Lady Duchess. When must I speak? Sir G. Jefferies. Now, madam; and will your grace now be pleased to stand up?

Lady Duchess. I have nothing at all to say to Mr. Fitzharris, nor was concerned in any sort of business with him. All I have to say, is, he desired me to give a Petition to the king to get his estate in Ireland; and I did three or four times speak to the king about it. But I have not any thing else to say to him; I never spoke to him about any thing else.

Fitzk. Does not your grace remember what directions I received about my lord Howard? Lady Duchess. I know nothing of that, I sent you not to my lord Howard.

L. C. J. If you will ask any questions of my lady, do; but do not make any long dis

courses.

Fitzh. My lord, my lady may forget. Madam, does not your grace remember you undertook, upon the account of those papers I conveyed, that you would procure me my quit-rent ?

Lady Duchess. I never had any papers. Fitch. Not that paper of the Impeachment against your grace?

Lady Duchess. No.

31st of his majesty's reign; greater oppression hath been done to me than to any before. My lord Stafford, sir Thomas Gascoign, and others, had all the liberty they could desire, to enable them to make their defence against their trial; which I have had denied me. But my defence consists of two heads, and I shall rely upon the consciences of the jury for the issue. Though my lady Portsmouth, and Mrs. Wall, and the rest, are pleased to say, that I was not employed nor received money for secret services; yet it is very well known I did so. As to Mr. Everard, when I met with him, though now he hath made a French story, yet if he would tell the truth, he knows that it was otherwise. He told me he was well acquainted with my lord of Shaftesbury and my lord Howard, and in several clubs of the city he knew all their intrigues; and that speech that went by the name of my lord Shaftesbury's, my lord gave it him before it was printed, and he had several other things of that kind. So then I told him it was a business of the greatest consequence that could be, if he would continue those discoveries. And whereas he says I would betray the people to the French interest, it is very well known I was always an enemy to the French interest; but I humoured him in his discourse, and discoursed him to reduce the paper that he accuses me of under some heads and that paper I no sooner had,

Lady Duchess. For charity. Fitzh. I am sorry your grace is so much under Mrs. Wall's influence.

Lady Duchess. I come not here to wrangle with you, Mr. Fitzharris, I am come here to say what I know, and will not say one bit

more.

Fitzh. Have I had any money of your grace since you knew my lord Howard?

Lady Duchess. You never had but that for charity.

Fitzh. When did your grace ask it for me? Lady Duchess. I do not remember the time. Mr. Fitzharris, if I had any thing in the world to do you good, I would do it; but I have it not, and so cannot see that I am any ways more useful here. (Then her grace went away.)

L.C. J. Mr. Fitzharris, have you any more witnesses that you would have called? Fitzh. No, my lord.

Serj. Maynard. Will you apply them you have called?

L. C. J. Well, have you any thing further to say?

Fitzh. Yes, my lord, I have something further to offer for myself: I will tell you what I know, since my witnesses will not do me justice. Gentlemen of the jury, you are my judges in point of law as well as fact, and my blood

he said, he was to have forty guineas, and so said sir William Waller too, yet it was only forty shillings that he desired, for his poverty, I would lend him. And as to what he talks of three thousand crowns pension, it is a very unlikely business. When I came to Whitehall, I was advised to go to my lord Clarendon, or Mr. Hyde. Accordingly I did shew it to a gentleman who was to give it to my lord Clarendon, but before he could get to him, I was taken. Now, my lord, I hope what I did was with a design to serve the king, in discovering what was designed against him, according as I was employed, though both the secretaries are so unkind as not to declare it: When I know I am in the right I am not ashamed to speak it, though my life be losed upon it; and I refer it to the gentlemen of the jury. I was taken before I could come to the speech of my lord Clarendon. Next, I hope, gentlemen of the jury, you will consider these are great persons that I have to do with; and where great state matters are at the bottom, it is hard to make them tell any thing but what is for their advantage: And so I am left in a sad condition. But, my lord, in the next place, I think it is unpossible for any jury to find me guilty, without prejudging of those laws which are not to be judged by any jury or inferior court; for if they judge me and bring me in guilty, it is murder in them; and let the bench tell them

what they will, it is of that dangerous consequence, that it overthrows the government. My lord, here is the impeachment of the House of Commons, and here is a copy of the votes of the Commons thereupon; and though they be not laws, yet they are such declarations of the parliament, as that afterwards no other court ought to meddle with that matter; and the inferior courts do not use to meddle with parliament-matters; And so, gentlemen, you will lay at your own doors what would lie at theirs, if you meddle not. For though the court have over-ruled my plea, yet the matter is plain before you now who are my judges, and my blco i will lie at your doors, and you must answer it if you do me not justice. And there is no insufficiency of a plea as to mattter of Jaw will excuse you in point of fact; and you are obliged, as you will answer the contrary to God and your consciences, to do me right. And I hope your lordship and the jury will take particular notice of this. I have been a close prisoner, and had no manner of help, nothing at all allowed me to refresh my memory; which if I had had means to do as I ought, I could say a great deal more. But this I insist upon, if the gentlemen of the jury do bring me in guilty and convict me, they do shed my blood, and overthrow the law and course of parliaments. Whereas, if they bring me in not guilty, my impeachment stands good still, and I am liable to answer that impeachment before the parliament: And I hope you will consider the persons I have had to deal with; and that it cannot be made so plain, as in matters wherein we deal with common persons. I submit to what you shall think fit.

L. C. J. You have done, Mr. Fitzharris? Fitzh. My lord, I have done; only I would examine one gentleman if he were here, but he does not appear. But here's a copy of the impeachment and votes of the House of Commons, I desire I may deliver them to the jury. L. C. J. No, no; that can't be.

Fitzh. Sir William Waller does declare upon oath, that for this very thing I was impeached by the House of Commons, and that I desire them to take notice of.

Serj. Jefferies. Therefore you are not guilty: Is that the consequence?

Sul. Gen. May it please your Lordships, and you Gentlemen of the Jury, you have heard our evidence, and what the prisoner hath said. The crime, for which he is accused, that is high-treason, and it is treason in conspiring the death of the king, in endeavouring to raise a rebellion here; and that in order to destroy the king and the liberty of all the people, to bring them under the slavery of the king of France. This is the treason that he was indicted for; and the proof of this treason is very full: It is proved to you by three positive witnesses, and all men of credit, of whom you cannot have the least suspicion. They prove to you, that Mr. Fitzharris is the man guilty of this treason; he was the contriver of it, he was the mover of it first to Mr. Everard, and

he gave him those instructions to pursue those purposes of raising a rebellion here, in order to destroy the king, by contriving a seditious pamphlet to set the people together by the ears; and he came to him in order to perfect this libel. This is proved by Everard, who upon the first motion of it to him, did acquaint Mr. Smith immediately, and sir Wm. Waller, that such a design was on foot, and desired them to come and be witnesses of it. They both came, and heard the communication between the prisoner and Mr. Everard, to contrive such a libel as hath been opened to you, and they swear it positively. Now what defence does the prisoner make to it? Truly I cannot say, whether it hath more of folly or impudence in it; for it is a defence of a strange nature; for it is inconsistent with itself, and shews what a make he is of: and the latter part is a pursuing the same treason he stands indicted for, which is the rendering the king odious to his people, by those insinuations, that he did this by the king's order. The first part of his defence is, I am not guilty, for Mr. Everard is the man that did contrive it, and he is the author, and it moves from him. Now pray consider the parts of your evidence, and see if there be any possibility for you to be induced to believe any thing like it. It is proved by Mr. Everard positively, that he came to him first; and when you consider this objection that is made by Mr. Fitzharris, and consider on the other side who were the witnesses, and who is the man that makes the objection, you will then see no cause in the world for you to give any credit to it. The prisoner says he was trepanned into it: for that, pray consider he is an Irish Papist, one that hath all along made it his business to defame the proceedings about the Popish Plot, to ridicule it, to deny that there was ever any such a thing, and to laugh at the justice that was executed upon the Popish offenders who died for the Plot. The witnesses that prove it against him have been zealous prosecutors of the Plot, men that have discovered many of those who were guilty of it, and brought them to justice; men that have been material evidences upon the discovery. Mr. Smith is a man that spoke materially in the trial of my lord Stafford, and for which service, I believe, the Papists, and Mr. Fitzharris himself, owe him little thanks. As for sir William Waller, all men know how busy and active he hath been to bring in men that were guilty of the Plot, and he hath suffered for it. Now if you can believe that Mr. Smith and sir William Waller should be guilty of a trepan that was to be put upon Fitzharris, a man of that persuasion you hear of, (and you must believe that, or you cannot believe the defence the prisoner makes) I leave it to you. Mr. Everard could do nothing alone; why then sir William Waller must be guilty of this contrivance, and of setting Fitzharris on work and Everard too. But this is so unlikely a story, that if there were any to assert any such a thing, you could not possibly give any credit.

twelve honest men of his own country. And if it be possible for a Jury to go against evidence so plain as this is, I say, no man is safe in his life or estate.

Serj. Jefferies. Gentlemen, I desire to take notice of what Mr. Fitzharris was pleased to conclude withal. He says, his blood is to be required at your hands, and therefore he would fain by that means insinuate you out of your consciences. But I think, if you consider the circumstances that have been given, and all the evidence, it will be impossible for men that have any respect to their credit and their consciences, to acquit this gentleman. In the first place, it is known, and it hath been given in proof to induce the probability of the matter evidenced against the prisoner at the bar, that he is a known Roman catholic; they are all protestants, and good protestants, and you are all protestants too. And then the case goes thus far further: You that are pretestants must take it upon your oaths, that these gentlemen have sworn false, and convict them of wilful perjury; and if you do convict them, it must be upon the bare allegation of a papist: And I hope never to live to see the day that men that are of good credit, and protestants, shall by an allegation (though never so confidently affirmed at the bar) be presumed to be guilty of perjury. So that I say, my lord, besides the baseness and venom of this impudent libel, which certainly no honest man in the world will give the least countenance to, here is evidence enough from himself. And you cannot believe it proceeds from any direction from the crown, (as this man would insinuate) and therefore he hath given us the greatest evidence by his libelling at the bar. And he hath not only libelled the crown, but he hath called up some witnesses on purpose to libel the rest of his own. And then I hope you will take notice how he did insinuate with Mr. Everard at the beginning: When you were in the French king's service, said he, and have been neglected ever since you left it; if you will come and join with me, without peradventure you may get encouragement fitter than that poor and mean way that you are reduced to by embracing the protestant interest. He gives him a method likewise to walk by: He thought him the person that had writ some pamphlet before, and therefore was fit for his purpose, and ought to be encouraged. And he does tell you the words not only against the present government, but that which every good protestant must needs abhor and tremble at; he bids him take care to libel the whole family. He tells him withal, you must be sure to say, that the late king, of blessed memory, was concerned even in the Irish rebellion; and that this king hath promoted those persons that his father had countenanced for that action; and he tells him the names of those persons that were so promoted. After this is done, what does Mr. Everard do? he goes and makes a discovery; he tells the circumstances and the persons, to whom and when: And the persons he made

that discovery to, do in every circumstance agree with time, place and all. The first night this appointment was, I hope you will remember, that when Mr. Everard had so placed that gentleman, against whom there is not the least word said or imagined to find fault with him, he takes notice of the instructions; owns that he had given him instructions; and takes particular notice of one passage, that when Mr. Everard said, But there may be danger in them, is not this treason? The prisoner made answer, the more treason the better. Ay, but then this is dangerous, how shall I venture upon such matters? Why have you not my hand in it? I am as guilty as you, and in as much danger. What then was the reward? there was to be at present 40 guineas, and an annual pension. But to whom was Mr. Fitzharris to discover this? not to the king, but to the French ambassador, and the confessor was to be the man that was to give the reward. Flanders was first to be subdued, and the parts beyond the seas, and then England would be but a morsel for them, they could take that in the way. All this was done, winch is plainly sworn by a witness that had a place made on purpose for him to overhear all that passed. And, my lord, for the next witness there is sir William Waller; there is this, besides what is sworn, agreeing in circumstance: he tells you both, to their very money, that it was forty somewhat, but he cannot say guineas; and he tells you something of the pension, a great many thousand crowns: and he tells you particularly of that circumstance of the French confessor, and the French ambassador. sides all this, does not sir William Waller tell you this very thing, That he espied him with a pen and ink, that he gave a note of the libel itself, and he heard him give the directions? and when he came into the room, he saw the ink fresh upon the paper; and when he heard him give directions for the alteration of particular words, he said, You have not worded it according to my mind in such and such particular places. But, my lord, there is this venom in it further to be taken notice of, that he gave his instructions to draw it so, as that it might best take effect, according to his intention: For when Mr. Everard thought it might do well to make it with thou and thee, as though it should be the design of the Quakers, he said, No, by no means; but put it in changing the phrase, as if it was the design of all the Protestant Dissenters, and so by that means would draw the odium upon them, and bring them in danger as well as others. And this is confirmed too by sir William Waller: so that in every circumstance he hath shewed the venom of his design. But in the last place, which surely the gentlemen of the jury will not forget what sir Witliam Waller said, that Fitzharris did say, I have taken care already to disperse abundance of libels amongst our party. And when Everard told him of a libel that was some while before, he said he had seen that a great while ago, and there might be somewhat in it to the purpose.

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