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A. C. 1677. and perfidious inquifition, promoted by Sharpe, archbishop of St. Andrews. His conduct in civil affairs was equally unjust and oppreffive: he laid reftrictions upon trade; impofed heavy duties, and granted monopolies to his own creatures. A party was formed against him by the duke of Hamilton, the earl of Tweddale, and fome other noblemen, who reprefented his iniquity to the king. They were graciously received; but Lauderdale still continued in authority. He now gave a loose to the moft furious revenge. He influenced the privycouncil of that kingdom to convert the houses of those who had complained of his administration into garrifons for fuppreffing conventicles; and the foldiers were encouraged to plunder and destroy the effects of those whom they had difpoffeffed. The lawyers of Edinburgh having afferted, that appeals to parliament were legal, the king's order was obtained for banishing them twelve miles from that city and the courfe of justice was stopped for a whole year. Twelve of the chief magiftrates were declared incapable of public office, for no other crime than that of refufing the moft fervile compliance with the orders of Lauderdale. Individuals were imprifoned in the moft arbitrary manner, and all employments fet to fale. Bonds were

impofed upon the landholders of the western fhires in which prefbyterianifm chiefly prevailed, obliging them to be answerable in the affair of conventicles, for their fervants, tenants, and dependents. Because they refused to sign these iniquitous obligations, the country was deemed to be in a state of rebellion. Eight thoufand Highlanders, in confequence of an order of council, were affembled by fome of the chieftains; and thefe being joined by the guards, marched into the Weft, where they lived at difcretion for two months, during which, they committed every fpecies of cruelty, rapine,

and

and outrage. A great number of preachers and A. C. 1677. their hearers were "intercommuned," a step taken in that country previous to outlawry; and, that the cry of the oppreffed people might not reach. the throne, all noblemen and landholders were forbid, under severe penalties, to quit the kingdom. Notwithstanding this injunction by act of council, the duke of Hamilton, the earls of Caffels and Tweddale repaired to London, and laid the miferable state of their country before Charles, who isfued orders for difcontinuing the bonds and writs of intercommuning; but expreffed no indignation against Lauderdale, who had abused his authority. In the absence of thefe noblemen, the duke was allowed to fummon a convention of the states;

which, in their addreffes to the king, expreffed Burnet. their entire fatisfaction with Lauderdale's admini- Temple. stration: a fure mark of the abject flavery to which Rapia. that wretched people were reduced.

Hume.

racy against

At this period, the attention of the Englifh na- Intimation tion was engroffed by a very remarkable inftance of of a confpivillainy and impofture, that raised an univerfal fer- the king's ment among the people, and operated in defiance life. of common fenfe and demonftration. On the twelfth day of Auguft, one Kirby a chymift, approaching the king in St. James's Park, "Sir (faid "he) keep within the company: your enemies "have a defign upon your life." Being questioned farther in confequence of this ftrange intima tion, he offered to produce one doctor Tongue, a weak, credulous clergyman, who had told him, that two perfons, named Grove and Pickering, were engaged to murder the king; and that Sir George Wakeman, the queen's phyfician, had undertaken to take away his majefty's life by poifon, fhould the attempts of thofe affaffins mifcarry. Tongue was introduced to the king, with a bundle of pa pers, relating to this pretended confpiracy, and re

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ferred

A. C. 1677. ferred to the lord treasurer Danby. He said the

Information

of Titus Oates.

papers were thrust under his door; and afterwards
declared he knew the author of them, who defired
his name might be concealed, as he dreaded the
refentment of the jefuits. The information he gave
was fo vague and improbable, that Charles con-
cluded the whole was a fiction. A
A pacquet of let-
ters, directed to Bedingfield, confeffor to the duke
of York, no fooner came to hand, than he delivered
them to his royal highness, as papers of dangerous
import, which he did not understand; but they
feemed calculated to involve him in trouble, and
were manifeftly forged, as he knew the hand-
writing of the perfons in whofe names they were
fubfcribed. The king had been previously inform-
ed of this pacquet by Tongue, who declared it was
fent by the jefuits who had confpired against his
life. When he thererefore compared this intima-
tion with the behaviour of Bedingfield, and the
contents of the letters, he was more and more
perfuaded that the whole plot was an impof-
ture, and defired that it might be concealed from
the knowledge of the public, left it should pro-
duce a new flame among the people. The duke,
however, was fo folicitous to acquit the jefuits,
and especially his own confeffor, of all imputation,
that he infifted upon a minute inquiry before the
council.

Then Titus Oates, the fountain of all this intelligence, made his appearance. He was an abandoned miscreant, obfcure, illiterate, and indigent. He had been once indicted for perjury, afterwards chaplain of a king's fhip, and difmiffed for unnatural practices. Then he profeffed himself a Roman catholic, and croffed the fea to St. Omer, where he was for fome time maintained in the English college. The fathers of that feminary fent

him with fome difpatches to Spain: but, after his A. C. 1677. return, when they became better acquainted with his character, they would not fuffer him to continue in the college, and he came over to London, where he could hardly fubfift on the miserable pittance which they allowed for his support. There he cultivated an acquaintance with Tongue and Kirby, and probably, with their affiftance, contrived this plot, partly to improve his circumstances, and partly to gratify his thirft of revenge against the jefuits, who had treated him with fuch contempt. Finding the king had paid very little regard to the fuggeftions of his two friends, he refolved to try his fate with the public, which always liftened greedily to every charge against the catholics; and for this purpose voluntarily fwore to the truth of his information, before Sir Edmundsbury Godfrey, an active justice of the peace, who lived in Westminfter. He pretended that the pope had affumed the fovereignty of England as St. Peter's patrimony, and delegated his authority to Oliva, general of the jefuits, who had expedited commiffions for all the offices civil and military in the government of Great Britain and Ireland: that the ecclefiaftical dignities were likewise conferred upon Roman catholic priefts, foreigners as well as natives: that they had tried the king under the name of the Black baftard, condemned him as an heretic, and refolved to deprive him of life: that, when he (Oates) returned from France, a general meeting of the jefuits had been held at the White Horse tavern in the Strand, where they determined to take off the king, by shooting, ftabbing, or poison: that several attempts had been already made without fuccefs; and that Coleman, fecretary to the duke of York, was not only acquainted with their defigns, but also correfponded on this fubject with

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father

A. C. 1677 father La Chaife, confeffor to the French king. A great number of jefuits, whom he named, were immediately taken into cuftody. Coleman at first retired; but next day furrendered himself to the secretary of state, and fome of his papers were fecured. Óates did not know him perfonally, when he was produced at the council, and only charged him upon hearfay: he likewife mentioned Wakeman the queen's physician. Being asked if he knew any thing to his prejudice, he answered, "No," adding, "God forbid I should say any "thing more than I know: I would not do that "for all the world." He said, in the course of his examination, that he had been in Spain, and conferred with Don John, who had promised to affift them powerfully in their defigns. The king defiring him to defcribe the perfon of Don John, he faid he was a tall thin man: but Charles himfelf knew he was fhort and corpulent. His majefty afked another question touching the fituation of the jefuit college in Paris, in which Oates faid he had been prefent at a confult; and he made fuch an anfwer as plainly proved he had never feen the place. He affirmed that the jefuits had counterfeited the duke's feal, which they used occafionally; and that they intended to take away his life, should he prove refractory: that they had deftined a good number of gentlemen and prelates to death: that they had used seventeen hundred fireballs, and four

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