1 2. The detestable conspiracy which occa-bably, leave the kingdom the next spring to that sions the present suspension, having been end; in which case, this great power of susdiscovered and signified to the city of London pecting and imprisoning the subjects at will, above five months since, and divers imprisoned and detaining them in prison till the 24th of for it a considerable time past, we cannot but October, 1723, and for as much longer time conceive it to be highly unreasonable to sup- as till they can, after that, take the benefit of pose, that the danger of this plot, in the hands the Habeas Corpus Act (if they can then do it of a faithful and diligent ministry, will con- at all) will be lodged in the hands of some of our tinue for a year and more yet to come, and fellow subjects, who, we are not so sure, will be that in so high a degree as to require a sus- above all prejudices and partialities, as we are, pension of the liberty of the subject (for so we that his Majesty will. take it to be) during all that time. "3. His Majesty,laving not visited his dominions abroad these two last years, will very pro. at an end. There must be a provision at present, because the design is at present working, far from being Put the case now, that this new law were to take effect but for four or six months, and that at the end of that term the ministers were to represent the necessity of prolonging it, (as was proposed by some,) if any such necessity should then appear. Not to mention the difficulties, and cavils, objections and outcries, which would then be raised afresh; Are we such strangers to the cunning and dexterity of such Conspirators, as to doubt that all care would be taken to hush every thing into peace and quiet; that every mouth would be taught not to open too loud; much more every hand not to stir, during that four or six months; and that there might be such a discipline and management exercised, that, if it were fit to keep, or to call the parliament together, the ministers should not have it in their power to demonstrate clearly that there was any such mark of disturbance stirring, or any such treasons still visible, as would be sufficient to urge the continuance of this act. But as soon as that term expired, and the time for action came, what would they do, or what would they not do, when it would be safe for them to exert themselves again, and they could have the benefit of this Habeas Corpus act to elude any confineinent? "But, it is said, precedents are against you. This suspension never yet was made for so long a time. It may be so; though one was continued to nine months, pretty near this. But precedents are on the side of this material part of the provision, that the season in which the parliament was not sitting, was always the season taken care of. In this, precedents lead us. And the reason is, because the execution of such designs is generally in that season. No ene ever pretended that a suspension for six or nine months was a precedent for a suspension for twelve months: nor therefore can the present suspension for one year, ever be a precedent for a suspension hereafter for two years; as some would seem to fear, though there be an absurdity in the very supposition. But the care in former suspensions, to guard against danger in that part of the year when the parliament would not be sitting, was justly affirmed to be a precedent for the same care in the present suspension; which could not have been YOL. VIII. 4. This weakens the provision made in the Bill for the Lords, and Members of the other House of Parliament, That they shall not be shewn, without extending the term through the summer. Accordingly, it is impossible that extending the present act to the summer can be a precedent any farther, than for taking care of the interval between sessions and sessions. "Seven times has this act, in the same form, passed; but never with more certain and undoubted necessity, than at present. It always guarded against the danger of the summer: and this cannot do the same, without remaining in force for a year. If it be a melancholy thing to think of such a suspension, whom must Englishmen thank for such an evil, but those who by their repeated designs make it absolutely necessary? Whom must they curse, if such designs had prevailed for want of a suspension, but an administration that would not contend for it? It may be abused, without doubt; there is a possibility of that. But there is a probability it will not, because it never has made matter for so much as one complaint, under the seven foregoing trials; and for a stronger reason, because it is evidently personal destruction to those ministers, who attempt to abuse it. But the possibility of such abuse is no argument against the necessity of extraordinary methods; and is greatly outweighed by the certainty or high probability of confusion first; and ruin afterwards, without it. Nor can I compare this dread of preventing a present ruin by a method, which has in it the bare possibility of being abused, to any thing better, than to the temper of a man, who, hearing the main beam of his house crack, and seeing it all yielding and tumbling upon his head, resolves not to escape out of it too rashly, because it is barely possible that a tile may fall from the top of the house upon his head. Something must be hazarded to save all; and when the whole is in danger, a part must not have all our care. A power to save is always in some degree a power to hurt. A power to do good always carries with it a power (though not a right) to do evil. But power must be trusted somewhere upon such occasions: and they trust it most reasonably, who trust it for a season of necessity only, where self interest and self preservation forbid the abuse of it. I say, self preservation. For it is at their own peril, that the ministers act under such a law and they must know assuredly, and if there be the least abuse of the power given them, through malice or D : committed or detained (the Parliament sitting) | Majesty the Thanks of this House for your Mawithout the consent of the Houses respect-jesty's most gracious Speech from the throne, ively; since it is very probable the Parlia-and for communicating to your parliament the ment will not be sitting the greatest part of dangerous Designs formed, and still carrying the time for which this Bill, if enacted, will on, against your majesty's most sacred person continue a law and such is the weakness of and government, in favour of a Popish Pretenhuman nature, that we cannot be assured, but der. that the apprehension of what may befal any Member of Parliament, while the Parliament is not sitting, may have some influence on the freedom of acting and debating in Parlia-whatsoever, traiterously endeavoured to alienment. : "5. The dictatorial power was always ended or laid down immediately when the urgent occasion for it was over, and was never continued much longer, till a little before that great state (from which all others draw so many maxims of government) lost its liberties(Signed.) W. Ebor', Aylesford, Gower, Osborne, Fran. Cestriens', Ashburnham, Guilford, Craven, Cowper, Scarsdale, Trevor, Hay, Masham, Bathurst, Strafford, Anglesea, Bingley, Litchfield, Uxbridge." Then the Bill with the said amendment was read a third time, passed without a division, and sent down to the Commons. The Lords' Address of Thanks to the King for his Speech relating to the Conspiracy.] Oct. 12. The House of Lords presented the following Address to his Majesty: "Most Gracious Sovereign, "We your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords spiritual and temporal in Parliament assembled, humbly return your as wantonness, at their hands it will be required; and at the end of the term allowed, the men themselves, who vested this power in them, will meet together with as great an indignation against them, and resolution to destroy them, they now have shewn with regard to the Conspirators. There is a day of reckoning. This is security enough, even in the opinion of those who can think a ministry vile enough without it, to be wicked merely for wickedness sake. And the security is the same, as well in the absence of his majesty (which some have been pleased unnecessarily to suppose, to heighten their argument) as in his presence. For as a king of Great Britain, though present, is never supposed to act, but by his ministers, and they are accountable for all that is done; so, in his absence, if there can be a difference, they are much more, but without doubt, equally, accountable; no other character that can be given them, altering at all their ministerial office, or rendering them at all the less free from the apprehension and awe of a parliamentary inquiry. "But why so much zeal against this length of time, when it cannot shew itself without gross self-contradiction? They who make this objection from a supposed absence, themselves profess a readiness to continue this act into the "We cannot sufficiently express our detestation and abhorrence thereof, or our just indignation against all such as have, by any means ate the affections of your Majesty's good subjects, or, by maliciously fomenting any of their late discontents, however occasioned, to raise them to a spirit of rebellion. "We think ourselves in duty bound, on this occasion, to declare our very great satisfaction in the wise measures taken by your Majesty, which, by the blessing of God have hitherto disappointed the treasonable projects of all your enemies, and happily preserved the peace and tranquillity of the kingdom. "Could the enemies of our peace have procured a foreign force to invade us, and, by in the heart of your kingdom, though we assure such assistance, a rebellion to have been raised ourselves so desperate an attempt must have ended in their own destruction, it is not yet to wealth and influence have been so constantly be doubted, but that the city of London, whose employed in opposing Popery and arbitrary power, would have felt the utmost efforts of their fury, and the kingdom been made a scene of bloodshed and confusion. "Such of your Majesty's good subjects, as may have been unwarily misled at so critical a juncture, must now plainly discern the differ summer, if necessary; which is liable to the same objection. And they who think this act so secure from abuse, whilst a parliament is sitting to keep power in awe, cannot but know that the parliament must meet again at the end of this term; and that there is in truth as effectual and as beneficial an awe from the certainty that it must meet then, as from the seeing it met now. "If I have omitted, or mistaken, any thing, on either side of the question in hand, I shall consider it in another paper, having no possible interest but that of my country. But in the present view of it, I am free to declare, for myself, as one Englishman, that considering the nature of the present Conspiracy, and the expectations and face of affairs abroad, I would not have thanked any of my representatives for defending me when I am most secure, and leaving me defenceless when I am least so. Now, I say, now is the time, (perhaps the only time we may have left us,) to shew in the face of all the powers of Europe, that we will try all methods, rather than suffer a Popish bigot to be imposed upon us; and that we have still unanimity, spirit, and strength enough, to search the present evil to the bottom. I am, &c. BRITANNICUS.". See Political State, vol. 24, p. 436. ence between thoso great calamities, from which, by the blessing of God, they have been hitherto preserved, and the imaginary dangers with which they have been industriously amused. "We cannot but acknowledge with most grateful hearts, the inestimable blessings we have enjoyed under your Majesty's government during the whole course of your reign; and return your Majesty our most unfeigned thanks for your Majesty's most gracious Declaration, on which we entirely depend, that your Majesty will steadily adhere to our constitution in church and state, and continue to make the laws of the realm the rule and measure of all your actions. And we humbly beg leave to assure your Majesty of our most unshaken fidelity; and that we will, to the utmost of our power, on all occasions, stand by and assist your Majesty against all your enemies whatsoever, both at home and abroad, in maintenance of your Majesty's undoubted right and title to the Imperial Crown of this realm." The King's Answer.] The King's Answer was as follows: "My Lords; "I thank you for this loyal and dutiful Address. So seasonable a mark of your zeal and affection will be of the greatest service at this critical juncture, and lay me under the strictest obligation to use the confidence you repose in me to no other ends, than the preservation of the public tranquillity, and of the rights and liberties of my people." Debate in the Commons on the Address of Thanks.] Mr. Speaker having afterwards reported the King's Speech to both Houses, Mr. William Pulteney stood up, and represented the dismal consequences of the Plot, if it had pleased the Divine Providence that it had not been timely discovered; and moved for an Address of Thanks, on the several heads of his Majesty's Speech, particularly to congratulate his Majesty on the timely discovery of the dangerous and unnatural Conspiracy against his Majesty's person and government; to express the just detestation and abhorrence his faithful Commons had of all such traiterous practices, and their indignation and resentment against the authors and contrivers of them. but This was seconded by Mr. Doddington; Mr. Shippen moved that to the paragraph, Assuring his Majesty, that his faithful Commons would enable him effectually to suppress all remaining spirit of rebellion,' these words might be added, with due regard to the liberty of the subject, the constitution in church and state, and the laws now in force.' He was seconded by sir William Wyndham, member for Somersetshire; but Mr. Pulteney replied, That such a clause would be injurious to the King, since it would look like making a condition or bargain with his Majesty, and tacitly imply, either that the laws had already been infringed, or that the Commons were jealous lest his Majesty should, for the future, break in upon the constitution: therefore, instead of the said clause, he proposed, that at the latter end of the Address, they should return his Majesty their Thanks for his most gracious Declaration, that he would preserve the constitution in church and state, and continue to make the laws of the realm the rule and measure of all his actions. This was seconded by Mr. Yonge. And then the question being put, which of the two clauses should be made part of the Address, it was carried for Mr. Pulteney's clause, without any division. After this, a Committee was ap pointed to draw up the said Address. Debate in the Commons on the Bill for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act for one Year.] Mr. Justice Tracy and Mr. Baron Price having brought from the Lords, a Bill, To impower his Majesty to secure and detain such " persons as his Majesty shall suspect are conspiring against his person and government:" The same, upon Mr. R. Walpole's motion, was immediately read the first time, and ordered to be read a second time the next morning. Oct. 16. The said Bill was read a second time, and a motion being made, and the question put thereupon, That it be committed to a Committee of the whole House, the same was opposed by Mr. Casar, who represented the dangerous consequences of a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, to the rights and liberties of Englishmen. He was seconded by Mr. Hungerford, member for Scarborough. Mr. Bromley said thereupon, That the chief objection against this bill being in point of time, and whether the suspension was to continue six or twelve months, it was more proper to debate it in a Committee than in a House, and therefore he was for committing it; which, after some small opposition, was carried without dividing. The House being immediately resolved into that Committee, and the earl of Hertford placed in the chair, Mr. Spencer Cowper stood up, and opened the debate. He declared, That he and all his family had come as early and as readily into the Revolution, and on all occasions had appeared as zealous for the present happy settlement as any one: but yet he could not be of opinion, to trust the liberties of the people in the hands of any ministry, for so long a time as above a year. That neither in king William's nor queen Anne's reigns, nor since his present Majesty's accession to the throne, even in times of open and actual rebellion, the Habeas Corpus act had ever been suspended for above six months; and therefore he moved, that the present suspension might be limited to that term. He was seconded by Mr. Smith. Sir Joseph Jekyll added, That if at the end of those six months, there appeared to be a ne cessity for a farther suspension, he should, and he doubted not but the whole House would, rea- Mr. Worsley having answered him, he was replied to by Sir Gilfred Lawson, after which the debate was continued between Mr. Hungerford, Mr. Jefferies, Mr. Hutcheson, and Mr. Sloper, who all supported Mr. Cowper's motion; and Mr. Pulteney, Mr. Yonge, and Mr. H. Pelham, who were for agreeing to the bill without amendments. At last Mr. Robert Walpole, Chancellor and Under Treasurer of the Exchequer, laid before the House some particulars of the detestable and dangerous Conspiracy, which for some time #66 During the ferment, of the general election, the Plot of which bishop Atterbury was the head, was detected, and from the mention of it in the king's Speech, it became the first object which engaged the attention of the legislature. As Walpole, from his situation and intelligence, procured the carliest information of this conspiracy, and took an active share in the prosecution, I shall throw together a few anecdotes of bishop Atterbury, and add such new information as can be derived from the Orford and Walpole papers. "Francis Atterbury was born at Middleton near Newport Pagnel, in Buckinghamshire, in 1662. He received his education at Westminster school, and was from thence elected a student of Christ Church College Oxford. At both places he took indefatigable pains in improving himself, and at a very early period, was distinguished for elegance of taste, and knowledge of classical literature, which he displayed in a Latin version of Dryden's Absalom and Achi tophel, and a translation of some odes of Iorace. In the 24th year of his age he proved his talents in controversial writing, by vindicating Martin Luther in a publication, which induced Burnet to rank him among those eminent divines who had signalised themselves by their admirabie defences of the Protestant Religion. On taking orders, he acquired a high reputation by his talent in preaching, and by supporting, against Hoadly and Wake, the doctrines of the high church. Bred up in Tory principles, he wrote in favour of passive obedience, and displayed so much learning and ingenuity, that he was chosen prolocutor of the lower house of convocation, and chiefly managed the affairs in that assembly. A similarity of opinion induced him warmly to espouse the cause of his friend Sacheverel, and he is supposed to have had the principal share in drawing up the masterly defence which the doctor delivered at his trial. He was first patronised by Sir Jonathan Trelawney, bishop of Exeter; appointed by the Tory administration of queen Anne, dean of Christ | past had been, and was still carrying on, for the utter subversion of the present happy settlement. He said, That this wicked design was formed about Christmas last; that the conspirators had at first made application to some Potentates abroad, for an assistance of 5000 men : that being denied, they afterwards, about the month of April, made farther application and earnest instances for S000 meu: that being again disappointed in their expectations from foreign assistance, they resolved desperately to go on, confiding in their own strength, and fondly depending on the disaffection in England; and that their first attempt was to have been the seizing of the Bank, the Exchequer, and such other places where the public money was lodged that the government had undoubted informations of this Plot ever since May last; but nevertheless thought fit not to take up any body, because there being then two terms coming on together, the conspirators would. Church, and, in 1713, advanced, at the recommendation of the earl of Oxford, to the bishopric of Rochester and deanery of Westminster. At that period he was in such high estimation with the queen and ministry, that he was not unfrequently consulted in points of the utmost importance. He was always inimical to the succession of the Hanover line, and on the death of Queen Anne, was accused, by Harcourt, of having offered to assist at the proclamation of the Pretender, in his lawn sleeves; and when Ormond and Bolingbroke declined taking any vigorous step, is reported to have cxclaimed "Never was a better cause lost for want of spirit!" It is certain that he was involved in the schemes of Bolingbroke, and a letter from that minister soon after the queen's death, proves the extreme confidence reposed in him. "On the accession of George the first, he' received evident marks of coldness from the new sovereign; and on the breaking out of the rebellion, gave an instance of his disaffection, by refusing to sign the declaration of the bishops in favour of the crown. He uniformly employed his great eloquence in the House of Lords, in opposing the measures of government, and in drawing up the most violent protests. Atterbury was of a restless aspiring temper, and eager to obtain the highest honours of the church, which he would certainly have acquired, had not queen Anne died. The active part which he had taken during her reign, against the succession of the house of Brunswick, and his uniform opposition to the government of the new sovereign, precluded him from all expectations of promotion. But when Sunderland courted the Tories, and made overtures to him as to the leader of the disaffected party, his conduct was so equivocal, that his friends reproached him with having deserted his princi ples; and his enemies did not hesitate asserting that he had engaged in a conspiracy against the government, because his demand of the bishopric of Winchester was rejected. There seems, however, to be no foundation for these L "It is with hearts full of joy we approach your sacred person to congratulate your Majesty, that, by the blessing of God, the designs of your enemies have hitherto been happily frustrated and disappointed. have had the benefit of the Habeas Corpus act | Parliament assembled, beg leave to return our and so the apprehending them was put off until humble thanks to your Majesty, for your most the long vacation. He added, That the trai- gracious Speech from the throne. terous designs against his Majesty's person and government had been carrying on ever since the death of the late queen; and that they could prove that there had been a meeting of some considerable persons, one of whom was not far off, wherein it had been proposed to proclaim the Pretender at the Royal Exchange. That an exact account of this detestable Conspiracy would, in due time, be laid before the Parliament: and as to the business now before them, though it was true, that the Habeas Corpus act had never before heen suspended for above six months; yet, considering the Lords had made this suspension for a whole year, if the Com-ness of your Majesty's good friends and allies, mons should go about to alter it, the same might occasion a difference between the two Houses, which at this time of jealousy and danger, might sound ill in foreign courts. After this speech, about seven in the evening the question being put, that the Bill do pass as it was sent down from the Lords, it was carried in the affirmative by a majority of 246 voices against 193. Then, the Speaker resumed the chair, and the earl of Hertford having iminediately reported the said bill to the House without any amendment; it was read the third time, and passed without dividing. The Commons' Address of Thanks to the King for his Speech relating to the Conspiracy.] Oct. 17. The King came to the House of Peers with the usual solemnity, and the Commons attending, his Majesty gave the royal assent to the said Bill. The same day the House presented their Address to the King, as follows: "Most Gracious Sovereign; "We your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Great Britain iu reflections; it is probable that in listening to the overtures of Sunderland, he conceived hopes, that the minister was inclined to promote the cause of the Pretender, and that Sunderland was duped by him, rather than that he was duped by Sunderland. And if we may judge from the inflexibility of his character, there is reason to believe that he rejected all offers of promotion, and was never inclined to desert his party. "It appears from Sir Luke Schaub's correspondence from Paris, that the first intimation of the conspiracy in which he was engaged, came from the regent duke of Orleans, to whom the agents of the Pretender communicated the plot, in hopes of receiving assist ance from him, and that he betrayed them to the king of England. "In consequence of his full conviction of the truth and danger of the Conspiracy, Walpole took an active share in conducting the prose cution he first mentioned it to the House, when the bill for suspending the habeas corpus act was opposed, and a motion made to limit its duration to six months:" Coxe's Walpole. "We cannot sufficiently acknowledge your Majesty's care and vigilance, and the wise and prudent measures you have taken for our safety, in ordering the encampment of the troops, and sending for such others from Ireland, as were thought farther necessary for the peace and quiet of this kingdom. And it is the greatest satisfaction to us, to see the readi the States General, to assist you with a good body of forces, if there had been occasion. "But among all the steps taken for the safety of your Majesty and the kingdom, none can possibly equal that of the speedy calling your loyal Commons together in parliament; who are met determined with the utmost unanimity, and zeal, to do every thing in their power for the preservation of your Majesty's most sacred person: nor can less be expected from the gratitude and affection of a free people, sensible that through the whole course of your reign, no innovation has been attempted made upon the liberty or property of any of in our holy religion, nor the least incroachment all that is dear and valuable to them, is entirely your subjects, and that the full enjoyment of owing to your Majesty's government. blishment should have malice and boldness Though the enemies of our happy esta enough, still to be carrying on their traiterous designs, yet we are persuaded, that all uneasiness and apprehensions will vanish, when your faithful Commons assure your Majesty, that they will enable you effectually to suppress all remaining spirit of rebellion. "If neither the sacred obligation of the most solemn oaths, nor the certain misery they must bring upon their country, who would attempt to overturn this government, can deter them from such desperate undertakings: If there be any of your Majesty's subjects, who are so abandoned, as to be ready to exchange the Protestant religion for Popery, and liberty for slavery; yet we hope the rigorous resolutions of a loyal and dutiful parliament will convince them of the danger as well as folly of such an attempt; and shew the whole world, that the generality and best part of your people are so far from giving any invitation to foreign powers to invade us, that they will, with their lives and fortunes, support your Majesty against all your enemies at home and abroad. "We cannot therefore express too great an abhorrence of such unnatural practices, nor too great an indignation against those who would have made the capital of this flourishing kingdom a scene of blood and desolation. Wicked men! whilst they have the malice to revile your government, and attempt to over |