Will.III. at a full ftand. At the motion of the earl of Orford, the 1700-1. lords, four days before, had alfo acquainted them, that the houfe proved and paffed in the pri vy council of England, according to the usual form in "fuch cases; and, being so ap proved, were, by order of "council, fent to the faid lord "Sommers, who was by the faid order required to affix "the great feal thereto." and exorbitant grants, under the 68 VIII. That he did not only receive and enjoy the fees, profits and perquifites belonging to the great feal, but had received an annual penfion from the crown of 4000l. and had further begged and procured for his own benefit, many great, unreafonable, and exorbitant grants of revenues belonging to the crown of England. To which he answered, That the annual penfion or allowance of 4000l. had been allowed to feveral of his predeceffors; "but he denied, that he did ever beg or use any means to warrants for the great feal; 86 times; and conceives, and is "advised, that being required, "of his majesty, by warrant, to pafs the fame, he ought fo to, "do; and denies, that he did, "ever advife, promote or procure any grant to be made to any perfon whatfoever, of any forfeited eftate in Ireland, or did procure any act or bill "prepared for confirming any "fuch grant in the parliament "of Ireland, to be approved in procure any grant whatsoever "for his own benefit; but that "what his majefty was pleafed "to give him, proceeded from "his majelly's own motion, and "of his mere bounty, and as P house had been defired by the earl, that a day might be ap- Will. III. pointed for his fpeedy trial; but, finding no iffue joined by 1700-1. and contracted and agreed with them, as a reward for their difcovery, one full fourth part of all fuch rents fo discovered. X. That, notwithstanding the faid pretended contracts, there was not any fum of money really paid, but the contracts and payments were colourably and fraudulently contrived in deceit of his majefty, and elufion of the acts of parliament. To which ninth and tenth articles he anfwered, "That after his majefty had given directions to "the lords of the treasury for granting fee-farm rents to the "benefit of him and his heirs; "his majesty's intended bounty "would have been loft, with"out information could be "gained of fuch particular rents; "and therefore application was "made to the faid auditor and clerk, as the most likely to give information therein; "but they refused to give any account of fuch rents, unlefs they might have near a fourth part for fo doing; which the "faid lord Sommers did, as he "conceives he lawfully might comply with. And there was not any fum of money paid, as the confideration of the grants of the said rents, but "the contracts were made, and "the payment difcharged, with "out any deceit of his majefty, or elufion of the acts of par"liament." XI. That many rents ftand. ing in charge for payment of penfions, ftipends, falaries, annuities, alms, and allowances repli for fchools, churches, bridges, &c. and many quit-rents of ma nors, omitted and annexed to the castle of Windfor for fupport of the fame, and maintenance of the officers, fervants, and attendants in the said castle, were conveyed by the said truftees, through the direction and power of the faid lord Sommers, contrary to the true intent and meaning of the faid acts of parliament, to the great vexation and oppreffion of many of his majesty's good subjects, and creating many new and unreafonable charges on the other revenues of the crown. To which he anfwered, "That fome things might be inferted by "miftaken informations, and 144 Will. III. replication of the house of commons, they thought fit to 1700-1. give them notice of it. The fame day they likewife put the fwered, "That the trustees for XIII. That in the year 1695, 66 vigation. He does admit, "that there was a grant to the "earl of Bellamont, Edmund com "Harrifon, Samuel Newton "and others, and tha tSamuel "Newton was named by, and "in truft for, the faid lord "Sommers, of ships and goods "taken by the faid William "Kidd, with account to be du"ly made to the ufe of his ma jefty of a clear tenth part, "whereby the public might "have received benefit, had "the faid Kidd faithfully dif charged the truft; which he failing to do, the owners of "the said ship have loft all their and had not reexpences, "ceived any benefit of his ma"jefty's faid grant. 66 XIV. That the faid lord Sommers, to the great oppression of the subject, and contrary to Magna Charta, and divers good ftatutes of this realm, and in manifeft breach and violation of his oath, as lord high chancellor of England, hath, in feveral caufes depending before him, by many extraordinary methods and unwarrantable practices, for feveral years, delayed proceedings in the faid caufes; and by colour of his office, hath made divers arbitrary and illegal orders, in fubverfion of the laws and statutes of this realm, and hath, of his own authority, reverfed judgments given in the court of Exchequer, and without calling before him the barons of the Exchequer, to hear and the their informations, caufes of their judgments, as the ftatutes in those cafes exprefsly directs; affuming thereby to himself an arbitrary and illegal power against lord Commons in mind of the articles against the earl of Portland Will. III. and lord Hallifax, and that the delay was not only a hard- 1700-1. fhip to the perfons concerned, but very unufual. Notwithtanding these meflages, the replication to the earl of Orford's anfwer, though framed and ingroffed, was never fent up to the lords; and no articles were drawn against the earl of Portland, which was represented to the king as an expreffion of their respect to him. Nor was it till the 14th of June, that Articles of the articles against lord Hallifax were fent up to the lords by impeachment Mr. Bruges, which fhall be mentioned here, to end this Hallifax, matter at once. The commons charged him for a grant that he had in Ireland, and that he had not paid in the produce of it, as the act concerning thofe grants had enacted: They charged him for another grant, out of the foreft of Dean, to the waste of the timber, and prejudice of the navy of England: They charged him, for holding places that were incompatible, being at the fame time both a commissioner of the treasury, and auditor of the Exchequer; and, in conclufion, he was charged for advifing the two partition treaties. He was as quick with his anfwer as the other lords had been: He faid, his grant in Ireland was of fome debts and fums of The lord power; and hath declared and affirmed in public places of judicature, that particular fubjects might have rights and interefts, without any remedy for recovery of the fame, unless by petition to the perfon of the king only, or to that effect: which pofition was highly dangerous to the legal constitution of this kingdom, and abfolutely deftructive to the property of the fubject. To which he answered, "That he did not delay any proceedings in any cause or "caufes depending before him, as chancellor of England, "longer or otherwife than as "the circumftances and justice "of each cause required, but "did, to the very manifest im"pairing of his health, con"ftantly apply himself to the r difpatch of the caufes depending before him; and he deVOL. XV. 66 Hallifax's anfwer. Will. III. money, and fo was not thought to be within the act con 1701. cerning confifcated eftates; all he had ever received of it was four hundred pounds; if he was bound to repay it, he was liable to an action for it; but every man was not to be impeached who did not pay his debts at the day of payment. His grant in the foreft of Dean was only of the weedings; fo it could be no wafte of timber, nor a prejudice to the navy; the auditor's place was held by another, till he obtained the king's leave to withdraw from the Treafury; as for the first partition treaty, he never once faw it, nor was he ever advised with in it as for the fecond, he gave his advice very freely about it, at the fingle time, in which he had ever heard any thing concerning it; this was fent down to the commons, but was never fo much as once read by them (a). (a) The articles against the lord Hallifax, and his anfwers more at large, were as follow: I. That whereas it was the continued fenfe of the commons of England, that it was highly reasonable, that the forfeited eftates of rebels and traitors in Ireland fhould be applied in eafe of his majefty's faithful fubjects of the kingdom of England, the faid lord Hallifax prefumed to advife, pafs, or direct the paffing a grant to Thomas Railton, Efq; in truft for himfelf, of feveral debts, interefts, &c. amounting to 13,000 1. or thereabouts, acruing to his majefty, from attainders, outlawries, or other forfeitures, in Ireland. To which he anfwered, "Thaz "he did accept the faid grant, "as it was lawful for him to "do, without breach of his duty, and the truft repofed in "him; which grant hath fince "been taken away by act of parliament; and he hath not "made clear thereof, as yet, "above 400 1." II. That he has not repaid into the receipt of his majesty's As Exchequer, in Ireland, the fum of cool. which he had actually received to his own use, out of the profits of the forementioned grant, which he ought to have fo repaid, by virtue of the act for granting an aid to his majesty, by fale of the forfeited eftates in Ireland.' To which he anfwered, "That he gave direc"tion, after the faid act paffed, "to his agents in Ireland, to "do, in relation to the money "received, as fhould be ad"vifed by counsel there; by "whom his agents were ad"vifed, that the faid monics, 66 being received out of the "mean profits which were re"mitted by that act, were not "within the first mentioned "claufe in the faid act." III. That, in the time of a tedious and expenfive war, he did advife, procure, and affent, not only to the paffing of divers grants to others, but did obtain and accept of feveral beneficial ones for himfelf; which practices were a moft notorious abufe of his majefty's goodness, &c. To which he anfwered, "That he "ferved his majetty faithfully |