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tagne as ally of France; a circumftance which had A. C. 1450.
detached that prince intirely from the intereft of
the English..

This bill of articles was prefented to Henry, who
had already ordered Suffolk to be committed; and
nothing more was done in this affair till the feventh
day of March, when the lords agreed, that the duke
fhould be called to his anfwer. In two days after
this refolution, fome of the lords going to the house
of commons, were prefented with feventeen new ar-
ticles against the duke of Suffolk, to be delivered to
his majefty. These amounted only to mifdemea-
nors; charging him with having, in quality of a
privy counsellor, advifed the king to make fuch
lavifh grants of the crown lands, that a fufficiency
was not left to defray the expences of the houshold:
with having procured grants of privileges and fran-
chifes, to obftruct the execution of the laws, and
icreen offenders from juftice: with having pro-
cured for the Captal de Buche his fon-in-law, the
earldom of Kendal, and lands in Guienne to the
value of a thousand pounds a year, violently taken
from the lawful poffeffors; with having advifed
grants of caftles and lordfhips in Guienne, fo as
to weaken the power of the crown in that country:
with having maintained an intelligence in France,
touching the treaty between England and the count
of Armagnac; by which means that negotiation
was rendered ineffectual, the count ruined, and the
Gafcon lords were oppreffed, until they fubmitted
to the French government: with having procured
offices and commands in France and Normandy,
for unworthy perfons: with having been the means
of granting a toll on wine and merchandize brought
down the Seine, to Peter de Breze, an enemy to
the English nation: with having procured a grant
of Evreux, Longueville, and other fignories in
Normandy, for the count of Dunois, Previgny, and

the

A fecond fet of articles against him.

preferred

A. C. 145 the faid Breze; grants, in confequence of which, the great towns were taken without refiftance: with having brought the French ambaffadors to a pris vate conference with Henry, in which he agreed to a perfonal convention with Charles, and other articles ftipulated without the confent or knowledge of the privy council: with having mifapplied and embezzled fubfidies with having given away confiderable fums of the public money to the queen of France, and the minifters of Charles: with having fhared between himself and his adherents, fixty thousand pounds, being the produce of fubfidies left in the exchequer by the lord Sudely, when he refigned his poft and treasurer: with having procured for himself a grant of the county of Pembroke, the reverfion of Haverfordweft, and other caftles in Wales, together with the wardship and marriage of Margaret, daughter of John duke of Somerfet with having embezzled the bonds of the dutchess of Burgundy, and other perfons bound for the ransom of the duke of Orleans: with having likewife embezzled writs, perverted juftice, maintained bad causes, and impaired the antient friendship fubfifting between the crown of England and the princes of the empire.

ment and death.

His banish The duke. of Suffolk having received a copy of thefe articles, was committed to a tower in the royal palace of Westminster; from whence being brought before the lords on the thirteenth day of March, to give in his answer, he kneeled down and declared the eight articles of high treafon to be falfe and malicious. He obferved, that the first, relating to Margaret, could not poffibly be true, fince fhe was not the next heir of the crown by law; and, he appealed to feveral lords, to vouch for his defign of marrying his fon to the duke of Warwick's daughter. With refpect to the other articles, he referred to acts of council and parlia

ment for his juftification; and affirmed, that the A. C. 1450* bishop of Chichefter had mifreprefented the words fpoken by him in the Star-chamber. On the seventeenth day of March, the lords fpiritual and temporal were affembled in the king's chamber. Suffold being brought before them, kneeled down; and the chancellor afking, what he had to say in his own defence, he again protested he was innocent, affirmed the articles to be falfe, and fubmitted himself to the king's pleasure. Then the chancellor gave him to understand, that his majesty did not hold him convicted on the first bill of articles of high treason; and, as to the fecond, charging him with misprisions or misdemeanors, the king, by virtue of his fubmiffion, out of his own motion, and not by way of judgment, banished him the realm for the term of five years, during which, he fhould not abide in France, or any country under the French dominion; nor fhould he by word, deed, or writing, by himself, or his adherents, fhew malice to the commons in parliament. At the fame time, the lords joined the viscount Beaumont, in a proteft, that this fentence was not the refult of their advice, but, purely the king's own act, which fhould not at all derogate from their liberties in the cafe of peerage. The duke of Suffolk bore his fentence Rot. Par without repining; because, he faw it was the only expedient that could have been used for faving him from the fury of the incenfed people. He therefore embarked for France; but, the veffel being fearched in her paffage, by one Nicholas, captain of an English cruiser, the unfortunate duke was dif covered, and inftantly beheaded without form of procefs. His body being thrown upon the fands near Dover, was taken up and interred in the collegiate church of Wingfield in Suffolk.

The death of this nobleman was the prelude to a great many popular commotions. John Ayfcough,

bishop

Rot. Ex 28.
H. VI.

A. C. 1450.

Infurrection

of John Cade.

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bishop of Sarum, was murdered in Wiltshire, Thomas Thany, a fuller, attempted to raise an infurrection in Kent, but was taken and executed at Canterbury. The whole nation was now in a ferment; and nothing was heard but complaints and menaces against the queen and miniftry. The duke of York, who ftill remained in Ireland, being by Suffolk's fate freed from a powerful antagonist, refolved to improve the popular difcontent for his own advantage; but, before he would perfonally appear in fupport of his pretenfions, he thought it would be neceffary to prepare the nation for his defign, by exciting their affection for the house of Mortimer. For this purpose, he employed an Irishman, called John Cade, who had ferved under him as a foldier in France, to raise a fedition in England in favour of the family of March, that their title, which had lain dormant fo long, might once more attract the attention of the public. Cade, who was a man of undaunted refolution, great cunning, and fome difcernment, being properly inftructed by the duke's agents, affumed the name of John Mortimer, pretending to be fon of Sir John Mortimer, who was beheaded for treason in the last reign; and, repairing to the county of Kent, in which the duke of York had a great number of partifans, he affembled a ftrong body of malcontents, on pretence of reforming the government and eafing the people of their taxes. The number of his followers increased in a few days to fuch a degree, that he thought himfelt in a condition to execute his fcheme; and approaching London, encamped on Blackheath. The king being informed of this commotion, fent a mel fage to demand the cause of their affembling in arms; and, Cade anfwered, in the name of the community, that they had no intention to hurt the person of his majesty; but, their design was to addrefs the parliament, that evil minifters might be

1

brought

brought to condign punishment, and the people be A. C. 1450. allowed to live more happily than they had lived fince the beginning of Suffolk's miniftry. They accordingly prefented two addreffes to parliament, explaining the grievances of the nation; and, among other things, demanded that the duke of Somerset should be punished for the lofs of Normandy; and, that the king's council might be compofed of the princes of the blood, and other wife and worthy perfons; not by vicious wretches, void of virtue and capacity. Thefe petitions being communicated to the king, the council deemed them feditious; and refolved to fupprefs the infurrection by force of arms. Henry, having affembled a body of fifteen thousand men, marched at their head towards Blackheath. At his approach Cade retired, as if he had been afraid of an engagement, and lay in ambush in a wood, not doubting but that he should be pursued by the king's whole army; but, Henry believing they were totally difperfed, returned towards London, after having fent a detachment in purfuit of the fugitives, under the command of the lord Strafford, who falling into the ambuscade, was cut in pieces with all his followers. Cade, immediately after this action, began his march to London, while the king and court leaving a garrifon in the Tower, commanded by the lord Scales, retired with precipitation to the castle of Kenilworth. The city of London, intimidated by the fuccefs of the infurgents, opened its gates at their approach; and, Cade entered in triumph, at the head of his forces, which had been confiderably increased fince his late advantage. But, he forbade his followers, on the most severe penalties, to commit the leaft diforder, or give any cause of complaint to the inhabitants. Next day, being informed that the treasurer, lord Say, was in the city, he caufed him to be apprehended and be

headed,

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