may have some knowledge of them before his trial.-In full assurance therefore of the great justice and clemency of your majesty and this treason no other than zeal against popery, 'that he was a busy man, and a great talker against popery.' A good workman at disjoining, whoever paid him; and, as for his offence, he went down to Oxford, and there spoke words and recited rhymes which were said to reflect on the king. What a barbarous way of writing is this! Only said' to reflect on the king. The author is so far from allowing any thing treasonable in his case that he carries it no farther than a few words and rhymes which were but "said' orsupposed, not that they really did reflect on the king; and, if they did, we know that is but misdemeanor and not treason. Why did he not shew what the words were, the tendency and use of the rhymes, and other fact proved? It would then have appeared he was poet and singing master as well as songster. He was good at draught and design, and could make hieroglyphics of popery and arbitrary power: and represent emblematically the downfall of his majesty; as in his Raree-show and Mackninny, as I touched before. But those were bawbles for the underling mob to be engaged with. His magazine for action was of another sort, iron ware and arms, besides notable persuasive discourses he had to incite folks to use them against the king, whom, by his slighter implements, he vilified and derided most execrably. Thus, like the hero, tam Marti quam Mercurio,' he plied his work. If the trial had not been in print, it had been needful to have given a fuller account of this case: But I decline the tædium of a nice examination, at this time of the day, superfluous; it is enough to shew the perfidy of the account given in this History. "It goes on to sum up all in a little; shewing that this mechanic was to be made an example,' not for any treason, or so, but, for meddling 'with politics,' the rest follows of course; but observe an admirable conciseness, and so an indictment was preferred against him. I am really afraid of being suspected for abusing an historical writer. It being almost incredible any pretender that way, even of the Grubstreet order should take upon him to relate facts and proceedings, and write such stuff as this. But with leave of his and so,' the indictment came replete with facts of high treason as touched before, and all proved by lawful witnesses against him, before the London grand jury; but they (just as our author here) made a mere ballad of it, and rejected the bill. Then as the party concluded, College was safe. Now comes in the author with a fresh subject of libel. For which (Ignoramus) Wilmore the foreman, was, out of all course of law, apprehended and examined before the council, and sent to the Tower, and was afterwards 'forced to fly beyond the seas.' Now, upon my small experience of affairs, which tells me this ⚫ for which' cannot be true, I will out with my honourable Board, which he hath lately had some experience of, and doth with all humility and thankfulness acknowledge, your petitioner purse, and wager all that is in it that the seandal is false. But I fear every reader will not venture so deep, being (perhaps) inclined to think a grave writer should not affirm a fact, in manner and circumstance, so very untrue. That Wilmore, by his perjurious Ignoramus, was not much recommended to his majesty's favour, so as by his extraordinary interposition, to be taken out of the hands of the law, when it had seized on him for crimes, I readily grant; as also that if a man will effrontuously break the sacred trust of justice, in a matter of treason against the state, more like a partisan than a sworn enquirer, that the state will lay hold on him, if he be found, in any respect, obnoxious to the law And farther, that a man must needs be a saint, indeed, that practises barefaced against lawful authority. All these things I grant; whereof the consequence is that Mr. Wilmore, and every one else of his bold usurpation, must look to their hits; for, if they may, they will be caught napping. But, as to the said for which,' that is for his return of Ignoramus, I deny that it either was made or mentioned to be any part of his crime; but he was taken up by lawful warrant, and not, as the author abusively affirms, for his verdict, which could not be so. It seems, some of the neighbours, that had him in detestation, informed that he was a kidnapper, and that he had sent one or two young men to the plantations; and it was verily believed he had sold them there. Upon this, he was taken up and examined, and, afterwards, not only tried at the King's-bench bar and convict (as I find in the Chronological History of England, 24 May 1682) but was also obnoxious, if not charged by a writ de Homine replegiando, and committed (as the nature of which writ requires) until he produced the persons in order to be replevied, this was the ancient remedy for the liberty of the subject, and is indeed more effectual and expedite than an Habeas Corpus. The difference is that the former is the process of the government, that took care of the people's liberties (wherefore men affected to style themselves the king's subjects) against the great men that tyrannised; and the latter is chiefly intended against the government itself, and the abuses of its power. But, as for Wilmore the kidnapper, he found means to clear himself by the activity of his heels. Whoever would know the steps of this matter, may find somewhat of it in the pamphlets of the time, and particularly in L'Estrange's Observators; out of which the whole story may be picked. "In such a case as this, so defamatory of a settled government, an author should have made good his charge by some authoritative evidence, as the order of council, warrant of commitment, or return of an Habeas Corpus, as might have been had for the looking for. O! doth humbly beseech your majesty and this honourable Board, that he may have a copy of the indictment against him, or the particular charges of it, that his counsel and solicitor 6 but then, his saying it was for his verdict had appeared to be a falsity, and had spoiled a very fluent libel. Marry, he thanks you for that; no, though the matter lay fair enough for reflection, as to have said that, for revenge of his Ignoramus a pretence of kidnapping was taken, &c. for he would not abate an hair of the venom of his libel, and therefore says it positive, without any pretence at all. But, to do the faction justice, I must allow that, according to their scheme, they were much in the right; for having a government to undermine, then lies and libels served as spades and mathooks to work with. But now, to go on with the story, for I think I must transcribe the whole paragraph. To make sure that the bill might not miscarry a second time, where (at Oxford) they ⚫ hoped to find a more pliable grand jury, the 'witnesses were sent down post to the assises.' Whether by post with the horn sounding before, or, as I guess the truth was, by coaches in which there might be six horses, which trotting apace, and galloping sometimes, saved their tide and reached the assise town before the bu sines swas done. Now this word 'post' has a je ne sçai quoi sound of a deep design. But oportet mendacem esse memorem; for now it is hoped,' a line or two before it is made sure,' that is they made sure hopes.' But, to wave bulls, why might not they in Oxfordshire make sure, when it was evident no unpacked and unprepared grand jury could reject such an indictment? Then, as for his pliable,' the chief gentry in the county of Oxford are his humble servants for the compliment; for men of honour are very pliable' to perjury. "Now, to go on with this hedge libel; and, by a secret management shut up with the grand jury till they found the bill.' "A bailiff at the grand jury chamber door, to let in those that have business and none else, is a manager of secrets. Do but observe the hot and cold dealing. In Rous's case it was a privilege to be secret, and now it is management. The malicious and false insinuation is that the grand jury chamber, being free for all comers, as an open court of trials is, yet, in this case, it was shut up for management. O woeful lawdivine, that doth not know that place is always close, and not open to any that are not called, or have no business; and that no defences being heard, only the prosecutors and their witnesses attend to shew that there is reason for the prosecution. And how could these men, as they are sworn, keep the king's secrets and their own, if they were not close. If all people might come in at such examinations, prisoners would have spies upon the testimony, which would be of ill consequence. But the true grievance of the faction was, partly, the want of that, and, partly, that the solicitors and agents of diverse species, sent may have free access to, and private conference with him; and because their own private affairs or other accidents may call away some of his counsel from his assistance, that Mr. 6 down to labour about freeing the prisoner, were deprived of the opportunity of standing behind, whispering and commenting, during the examination; as for instance- this is po pish work' that is an Irish papist'— knaves come to destroy protestants'— 'no protestant plot,' and the like; and, perhaps, take the boldness to ask questions pragmatically, or otherwise, though by their looks, affront the testimony. Whereby, if, in ordinary cases, the crowd used to be let in, as they were not, yet, in this case, it was reasonable to hinder it. And now comes the tag to this fine lace. This was afterwards complained of • as an unsufferable practice,' that is not letting the crowd into the grand jury chamber; but by whom, or to whom complained of? By Shute to Pilkington, or by Pilkington to Shute? It could not be by any one man of common sense and knowledge of things to another. If he means any formal complaint to authority, as for an hardship or wrong done, the sentence is a great untruth. "He comes now to the circumstances about the trial, which, I hope, was no private management; but he was hurried down.' This is like the posting down of the witnesses. Libel trades much in words that sound without any sense in them: For what was this hurry? If it was the long trot of the horses, and swift passage to Oxford, it is a foolish expression. If it was so that the prisoner was deprived of any just means of defence, as the libel seems to intend should be understood by it, it is false; and the prints before the trial, as also the trial itself, that shews all the material circumstances, confutes it. But tragical words sometimes heat the willing imagination, so as to form in itself a lye when the author durst not say it. But we shall grow more and more direct; for, about the papers, taken and (except the libellous harangues) restored, the author says, This way of procedure was thought to be very harsh and illegal.' Neither the one nor the other; for, as the known law was then, prisoners were urged to make their defence upon their innocence of the fact, to be tried by the country, without foreign assistance to invent exceptions of form, and dilatories; for which reason no counsel used to be allowed them: But, if they could, by any means, shew to the court any matter of law, in point of form or otherwise, the court was trusted to give them the full benefit of it; as they were also if it appeared to them without the pri soner's shewing: which made it a common saying that the court is the prisoner's counsel. Nor is this to be accounted an harsh law (for law it was) however thought fit since to be altered; for offences, of this kind, are so claucular, and withal so dangerous to government, that it is necessary they have some power Wallop, Mr. Smith, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Darnel, Mr. West of the Middle-Temple, Mr. Hawlles of Lincoln's-Inn, Mr. Rotherham, Mr. Lovell, Mr. Rowny of Gray's-Inn, Mr. over criminals in the way of justice, more than is regular in common wrangles of meum and tuum, that are of little consequence. For, if justice is not had in such cases, force will take place; and nothing is extraordinary when a court of justices sworn have the power of the whole form of a trial, by which right is to be done between the government, and traitors. And to imagine that lawful judges are corrupt, is barbarous; because of the necessity of judging, and consequently of powers to judge, especially when a trial is in public, for all the attendance to observe and judge even the judges, who are in a sort (in captious times at least) upon the terms of good behaviour, because men may see their partialities when the case is so, as it was not here. But, since artifice is not allowed to prisoners by the means of formal counsel, why, I beseech you, by written speeches and rhetorical harangues, which were, in truth, impertinent to a just defence, and contrived for another end, and that was libel upon the government? It had been a rare device to publish libels with safety, had it been permitted the prisoner to read them to the people out of his papers. Pollexfen, Mr. Ward of the Inner-Temple, may be assigned him for counsel, and Aaron Smith for his solicitor, and that he may have a copy of the jurors to be returned upon his sent down to the law, and fairly in the face of the nation, tried and attaint, was doomed before. hand; right or wrong,. He must die.' So here is premeditated murder charged upon king, counsel, officers, judges and jury all at once. I am sorry that the author's unsufferable malice to the times of this reign, shewed in his falsifying this trial, has drawn me to lose so much paper and ink about it. One, that is weary, and has a mind to have done, must grieve at such provocations; and, as the common saying is, flesh and blood can scarce bear with him, who hath given no historical account at all of the matter, but only hath put together, as under a common place, a parcel of sentences, every one sublimated libel." North's Examen, 585. It is "A Bill of Indictment was presented to the Grand Jury of the City of London against Colledge the Protestant Joiner, as he was always called. The witnesses against him were Mr, Smith, Mr. Dugdale, Mr. Haynes, the two Macnamara's, and sir William Jennings. They all positively swore, that Colledge told them, there was a design to seize the king at Oxford, and bring him to London, and there keep him, "But the author still thinks him under se- till he had complied with them, or else to bring 'vere circumstances.' It is well the trial is in him to the block, as they did his father; and print, else these poetical expressions would that in this design the House of Lords and Comsadly paint this man's case in the minds of mons were concerned, and that there was an those that know no better. But, from the old army ready at London to assist them. rule, sit liber judex,' I may take assurance, certainly true, that never men swore more and affirm that no man, that ever was tried for firmly than they did in court, before the jury, high-treason, rad, or could claim, more lati- who demanded of the court a copy of their tude or scope of defence than was allowed oaths, and that the witnesses might go with to this man; which is sufficient in answer them, to be examined apart; which request to all that ever was or can be alledged against was granted to the jury, and after two or three this trial. And the author is but a summist of hours consideration, the jury returned, and the libel upon this head; for, near the time, found the bill ignoramus. Upon which the lord faction was not desperate, but bold, and they chief justice demanded, whether they would not only railed at the judges publicly, but put give no reason for this verdict; and whether out libellous pamphlets, out of which the au- they believed those six witnesses perjured? to thor has his excerpts, which, at the time, were which they replied, That they had given their answered sufficiently to the common satisfac- verdict according to their consciences, and that tion of all equal persons; but out of the an- they would stand by it. To which the lord swers, no word to be found here. Now see chief justice North said, There was never such how an historian can side with a traitor in his a verdict brought in the world. The grand time! For the author hath the brass to add, jury, before they were discharged, delivered a 'But indeed it seemed a matter resolved from petition to the court, desiring the removal of the 'above, he must die, and so ' One priests and Jesuits farther from the Lords in the that knows this author to be a divine, would Tower, they holding correspondence with them. conclude him a fatalist, and that he speaks of Upon bringing in this bill ignoramus, Colledge heaven above, and not of an earthly king. will be sent to be tried in Oxford, where the The words indeed it seemed' are singular judges arrived the 15th of July. Their comEnglish: But, pass forms, if any thing from mission was opened, and the grand jury was bell can stink worse than this sulphurous sen- sworn, of which sir Thomas Spencer was Foretence, I have no nose. The very shewing it man; the rest were all gentlemen of loyalty, is enough to disturb the entrails of any candid and Protestants, and of good estates; and upon person not abandoned to infamy. One, that hearing the evidence against Colledge, they slanders within the lines of possibility, is a found the indictment Billa vera, nemine consincere person, and an artist to this that de- tradicente. One of the evidence against him fames with impossibilities; that is, that a man swore, That if the king did not agree with his YOL, VIII. 20 trial some days before the trial. And your | Mr. Justice Jones, Mr. Justice Raymond, Mr. petitioner shall ever pray, &c. At Hampton-Court, August 11, 1681. It is is ordered by his majesty in council, That the friends and relations of Stephen Colledge, a prisoner in the Tower, shall have liberty of visiting and freely conversing with him; and the lieutenant of the Tower having first caused their names to be taken in writing, is to suffer such friends and relations to have access to the said Stephen Colledge, without any interruption from time to time accordingly. THE TRIAL OF STEPHEN COLLEDGE, On Wednesday the 17th of August, 1681, the lord Norreys, Lord Chief Justice North, Justice Levinz, commissioners of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol-delivery, met at the Courthouse in the city of Oxford; and after procla an Ignoramus upon it, for which Wilmer was forced to fly his country. "The design not succeeding in London, the scene against Colledge is laid at Oxford; the judges were chief justice North, justice Jones, justice Raimond and justice Levins: to make sure of a bill to be found there against Colledge, the king's counsel had prepared witnesses at the assizes to post thither; and there, to, make sure work, the king's counsel are prifound the bill, which Mr. Hawles says was a vately shut up with the jury till they had most unjustifiable and unsufferable practice. "Whilst these things were contriving, Colledge had the honour, as well as Fitzharris, to be committed and continued a close prisoner in the Tower, yet the Lords impeached in parlia ment had the liberty of it, and free access was permitted to them; it is true indeed, Colledge was permitted to have a solicitor and counsel, which was Mr. West, I think a Plotter or Setter in the Rye-plot, as dark as Fitzharris's, and as like it as two apples are one to the other. "But this was not out of favour to Colledge, but to betray him; for when the Bill against Colledge was found at Oxford, Murrel, a gaoler, and Sewel, a messenger, were sent to bring Col ledge to trial; who, after they had taken him out of prison, run him into a house, and by order of the king's counsel, took from him all his instructions for his defence, and carried them to the king's counsel, as well to disable him to make his defence, as to enable the king's counsel how to proceed against him, by some way he was not provided to make his defence. parliament, there was a design to seize upon him, and 30,000 men were ready in the city of London to back the design; and that if the king refused to pass the bill of exclusion, they would serve him as they did his father. This Colledge was brought to his trial at Oxford, before the lord chief justice North and justice Jones. The trial lasted from two in the afternoon, till two in the morning, so much time was taken up in examining the witnesses. The evidence agamst the prisoner was the same which was at the Old Bailey; those for the pri soner were chiefly Mr. Oates, Mowbray, and Waldron, who said, that Dugdale and Smith told them, they knew nothing against Colledge; but they denied it upon their oaths, and the jury brought him in guilty; and some hours after the prisoner received his sentence, the 'court meeting again for that purpose. Some days after, Colledge was executed, and his Upon Colledge's arraignment, he dehead was set upon Temple Bar, to be a warn-manded his papers taken from him by Murrel ing to others to avoid his fate." Bulstrode, 325. *It appears from Oldmixon, that the counsel against him were sir Robert Sawyer, Attorney General, Finch, Solicitor General, sir George Jefferies, and Mr. North. The jury were Henry Standard, William Big, Robert Bird, John Shorter, William Windlow, Charles Hobbs, Roger Browne, Timothy Doyley, Ralph Wallis, John Benson, John Piercy, and John Lawrence. Roger Coke, after mentioning that the London Grand Jury had returned an ignorames upon the bill against Colledge, proceeds: "The fright of Fitzharris's discovery of this new Popish Plot being seemingly allayed by his death, Revenge with winged haste pursues the discoverers of the old. It was in Trinity Term that Fitzharris was tried and executed; and after this term, an indictment of high treason was exhibited to the Grand-jury of London against Stephen Colledge, a mean fellow but a great talker against the Popish Plot, who was more known by the name of Protestant Joiner than Stephen Colledge. The foreman was one Wilmer: this indictment would not down, but the Grand-jury returned and Sewel; which were denied by the Court till he had pleaded guilty or not to his indictrent. Here take notice, that sir Francis Pemberton, sir Thomas Jones, and justice Raimond having done the Court's job in Fitzharris's Trial, a new set of four is made to do this of Colledge's: the chief of these was sir Francis North (a man cut out to all intents and purposes for such a work, and as if born to do it, his father was a committee-man in all the late times against king Charles 1st, and his grandfather one of the seven who condemned archbishop Laud) it is no matter who were the other three, for Nortir was the mouth of the Court. "This was the first time that ever any pri soner had his instructions taken from him to make his defence, and at a time when there were such contrivances to take away his life. My Lord Chief Justice told Colledge he took not away his papers; but College replied, they were taken from him upon pretence of bringing them to his lordship. "The Court and Counsel had a twofold design upon Colledge, in seizing his papers; one, mation for silence, the commission of gaoldelivery was read, and then the commission of Oyer and Terminer. Proclamation was made for the sheriff to return the precepts to him to trepan Colledge to plead guilty or not, before they delivered the papers; which having done, it was too late to plead either to the jurisdiction of the Court, or that the indictment was erroneous, as it was, it being of different natures, as, for treason and misdemeanors. "Here I leave it to the learned to judge whether the Court and king's counsel did not in this indictment endeavour to depose the parliamentary authority, and usurp it themselves, for though the Commons may impeach generally for treason and misdemeanors in the same impeachment, yet neither by the common, or any statute law, any such indictment can be. "The other design was to disable Colledge to make his defence after his pleading not guilty: Colledge finding himself thus beset, though a mean man, yet with a Roman courage said, this was a horrid conspiracy, not only against his life, but against all the Protestants of England and herein he proved a true prophet. 1 "The courage of the man put the Court and king's counsel to the whisper, which was never before done in any Court of common law; and now the Court must be adjourned, the pretence being for dinner, though they had breakfasted but a little before: and before their return, the king's counsel altered their method of proceeding against the prisoner; and so sorted their evidence, that they might not contradict one another, and so would not examine some of his evidence. directly: the justices of the peace of the county of Oxford were called over; and the appearance of the Grand-jury summoned to attend this commission was taken. England; and being taxed by Oates, that he had gone against his conscience in the evidence he gave to the Grand-jury at London, against Colledge, Dugdale said, It was long of colonel Warcup (a worthy person, who, for this and such like services, is since knighted) for he could get no money else. Elizabeth Hunt testified, that after Colledge was in prison, Dugdale told her, he did not believe Colledge had any more hand in conspiring against the king, than the child unborn; and that he bad rather have given 100l. than have spoken what he had, and that he had nothing to say against Colledge which would touch his life. And Yates testified, that when he said Colledge was an honest man and stood up for the king and government, Dugdale answered I believe he does, and I know nothing to the contrary. "Haynes swore Colledge said, unless the king would let the parliament sit at Oxford, they would seize him, and bring him to the block; and that he said, the city had 1,500 barrels of powder, and 10,000 men ready at an hour's warning. "2. To confront this evidence, Hickman testified that Haynes swore, God damn him he cared not what he swore; for it was his trade to get money by swearing. Mrs. Hall said she heard Haynes own, that he was employed to put a Plot upon the dissenting Protestants. And Mrs. Richards said, she heard him say the same thing. Whaley said, Haynes stole a silver tankard from him: and Lun said, "Yet upon the return of the Court, the at-Haynes said, the parliament were a company torney sir Robert Sawyer moved, the king's of rogues for not giving the king money; but evidence might be examined in the hearing of he would help the king to money enough one another; which though over-ruled, yet it out of the fanatics estates. Everard testified was not observed and to satisfy the jury, the that Haynes said, his necessity and hard pay Court told them in summing up the evidence, drove him to say any thing against the Protesthey would inform the jury what part of it tants. Turbervile swore Colledge said at Oxwas treason, and what misdemeanor, which they ford, that he wished the king would begin; if did not. he did not they would begin with him, and seize him; and that he (College) came to Oxford for that purpose. "The Court and counsel thus armed capa-pee, and the prisoner bound hand and foot, you need not doubt of a glorious victory over bim. The first champion against Colledge was Stephen Dugdale, who swore, that in a barber's shop and a coffee house he had spoken vilifying words of the king; that Colledge had shewed him several scandalous libels and pictures, of which he was the author; that Colledge had a silk armour, a brace of horse pistols, a pocket-pistol, and a sword; that he had several stout men would stand by him, that he would make use of them in defence of the Protestant religion, and that the king's party were but a handful to his. Now let's see what credit could be reasonably given to any of the evidence against him. "1. Dugdale's evidence was confronted by Dr. Oates, who testified that Dugdale said, He knew nothing against any Protestant in "3. Oates said, Turbervile said, a little before the witnesses were sworn at the OldBailey, that he was not a witness against College, nor could give any evidence agaist him; and that after he came to Oxford, he had been sworn before the Grand-jury against College, and that the Protestant citizens had deserted him, and God damn him he would not starve. "John Smith swore, Colledge's speaking scandalous words against the king, and of his having armour, which he shewed Smith, and said, these are the things that will destroy the pitiful guards of Rowley; and that he expected the king would seize some of the members of parliament at Oxford, which if done, he would be one should seize the king; that FitzGerald had made his nose bleed, but before long he hoped to see a great deal more blood |