A True ACCOUNT AND DECLARATION OF The Horrid Conspiracy Against the Late KING His Present MAJESTY AND THE GOVERNMENT As it was Order'd to be Published by His Late Majesty The Third EDITION In the SAVOY Printed by Thomas Newcomb One of His Majesties Printers 1685. JAMES R. OVR Will and Pleasure is and We do hereby Appoint Thomas Newcomb One of Our Printers to Print this Account and Declation and that no other Person presume to Print the same as they will answer the contrary Given at Our Court at Whitehal the 23 Day of May 1685. in the First Year of Our Reign By His Majesties Command Sunderland JAMES R. JAMES the Second By the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. To all to whom these Presents shall come Greeting Whereas Our Dearest Brother the late King of ever Blessed Memory gave special Order in His life-Life-time for Drawing up the following Account and Declaration of the Horrid Conspiracy against His Sacred Person and Ours and had provided that the Substance of it should be Impartially Collected out of Original Papers and unquestionable Records and was Himself pleased to direct in what Method it should be digested taking particular Care that the Truth of the whole Narration should have such Clearness and Strength as it might deserve to be owned by Himself Accordingly it was Composed and ready for the Press when it pleased Almighty God to take that Excellent Prince to his Mercy And whereas it is but too evident that the same Hellish Plot is not entirely extinguished but that divers of the Wicked Actors in it are still carrying on new Contrivances against the Happy Peace of Our Dominions We cannot but judge it seasonable in this Juncture of Time to have Our Subjects reminded of the Rise Progress and Mischievous Designs of that desperate Confederacy To this end having first Read and Examined this Account and Declaration that We might be the better able to give Our Royal Testimony as We do by these Presents to the Faithfulness and Certainty of the whole Relation We have caused it to be now Printed and Published Given at Our Court at Whitehal the 21 day of May 1685. in the First Year of Our Reign By His Majesties Command Sunderland The Rye House Malting House Outward Court Yard From the Meadow to the Court Wall 250 pases Corne Chambers and stables formerly Called flouings Roe the narrow passage 25 feet wide Bridg the Road from Hoddensdon to Bishop stafford Ware River Between Ware River and the Moat is 87 feet Great Parlor Parlor Court yard Hall Kitchin Gate house the south Front next the roade Garden Moat A True ACCOUNT OF THE Horrid Conspiracy Against the Late KING His Present MAJESTY And the GOVERNMENT THE KING has thought fit to lay open and to declare to the World An Exact Account of the late Accursed Conspiracy which was actually form'd and carried on in England and set on foot in Scotland against His own and his only and dearest Brothers Life and against the Peaceable and Flourishing Government of His Majesties Kingdoms as far forth as hitherto the Particulars of it have come to His Knowledge by the Voluntary Confessions or undeniable Convictions of divers of the Principal Conspirators By this faithfully representing the plain Matter of Fact though perhaps all the Groundless Suggestions and Malicious Insinuations of Factious Men will not be wholly put to silence it being their old and constant Artifice to support and incourage their Party by Impudent Slanders and Falshoods against the clearest Light and most evident Proof Yet however His Majesty will have the Satisfaction hereby to confirm the Loyalty and good Affections of all His loving Subjects at Home and to establish Abroad the Reputation and Honour of His Royal Justice And moreover which His Majesty most of all regards this Publick and Lasting Testimony will be given of His sincere Thankfulness to Almighty God for that Miraculous Deliverance from a Danger which came so near His Sacred Person and was so far spread in the Ruine it threaten'd to all His People It is well known what mischievous Arts of late Years have been used and what Treasonable Courses taken to withdraw these Nations from their bounden Duty and Allegiance and to expose His Majesties most Just and Merciful Government to Calumny and Contempt The Rebellious Design having been apparently carried on by all sorts of Malecontents whom either their Crimes or Wants their furious Zeal or unbounded Ambition inclined to wish for a Disturbance of the Peace and Prosperity which His Majesties Dominions have so long injoy'd to the Envy of all His Neighbours To this wicked purpose many the very same fatal Methods and specious Pretences which in the Days of His Majesties Glorious Father had involved these Kingdoms in Confusion and Blood were once again revived and by many the very same Persons Men of crafty restless and implacable Spirits impenitent after the most Gracious Pardons whom long Experience had made skilful in seducing weak and unstable Minds by counterfeiting the plausible Names of things in themselves most excellent but most dangerous when abused such as Liberty Property Conscience and Religion By these wretched Instruments was this most gentle and benign Government again reproached with Tyranny and Arbitrary Power The Church of England was once more Traduced as Popishly affected The most able Officers and faithfullest Servants of the Crown again Reviled under the odious Title of Evil Councellours In the mean time Sedition and Schism were every where promoted unreasonable Fears suggested vain Suspicions of future Dangers augmented to destroy the present Tranquility desperate Speeches infamous Libels Traiterous Books swarm'd in all places and under colour of the only True Protestant the worst of all Unchristian Principles were put in practise all the old Republican and Antimonarchical Doctrines whose Effects had formerly prov'd so dismal were now again as confidently own'd and asserted as ever they had been during the hottest Rage of the late unhappy Troubles From these Preparations to a new Rebellion the Party began by degrees to proceed to Action Distinctions of Sides were made Names and Tokens of Separation were given Illegal Conventicles were maintained in defiance of the Laws of God and Man Tumultuous Feasts and Factious Clubs were set up in City and Country Close and Seditious Meetings haunted Frequent Cabals appointed and by Men of high degree with the lowest Great Stores of Arms provided by private Persons Insolent Progresses made through divers Countries thereby to glory in their Numbers and to carry far and near the Terrour of their Power and even to Muster their Party ready for some sudden Blow or general Insurrection All these and many more such Personal Indignities and Publick Assaults on the Government His Majesty long endured with the same Mildness and Clemency wherewith he had already forgiven the highest Crimes against himself His Royal Goodness still patiently expecting and wishing that in time
in the Letters That those superscrib'd to West and Robert Thomson were directed to Major Holmes under those false Names That he the said Spence could open the Letters and explain the way of reading them which he did and then justified upon Oath the Explanation he had made to be according to their true sense It happen'd also at the same time whilst Spence was under close Examination that Mr. Gray of Crechie a Scotch Gentleman skill'd in the Art of Cyphers did without any the least Communication with Spence Decypher some of the principal of the said Earls Letters and when both Spence's and Mr. Gray's Copies were found to agree exactly there could not possibly have been given a more certain Demonstration of the Truth of Spence's way of Decyphering which he confess'd he was taught by Argyle himself In this manner were these Letters proved Authentick and the right meaning of them unfolded And it is evident by the plain Tenour of them that some of them were written by the said Earl just about the time that the Conspiracy was near ripening and when he was inform'd of Ten Thousand Pounds only order'd to be sent him Others were written after he had heard that the Plot was discover'd In every one of those Papers it is easie to trace out manifest Footsteps of the whole Conspiracy But particularly that of June 21 New Style which is June the 11th of the English written the very day before Keeling made the first discovery contains not only a vehement expostulation of the said Earl of Argyle's touching the delay of the Mony from England and the smallness of the Sum design'd but a plain Narration how the Insurrection was to be concerted in both Kingdoms The Body of the Letter was written in Cypher the Preface and Postscript in plain Hand in both there is reference made to Butler's that is Spence's being able to expound it and from the very same Spence was taken the Exposition of it upon Oath Therein the said Earl tells his Correspondent in England That he knew not the Grounds their Friends had gone upon to offer so little Mony nor did he understand what Assistance they would give That till he knew both and heard what Carstares or any other they should send over had to say he purpos'd neither to refuse his service nor object against any thing resolv'd here However that the said Earl had truly mention'd in his Proposition formerly made the very least Sum he thought could do the Business effectually which was not half of what had been requisite in another Juncture of Affairs That what Mony he propos'd to be rais'd was so much within the power of the Persons concern'd that if a little less could do the Business he had thought it would not he stood upon That the said Earl reckon'd the Assistance of the Horse absolutely necessary for the first Brush That as to the precise Number nam'd he would not be peremptory but he believ'd there would need that effectual Number That 1000 might be as easily rais'd as 5 or 600 and it were hard if it stuck at the Odds. That they should consider whether all ought to be hazarded upon so small a difference as to the Mony That though 't is true what was propounded is more by half than is requisite for the first Weeks Work yet soon after all or more will be necessary and then Arms cannot be sent like Mony by Bills That there are above 1200 Horse and Dragoons and 2000 Foot at least in Scotland all well appointed and tolerably well commanded That it were hard to expect Country People on Foot without Horse should beat them triple their Number That if Multitudes could be got together they would still need more Arms and more Provisions That if some considerable thing be not suddenly done at the first appearing it may fright a little but will do no good That the standing Forces will take up some station probably at Stirling That they will have for aid not only the Militia of Twenty Thousand Foot and 2000 Horse but all the Heritors to the Number it may be of 50000 Men That though many should be unwilling to fight for the standing Forces yet most will once joyn and many will be as concern'd for them as any can be against them That though the said Earls Party should have at first all the success imaginable yet it is impossible but some will keep together and have assistance from all the three Kingdoms then it will not betime to call for more Arms far less for more Mony to buy them and they should then prove like the Foolish Virgins That it is next to be consider'd how the discontented English Lords could employ so much Mony and so many Horse better for their own Interest though the Protestant Cause were not concern'd this being a little Sum and small Fonds to raise so many Men and by Gods Blessing to repress the whole Power of Scotland That the Horse to be sent from England need stay but a little while to do a Job unless future events should make Scotland the Seat of the War which would be yet more to the advantage of England That by the best Husbanding the total of the Mony proposed it cannot purchase Arms and absolute Necessaries for one time for an Army of the Number they were to deal with That nothing out of the whole is design'd to be bestow'd on many things useful and some necessary as Tents Waggons Cloaths Shooes Horse Horseshooes c. All which are not only Once to be had but daily recruited much less was any of it apportion'd to provide for Meat or Drink Intelligence or other incident Charges That some honest well-meaning good People may undertake for little because they can do little and know little what is to be done That the said Earl had made the reckoning as low as if he had been to pay it all out of his own Purse That he was resolv'd never to touch the Mony only to have it issued out according to Order That he freely submits to any knowing Souldier for the Lists and to any skilful Merchant for the Prices be had calculated That it will be a great incouragement for Persons of Estates and consideration to venture when they shall know there is a project and prospect of the whole Affair and Necessaries provided for such an attempt That if after the said Earl shall have spoken with Carstares he sees he is able to do any service he will be very willing if he be not able he will pray God some other may That before it be given over he wishes he might have such a conference as he had mentioned in another Letter a week before wherein he had offer'd either to come over privately in Person or to meet any to be sent from hence That he expected not all the Horse from the discontented Lords but some considerable part might be rais'd by particular Friends That he had yet more to add to
having given and received mutual assurance that they were free to commune with Gallowshiels and he with them touching matters of great Secrecy and Importance they sate close together Polwart beginning the discourse And signifying to them he was credibly inform'd that the Country Party in England would draw into the Fields shortly and as he heard before Lammas That Gallowshiels seem'd visibly surpriz'd at it saying he loved better to be walking in his own Parks than to be medling in such matters However assuring them if there came any troublesome work he would joyn with them firmly That the Earl of Tarras also disapproved of doing any thing during the Kings Life because that might strengthen the Dukes Interest That therefore he suspected it was a project of the Common-Wealths-Men with whom he believed few Scotch Gentlemen would joyn and that he was almost persuaded the Duke of Monmouth would not concur in any Rising during the King's Life That to all this Polwart answer'd He heard the English had once agreed on that Principle but it seem'd they found they must either do their business now or lay aside all hopes of doing it hereafter For if the Charter of London were let fall they should not only lose all safe Opportunity of digesting Matters but also a great part of their Strength Adding that he heard all things were concerted mutually between Monmouth's Friends and the Heads of the Common-Wealth Party and though Monmouth was shy on that account yet he hoped he would engage or he would be deserted by that Party That then Polwart mentioned the former Queries as overtures agreed on between other Friends in London and the Principal Men of that Party there That the Earl of Tarras and the Deponent repeated their former answers Gallowshiels joyning forwardly with them That Polwart replied He was fully of their Opinion if things were entire but refer'd it to be consider'd whether it were not better to comyly with some of these Methods though not so justifiable as could be wish'd rather than disappoint the Business totally That there was another Argument urg'd against rising with the English because it was talk'd there had been a Day appointed in England in Shaftsbury's time which did not hold so they were not to be relied on That then it was proposed to be deliberated what Methods were most proper in the Companies Opinion for Scotland to follow in case of Englands Rising first That it was said All that could be expected or desired from Scotland was that upon certain News of Englands being in the Field those of the Southern Shires should presently rise and as soon as so many could convene as would be able to deal with stragling Parties March to joyn the English on the Borders that then it would be seasonable for Argyle to Land in the West and these Parties on the Borders might divert the Forces till he had time to put himself into a posture That it was left to Polwart to Commune with others to this purpose That all the Company seem'd to agree they should move nothing in the Affair till they had a certain account what England propos'd and who were to be their Heads that if they design'd any thing against the Kings Person or for overturning Monarchy they should not be clear to joyn That it was recommended to all the Company to be inquiring indirectly about the affections of their Neighbours and what Arms were amongst them that so if they should resolve to joyn with the English they might know where to seek the Men and Arms suddenly That here it was said by one by Polwart as the Deponent thinks That if the Earl of Tarras Torwoodlie Gallowshiels and he took Horse most part of Tiviot-Dale and Selkirk-Shire would soon come to them especially when they heard that England was risen That they all agreed to meet there again at Midsummer-Fair when the account from England might be expected but in case it came to any of their hands sooner each promis'd to advertise the rest The Deponent farther added he was told in private by Polwart or Torwoodlie That Polwart kept Correspondence with their Friends at London naming the Lord Melvil Sir John Cockran Jerviswood and Commissary Monroe That the Mony to be advanc'd by the English Party to Scotland was ready when Martin left London That it was expected within few days after it would be dispatch'd with some Confident to Holland that it was 10000 l. and was to be employ'd by that Confident at Argyle's sight for buying of Arms and providing Shipping to transport them with Argyle That as soon as the Scots at London got Notice of their Confidents arrival in Holland and that all other things were concluded with the English which might be about the middle of June then they would come down into Scotland and give them a particular Account of all Resolutions taken That the Deponent was told all Letters were written by both Parties as about the Carolina Business or concerning some Houshold-Furniture That there was a Sign and a Word agreed on that they might know with whom to use freedom the Word was Harmony and the Sign was the Opening of Buttons on the Breast-Coat and shutting them presently That the Deponent never saw it used except when he visited Parkhay in Edenburgh about the end of June who asking whether he had the Word and Sign of the Carolina-Men and the Deponent having given them said He was afraid the Carolina Business did not go well for there had been some of the Managers expected there eight days past but none were come Nor could he learn any of their Friends had heard from them for several Posts The said James Murray of Philiphaugh deposed farther That at their Meeting at Gallowshiels it was resolv'd they should keep their Cess or Tax unpaid till their next Meeting at Midsummer and should deal with all those they had influence upon to do the like and that upon the Supposition mention'd in his former Oath Next Hugh Scot Laird of Gallowshiels confess'd and deposed That the Earl of Tarras and Philiphaugh did come to his House in May 1683. That Polwart came likewise thither where there were Discourses and Proposals That if the English did rise in Arms their Friends in the South-Shires should rise with them That they should seize the Horses belonging to the Kings Troops where they grazed and attempt the Town of Berwick and the Castle of Stirling That it was likewise there discours'd of the late Earl of Argyle 's coming to invade Scotland but because of the uncertainty of Sea-Voyages there was not much stress laid upon it That it was also proposed such of the South-Country whom they trusted should be acquainted with it That Endeavours should be used to learn what Arms were in the Country That the Earl of Tarras Philiphaugh Torwoodlie Polwart and some others should draw to Horse with the first when the Rising should be in a readiness and that it might be expected the South parts of
albeit the King was far from any thought of taking away his Life and that no farther prejudice was design'd against him but the forfeiture of some Jurisdictions and Superiorities which he and his Predecessors had surreptitiously acquired and most tyrannically exercis'd besides the disposal of part of his Estate to pay his just Creditors and some few moderate Donatives to those whom he and his Father had formerly ruin'd for their Fidelity to His Majesty the Surplusage being intended entirely to return and descend to his Family yet the said Earl abusing the great Freedom indulg'd him in Prison which he enjoy'd as largely after his Condemnation as before fled from His Majesties Mercy the knowledge of his own Guilt not suffering him to venture on that Clemency whereof he had before participated so plentifully when he was under the like Sentence of Condemnation The King however notwithstanding this new Provocation still retain'd the same benign thoughts of favouring his Wife and Children And before it was known that the said Earl had more Debt on his Estate than the full value of it amounted to which really was his Case His Majesty was graciously pleas'd in one Royal Largess to give thrice more of the Inheritance to his Posterity than their Father could lawfully have done had it never been forfeited But how ill he deserved or requited so many Acts of Grace and Bounty will appear by the sequel of his Behaviour after his Escape For in stead of doing what his Complices and Dependants gave out he intended that he would humbly cast himself at His Majesties Feet and implore his Pardon which he of all Men living had no reason to think desperate he is no where to be found but associating with His Majesties implacable Enemies in the Head of new Machinations of Treason employs his Liberty abroad in maintaining Traiterous Correspondences at Home with restless Malice exciting the wicked Conspirators of both Kingdoms to a fatal Union against the Life Government and Family of his Liege Soveraign and Benefactor And all this is to be proved upon him by Arguments as clear as the Sun by the Credit of his own Authentick Letters and by the plain Depositions of his principal Messengers and Agents in the whole Villany By this brief Recollection of the troubled State of Affairs and the Tumultuous Temper of ill Mens Minds in His Majesties Kingdoms of England and Scotland about the time when this treasonable Conspiracy was in agitation the impartial World may perceive from what destructive feeds of Sedition private Passions and Animosities under the disguise of Religion and the publick Interest so Monstrous a Birth was produced In the wonderful Discovery of which detestable Confederacy and in the happy Prevention of its dire Effects as all who have heard of it must acknowledge that a signal care of Gods Providence has appear'd for His Majesties and these Nations Preservation So His Majesty gives the Sacred Word and Protestation of a King that nothing has been done on his part but what was agreeable to that Royal Benignity and Natural Candor of his whole Life whereof all the World even his Enemies have had such undoubted Experience The Evidence was most of it deliver'd in His Majesties own presence The Examinations were taken by Men of unquestionable Reputation and Honour The whole Proceeding has been managed with all imaginable Integrity There has been no straining or extorting of Accusations to blemish the Fame of the Innocent No Temptation of Rewards proposed No Pardon assured before-hand for discovering or aggravating the Crimes of the Guilty Some Witnesses who offer'd themselves of whom there might have been any colourable Suspicion His Majesty wholly rejected Lest it should once again happen that the Wasted Credit or needy Condition or profligate Lives of the Persons deposing should derogate from the strength of their Depositions and administer any the least doubt of Subornation Those Witnesses His Majesty admitted had been generally Men strongly prepossess'd in Conscience Zeal and Interest for that Party Men whose former avow'd Hatred of the Government was reason sufficient to gain them an absolute trust with any who studied to overthrow it They were not of desperate Fortunes Nor despicable Men. For the most part they separately and singly brought in their Discoveries Divers of them had little or no Conversation or Familiarity one with another There was no shadow or possibility of a combination between them all to discover yet such is the prevalence of Self-conviction and so great the Power of Truth that all their several Discoveries did perfectly agree with themselves and with each other in all material parts and circumstances It was therefore in the Summer of the Year 1683 a time when all His Majesties Dominions injoyed a setled Peace and profound security whilst the greatest part of the Neighbouring World was involved in Wars and Combustions that His Majesty and his Council were suddenly awaken'd with the surprizing Knowledge of this dreadful Conspiracy which had been laying very deep and broad for many Months before The Man whom God chose to make the first Discoverer was Josiah Keeling Citizen and Salter of London A Person of good Credit in the common Business of his Calling but otherwise a most perverse Fanatick so fiercely addicted to their Cause that he had been one of the busiest Sticklers in all the late Publick Oppositions against the Government Particularly he was the very Man who undertook and perform'd the most insolent Assault upon Authoriy that perhaps the Party ever attempted in full Peace which was the Arresting the Lord Mayor in open Day in the midst of the City of London for refuting to admit the pretended Sheriffs who had been chosen by those Meetings of the Factious in and about the City that the Law has since condemn'd as Unlawful and Riotous However by so eminent and bold a piece of Service together with his former approved Activity and Violence for the discontented Interest was Keeling judg'd by the chief Conspirators fitly qualifi'd to be admitted into their most private Consultations And accordingly thereafter they trusted him as one of their surest Confidents In so much that he was invited to make one of the Forty Miscreants whose proper part it was to Assassinate His Majesties and his Royal Highnesses Persons Of which Number after he had freely consented to be and had met and acted jointly with the rest for some time to prepare the cursed Work for a speedy Execution it pleased the Divine Goodness so to touch his Soul with the Horrour of so amazing a Crime that he could not rest Day nor Night till after much conflict in his Mind he had fully determin'd to discharge his Conscience of the Hellish Secret Wherefore having first Communicated some part of his burden to one Mr. Peckam his private Friend who had often before warn'd him in general of the dangerous course he was in by so deeply ingaging in all the former Seditious Intrigues he was by him directed
to address himself to the Lord Dartmouth one of His Majesties Privy Council who remitted him to Sir Leolyn Jenkins Principal Secretary of State before whom he gave his first Information upon Oath and in due form of Law on the Twelfth of June in that Year But the intended Assassination upon the first disclosing of it appear'd to be so prodigious a Barbarity that His Majesty for some time gave but very little Ear and slow Credit to this Information as little suspecting as deserving such usage from the worst of his Subjects Which generous Caution that His Majesty took not to be impos'd on by New Rumours of Plots and his Gracious Tenderness not to believe so ill of his very Enemies but upon certain Demonstration was one of the chief Occasions that divers of the principal Agitators and Managers of the whole business took the Alarm and got time to scatter and withdraw beyond the Seas However by Gods Providence continually watching over His Majesties and these Nations safety so many of the Traytors soon after fell into the Hands of Justice who did either voluntarily acknowledge their being Partakers of the Treason or were Convicted of it by Evident Proof that henceforth whoever shall pretend not to believe the Truth of the whole they must either be such as were Parties in the Design or so monstrously unreasonable as to believe there never can be a Real Plot against any Prince or State but what does actually succeed and take effect Thus much is certain of this Conspiracy and it is so remarkable and extraordinary that perhaps the like cannot be affirm'd of any other mention'd in all History that there was scarce a Man Attainted or Executed for it who did not more or less add some new Light to the several parts of the dark Contrivance either by a plain Confession of it or by their very manner of denying it and by the weakness of the Subterfuges whereby they endeavour'd to palliate their Crimes Upon the whole Matter though His Majesty doubts not but the Treasonable Infection was in some degree or other spread into most Quarters of these Kingdoms amongst the Ringleaders of the Republican Clubs and lawless Conventicles in Town and Country there being no reason for any Man to think otherwise since it was the usual boast of their principal Factors That more than Twenty Thousand Persons were made privy to the very beginnings of it before the late Earl of Shaftsbury's Flight Yet His Majesty utterly abhorring that bare Suspicions though never so probably grounded should prevail to conclude any Man Guilty has resolved no Reflection shall be made on the Fame of any but only such whose part in it was made out by positive Testimony And in the Kingdom of England besides the Earl of Shaftsbury who during his time was the Prime Engineer in contriving and directing all the several Motions and Parts of the whole Conspiracy next under him the Persons who are already Judicially found to have been deeply concern'd as Actors some in the Insurrection part others in the Assassination divers of them in both together are these The Duke of Monmouth whom the Factious Party had long Corrupted and Alienated from his Duty and Gratitude to the King and his Royal Highness by suggesting and increasing in him groundless Fears and poys'ning his Mind with unjust and forbidden Hopes The Lord Gray of Wark who for some Years had been ingaged in the most furious Designs of the Faction of late especially after he found that the Wickedness of his private Life could neither be so well hidden or go unpunish'd in a quiet State as in publick Disturbances The late Earl of Essex whose dark and turbulent Spirit and insatiable Ambition had carry'd him on to be one of the Principal Authors of all the late Destractions in Publick Councils and Popular Heats against the Government Till after many such ill Practices unworthy the Son of such a Father God left him at last to fall into this Precipice and permitted him to punish himself for it more severely than the King could ever have found in his Heart to do had he but given His Majesty time to make use of the excellent Goodness of his Nature The Lord Howard of Escrick who had always been a busie Promoter of Fanatical and Republican in Projects for Alterations in Church and State and was therefore for a time the second Favourite of the Disaffected whilst he was Imprison'd with the Earl of Shaftsbury Nor did they ever make any Objections against the Honesty of his private Life till he came to the honestest part of it The Lord Rassel a Person carried away beyond his Duty and Allegiance into this Traiterous Enterprise by a vain Air of Popularity and a wild Suspicion of losing a great Estate by an imaginary return of Popery whereby he was the more casily seduced by the wicked Teachers of that most Unchristian Doctrine which has been the cause of so many Rebellions and was so conformable to his Presbyterian Education That it is lawful to Resist and Rise against Soveraign Princes for preserving Religion Colonel Algernoon Sidney who from his Youth had profest himself an Enemy to the Government of his Country and had acted accordingly As he lived so he died a Stubborn Assertor of the Good Old Cause Mr. John Hambden the Younger who has renew'd and continued the Hereditary Malignity of his House against the Royal Family his Grandfather having been the most Active Instrument to widen the Breach between the late Blessed KING and the seduced part of his People The Usurper Cromwel of en own'd That Mr. Hambden was the very Man who advised him to oppose the Justice and Honour of His Majesties Cause with an affected Zeal of Conscience and pure Religion Sir Thomas Armstrong a Debauch'd Atheistical Bravo one of those who with an Hypocrisie peculiar to this Age would have pass'd for the most forward Reformers of Church and State whilst they themselves both in their Practise and Opinions were the greatest Corrupters of Virtue and all Good Manners Lieutenant Colonel Walcot an Old Officer in Cromwel's Army who after Pardon and Indemnity receiv'd and a plentiful Estate secured to him by His Majesties moll Happy Return yet was actually ingaged in all the Plots against the Government ever since Particularly in that of Ireland some Years ago to surprize the Castle of Dublin He was Introduced by the Lord Howard under the Character of a Stout and Able Officer into a strict Familiarity with the Earl of Shaftsbury from whom he never after parted till his Death accompanying him in his Flight into Holland and returning thence with his Corps he and Ferguson having this peculiar Mark of his Kindness to be named Legatees in his Last Will and Testament as his special Friends Colonel John Romzey who had gotten Credit abroad in Portugal by his Courage and Skill in Military Affairs He was recommended to the Earl of Shaftsbury as a Soldier of Fortune resolute and fit
being thus calmly pass'd and the New Sheriffs having taken a peaceable Possession of that Power whose influence on the whole Nation the said Earl of Shaftsbury well understood no Man better Then he began on a sudden to have a quicker and sharper sense of the urgent State of their common Affairs especially of his own Imminent Peril and to accuse the rest of the Confederates of backwardness if not of Treachery in the Publick Cause First communicating his Suspicions and Jealousies to the Lord Howard who had been so lately the Companion of his restraint and Gaol-Delivery The Lord Howard was retir'd some Days before into Essex waiting the result of that great Day in the City whence he receiv'd frequent intimations from his Friends of the Faction in a Style obscure but by him well understood and concerted between them That now the business which had been Transacting so long amongst his Correspondents was coming to good Issue and call'd for his speedy presence That occasioned his return on the same Michaelmas-Day and presently after Walcot came to him from the Earl of Shaftsbury with a Message expressing his earnest desire to speak with him in his Concealment at one Watson's in Wood-street Accordingly the Lord Howard giving him a Visit the substance of the said Earl's first discourse with him was That finding the Due Elections as lie call'd them of the City frustrated and the Pseudo-Sheriffs establish'd he could no longer think any honest Man safe and had therefore hid himself there having first made what Preparations were needful for a sudden Rising That many Thousands were ready in the City to Master the Gates and attack Whitehal That they within were to be assisted from the Countries adjacent with 1000 or 1200 Horse under good Officers Only he complained of the Duke of Monmouth's and the other great Mens backwardness who had promised by Rising in other remote Counties at the same time to give a Diversion to the standing Forces The Sum of this the Lord Howard the next day Communicated to the said Duke who also on his part complain'd of the Earl of Shaftsbury's acting of late on a separate Bottom and that his present Fears had blinded his usual Prudence and therefore he required a speedy Meeting with him to re-establish a better Understanding and Union of Counsels between them all for the future This discourse being reported back to the said Earl he replied His People were impatient of longer delays having advanc'd so far that there was no retreat the Design being imparted to so many that it was impossible but it would quickly take Air. Upon this he proceeded to declare his vehement suspicion of the Duke of Monmouth That his Dilatoriness proceeded from some private Correspondence between him and his Majesty That it was to be fear'd the said Duke acted with a prospect very different from theirs only minding the advancement of himstelf whereas his own Resolutions were that since it was now manifest their Liberties were no more to be secur'd but under a Commonwealth he alone with his Interest would attempt the Deliverance of his Country If the rest of the Lords would concur with him they might share in the Glory else he hoped he should be able to effect the Work without them by the help of an honest brisk Party in the City Upon this Answer the Duke of Monmouth suspecting that before their People could be ready in the Country the Earl of Shaftsbury's unseasonable Anxiety for his own Safety might put him on attempting some rash Action in London which would be easily quell'd by the form'd and disciplin'd Guards and so the whole Design might be stifled in a moment he did therefore the more earnestly press the Lord Howard to make another essay to procure an Interview The Lord Howard did so and got from the said Earl a promise of meeting the Confederate Lords the next Day in the Evening which yet when the time came he put off with an excuse by Colonel Romzey However some Days after they did meet their Differences were in some measure piec'd up and they began to act joyntly again towards a speedy Insurrection To this purpose several Days were proposed One about the latter end of October but it was delay'd a little longer till the concurrence of the several Counties could be signified up Then that of Queen Elizabeth being Novemb. 17. was named but rejected because all His Majesties Guards were commonly in Arms to watch and suppress the wonted Tumults of the Rabble on that Day At last the Nineteenth of November was fixt on which happening that Year to be on a Sunday whilst some excepted against it for that reason Ferguson with his usual impious Virulency reply'd That the Sanctity of the Day was suitable to the Sanctity of the Work The Day being thus determin'd they all presently fell to prepare as their several parts were allotted Especially the great Managers held Assemblies to receive Accounts how the Counties were dispos'd and to consult upon surprizing the Guards for which end the Duke of Monmouth the Lord Gray and Sir Thomas Armstrong undertook to view the posture of their Quarters and reported back to their Principals That the seizing them was a thing very feasible which very particular the Duke of Monmouth afterwards confess'd in so many words to His Majesty when he rendred himself In the mean time the Earl of Shaftsbury was very uneasie and weary of lurking in Holes where every sound and breath of Air began to frighten him Wherefore with repeated and importunate Messages he press'd the other Lords to keep to their Day expostulating with them upon their former slowness whereby they had lost so many advantageous Opportunities The case being now so much alter'd that he who once presum'd his driving out the King would prove but a leisurely walk to him when the danger drew near himself was become so apprehensive and rash as not to afford his own wicked Counsels leisure enough to come to any tolerable Maturity At length one Day when their great Council about London was assembled at Shepard's House in Abchurch-Lane the said Earl sent Colonel Romzey to quicken their Debates and once for all to learn the result of their final Determinations But they having just before received several Advices out of the West that their Friends there especially in Taunton and Devonshire could not possibly be ready on so short a warning presently sent him back such word concluding it could not be helpt but he and they must be content to respite the time of Execution to a longer day This positive Answer broke all his Measures and made him instantly resolve to leave England Wherefore first he removed his lodging into Wapping Then the very Night that place was Burnt being also the Night of the same 19th Day of November on which he had expected to set the whole Nation in a Flame he privately sculk'd down the River Attended only by the two chief Complices and Witnesses of his
Mutiny for want of Pay Though it must be said and His Majesty does hereby publickly own that their Practises with the Seamen met with the least success of any Nor is it imaginable the brave Race of English Mariners should ever prove false to His Majesty who has cherish'd incourag'd and promoted that Profession more than all the Kings of England have done since the Conquest His Majesty well understanding that the Safety Riches and Honour of this Kingdom depend most on its Maritime Greatness However the Conspirators not in the least doubting but they should have sufficient Numbers to make a stand and give time to others to come in and declare their Rendezvouses were appointed in the chief Piazza's and most or the convenient Posts of London and Westminster whence they might at once Attack the Bridge the Exchanges the Guards the Savoy Whitehal and the Tower and they had ready in Town about 100 of Cromwel's old Officers to Head and Govern the mixt Multitude as soon as they should appear in Arms. At the same time a Party of 500 Horse was to come out of the Country to scour the Streets and immediately Barricadoes were to be made the Horses of Hackney-Coaches and other Strangers were to be seiz'd on the Horse-Guards not actually mounted to be surpriz'd in their several Stables the Churches to be broken open and used as St. Pauls was in the late times Ferguson had also often assur'd them he could promise for three hundred Scots to be ready at a day affirming that such a Number most of them Bothwel-Bridge Men resided about Town as Journey-men in divers Trades and were to be commanded by Ten or Twelve Gentlemen of that Nation Adding that some hundreds more went about the Country with Packs taking that way to get and carry Intelligence as well as for a Livelyhood Upon supposition of this Strength Whitehal was to be assaulted at once by one Party from the Strand by another on the back-side from Westminster and on the River by Water-Men in Boats with Hand-Granadoes And in confidence that His Majesty and the whole Court would speedily either be taken or fly there were distinct Parties assign'd to way-lay them on the Road either to Windsor or Portsmouth Their principal Aim being to surprize the Tower as a place most able to annoy them and where there lay great Magazines and Stores of Ammunition to furnish them they had many Debates of Stratagems proposed on that subject One was to be perform'd by Night by firing a parcel of Fagots to burn down the Gates whilst a strong Party without was to be ready to make a brisk Attack in the first Confusion of the Garison Another to be Executed about Two in the Afternoon thus One party privately Arm'd was to go see the Armory another the Lions The first to return into the Sutler's House by the Gate At the same time some were to come in Coaches on pretence of visiting the Lords then Prisoners Those in the Sutler's House were to Issue out and kill a Horse or overthrow a Coach just in the passage Then both parties to joyn and seize on the Guards and by a sign given upon the Coaches over-turning Two or Three Hundred Men lodg'd in Houses thereby were to come in and Second the rest Another was that some of the Conspirators as Constables and Officers of Justice should bring in others as Offendors and that several should enter feined Actions one against the other in St. Catharines-Court then held in the Tower On the Court Day others were to come in as Plaintiffs Defendents and Witnesses who joyning with those that seem'd to come out of Curiosity all these might be seconded by a like party prepar'd from without the over turning a Coach being likewise made use of in this Case Whichsoever of these ways should happen to be attempted The Lord Dartmouth Master-General of the Ordnance was immediately to be dispatch'd as one whose Bravery and Courage they fear'd would prompt him to Blow up the Great Magazine of Powder there and so Bury them with himself in the Ruine if he found he could not other ways resist them Besides securing to themselves by theâ—â— means the Cities of London and Westminster which was their greatest Care they had also under Consideration the Raising Commotions at the same time in divers other parts of England Especially in those Counties of the West and North which they believed the Duke of Monmouth's Progresses had most inclined to their Factious Interest In every County some one Great Man was to put himself at the Head of the Rebellion and divers of them had their proper Stations appointed Particularly of Newcastle they made themselves sure and laid great stress upon it by reason of its vicinity to Scotland and the influence its Coal-Pits have on the City of London In Cheshire they depended on a numerous assistance that being the County in which the Earl of Shaftsbury had formerly advised the Insurrection should begin and a Free Parliament be declar'd for at the time of the Duke of Monmouth's going thither in one of his Mock-Triumphs Portsmouth was to be attempted by some going into the Town on pretence of seeing the place at the same time another Party coming in on the Market-day disguis'd like Country-Men and both together were to fall on the Guards From Taunton they expected great Numbers remembring the old Disloyalty of the Inhabitants which they had evidenc'd by a most remarkable insolence having presumed for some Years after His Majesties most happy Restoration to keep solemnly a Day or Thanksgiving to God for raising the Siege which his Father had laid against the Parliaments Rebellious Forces in that Town In Bristol they had secured a good Party which they doubted not might easily Master the City as manifestly appears by the full Confession of Holloway Citizen of Bristol which he freely made upon his very first Examination and afterwards confirm'd at his Execution when he could not have the least hope of Pardon to be obtain'd thereby At the same time when they were making these Preparations for an Insurrection the other design of Assassinating His Majesty and his Royal Highness kept equal pace with it It is manifest that some of these very Men had often before devised the Kings and his Royal Brothers Murder divers ways For besides what Hone confess'd of the Proposal to shoot them from Bow-Steeple and another Project of destroying them the next Lord Mayor's Day before which was laid aside upon notice that His Majesty and his Brother intended not to be there and besides Richard Rumbald's Invention of blowing up the Play-house when they should both be present the said Rumbald informed his Confederates that he and some of his Friends had resolv'd to cut off the King and the Duke in their Journey to or from Newmarket above ten Years before and had lain sometime in ambush to that purpose but without effect because as God would have it His Majesty and his Royal
might be upon the place to Head the Faction at the first arrival of the News But whilst they were thus wholly intent on this barbarous Work and proceeded securely in its Contrivance without any the least doubt of a prosperous success Behold on a sudden God miraculously disappointed all their Hopes and Designs by the terrible Conflagration unexpectedly breaking out at Newmarket In which extraordinary event there was one most remarkable passage that is not so generally taken notice of as for the Glory of God and the Confusion of His Majesties Enemies it ought to be For after that the approaching fury of the Flames had driven the King out of his own Palace His Majesty at first removed into another Quarter of the Town remote from the Fire and as yet free from any annoyance of Smoke and Ashes There His Majesty finding he might be tolerably well accommodated had resolved to stay and continue his Recreations as before till the Day first named for his Journey back to London But His Majesty had no sooner made that resolution when the Wind as conducted by an invisible Power from above presently chang'd about and blew the Smoke and Cinders directly on his new Lodgings making them in a moment as untenable as the other Upon this His Majesty being put to a new shift and not finding the like Conveniency else-where immediately declared he would speedily return to Whitehal as he did which happening to be several days before the Assassines expected him or their preparations for the Rye were in readiness it may justly give occasion to all the World to acknowledge what one of the very Conspirators could not but do That it was a Providential Fire Now upon the first notice in Town of the Fire at Newmarket and that by consequence the King would be necessitated to come home sooner than was imagin'd the principal Assassines were summon'd by Ferguson to a Meeting that very Night They at first receiv'd the News with various Apprehensions and Motions of Mind looking on one another with much Astonishment and Confusion Amongst the rest Walcot acknowledg'd He thought it an Expression of Gods disapproving the Vndertaking whilst Ferguson without any sign of the least relenting said That he perceiv'd God had reserv'd His Majesty for his own Judgment However that Evening they generally agreed That since Arms Horses and Men could not be provided in so short a space because the King was daily expected and the day of his coming uncertain therefore all farther thoughts of the business should be laid aside for that time Yet the next Morning the Company being again assembled upon Reports spread abroad that His Majesty purpos'd to retire to Cambridge and stay there some days Ferguson vehemently insisted That the Design should instantly be reassum'd That what could be should be done in so narrow a time And particularly Armstrong offer'd himself to go down in person to the Rye in order to it if a Sum of Mony could be presently rais'd and a competent number of Men got together But the noise of the Cambridge Journey soon vanishing put an end to those Deliberations though it was a constant expectation and whisper among the Party that some hing extraordinary would be done on the very day of His Majesties coming home In these uncertainties they remain'd till the King came and some days after R. Rumbald returning from the Rye increas'd their rage for this defeat by telling them That he saw His Majesty and his Royal Highness pass by his House but very slenderly guarded only with five or six Persons and those tired and ill appointed so that he doubted not but with the like number of stout and well-arm'd Men he might easily have taken them both off Upon this presently after at their next Meetings it was agreed That to prepare against any such disappointment for the future a sufficient Number of Arms should be bought and kept in readiness for any other opportunity if such could be found during any of His Majesties Journies that Summer or at farthest in his next going to Newmarket To this purpose West told them he was acquainted with a very good Gun-smith and took upon himself to provide the Arms Ferguson engaging to pay the Mony for them Accordingly West bought Thirty Case of Pistols Thirty Carabines and Ten Blunderbusses of one Daft a Gun-smith in Sheer-Lane and Ferguson paid him for them about three weeks before the Discovery West's pretence of buying so great a quantity of Arms was to send them into America where he had a Plantation and to disguise the business the better he caus'd them to be sanguin'd in shew to preserve them from Rust in so long a Voyage and had them made up in Sea-Chests as ready to be Transported So they continu'd till after the noise of Keeling's having betray'd all Then West to avoid suspicion sent them to a Sea-Captain setting Sail for the West-Indies but without any Bill of Lading or Consignment as is usual in whose Custody the Arms were seiz'd and delivered into His Majesties Stores to be there kept for a better use In these their several Consults many casual Discourses interven'd relating indifferently either to the Insurrection or Assassination As What Commissions were at first requisite to be given out and in what style they were to run What Declaration was to be immediately publish'd to justifie the Fact What Project of Government to be pitch'd on and setled afterwards It was agreed that the Commissions for this Nation should be issued forth in the Name of the Confederate Lords and Commons of England For preparing a Declaration divers of their Number were order'd to bring in their Conceptions apart out of all which Collection a compleat Remonstrance was to be gather'd by some of their ablest Heads The main drift of the whole was to amuse the Peoples Fancies for a Time with new Chimera's of Freedom from Taxes and Advantages for Trade and Moderation of Law Expenses and a Toleration of all Sects then to calumniate the Royal Family for divers Generations past to asperse His Majesty as a Tyrant and Oppressor and to accuse all his Faithful Subjects as servile Instruments of Arbitrary Power and Betrayers of their Country Whilst they and their Party were to be magnified as the only Asserters and Restorers of Liberties Properties and the True Protestant Religion Their design in all this being the same that has been constantly put in practise by all Promoters of Sedition and Treason in all Ages Who have always thought they have done more than Half their business if they can but once appropriate to themselves all the Good and pleasing Words of things plausible and popular and fasten on the Government the Names and Titles of things vulgarly odious or contemptible Touching the new Form of Government to be set up in stead of the old they were not altogether so unanimous that being also natural to all Schisms and Factions that tho they may sometimes agree in what they would ruine
the constant sacrilegious way of the whole Party to intitle the Almighty to their greatest Impieties said at parting God would yet deliver the Nation though he did not approve of the present Instruments And Ferguson to keep up the same Character of remorseless Villany to the last took his leave of them in these very words That he perceived they were Strangers to this kind of Exercise but he had been used to fly and would never be out of a Plot as long as he liv'd and that he hoped yet to meet some of them at Dunbar before Michaelmas Now a day or two before this their final separation the King and his Council began to be convinc'd of the truth of Keeling's Evidence by a full knowledge of the Witnesses Character and by the firmness and consistency of his Tistimony besides many other concurring Circumstances Wherefore His Majesty order'd Warrants should be issued out against the Persons accus'd whereof some absconded others were taken Of these last divers confirm'd what Keeling had sworn and named others as Partakers in the Treason Whereupon more and more appearing every day to have been engaged Proclamations were Publish'd in England and Scotland for their speedy Apprehension By this means through the Providence of God so many of them were either seiz'd or deliver'd themselves up as have irrefragably confirm'd every part of the foregoing Account What became of the several Conspirators will appear by the following List Of the ENGLISH SIR Thomas Armstrong presently after fled beyond the Seas where he remain'd till the next Year when he was surpriz'd at Leyden in Holland brought into England and receiv'd the deserv'd reward of his Horrid Ingratitude and Treasons John Ayloff fled and withdrew from Justice and stands Outlaw'd upon that account Andrew Barber was taken and freely confess'd Robert Blaney came in and confess'd what was done and said at the Trayterous Meeting at Colonel Romze's House James Burton fled and is also Outlaw'd for Treason William Blagg a Sea Captain was taken try'd and acquitted there being but one positive Evidence against him Zechary Bourn was seiz'd on in Essex as he was making his escape into Holland and largely confess'd afterwards Colonel Danvers of Newington was taken and dismiss'd upon Bail He has since Publish'd a most Malicious and Scandalous Libel against His Majesty For which he is fled The Earl of Essex taken at his House in Hertfordshire and committed Prisoner to the Tower Richard and Francis Goodenough both fled and since Outlaw'd The Lord Gray of Wark was seiz'd on examin'd before His Majesty and order'd to be sent to the Tower But in his going thither by the negligence of the Serjeant at Arms he made his escape got beyond Sea from the Coast of Sussex and is now also Outlaw'd John Hambden Junior taken Tryed for High Crimes and Misdemeanors Condemn'd in 40000 l. Fine and Imprisonment Major Holms taken in London he confess'd the Correspondence with the Earl of Argyle whereof the Key was intrusted with him and some others James Holloway fled was taken at Mevis in the West-Indies and sent back into England confess'd and was Executed William Hone in his flight was taken in Cambridgeshire He made his first Confession at Cambridge the substance of which he afterwards own'd upon all occasions to his Death Joseph How was taken and confess'd The Lord Howard of Escrick was taken in his House at Knightsbridge hid behind the Hangings of his Chamber and at length confess'd Thomas Lea the Dyer was taken and confess'd The Duke of Monmouth withdrew upon the first Proclamation wherein he was Named and lay hid for divers Months till he render'd himself and confess'd Edward Norton fled and is Outlaw'd John Nisbet fled was taken in Essex ready to go beyond Sea He was the Author of the Letter of Trade written to Gourdon a Scotch-Man under the Name of Pringle John Rouse taken Try'd Condemn'd Executed making at his Death a Penitent Confession John Row once Sword-Bearer Bristol fled upon the first Discovery as did also both the Rumbalds They are all three Outlaw'd Colonel Romzey first absconded then render'd himself and confess'd The Lord Russel taken at his House in Southampton-Square Try'd Condemn'd Beheaded He confess'd enough to shew his Crime but not his Repentance Thomas Shepard hid himfelf but soon came in and frankly confess'd Aaron Smith had kept secret some time before because of a Sentence against him for high Misdeameanors But was taken and is still a Prisoner Colonel Algernoon Sydney taken Try'd Condemn'd Beheaded William Wade Joseph Tyley fled and are Outlaw'd Colonel Thomas Walcot first retired then sent a Letter to Mr. Secretary Jenkins plainly acknowledging That the Plot was laid very deep and wide promising to discover more if he might have hopes of Pardon But before he could receive an answer the Conscience and fright of his own Guilt made him withdraw from the place where he had appointed to stay for it He was soon after taken Arraign'd Condemn'd Executed persevering to the last in the main of his Confession Robert West withdrew for a time but then gave himself up and has amply confess'd Besides these there were divers others at first secured but afterwards dimiss'd by course of Law as the Lord Brandon Mr. Booth Major Wildman Mr. John Trenchard Major Breman Mr. Charlton this last having been taken in disguise Of the SCOTS MR. James Steuart Brother to the Laird of Cultness had fled out of Scotland a short time after the Earl of Argyle upon occasion of dangerous Papers taken in his keeping Thereafter he transacted only by Letters and Negotiations remaining out of danger beyond the Seas Commissary Monroe and the two Campbells of Cessnock were taken The Lord Melvin Sir John Cockran and Ferguson escap'd divers ways though Ferguson stay'd some time in Town after the Discovery in hopes still of obtaining Bills of the Mony to be remitted into Holland William Bayley of Jerviswood was seiz'd on in London convey'd to Edenburgh and there Try'd and lately Executed William Carstares William Spence Alexander Gourdon of Earlston taken the two first in Town the last at Newcastle By the positive Confession of these three Scotch men together with that of Major Holms who were the Earl of Argyle's chief Agents in this business was the first greatest light given of the said Earls part in the Conspiracy Of these Alexander Gourdon Laird of Earlston was a Zealous Field-Conventicler and had been a Bothwel-Bridge Rebel Where upon the rout of their Army his Father was kill'd and he taken Prisoner Having afterwards got his Liberty he became Sollicitor for the Faction in England and Holland under pretence of collecting Contributions for maintaining such of them as were denounc'd Fugitives for which purpose he had a formal Commission sign'd and seal'd in the Name of the General Assembly of their Party at Edenburgh Before any Discovery he was taken at Newcastle under a feigned Name endeavouring to get a passage beyond the Seas About him were
inforce all he had said but it could not be express'd at that distance That something more was to be done to prevent the Designs of the Enemies which he dares not now mention lest it should put them on their Guard That he has a considerable Direction in his Head but all is in Gods Hands This is a faithful and impartial Abstract of the Mystical Letter than which how could there have been express'd by words a more compleat Deduction of the said Earl's part in the design'd Insurrection Immediately after the Cyphers this follows in words at large The Total Sum is 128 Guilders and 8 Stivers that will be paid you by Mr. B. Which last Clause was the Rule whereby Mr. Gray found out and Spence discover'd the Decyphering of the whole Letter and it was accordingly done by each of them apart by making eight Columns and placing 128 words in each Column descending as upon view of the Authentick Printed Copies will appear to any Man beyond all Contradiction In short this Letter of the late Earl of Argyle's was known by many of the Privy Council thereto be his Hand and his own Lady upon Oath deposed She knew it to be his though she did not know the Contents of it And such is the Account that is to be given of the said Earl of Argyle's Loyalty which he had desir'd might be the only Standard in what sense he would take the Test Hitherto he had been by Inheritance Lord High Admiral and Justice General of Argyle Tarbat and the Isles and Great Master of the Houshold He was by His Majesty put into Places of great Dignity and Trust he was made extraordinary Lord of the Session one of His Majesties Privy Council and one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury And after his Fathers Condemnation for the highest Crimes and his own Forfeiture of his Honour and Estate for Treasonable Expressions in a Letter of his he was restor'd to all his Father possess'd except the Title of Marquiss But notwithstanding all these and many more Obligations of the like nature which he had to His Majesty his fondness of esteem with the Factious People his aversion to Monarchy and hatred of the Royal Family particularly of the Duke of York led him to this height of Ingratitude This and divers other Letters of the like Traiterous importance all written with Argyle's own Hand being at one and the same time taken about Major Holmes the Person chiefly intruded by the said Earl to receive and convey all his Correspondences with England and Scotland it cannot be doubted but very many more Papers of the same dangerous Tenor had been this way interchang'd between him and the English and Scotch Conspirators during the whole progress of the Conspiracy Especially considering that in some of these the Earl of Argyle refers to some Expressions and Propositions which he says he had made in others and there are no such Expressions to be met with in all these Letters that are taken Besides that with the Letters themselves there were also seiz'd about Holmes several Alphabets and a Key of Words whereas of one of the Alphabets there has been as yet no use found in Decyphering and though in the Key there are Eighty new-coyn'd Words yet not above Six of them are made use of in all the parcel of the said Earl's Letters hitherto intercepted However by the Light these Letters gave so well agreeing with several other Intelligences receiv'd from many Hands His Majesties Council of Scotland were abundantly convinc'd that the Bloody Design had reach'd thither also and therefore immediately order'd the bottom of the Business to be search'd into by a Secret Committee Whereupon Warrants were issued out there to apprehend Walter Earl of Tarras Brother-in-Law to the Duke of Monmouth Sir Patrick Hume Laird of Polwart _____ Pringle Laird of Torwoodlie James Murray Laird of Philiphaugh and Hugh Scot Laird of Gallowshiels all of them being Persons named by Carstares and others as Partakers with Argyle in this Treason as they had been formerly most active with him in endeavouring to disturb the Loyal Proceedings of the Parliament for enacting the Test Of these the Laird of Polwart and Torwoodlie having been the most busie and so conscious of their greater guilt conceal'd themselves and have hitherto escaped the other three were taken and brought to Edenburgh where they freely confess'd upon Oath As did also Commissary Monroe who had been sent thither Prisoner out of England All which Depositions and Confessions they again repeated and confirm'd in the same solemn manner at the Tryal of Mr. William Baillie of Jerviswood The Earl of Tarras without either craving or receiving any security for himself did ingenuously confess That about the time when Sir John Cockran and Commissary Monroe got their Commission from the Carolina Company for London Mr. Baillie desir'd him to speak to Monroe that he might be added to the Commission Telling him that he was resolved to go to London however upon his own charges For that his and their going about the Carolina business was only a Pretence and a Blind but the true design was to push forward the People of England who did nothing but talk to go more effectually about their business That thereupon the said Baillie did settle a Correspondence with the Deponent whereby the one was to give an account what past between the Country Party in England and the Scotch Men there the other to write back what occurr'd in Scotland That the said Baillie told him the only way to secure the Protestant Religion was for the King to suffer the Parliament to sit and pass the Bill of Exclusion Which the King might be induc'd to do if the Parliament would take sharp and brisk Measures with him That after the said Baillie went to London he did give the Deponent account by Letters how things were in great disorder there but he hoped effectual courses were taking to remedy them That Mr. Robert Martin did come to Mr. Pringles of Torwoodlie in May 1683 and brought the Deponent a Letter from the said Baillie then at London That Martin told the Deponent things in England were in great disorder and like to come to a height but the Country Party were considering of Methods for securing the Protestant Religion That the Scotch-Men at London had ask'd 30000 Pounds but that Argyle was to have 10000 l. which Sum was to be sent by Baillie into Holland to buy Arms and then Argyle was to Land with those Arms in the West-Highlands of Scotland The Earl of Tarras deposed farther That Philiphaugh and he went to Gallowshiels House where they met with Polwart and Gallowshiels That there it was discours'd among them that in case the English should rise in Arms it was necessary so many as could be got on the Borders should be in readiness to deal with Straglers and Seize on Horses and thereafter joyn with those that were in Arms on the Borders of England That
then it would be convenient to surprize Berwick Stirling and some other strong places That some Persons should be employ'd to inquire what Arms were in the Country That it was resolv'd every one should speak to and prepare such particular Persons as they could trust not at first in plain terms but indirectly and upon supposition of a Rising in England That there was a Word and Sign to be used among them the Sign was by loosing a Button on the Breast the word was Harmony That it was agreed among them all that the best time for Argyle to Land was when there should be a Stir in England Stir being the word which these Scotch Traytors and the Lord Russel used to express what in plain English is call'd open Rebellion In the like manner Commissary Alexander Monroe depos'd upon Oath That the Earl of Tarras did propose to him that Mr. Baillie might be made one of the Commissioners for the Affair of Carolina That he did go along with Mr. Baillie to London and heard him by the way regretting the hazard their Laws Liberties and the Protestant Religion were in That Mr. Baillie spoke to the Deponent more than once at London for getting Mony from the English to be sent to Argyle to bring home Arms for the said Argyle's use to raise an Insurrection in Scotland That in Baillie's Chamber in London William Veitch a Forefault that is a declared Traytor being present Sir John Cockran did expresly speak of Mony to be sent to Argyle for the foresaid purpose That on another occasion he heard some of them say there would be 20000 Men in Scotland ready to assist the Rebellion That Mr. Robert Martin was sent down from that Meeting in Baillie's Chamber to Scotland to try what the Scots would do for their own Safety That is was agreed the People of Scotland should Rise when there was a Rising in England That the Commission was granted to Martin by all the Persons present who were the Lord Melvil Sir John Cockran the Cessnocks Elder and Younger Mr. William Carstares Mr. William Veitch Jerviswood and the Deponent who did all contribute Money towards his Journey That Martin at his return from Scotland meeting with the Deponent told him Matters were in such a Condition there as a little would kindle the Fire in order to a Rebellion Then also James Murray Laird of Philiphaugh confess'd and deposed upon Oath That in May 1683. upon a Letter from Mr. Pringle of Torwoodlie to invite him to his House he came where he found Mr. Martin lately come from London That upon discourse Martin told them the City was much irritated through some Attempts upon their Privileges but that all honest Men were of good heart and very brisk That Torwoodlie then told the Deponent he expected the Earl of Tarras having sent for him because Martin had a Letter directed to him from Jerviswood Torwoodlie adding That there were great Matters in Agitation at London that Martin was come down with a Commission to their Friends here but he was to Communicate his Instructions only to Polwart and himself who were to pitch on such Persons as they thought fit to intrust with the Affair That he had great confidence in the Deponent and therefore had sent to acquaint him that things were now come to a Crisis That he had reason to think England would shortly be in Arms That it was no Project of an inconsiderable Party but a Design through the Kingdom That many of the finest Men and of greatest Interest and Credit were engaged in it there and had agreed for the advancing Mony to furnish Arms here That Polwart would be at Gallowshiels that Night and it would be necessary the Earl of Tarras and the Deponent should confer with him fully on the Business That about this time the Earl of Tarras came who retired a little to discourse with Martin That then Torwoodlie told the Deponent that although Martin would not Commune with them upon his Commission directly yet it would be fit they conferr'd and without taking notice of his Commission discours'd of things as their own private Notions abstracted from any prospect of a present Design That accordingly after Dinner they four retired to a Chamber and after some general talk of the Discontents of both Kingdoms these Suppositions following were discours'd of Martin starting all or most of them If the Country Party in England should have thoughts of going into Arms what could be expected here in such a case Would it not be expedient to have a setled Correspondence between that Party there and here Might it not be so adjusted that both Kingdoms should draw out in one day Might not as many be expected in these Shires and about Edenburgh as would surprize the Rulers and some to joyn with the English on the Borders and seize on Berwick others to attempt Stirling-Castle If Argyle should at the same time Land in the West and raise that Country would not these Measures contribute much to the Advancement and Interest of the Party Incourage all that had an Inclination to them and scare many others from acting against them And so they might have leisure to joyn from all places And then might it not be expected there would be as many in this Kingdom as would be able to deal with the Forces here at least divert them from troubling England These Queries being propos'd it was answered That as to setling a Correspondence it was very convenient for those of a Common Interest but none could be found here fit to manage it that would undertake it That as to trysting that is to say Rising at the same time that could not be done without divulging the Design to all Ranks of People which none would consent to except those already in desperate Circumstances and they would not generally have much Influence That the thing was not at all adviseable for Scotland because if those in England especially in London the Spring of their motions should happen to have an Interruption near the time appointed then the Scots not having timely notice might rise alone and so be expos'd as a Prey That Argyle's coming was not much to be relied on by reason of the uncertainty of Sea-Voyages That he might himself be suspected of private Designs that Despair might blind his usual Prudence and prompt him to indigested Methods so it was expected few of the Gentry but such as were under very hard Circumstances would embarque with him That as to the surprizing their Rulers it was inveigh'd against as an Action not to be thought of amongst Protestants That then Martin told the Company if any had a mind for a suit of Armour he could provide as many as pleas'd of a new Fashion very light and of an easie rate from one who had made a great many lately for honest Men in London That then all the Company except Martin went to Gallowshiels House where they met him and Polwart That after Supper
of the Messenger who was gone about a Month before they heard any thing of him though the Letter he carried could have done no great hurt had it been taken because it was written in a kind of a Cant under the disguise of a Plantation in Carolina That all this Debate at the Lord Russel's went without contradiction all there present giving their consent That as for raising Mony every one was put to think of such a way that Mony might be collected without Administring Jealousie That after this the Deponent met no more with them but when he return'd out of the Country he was inform'd Aaron Smith was come back and that Sir John Cockran Was also come to Town Then Attherbury the Kings Messenger deposed That the foresaid Cambel and his Son were taken in London making their escape out of a Window in a Woodmongers House four Days after they had been in Town during which space they confess'd they had chang'd their Lodgings three Times and that they and Mr. Baillie of Jerviswood came to Town together Against this Evidence the Lord Russel's defence besides some Objections in point of Law wherein he was over-ruled by the Opinion of all the Judges there present was to this purpose That the two times they met was upon no form'd Design only to talk of News and of things in general That the Lord Howard having a voluble Tongue they delighted to hear him discourse That he knew of no such Council of Six chosen for who should chuse them That the Witnesses against him swore to save their own Lives and therefore could not be credible That Romzey was notoriously known to have been highly obliged by the King and the Duke and it was strange he should be capable of such a Design as to Murder the King that no Body then could wonder if to save his own Life he should endeavour to take away anothers That the time by the 13th of the King was clapsed since the Prosecution was not made in the six Months That a Design of Levying War is no Treason except it appear by some Overt Act That there was but one Meeting at Shepara's House nor was he ever there but once That then he came late staid not above a quarter of an hour tasting Sherry with Shepard and that there ought to be two Witnesses to one and the same thing at the same time Then he produced Witnesses to prove that the Lord Howard before he was taken declar'd He believ'd the Lord Russel innocent and knew nothing against him The rest of his Justification consisted of the Testimony of several Persons concerning the Virtue and Sobriety of his former Life As to what concern'd the Lord Howard's saying He believed the Lord Russel not to be guilty it was answer'd by the Lord Howard himself That he confess'd he had said so being then himself not accused so that he intended to out-face the thing both for himself and the Party but now his Duty to God the King and his Country requir'd it he must say the Truth and that though the Council of Six were not chosen by any Community yet they did erect themselves by mutual Agreement one with another into that Society The rest was answer'd by the Kings Learned Council at Law That he was not Try'd upon the 13th of the King but upon the 25th of Edward the Third That to Raise a Conspiracy within the Kingdom is what is call'd Levying War by that Statute That to Design to seize on the King or to depose him or to raise the Subjects against him hath been setled by several Resolutions of the Judges to be within that Statute and Evidences of a Design to kill the King That in Cases of Treason it is not necessary there should be two Witnesses to the same individual Fact at the same time but if there he two Witnesses of things tending to the same Fact though at several times and upon several occasions it is sufficient That if there be one Witness of one Act of Treason another of a second another of a third they will be enough to Convicta Man of High Treason That so it was determin'd by the Opinion of all the Judges in England and by the Lords in Parliament in the Lord Stafford's Case It was farther urged That the Witnesses against the Lord Russel were not profligate Persons nor Men who wanted Faith and Credit before that time but such against whom there had been no legal Exceptions made by himself That there was no Contradiction no Correspondence or Contrivance at all between them and that it cannot be imagined such Men should Damn their own Souls to take away the Life of a Gentleman against whom they had no Quarrel As for Romzey's being much obliged to the King and the Duke That it was apparent by many Instances that no such though the greatest Obligations had hinder'd ill Men from Conspiring against His Majesty For was not the Earl of Essex were not divers others of the Conspirators in like manner obliged and advanced in Estate and Honour by the King As to their coming only to Shepard's to taste Wine it was said That could not have been the end of their Meeting Why did they then come so privately Why then did they order none of the Servants to come up It was plain the Design they met on requir'd only such Persons to be present as had an Affection for the Cause It was also urg'd That it is not a good Objection against a Mans being Evidence in High Treason that he himself was engaged in it but that such Men are the most proper Persons to be Evidence none but they being able to detect such Counsels As for the several Divines and Men of Honour and Quality produced to testifie the Virtue and Sobriety of the Lord Russel's Conversation it was answer'd That an Affectation of Popularity has often proved a Snare strong enough to tempt many Men who have otherwise been of great Temperance and Virtue Nor indeed can there be any more dangerous Enemies to a State or Kingdom than such as come sober to endeavour its Destruction Which old and true Observation was signally exemplified in this particular Case of the Lord Russel For West deposed That the Underacters in the Treason most depended on the said Lord for this very reason because they look'd on him as a Man of great Sobriety Upon the whole Process he was found guilty of High Treason But in stead of Drawing Hanging and Quartering the usual and legal Penalty of that Crime the Execution was by His Majesties Clemency chang'd into that of Beheading Though it is well known this very Prerogative of the Kings having it in his Power to alter the Punishment of High Treason had been vehemently disputed by the Party and particularly by the Lord Russel himself in the Lord Stafford's Case The said Lord Russel at the time of his Death which was the 21st of that Month deliver'd a Paper to the Sheriffs and left other
shortly after this the Deponent went to Colonel Sydney's and found him just going into London That the said Colonel took out of a Cabinet several Guinea's saying They were to be given to Aaron Smith for his Expences That he was sent accordingly and the Colonel told the Deponent afterwards He was gone and was upon the Road and that he had heard from him when he was about Newcastle It was next plainly prov'd That those Scotch-men came up soon after Smith arrived there This was sworn by Sir Andrew Foster that Cockran Monroe and the two Cambels came to Town about the end of the Spring or the beginning of Summer Cockran and Monroe pretending their Business was a Purchase in Carolina and that upon the very first rumour of a Plot Cockran absconded Monroe and the Cambels were taken To this purpose Attherbury the Messenger also deposed That about the end of June or the beginning of July 1683 he was sent by His Majesties Warrant into London upon a Discovery of some Scotch-men lodging in Black-Friers but the Common-Sergeant of the City and others having been there before him found them making their escape in a Boaâ— That the Persons were Sir High Caâ—â—â—l Cockran and another That this was after they had been in Town but a little while The next Head of the Accusation concern ' d the Treasonable Pamphlet sound in Colonel Sydney's Study at the time of his Apprehension To this first Sir Philip Lloyd Clerk of His Majesties Council deposed That having been sent by the King and Council to seize Colonel Sydney's Papers he did go and put up what he found in his Closet That he found those Papers now given in Evidence lying upon his Table where he usually writ That he seiz'd them towards the later end of June That having put them up he offer'd Colonel Sydney that he might Seal them with his own Seal but he refusing the Deponent set his Seal to them and so deliver'd them to the Council Next it was made out by as firm Proof as such a Matter will bear That all the Sheets produced were of Colonel Sydney's own Hand-writing which was evidenc'd by Mr. Shepard Mr. Cook and Mr. Cary Men of known Repute and Credit who had long dealt with Mr. Sydney in Matters of Mony and had paid divers Bills of Exchange for him upon Notes written in the same Hand and were never call'd to any account for Mis-payment Then were the Papers read containing rank Treason almost in every Line For therein were broach'd and asserted many horrible Doctrines both against Monarchy in general and the English Monarchy in particular which according to the usual false Reasoning of all Republican Writers he endeavour'd to justifie by divers Quotations and Examples of Sacred and Prophane History grosly perverted and misapplied against the present Government of his Country In short the whole design of those Papers was to maintain That Tyrants may be justly deposed by the People and that the People are the only Judges who are Tyrants And peculiarly concerning this Nation there are these Expressions The Power originally in the People of England is delegated to the Parliament He the King is subject to the Law of God as he is a Man to the People that makes him a King in as much as he is a King The Law sets a Measure to that Subjection The Parliament is Judge of the particular Cases thereupon arising He must be content to submit his Interest to theirs since he is no more than any one of them in any other respect than that he is by consent of all rais'd above any other If he doth not like this Condition he may renounce the Crown But if he receive it upon this Condition as all Magistrates do the Power they receive and swear to perform it he must expect the Performance will be exacted or Revenge taken by those he hath betray'd And in another place he says We may therefore change or take away Kings without breaking any Yoak or that is made a Yoak which ought not to be one The Injury is in making and imposing and there can be none in breaking it And in another That the People must needs be the Judge of what happens between them and the King whom they did constitute And in another that as for the Peoples being Judges in their own Cases it is plain they ought to be the only Judges And in another That the Power of calling and dissolving Parliaments is not in the King And in another ' That the general revolt of a Nation from its own Magistrates can never be call'd a Rebellion These are some of the Treasonable Tenets contain'd in Mr. Sydney's Papers amongst many other Assertions that are equally Criminal but too long to be here inserted Concerning all which villanous Opinions this is certainly known and confess'd by all good Men That as they laid the Foundations of the late miserable War against his Majesties blessed Father and thereby occasion'd the spilling so much Blood even of the Royal Blood it self so when-ever the Multitude shall be infected with the like Antimonarchical Doctrines it will be impossible for the best Kings or the most happy Kingdoms in the World to be free from perpetual Treasons and Rebellious Plottings To all this Colonel Sidney's Answer being only made up of most of the same Pleas in Law that had been over-ruled and the same objections against the Lord Howard which were satisfactorily repell'd in the former Tryals besides that he only barely deny'd the sending of Aaron Smith and his having any hand in or knowledge of that Message And as for his Treasonable Papers he would not grant them to be his or if they were found in his Study he affirm'd That they might have been written many Years ago in answer to Sir R. Filmer 's Book of Monarchy and written with no intention of publishing them but only for private diversion and the exercise of his Pen. In short his Defence consisting rather in Nice Cavils at the known Forms of Law or Discourses ridiculing the Design of a Council of Six and the whole Conspiracy it self than in any solid Arguments or Evidence to invalidate the Witnesses or to clear himself from the Crimes proved upon him he was presently found Guilty His Execution in respect of his Quality His Majesty altered from the usual Punishment of High Treason into that of Severing his Head from his Body At the time of his death on December the 7th he also deliver'd the Sheriffs a Written Paper Wherein after having excused his not speaking what he wrote by alledging this reason among others That this was an Age which makes Truth pass for Treason he objects against the Lord Howard the Infamy of his former Life which Objection no Man in England had less cause to make than himself the Lord Howard and he having been known to be entire Confidents Familiars and Friends for many Years past of their Lives and till the very time of the Discovery Touching
his Papers produced against him he gives an account full of manifest Equivocations and ambiguous Reservations He sufficiently intimates they were his own but implies they were written long ago against a Book of Controversie in Matters of Government Thereupon he goes on openly to justifie those Papers by Positions dangerous enough to the Publick Peace but quite different from what was laid to his charge at his Tryal and was quoted word by word out of those Papers For instead of being a general Discourse for the Peoples Rights against Kings without any particular Applications to Time or Place as in this his last Paper he insinuates them to have been it is apparent to any Man that can but read that those Sheets of his Writing which were given in Evidence struck at the very Root of the English Monarchy and that therein he studied to do his part to bring the Ax very near the Kings Neck once again He farther in that printed Speech most injuriously reviles his Judges affirming with notorious falshood and petulancy That lest the Means of destroying the best Protestants in England should fail the Bench was fill'd with such as had been Blemishes to the Bar. He goes on to make divers the like frivolous and groundless Reflections on the legal and regular Proceedings against him concluding with a Prayer that could be dictated by none but a fierce Republican and a furious Enthusiastical Spirit met together It was in truth a Prayer more proper for their Treasonable Meetings at Mr. Hambden's or the Lord Russel's than to be used as the last words of a Gentleman dying in the profession of his Innocency For after having fondly declar'd That he fell a Sacrifice to Idols he thus addresses his Speech to the great God of Heaven Bless thy People and save them Defend thy own Cause Defend those that defend it Stir up such as are faint Direct those that are willing Confirm those that waver Give Wisdom and Integrity unto all Grant that I may dye glorifying thee for all thy Mercies and that at the last thou hast permitted me to be singled out as a Witness of thy Truth and even by the Confession of my Opposers for that Old Cause in which I was from my Youth engaged and for which thou hast often wonderfully declar'd thy self He makes it his last Glory That he was engag'd in that Old Cause from his Youth and he was so Being yet very young he took up Rebellious Arms against his Majesties Blessed Father and merited so well of that Old Cause that he was thought rightly qualify'd to be Named though he did not actually sit amongst the black Number of the Regicides Upon His Majesties most happy Return his fixt aversion to the restor'd Government was such that he would not personally accept of the Oblivion and Indemnity then generally granted to the whole Nation But he voluntarily banish'd himself for many Years till about the Year 1677 he came into England again and by His Majesties special Grace obtain'd a particular Pardon upon repeated promises of constant quiet and Obedience for the time to come Which how he made good the World may Judge In fine he fell a memorable warning and fatal Example to all the English Nobility and Gentry of this and all future Ages that they should take heed of being so far infatuated with the fancie and Chimerical Felicities of Ancient or Modern Commonwealths as to despise and attempt the ruine of the far more solid Liberty and Happiness to be injoy'd under the English Monarchy On the 28th Day of November 1683 Mr. John Hambden Junior having also sued out his Habeas Corpus was arraign'd for High Misdemeanor and brought to his Tryal the 6th of February following In this Tryal the Lord Howard positively deposed to the same sense as before touching the general Transactions of the Conspiracy till the Earl of Shaftsbury's Death and particularly afterwards of the Meeting of the Council of Six at Mr. Hambden's own House where Mr. Hambden made an Introductory Speech to open the Assembly and the subject of their Debates was concerning the Time Place Men Arms and Mony to be provided towards a Rising and also that then the sending a Messenger into Scotland was proposed and referred to be debated the next Meeting Farther That Mr. Hambden was present at that next Meeting at the Lord Russel's House and amongst the rest deliberated of sending the Messenger into Scotland when Aaron Smith was named and approved to be the Man But the substance of the Lord Howard's Evidence having been before sufficiently set down it will be needless now to follow exactly every Circumstance of it It is enough only to note That most of the same Objections being again repeated by the Defendents Council had the same or like Answers return'd them by the King 's There was indeed one new and very material thing then first particularly and unquestionably made out in this Tryal which was the certainty of Aaron Smith's carrying the Treasonable Message into Scotland This was now demonstrably proved by Sheriff and Bell both Inhabitants of Newcastle Sheriff being the Man at whose House Smith lay in his passage to and fro and Bell the very Guide that went thence to conduct him into Scotland Touching this Matter First Attherbury one of the Kings Messengers testified That Sheriff and Bell had a full view of Aaron Smith who was brought for that purpose from the Kings-Bench before the King That Sheriff and Bell did then own Aaron Smith to be the Man who had pass'd under the Name of Clerk That Sheriff declar'd the said Clerk lay at his House and Bell said that he travell'd towards Scotland with him being hired to shew him the way That to all this Aaron Smith would not answer one word Then Sheriff himself deposed That he keeping the Black-Spread-Eagle in Newcastle Aaron Smith came to his House about the middle of February 1683 That he staid there one Night went away and return'd again in twelve days or thereabout That he travell'd from his House Northward towards Scotland but first desir'd one might be got to shew him the way That to that purpose the Deponent sent for Bell whom Smith presently hired to go with him That when Smith came back he lay another Night at his House and so return'd into the South towards London That Smith went all the while by the Name of Clerk That the Deponent directed him to a Gentleman at Jadburgh which is Forty Miles from Newcastle and within Six Miles of Scotland Then Bell swore That Aaron Smith was the very Man who went by the Name of Clerk That the Deponent living at Newcastle and getting his Livelihood by letting out Horses and guiding of Travellers Sheriff sent for him told him the said Clerk wanted a Guide into Scotland That this happen'd on the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday That the next Morning being Friday he conduced Smith towards Jadburgh that on the Saturday the Deponents Horse was tyr'd so Smith