspected.

There were two other things which Her Majesty could not avoid taking a particular Notice of in this Breach; and the future Conduct of these ve­ry Persons make it very much to the [Page 29] present Purpose to mention it here, viz. (1.) That the said Juncto made no Scruple, in order to displace the said Lord and Duke, to bring the most known prosess'd Jacobites, as well of the Nobility as of the Com­mons, as well in Scotland as in Eng­land, into their Confederacy, and even to Vote for them in the Election of the Parliament then chusing, and many of them were actually elected by the Interest of the said Whig Juncto; the Names are easy to be given. (2.) That they made no Dif­ficulty of displacing the D. of M— h from the Command of the Army; and thought there would be no Dan­ger to the Confederacy in it at all; and Her Majesty was inform'd, that they went so far as to sound the Dutch, either to see how they would approve of a Change, or to prepare them not to be surpriz'd at it: The like things having been censured in such rude Terms by the same Per­sons, who then, for their own private Ends, engag'd in them; Her Maje­sty could not but call to mind the Circumstances, and look on the Per­sons [Page 30] with some Resentment, when they came to speak of the same things as trayterous, ungrateful, perfidious, and the like.

These, and such as these, were the things which pav'd the Way for the new Turn, which soon after happen­ed; in which Mr. Harley acted con­sonant to what he had from the first propos'd; laying before Her Majesty such Measures as were calculated for quieting, not disturbing the Admini­stration; not proposing such Change of Parties, and such Turnings out of Persons, as afterwards happened; no such thing being in View, till the Combinations of certain Persons in Places, and who acted upon the old Principle of reducing the Queen to the Necessity of acting as they de­sired, oblig'd Her Majesty to do it.

It is not needful to enter into the Detail of the Conduct of others; but this Passage cannot be omitted, viz. that the Evening of that Day, when the Treasurer, the Earl of Go­dolphin, was displaced, a general Meet­ing [Page 31] of the Persons in that Interest, was held at Mr. B—House, where it was laid down as a Maxim, that the new Managers could no Way support the Undertaking; that they could never be able to keep up the publick Credit, raise Money, or carry on the War; but would soon plunge the Queen in such inextricable Difficulties, as that She would be forc'd to come back to them; and therefore it was their Business, one and all, to resolve not to come into the Queen's Measures, in order to di­stress Her new Ministers, and so ob­lige Her to dismiss them.

How openly they pursued this Resolution, is well known; as also how Mr. Harley, now made Chan­cellor of the Exchequer, and one of the Commissioners of the Treasury, surmounted all the Difficulties which they cast in the Way, supply'd the Money, kept up the Credit, and run into no Plunges, as was suggested, by which they were no less surprized than disappointed; all this is recent and known.

[Page 32] It is named here, to shew where began the Mischief of the Change; this Meeting of the late Managers was neither more or less than form­ing themselves into a Faction against the Queen, and Her new Measures; which, though it did not produce the Necessity upon the Queen of changing Her Ministry again, as they expected; yet it did put the new Managers upon making use of other Hands than they intended; to which Point of Circumstance, all that has since happened, may be traced back, as to its proper and only Original; for had that Faction not been form­ed, or had they not, when formed, absolutely rejected the Queen's Offers of Accommodation, and of keeping them in their Places, nothing is more true, than that all things had gone on in the usual Course of the Admi­nistration, by the same Methods, to the same Purpose, and almost by the same Persons as before. But Sathan hindered; and the Conduct of the outed Party was very singular on that Occasion.

[Page 33] It occurr'd to them naturally, that the Parliament in being would take some Step in their Favour; and that they should be able to spread the Uneasiness much farther, if not throughout the Kingdom, and it of­fered as a Foundation of forming a new Interest in their Favour; this pass'd a while, and their Friends in the City falling upon the new Mini­stry with some Attempts of another Nature, it was evident, they sup­ported those Attempts, by their De­pendance on their Interest in the Parliament; and so open they were in their Politicks on this Occasion, that they were not backward to say, The Parliament would unravel the new Measures, and the Queen could go on no farther than the next Ses­sion. The Ministry were too vigi­lant not to see the Design; nor was Mr. Harley ignorant how far they might probably go to make good their Threats: This made it abso­lutely necessary to dissolve the Parlia­ment; the Inclination of the People also to the Change, now beginning [Page 34] to appear more than it had done be­fore; and the new Elections appear­ing to be generally on the Side of the Change, the Resolutions of the Party mention'd above, began to waver, their Interest separate, and, in fine, the new Ministry, after this, met with less Difficulty and Obstru­ction in their Affairs, though not with less ill Treatment from particu­lar Persons, and from the Party in the City especially, where the Fer­ment went too high to be spoken of in a narrow Compass, and where the Measures taken to ruin the Pub­lick Credit were such, though unsuc­cessful, as has not been ever pra­ctis'd before, and gave Her Majesty great Cause to resent them, even on the whole Party.

In this Juncture, Mr. Harley was snatch'd from the Administration, by an unparallell'd Attempt upon his Life; at first it surpriz'd every one, as it began to be thought the Attempt of the aforesaid Party, or some set on Work by them; but it soon appear'd the single Act of an enrag'd French­man, [Page 35] the Marquiss de Guiscard, made desperate by being detected of a Treasonable Correspondence with France, who assassinated Mr. Harley at the Council Table, stabbing him into the Breast with a Penknife, and repeating the Blow a second Time, not knowing that the Penknife was broke, and the Blade left in the Wound; he gave him a Contusion with the Handle by the next Blow, more dangerous and painful than the first: What mov'd this Scelerat to such an horrid Act, the apprehending him, wounding him, his Imprisonment, and Death in the Prison of Newgate, are needless in this Account; being also made publick at that Time by other Writers.

None could be blamed for being of the Opinion, till the Particulars ap­pear'd, that this Blow was given by the Procurement of the other Party; because it suited so exactly with the Language given publickly the Person of Mr. Harley at that Time, as well in the City as elsewhere, that it was confess'd by themselves, the Suspicion [Page 36] was just: But the Horror of the Fact so touch'd those, who had a Sense of Humanity, that the Generality, even of the Enemies of the new Ministry, could not refrain expressing them­selves with some Warmth against it, and it assisted for some time to the treating him with something less In­decency than before; and not only so, but the Affairs of the Govern­ment gaining upon the Opposers eve­ry Day, the new Measures began to be better relish'd among the People than before.

Soon after the Recovery of Mr. Harley, and his Conduct in the pub­lick Affairs having satisfy'd Her Ma­jesty, that his Qualifications for the Employment were equal to the Weight of such an Employ, the Com­mission for the Treasury was dissolv­ed, and Mr. Harley was made Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain; Her Majesty doing him the Honour to give Him the Staff with Her own Hand, and at the same Time to sign a Patent, creating him Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, and soon [Page 37] after created him also Knight of the Garter.

These things are needful to men­tion, because they are the Sum of all the Advantages which he can be said to share out for himself, having not, his Enemies being Judges, accu­mulated Honour or Profits, as has been usual by Persons in great Posts; and this may be said without Boast­ing, that no personal Avarice, no ag­grandizing of his Family, no getting of Grants, either to himself or to his Family, has been, or with Ju­stice can be charged on him; though, by the Share he enjoy'd of His Roy­al Mistress's Favour, it might be sup­pos'd, that he could not want Op­portunity for many things, which might have been as profitable as the most craving Temper might be satis­fy'd with.

The new Parliament being met, the Lower House appeared enclin'd dutifully to oblige Her Majesty, in e­very thing consistent with their Li­berties, and with the publick Good; [Page 38] and the Queen never desiring any thing of them which shock'd their Affections to their Country's Safety and Advantage: This mutual Re­ctitude of Principle, created a perfect Harmony between Her Majesty and the House; every thing offered by the House to Her Majesty, met with a gracious Reception and ready Grant; and every thing laid before them by the Queen, was so just and so clear, that the House, with an entire Confidence, came into Her Majesty's Measures cheerfully, and with the greatest Alacrity imagi­nable.

This Harmony was a great Dis­appointment to the Party, who op­posed the Ministry, and was chiefly owing to the exact Adhering to such Measures in the Administration, as could admit no substantial Ob­jection; for it could not be said, that the other People were not vi­gilant, to take Hold of every thing that might have given them any just Advantage. The Treasurer, as far as he directed any thing, took [Page 39] Care to keep it within the ordinary Rules of Business; and, particularly, knowing what Men he had to do with, took Care to have every thing transacted in full Council, and to be duly minuted in the Books. He kept to the Principle first laid down, of having the Queen see with Her own Eyes; and after duly debating things in Her Presence, to have every thing directed by Her Majesty, with Con­sent, of Her own Knowledge, that Her Majesty might have no Occasion to say, as had been too much the Case formerly, that She left things to such and such Persons, and had been ill serv'd.

The Treasurer likewise took especial Care to have all Business transacted in the proper Offices, and sign'd by the Hands whose Province it was; thereby restoring the Administration to its natural Course, and delivering the Government from the Grievance of a PRIME MINISTER; and this is evident now, even to the Surprize of his Enemies, who hav­ing suppos'd, that the Treasurer trans­acted [Page 40] every thing, as had been the general Belief; and for which all a­long the Party loaded him with in­finite Aspersions, find now that he really managed nothing separately; and rather employ'd himself to pre­serve the Oeconomy of the Admini­stration, and see the publick Business distributed into the proper Hands, and then leaving those Hands to dis­charge their Duty, than interposing his own Authority, or encroach­ing upon the Province of the Mini­sters.

Perhaps this Truth is so new, and the contrary has been so generally received, that it will not immediate­ly meet with that Credit, that ought to be expected to a thing so mani­fest; but when it shall appear, that, in unravelling the Administration of those Times, nothing can be found transacted by him, but what was the particular Duty of his Office, as Trea­surer; and that, on the contrary, e­very Minister of State did the Duty of his Place, and acted to the full what was his particular Province to [Page 41] act; and that consequently, they can­not fasten such things upon the Trea­surer as it was hoped he might be charged with. I say, if this should not be the Case, it will be a full Confirmation of what is said here, that he rather directed every Man to his Duty, than acted in their Province himself. It was his Complaint, during the Administration of others, that they engrossed the Business into their Hands; that the Secretaries and Privy Council were but Agents, and were made use of for Form only; and that the Queen being surrounded by them, all Access to her Person was cut off; and it was his profess'd Inten­tion, that it should be otherwise in his Administration; and if this is not made sufficiently evident to those who are now so narrowly inspecting his Conduct, by the Manner in which they will find all Business transacted, there is another Proof which will oc­cur to every Understanding, ( viz.) the Power the other Ministers of State, and Men of Intreigue, obtain­ed hereby with the Queen; by which they afterwards took upon them to [Page 42] oppose his Councils, and at last ef­fectually supplanted him.

If it had been true, that every thing had been done by him, as it was unjustly said by his Enemies, it could not have been true, that his Ma­nagement was ill approved of by the Queen, and other Men entrusted, di­stinct from him, and who, when he opposed them; appeared to have a greater Interest in her Majesty than he had, till at length they obliged him either to come into their Mea­sures, which, in regard to the Good of his Country, he could not comply with, or to withdraw from them, and quit the Administration, which he ve­ry happily for himself chose to do.

In this Conduct consists so much his present Safety, that we see some of his Enemies very much disappoint­ed, in that they cannot find him in several Parts of the Management of things which they thought were all his own; and it is surprising to find how far this Opinion of his, being the Fac Totum in all the Administration, [Page 43] had prevailed; and the Enemies of the Treasurer are under some Confusion, by their not finding all Business dire­cted by him. It is manifest, that they had entertained a Notion, that the Queen was wholly governed by him; that She did nothing her self, and no­thing but by his Direction; which is so evidently untrue, that it appears her Majesty not only acted without him, but even contrary to him, in many things, till at last She was plea­sed to enter wholly into the Measures of other Men; and when he could not be prevailed upon to join in those Measures, thought fit to act quite without him▪ This, however unex­pected, will shew, that what has of­ten been said to the Queen her self, is now confirmed, ( viz.) that the Trea­surer bore the Load of many things which he had no concern in; and in­deed this was evidently one Reason why he drew out of the Administrati­on, of which, and of whose Mistakes, tho' he did not approve, he was sure to bear the Scandal.

[Page 44] It is not to the Purpose to enter here into the Reasons why the Trea­surer rejected the Measures proposed to him by these new Men; whether they were consistent with the publick Good, or the Queen's Safety and Ho­nour, is fitter for them to defend, than for him to enquire into; it suffices to say, they were such as the Treasurer thought were not for her Majesty's Service, and that therefore he declin­ed the public Affairs, rather than go on upon those Foundations. It is effe­ctually proved by the Circumstance of his Dismiss also, that the Admini­stration consisted of several Parts, and was not engrossed, as was suggested, by the Treasurer, in an arbitrary man­ner. The Discontents of other Men having been carried to such a Length, as to affront him even in the Execu­tion of his Office, and to reject all the Offers of an Accommodation or Re­conciliation, which the Treasurer fre­quently made to them, that the pub­lic Business might not be hindred. It is likewise to be observed, that in these Offers of Reconciliation, the Treasu­rer [Page 45] always represented the absolute Necessity there was of having every Office do its own Business, and the Administration to run in the due Course, according to the ordinary Administration, without any suggest­ing the Superintendency of a prime Minister, or so much as claiming any Reserve to himself; being willing to confine himself to the Sphere of his Office, with more Strictness than any of them desired.

It was not the least Affliction to the Treasurer, that he found the A­varice of some Men in Office, and the Ambition of others, to be made great sooner than ordinary, began early to offer Obstructions to the public Busi­ness, and that he was frequently ill used by those, who, he thought, had Reason to treat him otherwise, parti­cularly by a certain Esq that he was not made a Peer so soon as he was willing to be so; as also that when he was honoured with the Peerage, it was but a Viscount; and yet more, that when some Garters were dispo­sed, he was not gratified: This was [Page 46] the more afflicting, because that when this Person was at first, by the Treasurer's Interest, recommended to her Majesty, for the Office which he was entrusted with, the Treasu­rer believed he would have acted from Principles of Zeal for her Ma­jesty's Service, and a generous Con­cern for the Church and Nation in all he did, without making his private Advancement the Sum of his Desires, and pushing that Particular so far, as to insult his Friends for the Delay, however necessary that Delay would be to the Queen's Service, who found it necessary to make use of his Ser­vice longer in the House of Commons, and gave him Assurances, at the same time, that the Delay should be no Detriment to his Rank; so that it only affected his Impatience, not his Ambition, which was an exceeding Aggravation of his Mistake, shewing at what rate he esteemed his Mi­stress's Service, and the Public Good, which, to a Minister of State, should always go before his own Advance­ment.

[Page 47] The Treasurer failed not, upon all Occasions, to represent to this Person, and to his Friends, the evil Conse­quences of dividing from the Queen's Service, by dividing against one ano­ther; but was always treated with Disrespect, and with much Passion. The necessary Concerts in publick Matters were much hindred by these things, and it was scarce possible to go on in the Execution of Matters determined in the Council to be done, all Confidence being hereby destroy­ed, and the Harmony, necessary in carrying on so much Business, where so much Opposition was to be expe­cted, being thus broken, it is not to be wondred at, if it gave infinite Ad­vantages to those who made that Op­position, of which the Treasurer fail­ed not in making just Representations, as well to the Persons themselves, as to her Majesty likewise, who often spoke of the same with Regret.

But it was all to no Purpose, the Treasurer found the Heat encrease, rather than abate; and that it par­ticularly [Page 48] bent its Fury at such things which, altho' they were particular to the Province of Treasurer, he had thought fit to do without communi­cating his Schemes to him, tho' at the same time they thought fit to carry on the Negotiations and Trea­ties abroad, in many Cases, without communicating their Measures to him, and sometimes hardly to the Queen herself. The Treasurer has been loth to mention the mean Reasons given for their quarrelling with him about the Scheme for Payment of the great Debt the Nation was engaged in, ( viz.) that they should have gotten Money by it; but since the secret Committee have thought fit to pub­lish that Part of it, which the Trea­surer formerly laid before her Maje­sty, whereby it is no longer a Secret, it may serve to convince Mankind, that the disinterested Conduct of the Treasurer in the Administration, and his resolving to make no private Gain out of the Ruins of his Country, was not the least Part of his Manage­ment, which those Men disliked, or [Page 49] the least Reason why they behaved so uneasily to him.

But to dwell no longer on this Part, those who knew the Difficulties with which the Treasurer struggled, in the Matters of Credit, and of Mo­ney, and the Opposition the Party, whom the Queen had dismiss'd, made to every Step that was taken to re­store it, could not but wonder that these Men, who, at the same Time confess themselves unequal to the Work, should not be content to con­tribute no Assistance to it, but should, on the contrary, so much obstruct things, and encourage the Opposition of others, as their Breaches one with another were known to do.

The Treasurer had baffled the De­signs of those who had endeavoured to prevent his remitting Money to the Army, and the establishing the Credit of the Publick; and notwith­standing at his Entrance into the Office, he found the Exchequer ex­hausted, the Bank refusing to advance Money upon such Securities as the [Page 50] Government was able to offer, had the Army at the same time in the Field, which some People were not ashamed to own, they expected should mutiny for their Pay, yet he had ma­stered all these Difficulties, and gave good Reason to believe that he would have gone thro' every other Obstru­ction; and it was not a little afflicting to him, to find his Opposers among those who he had, by his Interest and Recommendation, brought into Business.

Yet as things are now like to go, it is no little Satisfaction to him, that if there has been any criminal Nego­tiations set on Foot, any favouring the Pretender, any Measures entred into, to the Prejudice of the Succession of the House of Hanover, these things must be found among those Parts of their Conduct which they were plea­sed to transact by themselves, and to which they did not vouchsafe to ad­mit the Treasurer, as not being so much at that Time in their Confi­dence; and as they acted these things by themselves, so they must answer [Page 51] for them by themselves, if the present Government think fit to call them to Account for it, the Treasurer having had no Concern in any thing of that Nature, and is persuaded that no Man had the Assurance to make an Offer of any thing of that kind to her Ma­jesty, and that if they had, that the Queen would have resented it with the utmost Indignation.

The Obstruction these things gave to the publick Administration, had divers other Effects; and particularly it gave Encouragement to the outed Party, in their vigorous Opposition of all her Majesty's Measures, which they carried up to such a height, as to expect the House of Peers would be brought to their Side; and tho' the Treasurer had a firm Satisfaction in the Peers, that they would not be imposed upon in these things, yet see­ing the Numbers appear'd something equal, and that the Party discovered some Assurance of carrying their Point; Her Majesty resolving not to run the Venture, chose to make a Number of Lords for ballancing his [Page 52] Enemies, a Practice allowed by the Law, and undoubtedly in the Prero­gative, however clamoured very much in the present Case; and not­withstanding which, as was evident by the Sequel, the Treasurer's Opi­nion appear'd to be founded on a right Judgment of things, ( viz.) that they were safe in the Votes of the Peers who were already in the House, the Question being carried in the House by one Voice more than the Num­ber of new Lords then created. The Warmth of those People, who, at this Time, pushed at the new Ministers, may be judged of by that other In­cident which attended at this Time, ( viz.) That the Occasional-Bill was at this Time brought in by them, which they had always opposed be­fore, and which, it seems, was now submitted to, in Favour of the E. of N—'s Scheme, who declared himself against the Administration from this Time, for Reasons so mean, as [...] requires not to be remem­bred, and who, however, forgot not to [...] a good Capitulation with those [...] surrendred to, and to gain this [Page 53] Point of the Whiggs, which they had always, till now, withstood; but neither the E of N—insisting on such high Terms for so mean an Ad­vantage, as the best Service he could do them, nor the Easiness of the Whiggs at that Time, to part with the Dissenters on such cheap Terms, were by far, so wonderful, as the Satisfaction with which the Dissen­ters stood and lookt on while the Fetters and Mannacles of this new Law were fastened upon them; it cannot be doubted, that secret En­gagements were entered into between the Parties, to take off this Law a­gain by Parliament, when an Occa­sion should offer: When that Occasi­on shall be said to offer, Time must shew. All the Use which Her Ma­jesty made of these things, was to see to what a Length those, who resolved to oppose her Measures, were come, and what Sacrifices they would make, to bring about their Schemes; but these things moved Her not at all.

[Page 54] It was far more afflicting to her Majesty, to see Her Servants clash­ing with one another, in the Execu­tion of Her Commands; and to see the Endeavours, used by Herself, and those who adhered to Her Pleasure, ineffectual to the putting a Stop to it; yet even these Evils, tho' dan­gerous to the Administration, had their Effect for the bringing about the great Event which now came on the Stage, concurring with the Mea­sures of the Whiggs, so far as to make it be still more and more Her Ma­jesty's Opinion, that it was absolutely necessary to put an End to the War.

The Treasurer's Opinion was not material on the Subject of a Peace, the Queen having declared, that it was Her firm Resolution, if possible, to be done upon just Conditions, to put an End to the War; but the Treasurer was more convinced of the Necessity, as well as Justice of Her Majesty's said Resolution, when he saw not only the Warmth wherewith the [Page 55] opposite Party opposed the Ministry, even in carrying on the War; but the Divisions apparently breaking into the Administration, by the Power of those, who set up a new Faction in the Ministry, and by the Influence they had, not only upon the Queen, but upon the Members of Parliament, and upon some useful People in most Offices under her Majesty.

Yet the Treasurer took no Steps in the Affair of the Peace, till the French, having made Proposals of Peace to Her Majesty, it came be­fore him to consider, whether those Proposals were such as might lay a Foundation for a solid Negotiation. The Treasurer took nothing from them otherwise than ad Referendum, neither entered into any secret Nego­tiation without Her Majesty's Directi­on and Knowledge: What any other Person might do, being employed or directed by this new Faction, the Treasurer accounts not for, any more than he does for many of the Orders and Directions given to the Persons [Page 56] employed abroad to carry it on, in which he had no Concern.

The Treasurer cannot but hope, that the present Enquiry, which is ma­king into these things, will serve to his Vindication in that Part, where­in he suffers in the general Scandal of other Mens actings, as if all things had been directed by him; the con­trary is evident in many other Cases besides that of the Peace, wherein his Part of the Negotiations seemed rather to be, to set to Rights the Mistakes made by others; and to put them in the Way of a regular Negotiation, after the most remiss and disconcerted Conduct had brought them into Confusion, as was many times the Case: If the Treaty suffered by those Steps, and if the French were vigilant to make Advan­tage of the People, who, they found, acted with less Regularity than in a Case of such Consequence they had Reason to expect; the Treasurer has the Satisfaction of seeing, that the Advantages so made are the less, by [Page 57] the Part he acted in that Matter, and not the more.

The Truth of what is said of the Treasurer not being Master of the Measures, by which the said new Faction then acted, was evident from their obtaining, without his Consent or Knowledge, an Order from Her Majesty, to pay the Sum of Twenty Eight Thousand Thirty Six Pounds Five Shillings for Arms, &c. on the Account of the Expedition to Cana­da; which Sum the Treasurer scru­pled to pay, for such Reasons as are well known to be just, among which, one was, that he had Reason to be­lieve the said Demand was a Fraud, that the Money was to be applyed to private Use, and that the greatest Part, if not all, was not to be em­ployed in the Service for which it was pretended to be asked; which Reason likewise caused the Treasu­rer to withdraw himself out of that matter, and to refuse, for some time before, to meet with those who trans­acted it.

[Page 58] Neither will it be of any Force to say, that the Breaches did not take Effect till toward the End of that Administration, and that the Trea­surer was the sole Director for the first Three Years, as some insinuate, to take off the Force of these Re­marks; for it is certain, that tho' the open Discovery of these Divisions, and their breaking out into a Flame, did not appear without Doors till after the Peace was finished; yet the fatal Influence of them began, even at the Beginning of the Ministry; the Interest began to divide in Feb. 1710-11, and the Treasurer refu­sed to meet in several Congres­ses of their Allies; because he found them carrying on criminal Intreagues for the defrauding the Public, and enriching themselves by the Spoils of their Country.

It would expose the new Faction aforesaid, should it be made publick, how they treated the Treasurer for refusing to corrupt his Hands, and stain his Integrity, with betray­ing his Sovereign to those, who, he [Page 58] foresaw, would betray all to their voratious Avarice; how he was ne­ver to be forgiven the Omission of such a Step; and that they would, by no Means, be thought to have Justice from him, if they were hin­der'd from making a Prey of their Country.

It is because he strives not to load any Man, much less those, who, he fears, have already too much Guilt to answer for, that he forbears to en­ter into the detecting those Pra­ctices, which he then abhorr'd; it is enough to mention what those Men too well know the Truth of, ( viz.) That from the Beginning he found their Measures too much calculated for private Advantage, without that disinterested Aim at the publick Ser­vice, which the Duty of Ministers of State requir'd; and that, according to his Duty, he, with Plainness and Sincerity, told them his Thoughts of it, in order to their reforming the Principle from which they acted; told the Queen of it, in order to pre­vent Her Majesty's being impos'd up­on; [Page 60] and being able to do no more, withdrew from them in those things which he did not approve; as, in particular, that Affair of the Money demanded for the Expedition to Ca­nada.

In which Affair, the Treasurer has the Satisfaction of making it appear, that he did not come into the Fraud; and that, notwithstanding the Im­portunity of the Persons, he resisted their Demand of the Money, till such repeated Orders were sent him to comply with it from Her Majesty, as he had no Power to withstand; and likewise has had the Satisfaction to find, that, since these things, Her Majesty had an Opportunity to see the Cheat more openly detected by his Means; and to know, that whatever was suggested by the Treasurer, of a design'd Fraud in that Case, was true.

But what was yet more wonder­ful, was, that the Persons concern'd were not asham'd to vindicate them­selves in this Practice; and to sug­gest, [Page 61] that they ought to be allow'd to do such things; signifying also their great Resentment at the Trea­surer, as if they were wrong'd by him, in being restrain'd from those things, which no honest Man could allow.

The Peace having been effectually set on Foot in the Year 1712. met with unexpected Opposition at Home; and as it was thought that those of the Allies, who seem'd to appear most active against it Abroad, were mov'd to do so, by the Impressions which they receiv'd from hence; it was, by Her Majesty's Command, made his Province to set on Foot such Negotiations in such Foreign Courts as were necessary, in order to undeceive the Princes and States A­broad, as often as they had receiv'd ill Impressions of Her Majesty's Inten­tions, and to set Her Measures in a true Light before them, that no Mis­constructions might be made of Her sincere Desires to act in Concert with them, and for their Interests; and, consequently, no fatal Misun­derstandings [Page 62] might happen in, which might separate the Allies one from another, which would be a Means to make the Advantages, which might be obtain'd by an unanimous Treaty, either less in themselves, or difficult to obtain; and it is not to be wonder'd, if the Treasurer should af­terwards, in the Account of these things which he laid before Her Ma­jesty in the Year 1714. say, That, during the first Year of the Peace, his Hands were full of negotiating the Peace in all Courts abroad; seeing the Conduct of these Men, and the Mi­stakes they made, made it often dif­ficult, as well as troublesome, to re­concile their Measures, and to di­stinguish between what they had done, and what Her Majesty intended to have had them do.

As to what was offer'd at Home against the Negotiations of the Peace, Her Majesty took little Notice of; nor did it make any other Impression on Her, than to convince Her more and more, of the Necessity She was under of finishing the War, and [Page 63] confirming Her Opinion in the Rea­sonableness of Her Negotiations. The Opposition made about that Time to the publick Administration, as well of the Treasury, as of the military Affairs, gave Her Majesty still less Disturbance; for the Treasurer having been supported by the needful Funds, which the Parliament, with great Duty and Application, dispatch'd, to Her Majesty's Satisfaction, easily sur­mounted the Difficulties which some endeavour'd to cast in his Way, in the procuring Money to carry on the publick Affairs, and the Queen's Business now began to be on a bet­ter Foot than ever. The Party, who, from the Beginning, had op­pos'd Her Majesty's Measures at Home, and embarrass'd them Abroad, began to lose Courage, and to give it over, finding the Queen resolved to pursue Her just Designs, and Her Servants in a Capacity to support Her Administration, which they had been very positive, in their Assurances to the Foreign Courts in Alliance with the Queen, could not be brought to pass, and on the Miscarriage [Page 64] whereof, the Sum of their Affair de­pended.

As the said Assurances to the Fo­reign Courts had created much Dif­ficulties to the Ministers, and had made the Negotiations very preca­rious; so when the Failure of those Assurances appear'd, as it did very evident, by the withdrawing of some Persons from the Kingdom, and by the Submission of several active Peo­ple at Home, and by the dutiful and cheerful Concurrence of the Parlia­ment then sitting; in which all the Difficulties which could be started by the malecontent Party, were clear'd up, to the full Satisfaction of the said Parliament, who evidently came into the Peace, and even into the Manner, or Terms of it: I say, on the Failure of those Assurances given from hence to some Foreign Courts, and such necessary Steps as were taken by the Treasurer, to as­sure those Courts of the Sincerity of Her Majesty's Intentions: Many of those Courts appear'd satisfy'd, and things went on in a free and open [Page 65] Negotiation abroad for a while, with more Success, and less Difficulty, than before.

Yet even in this Part, in which they could contribute so little, did the Persons abovementioned give the publick Affairs all imaginable Ob­struction, and make the Treasurer's Work thereby exceedingly difficult, by their frequent breaking in upon Measures, acting rashly, and with­out Concert, and perhaps sometimes without sufficient Directions, or Or­ders, in things of the nicest Nature; in which the Treasurer's Interest with them was so small, as that whatever he could say to them on that Head, was to very little Effect; and for that Reason, as likewise because he was willing to do nothing which should render Her Majesty uneasy, or obstruct Her Service, he gave them as little Obstruction as pos­ssible.

But as Men, who agree but ill in the right Management of their Of­fice, are likely to agree worse with [Page 66] themselves; so the Treasurer had fre­quently his Hands full with the lesser Broils, which they raised one among another; and which, either by their own Application, or by Her Maje­sty's Order, it was often made his Province to reconcile.

It would take up much Time to speak of these Matters, and especially of the Conduct of the Secretary, then Mr. St. John, before, at, and after his having the Dignity of the Peerage granted him by Her Majesty; in which many are Witnesses to the Treatment the Treasurer receiv'd from the Passion of that Gentleman, and his Friends; as it relates to the De­lay of his Advancement at first, and his being ill satisfy'd with the Degree of it, when granted: The Particulars of which, though Her Majesty's Conduct was so just, and supported with such Reasons, as could not but be submitted to by all his Friends; yet were receiv'd by him with such Resentment at the Treasurer, as it has not been usual for Men of like Sta­tion [Page 67] to meet with, or for Ministers of State to give to one another.

It cannot be doubted, but this Conduct, as it obstructed the publick Affairs on one Hand; so it expos'd them much on the other; lessen'd the Esteem of the Persons, as well as the Power of Her Majesty's Servants, and brought the Administration into Contempt, both at Home and A­broad; and, which was still worse, exceedingly disturbed Her Majesty, divided Her Esteem this Way or that, as Her Majesty found to Day this Person, to Morrow that, acting up to, or below the Duty of their Sta­tion; distracted the publick Councils, and oftentimes caus'd Her Majesty to shift. Her Service out of one Hand, and into another, which gave much Dissatisfaction to the Queen in several things; and Her Majesty failed not oftentimes to signify Her Displeasure at these things; which it was much more easy for Her Majesty to do, than to find a Remedy for them.

[Page 68] This caus'd the Treasurer, after things were brought to a length not to be otherwise accommodated, and after he had, in vain, by long Letters, as well as by frequent speaking to the other Persons, prest them to a stricter and quieter Application to their Duty, to represent these things to Her Majesty, in the plainest and best Terms he could; giving Her Majesty an Account of the distinct Circumstances She then stood in, with reference to the said uneasy Persons; as also of the Scituation of Her Affairs at that Time; and how Her Administration then appear'd by their Management, to be encumber'd with Difficulties not easy to get through; but yet ending with pro­posing due Remedies for the Evils which attended it.

It is true, one of the best Reme­dies for the said Evils, had been an Unanimity of Councils, and adjoin­ing all the Queen's Servants together in a strict Friendship to one another, and a mutual Discharge of their Du­ty [Page 69] to Her Majesty, that each acting in their proper Sphere, or particular Province, with a clear and disinter­ested View to Her Majesty's Service, might go on in a good Understand­ing with one another, and a perfect Harmony of Desires for the publick Good, and a just Subservience to Her Majesty's Pleasure.

To this Purpose, the Treasurer, as well in his Letter to the Lord Boling­broke, as in several Papers and Schemes which he gave in by Her Majesty's Command, to regulate these Mis­chiefs, always adher'd to the first Opinion which he had profess'd in the Time of the former Administra­tion, and of which mention has been made, viz. That every Mi­nister should confine himself to his especial Province, concurring therein to the general Interest of the Sovereign, and endeavouring always to lay before Her Majesty a true State of Her Affairs, should then act with Subservience to Her Commands, and in Concert with one another, for Her Interest and Service: This the [Page 70] Treasurer always back'd with just Re­presentations of what was the parti­cular Province of the Person he wrote to; and not without earnestly pres­sing him to enter into just Measures for the Discharge of the Matters im­mediately before them, and with Schemes for the carrying on the pub­lick Business so, as to make it easy to the Queen, and to themselves.

Instead of just Returns to these, he was continually attack'd with Quarrels and Complaints, new and private Schemes of their own; some of which were form'd upon Principles that he could not, in Duty, comply with; and upon his rejecting such Schemes, but especially upon his prevailing with Her Majesty to enter so far into the redressing these things, as to make a Nomination of Officers, different from their Proposals, by a Scheme of the Treasurer's; upon thi [...] Step, I say, he was treated ever with Outrage; nor could they be e­ver brought to any Rules or Me­sures, in Concert with the whole Ministry, ever after; till the Treasurer, to his great Satisfaction, withdraw [Page 71] out of publick Business, and obtain'd the Favour of Her Majesty to be dis­miss'd from an Administration, in which he had so little Influence, as not to be able to do his Duty; and yet so great an Unhappiness, as to be charged with all the Mistakes which other Men made,

The Treasurer cannot but think the timely Dismiss he receiv'd, be­ing the last Favour his Royal Mi­stress liv'd to do him, was the most happy Turn from Heaven that be­fel him through the whole Course of his Life, seeing it will testify for him, in any Examination which may hereafter be made into these things, that the Mistakes which may have been made in the Time of his Ad­ministration, have happen'd rather from the Want of Power in him to prevent them, than from his hav­ing the governing Influence in the Ministry, as has been suggested; that his Part of the Negotiations a­broad, has been rather to rectify what they had done amiss, than to act by himself; and that no irregular [Page 72] Steps have been taken by him, no unwarrantable Practices, no evil Council given by him; and that his only Misfortune, next to his having been supposed to be the Author of evil Councils, has been, that he has not been able to prevent the Effects of them, or to deliver the Queen from them, whose Illness, many can­not but still believe, receiv'd not a little Encrease from the Trouble these things gave Her Majesty, and the Grief of seeing the irreconcileable Clashings of Her Servants.

But to go back to the Peace: It seems, in all the Speeches about the Transaction of that Affair, the Ob­jections lie rather against the Me­thods taken to bring it to pass, than against the Illegality of the Ministers being employ'd to bring the War to an End; which, nevertheless, seems to be the previous Question; and here we find, that the proper En­quiry was, as to the Treasurer, Whe­ther he has acted legally, in obeying the Queen's Commands, or not? If any of the Ministers with, or with­out [Page 73] his Knowledge and Consent, enter'd upon Measures, in carrying on the Treaty, unjustifiable by the Laws of the Land; their separate Management will, questionless, ap­pear the plainer; and the Treasurer, when every Man shall answer for himself, will still be the more openly vindicated from the Asper­sion mention'd above, of having the Direction of the whole Affair in him­self.

As Her Majesty found Reasons to resolve to put an End to the War; Her Minister, whether ther enter'd into Her Majesty's Reasons, or not, would find themselves oblig'd to en­ter into Her Measures for the bring­ing it to pass; whether the Reasons which mov'd Her Majesty to this Re­solution, were Her own, or were rais'd from the Counsel given to Her by any Person in whom Her Ma­jesty repos'd so much Confidence, as to be prevail'd with by their Advice; whether Her Majesty was mov'd by the Tendency so natural to Her, and the Compassion mov'd in Her Breast, [Page 74] by the Expence of the Blood of Her People; some having said, this was the first and only Motive; but supposing it was by the Counsel of Her Servants from other Motives, and be those Motives what they will, it seems no Part of the present De­fence of the late Treasurer, unless there appear'd some Ground for a Charge upon him, as being the Person who advis'd, counsell'd, or mov'd Her Majesty to it, or to enter into any Measures with France for that Pur­pose; which, on the strictest View of all that yet appears in publick, does not seem to be so much as pre­tended to.

While then it remains unenquir'd into, who first mov'd Her Majesty to enter into Measures for making a Peace; and the Queen's undoubted Prerogative empower'd Her Majesty to enter into, and finish Negotiations to that Purpose; It seems, that all the Enquiries into the Correspondence between Her Majesty's first Resoluti­ons, and the subsequent Measures, will necessarily be plac'd to the Ac­count [Page 75] of such Intervention of Acci­dents, as caus'd Her Majesty to change Her Thoughts; and that the Mini­stry cannot justly be charged to bring to pass those Resolutions, and those Changes, by Way of Intriegue, or with Design to carry on the Treaty with the more Disguise; this would be to make the Queen's Servants guilty of betraying the Queen in the most infamous Manner, and expos­ing the Honour of Her Majesty's Word in a most gross and unjustifiable Manner; and if any such thing could be prov'd, the Treasurer would have no other Work before him, than to publish his Detestation of such Practices, and wash his Hands of the Guilt.

On the other Hand, it is humbly conceiv'd, That all such Expressions as are insisted on by some in the Queen's Letters, Messages, or Speeches, to the Allies, or their Ministers, in which Her Majesty declar'd Her Resolution to carry on the War; to make no separate Treaty; to procure just Satisfaction to Her Allies, &c. [Page 76] are to be expounded by the Grand Alliance; and to be built upon the Supposition, That Her Allies acted ac­cording to all their Engagements with Her Majesty in the said Alliance; otherwise Her Majesty would be un­derstood to oblige Herself to all that might be contain'd in those Expres­sions, whether Her Allies continu'd to discharge their Part or no; and, in the Consequence of such an Opi­nion, the Queen might at length be alone in the War, under the literal Obligation of those Letters, Speeches, &c.

But it was the Opinion of the Queen at that Time, and of many of Her Servants, That the Allies, par­ticularly the States and the Emperor, had not done their Part in the War; and had not discharg'd their Engage­ments to Her Majesty; and even the Parliament themselves, in the Repre­sentation of the House of Commons to the Queen, (Reference being had thereto) did confirm that Opinion; nay, Her Majesty found, that no Com­plaint from hence had the desir'd Ef­fect, [Page 77] to oblige the said Powers to act in another Manner; but were productive only of Memorials and Letters, extenuating, or justifying themselves; and in these things are said more particularly to be form'd Her Majesty's first Resolutions.

Nor was this a Transaction of that Day only; it had been thus before: And this Her Majesty had long been acquainted with, in the Time of the Earl of Godolphin's Administration, when, as has been credibly said, his Lordship having frequently pressed those Allies to perform the Conditi­ons of the Grand Alliance; and to fur­nish their Quota's and Contingents, as by the several Conventions and Stipula­tions, subsequent to the said Treaty of Grand Alliance, they were oblig'd to do; receiv'd for Answer more than once, and that to Her Majesty's great Grief; That their State was empo­verish'd; that they were able to do no more; and that unless his Lordship, meaning the then Treasurer, would supply the extraordinary Charge, they could not carry on the War; [Page 78] and must make their own Peace on the best Conditions they could, or to this Effect. If these things then were justifiable on the Part of any of Her Majesty's Allies; they were much more to be defended on the Part of Her Majesty, and Her Servants; though they were led by these things in the Method they were to take with the same Allies, even by a natural Re­turn.

Likewise in the Methods taken by some of the Allies, to reject, and render ineffectual the Treaty for a Peace, when it was set on Foot at Ʋtrecht; and to put an End to it by the Operations of the Campaign; Her Majesty thought She saw so resolv'd a Combination, not against a Peace only, but even against a Treaty, without enquiring whether it might have been concluded to Advantage or no; which combination Her Majesty thought was not only inconsistent with, but contrary to, the express Declaration of the States, of their be­ing desirous of Peace; that Her Ma­jesty, and likewise Her Servants, were [Page 79] of Opinion, That Her Majesty was justly disengag'd from all that had been said, promised, or stipulated be­tween them before; and was not at Liberty only, but bound by the strictest of all the Obligations which a good Prince could be bound by, to provide for the Safety and Ease of Her own Subjects, by a Peace, whe­ther in Conjunction with, or separate from those Allies; in the mean Time, nevertheless, providing as well as possible, for the Satisfaction of all Her Allies; if they thought fit to come into Her Measures, for their own, and the general Satisfaction.

This may appear more especially from the Instructions given to his Grace the Duke of Ormond, when he went over General of Her Majesty's Forces; wherein his Grace's Orders begin thus:

You are, with all possible Diligence, to repair to the Hague; and to acquaint the Pensionary, That, having ap­pointed you to command our Army in the Netherlands, we have given you Orders [Page 80] to see him before you go to put your self at the Head of the Troops. You are to express to him the Resolution we are in, of pressing the War with all possible Vigour, until the Enemy shall agree to such Terms of Peace, as may be safe and honourable for us, and for our Allies.

You are farther to say to this Mini­ster, That you are prepar'd to live in a perfect good Correspondence with all the Generals of the Allies, and particularly with those of the States; and that you hope, you shall find the same Inclination on their Part, to which his (the Pensio­nary) good Offices will extremely con­tribute. You are, after this Introducti­on, to desire the Pensionary to inform you what Plan has been agreed upon for the Operations of the Campaign.

The Duke, it seem, is of Opini­on, that when his Grace came to the Hague, and, pursuant to these In­structions, communicated the Queen's Pleasure, as well to the Pensionary, as to the Deputies of the Council of State, they declin'd him; receiv'd the Proposals in a manner less ob­liging than Her Majesty thought She [Page 81] had Reason to expect; and it is e­vident, that they refus'd to commu­nicate their Measure to him, but re­ferr'd him to the Deputies in their Army; as may be seen in the Ac­count given to the Publick by his Grace, in his Book, Entitul'd; ^* The Couduct of the Duke of Ormond.

This Quotation is needful, in or­der to state the Case, as it then ap­pear'd to Her Majesty's Servants, at the Time when Proposals came over from M. de Torcy, in the King of France's Name, in order to set on Foot a Negotiation for a Peace; and which, by the Grand Alliance, Her Majesty was not prohibited receiv­ing; and, consequently, the Ministers could not be blam'd for receiving it in Her Majesty's Name; if, in the Pursuit of the Negotiations which have follow'd, they have acted illegally, that must appear upon due Examina­tion, and must lie upon those, who it can be prov'd, by good Evidence, were guilty.

[Page 82] The Treasurer's Part in these things, can lie only in the general Trans­action, ( viz.) The approving of the entring upon the Treaty, the parti­cular Negotiation not being his Pro­vince; except that his Share above­mention'd, which seem'd to be rather the Necessity he found sometimes to rectify the Mistakes which some, by their private Divisions, and their other Practices, had run themselves into, than that he manag'd any Part of the Treaty: But the whole Affair was transacted in the Council; or by the Secretary of State; or by the Queen through them both.

Moreover, it recurs back to what is observed before, That such was the growing Breach among the Queen's Servants at this Time, that, not be­ing in Terms of Peace with one a­nother, they were ill qualify'd to con­sult one another in the Affair of mak­ing Peace abroad; it is hop'd, for their Sakes, they have made no Slips; if it should be otherwise, their Ene­mies will not fail to make their Ad­vantage thereof. But as to the Trea­surer, [Page 83] it is evident, that as it was not his Province to correspond with the Ministers abroad; so he is not to an­swer for those that did.

It may seem strange, that in car­rying on this Account of the Con­duct of this Minister, who Fame has so often spoken of, as at the Head of all Affairs, it has not yet occurr'd to speak of the Pretender, or so much as once to mention such a Person; but that he seems to lie out of the Question, as much as if there were no such Person in the World; and this is the more wonderful, because of the Pains which has been taken in the World, to load the Treasurer with the Guilt of this, among the rest; and even to assure the World, that this, among other things, would be prov'd upon him, as clear as the Sun at Noon Day; notwithstanding which, some of his Enemies acknow­ledge now, that even in all the Ex­aminations into that Matter, that they do not see, that one Step, in Favour of the Pretender, can be prov'd upon him; neither do we find yet, that [Page 84] those appointed to examine into it, have charg'd him with any thing of that kind.

The most which the Examinations which have been taken of that Mat­ter seem to import, amount to no more than this; That some People in the Ministry knew of, or con­niv'd at his being permitted to reside in the Dominions of the Duke of Lorrain: But all of them grant, that in all the Negotiations, they were strictly enjoin'd to insist upon his being oblig'd to quit the Domi­nions of France; so that they do not pretend to any thing done in the Treaty in his Favour, or of that kind, that could be useful to his De­sign; nor is it alledg'd, that the Ob­ligations laid on the French King, not any Ways to aid or assist him, or to admit his Return, are not as full and as pungent, as Words could ex­press; which Treaty therefore being so calculated to remove the Pre­tender from the Assistance of the French, and from his Dominions, seem'd to answer all the Ends of the [Page 85] most fixed and resolv'd Enemies to his Interest, not valuing whether he might think fit to go; seeing if the French King kept his Word invio­lably, his near Residence in Lorrain would be of small Advantage to him; and if otherwise, his remoter Residence could have been no more Obstruction to him, than the Diffe­rence of a few Days in his Journey, when he should have been recall'd; adding withal, that at the remoter Distance of Rome, or Venice, he would, with much greater Ease, have re­mov'd without Notice, and been able to have pass'd incognito, when­ever he had any Design so to do, than he can do where he now is.

So that on the whole; As in the Treaty they took effectual Care to tie up the French King, from giving any Assistance to the Pretender, and put the Necessity upon him, of ba­nishing him for ever from his Domi­nions, the Queen seem'd to have done all that was of Movement to be done; and if any one conniv'd at the Place of his Residence, in Fa­vour [Page 86] of his pretending to the Crown of Great Britain, such an one was so far guilty of a trayterous Confede­racy with the Pretender.

It is observ'd by some, that the Af­fair of the Pretender was the Pro­vince of the Abbot Gautier, who was a French Minister residing here dur­ing the Negotiations; but it dose not yet appear, or at least we do not find, that any thing was transacted for him, but what related to the Place where he should go; and that so as he might not be surpriz'd by the Emperor; and even this seems to have been left undecided; and that the Queen afterwards finding it was the Occasion of Uneasiness among Her People, did earnestly press to have him remov'd; all which can afford but small Ground to suggest, as is done, That the Ministry had a reserv'd Design to make him King of Britain.

This, however, not at all affect­ing the Treasurer, had not been men­tion'd in this Place, but to remind [Page 87] the Reader of the Injury the Trea­surer receiv'd, during the Time of these Negotiations, as well as since, in being openly reflected on, as in the Interest of the Pretender; where­as, upon the narrowest Scrutiny, it is believ'd it will appear, that not one Step has been, at any time, taken by him; or that the least Sha­dow of any thing will be found, that looks like favouring that Person's Interest: On the other Hand, it is apparent, That the Treasurer has all along been hated and malign'd by the Jacobite Party here, as their greatest and most dangerous Enemy; that they openly rejoic'd when he was dismiss'd from the high Station which he acted in before; and that as soon as the first Division among the Ministry appear'd, they eminent­ly shew'd themselves against the Treasurer, and in the Interest of the other; which was a Testimony of the best kind, namely, of the Enemy in Behalf of the Treasurer; and signifi­ed, that if they had any Hopes of their Interest in any Side, it was in those who were now opposing the [Page 88] Treasurer to the utmost: These things, if any thing will do it, may open the Eyes of some Men, to see the In­justice they have done to the Treasu­rer in these things; and how inju­riously he has been all along treated by them.

The Treasurer standing in this Po­sture, with respect to the Ministry at Home, in cannot be suppos'd but that many things, in the Transaction of the Peace, were actually done, not without his Consent only, but that he entirely declin'd to inter­meddle with those things which he did not approve. It was, no doubt, the Duty of the Plenipotentiaries, to leave such Articles as they could not legally adjust, to the Parliament of Great Britain to ratify, or reject; and therefore the VIII and IX Ar­ticles of the Treaty of Commerce, which related to the taking off of Duties on several Merchandizes im­ported, could not be finally con­cluded, or otherwise settled, than by referring them to the Parliament, by whom the several Duties being ap­propriated [Page 89] to particular Purposes, could alone be taken off: But when these things came to be laid before the Parliament, it seems, it was Subject of great Complaint against the Treasurer, that he was unwilling, or declin'd to have the Ministry espouse the making those Articles effectual; whereas it was the Treasurer's Opinion, That the Mi­nistry should entirely leave the Mer­chants to act as they thought fit; and leave the House to act at the Merchants Requests, and as their own Wisdome should direct them; the Ministry standing entirely neuter.

But this likewise he was over-rul'd in; and the rest of the Ministers thinking themselves oblig'd to support at Home, what they had transacted Abroad, brought in their whole Strength into the Debate, and, making it a Party Affair, lost it in the House of Commons, by that very Means, and no other: In all which Matter, the Treasurer remain'd passive, and un­concern'd; though with this Injustice also on him, viz. That he suffer'd the Reproaches of the Whigs, for e­spousing [Page 90] the Bill of Commerce; and of the other Part of the Ministry, for not espousing it.

It would be endless to go through the Detail of these particular Cases, in which the Province of the Treasu­rer was no other, than to bear infi­nite Calumny for those Follies, which he had no Share in, but had not Power to prevent; and this made him frequently say, That he was out of Office near a Year before he was out of Place; and indeed, for some of the last Months that he remain'd in the Place, he had little to do in the pub­lick Affairs, but to complain of this injurious Usage, viz. That he was ob­lig'd to see things done that he could not approve of; and then to hear them call'd his Doing.

Under these Unhappinesses he be­came an humble Petitioner to Her Majesty, either to deliver him from these Men, or to dismiss him from the Service: At first he prevail'd, to their great Uneasiness, to have a new Settlement of Great Officers made; [Page 91] which, as he knew it overthrew the Schemes which the other People had laid; so he had Hopes it would, at length, put the Affairs in a Course of Ma­nagement, as would retrieve the Con­fusion they were at that time in: This was when Her Majesty appoint­ed the Duke of Shrewsbury Lieutenant of Ireland; Lord Finlater, to be Chan­cellor of Scotland; the Earl of Marr, third Secretary of State; Lord Dart­mouth, Lord Privy Seal; and Mr. Brom­ley, Secretary of State, in Lord Dart­mouth's Room; Sir William Wyndham, Chancellor of the Exchequer; and the Duke of Ormond, to command in chief in Britain.

It is impossible to express the Out­rage of the other Persons, who now own'd they look'd but like a FA­CTION in the Ministry; but gave out threatning Speeches plentifully, that they would soon destroy this new Scheme: The Trouble likewise which this gave to the Queen Herself, cannot be spoken of without Grief; especially when it must be remember­ed, how near it was to that fatal Di­stemper [Page 92] which remov'd Her Majesty to a Throne, uncapable of such Per­turbation and Dissatisfaction.

It was not indeed very long e're Her Majesty perceiv'd that they would never cease attacking Her on these Heads, and began something to yield to their Importunities; which the Treasurer perceiving, renew'd his Applications to Her Majesty, to the same Purpose as before: And in this Interval it was, that he receiv'd Her Majesty's Command, to lay before Her a true State of Her Affairs; which Command he cheerfully obey'd, in Hopes the doing so might either for­tify Her Majesty's Resolutions in the Model of Administration lately enter'd upon, or replace himself in that Re­cess from Business, and from the Scan­dal of other Mens Mistakes, which he so much desir'd.

This Account the Treasurer laid be­fore Her Majesty the 9th of June; the Title whereof was as follows:

Together with this Account, the Trea­surer sent Her Majesty the following Let­ter; and, in a few Days after, the Queen did him the Honor of granting his hum­ble Petition, ( viz.) of laying the Staff at Her Majesty's Feet: The Letter as follows:

[Page 95] Thus ended a troublesome Admini­stration of a few Years; in which the Treasurer may truly say, He enjoy'd the Place, but never could execute the Office; and though it is true, that he had all the Envy, and bore the Weight of all the evil Conduct of o­ther Men; yet nothing can be truer, than that they not only influenc'd the publick Affairs, distinctly from him; but that they carry'd every thing their own Way, even over the Belly of the Treasurer; and had the particular Direction of those things, of which he had the Scandal, for all their ill Management lies at his Door, in the Esteem of his Enemies; and is, to this Hour, improv'd to his Hurt, as much as some Men are able.

It was, as has been said, but a short while after this Representation to Her Majesty, that the Queen thought fit to accept the Treasurer's Cession of the Staff; a certain Evidence, that their Influence had a prevailing Force with Her Majesty, who would never else have consented to admit such Men [Page 96] into Her Administration, who, it had been prov'd, had defrauded the Pub­lick of above 20000 Pounds in Mo­ney but just before; and who had so evidently been detected in that Fraud by him, who Her Majesty suffer'd to lay down.

From hence it is argu'd, That the Knowledge of these things was one Reason, why the Queen, after the Treasurer was actually displaced, had yet such a Prepossession against those Men, that, to their inexpressible Mor­tification, Her Majesty gave the Office of Lord Treasurer to his Grace the Duke of Shrewsbury; a Person in the last Scheme of the Treasurer; and therefore hated mortally by the new Faction, so we must still call them; and a Person, in whose Advancement they were more confounded than before.

Had the Queen immediately entred into the Measures of those Men, who perswaded Her to dismiss the Treasu­rer, She would certainly have like­wise receiv'd their Friends into such Places as they had determin'd for [Page 97] them; and then a few Months longer would have discover'd what they aim­ed at: The Treasurer, how ill an O­pinion soever he had of their Capa­city, had, nevertheless, this Hope, That they would not take any Step in Favour of the Pretender; but always kept himself in Readiness to have de­tected them in the first Steps they should have made that Way.

But Her Majesty's Distemper and Death intervening, surpriz'd them all; put an End to all their projected Schemes at once; and, among the rest, had this one Unhappiness, that it prevented the late Treasurer, and de­priv'd him of the Opportunity of convincing Her Majesty, by the Conse­quences of the fatal Tendency of these Councils; and how naturally they would embroil Her Affairs, both at Home and Abroad.

Upon the present Enquiries made by the Authority of Parliament into these Matters, it seems, that some of these Men have not Confidence enough in the Justice of their own Measures, [Page 98] to defend them in a Parliamentary Manner; but have retir'd, for the present; whether it shall be constru'd to signify, their pleading guilty to the Charge, shall not be enter'd into here; but certain it is, that they must know the Treasurer may have something to say to them, which they are not very well dispos'd to hear.

The Treasurer not doubting the Justice of those, who the Laws of this Nation have made Judges of these things, APPEARS, and manifests thereby his Readiness to cast his Life, his Honour, and his Fortunes, upon the Honour and Impartiality of the Peerage of Great Britain; as be­ing assur'd, that nothing shall be there laid upon him, which cannot be fixt by the Testimony of good Witnesses; and that he shall not be censur'd by their Lordships for those Transactions, which have been the Work of other Hands; and that he shall not only have full Scope given him, for clear­ing up his Innocence in all the Points charged against him; but likewise a [Page 99] Liberty to bring to open View, the Steps which have been taken by his Enemies, not only towards the Ruin of their Country; but also towards vindicating themselves, by laying their own Crimes at his Door; in which Defence, no question, not only all these things will be placed in a fuller and clearer Light; but many other things be brought into View, which have hitherto been either concealed, or very ill understood.