As it would be too tedious to relate the meffages from the Will. III. fords to the commons, preffing the trials of the impeached 1701. in his ftations, and his ma"jefty graciously accepted of "his fervice; and, as a mark "of his royal favour, did make, for his benefit, fuch grants, "as are mentioned in the pre"cedent and fubfequent articles, and none other. And, *as to other perfons, he only, "in conjunction with the other "commiffioners, did fign feve"ral warrants and dockets for "fuch grants, as his majefty was pleafed to direct.” とい IV. Whereas, by common law, and other ftatutes, the king's forefts fhould be preferved, the faid lord Hallifax, not regarding the laws and ordinances of this realm, nor his duty to his majesty and the public, had procured a grant to Henry Segar, Gent. in truft for himfelf, of the fum of 14,000 1. of fcrubbed beech, birch, holly, &c. under colour whereof, fappling oaks, and many tons of well-grown timber, had been cut and fallen, and fold and difpofed of for his benefit. Tò which he anfwered; "That his "majefty, out of his grace and "favour, did grant, in truft for him, the fum of 2000l. "per ann. to be raised by the fall of ferub-beech, birch, &c. "for the fpace of feven years; "which grant was not prejudi"cial to any timber growing in "the faid forest: And if any abufe were, in cutting the "woods, he conceives, he is not "anfwerable for the fame, it "being done by the direction "of his majefty's furveyorgeneral, and other his majefty's officers." 66 lords, Pr. H. C. V. That he, the faid lord III. 133.--ISI Hallifax, did grant, or procure to be granted, to his brother Chriftopher Mountague, Efq; the place and office of auditor of the receipts, and writer of the tallies, in truft for himself; fo that he the faid lord was, in effect, at the fame time, one of the commiffioners of the Treafury, chancellor of the Exchequer, and auditor of the receipts, and writer of the tallies, and enjoyed the profits of the faid feveral offices, which were manifeftly inconfiftent, and ought to have been a check to each other. To which he anfwered: "That the grant of "the faid office was done at his "defire and request, because he intended, in a fhort time "after, to leave his own employment and places in the Treafury, and to obtain a fur"render from his faid brother. "of the faid office, and procure 66 a grant thereof for himself; "which has been fince done, "and he conceives, was lawful "for him to do." VI. That the faid lord Hallifax, well knowing the moft apparent evil confequences, as well as the injuftice of the partition of the Spanish monarchy, did yet advife his majefty to enter into a treaty for it, and did encourage and promote the fame. Towhich he answered; "That "he never faw the faid treaty, "nor heard the fame read, or "does as yet know the articles 86 or agreement it contains; and denics, that he ever advifed "his majefty to enter into or K 2 "make Will. III. lords, and the answers of the commons evading it on account of formalities, the fubftance of the whole, from bishop Burnet and others, is inferted as follows. 1701. Meffages between the two houses. The lords had refolved to begin with the trial of the earl of Orford; because the articles against him were the firft that were brought up; and, fince the commons made no replica "make the faid treaty, or was ever confulted upon any "claufe or article thereof, or "ever encouraged or promoted the fame. That, as he re"members, Mr. fecretary Ver"non did at one time fend for "him, and difcourfe with him "and others, upon an intima tion that was given by a letter "from the earl of Portland, as he "remembers, that the French "king was difpofed to com66 mence a negotiation upon "fome general terms, that were "then mentioned, to prevent a "war in cafe of the king of Spain's death, who was then "reported to be very ill; and "afterwards the faid matter "was difcourfed between the "fecretary, the then lord chan"cellor, and the faid lord Hal"lifax, at Tunbridge - wells, when and where the faid "lord Hallifax made feveral objections to the fame; and "denies that he gave any opi"nion to encourage or promote "the faid treaty, or ever after"wards was informed of any "one particular relating to it, "or was ever confulted or ad"vifed upon any claufe or article of it, or was ever after "told or informed, that the "faid negotiation or treaty did "go on or proceed; and faith, "that not being advised with, "or any ways knowing of the "faid treaty or negotiation (ex"cept as aforefaid) he could not diffuade or obftruct its taking effect; and faith, as " he cannot tell what the effects "of the treaty might have been, "if the said treaty had been "obferved, fo he conceives and "infists, that he is not nor ought to be anfwerable for the "fame" Pr. H. C. III. 167. Burnet obferves here, when, by thefe articles and the answers to them, it appeared, that after all the noise and clamour that had been raised against the former miniftry (more particularly againft the lord Hallifax) for the great waste of treasure during their administration, that now, upon the ftri&teft fearch, all ended in fuch poor accufations; it turned the minds of many, that had been formerly prejudiced against them. It appeared, that it was the animofity of a party at beft, if it was not a French practice, to ruin men who had ferved the king faithfully, and to difcourage others from engaging themselves fo far in his interefts, as thefe lords had done. They faw the effect that must follow on this: And that the king could not enter upon a new war, if they could difcourage from his fervice all the men of lively and active tempers, that would raise a spiit in the nation, for fupporting fuch an important and dangerous war, as this now in profpect was like to prove. tion, the lords, according to clear precedents, named a day Will. III. for his trial, and gave notice of it to the house of commons: 1701. Upon this the commons moved the lords, to agree to name a committee of both houses for fettling the preliminaries of the trial, and they named two preliminaries; one was, that the lord who was to be tried, fhould not fit as a peer; the other was, that those lords who were impeached for the same matter, might not vote in the trial of one another: They also acquainted the lords, that the course of their evidence led them to begin with the lord Sommers. The lords judged their laft demand reasonable, and agreed to it; but difagreed to the other. They confidered themselves as a court of justice, and how great foever the regard due to the house of commons might be in all other refpects, yet in matters of juftice, where they were the accufers, they could only be confidered as parties. The king, when he had a suit with a subject, fubmitted to the equality of juftice; fo the commons ought to pretend to no advantage over a fingle perfon in a trial; a court of juftice ought to hear the demands of both parties pleaded fairly, and then to judge impartially; a committee named by one of the parties, to fit in an equality with the judges, and to fettle matters relating to the trial, was a thing practifed in no court or nation, and feemed contrary to the principles of law, or rules of justice: By these means, they could at leaft delay trials as long as they pleased; and all delays of juftice are real and great injuftices. This had never been demanded but once, in the cafe of the Popish plot; then it was often refused; it is true, it was at laft yielded to by the lords, though with great oppofition: that was a case of treason, in which the king's life, and the fafety of the nation were concerned; there was then a great jealousy of the court, and of the lords that belonged to it; and the nation was in fo great a ferment, that the lords might at that time. yield to fuch a motion, though it derogated from their judicature: That ought not to be fet up for a precedent for a quiet time, and in a cafe pretended to be no more than a misdemeanor; fo the lords refolved not to admit of this, but to hear whatsoever fhould be propofed by the commons, and to give them all juft and reasonable fatisfaction in it. The chief point in queftion, in the year 1679, was, how far the bishops might fit and vote in trials of treafon; but, without all difpute, they were to vote in trials for misdemeanors; it was alfo fettled in the cafe of the lord Mordaunt, that a lord tried for a misdemeanor was to fit within the bar; in all other courts, men tried for fuch offences came within the bar; Will. III. this was ftronger in the cafe of a peer, who by his patent had 1701. a feat in that house, from which nothing but a judgment of the houfe, for fome offence, could remove him: They indeed found that, in king James the Firft's time, the earl of Middlefex, being accused of misdemeanors, was brought to the bar; but, as that profecution was violent, fo there had been no later precedent of that kind, to govern proceedings by it: There had been many fince that time, and it had been settled, as a rule for future times, that peers, tried for fuch offences, were to fit within the bar. The other preliminary was, that peers, accufed for the fame offence, might not vote in the trials of the others: The lords found, that a right of voting was fo inherent in every peer in all caufes, except where himself was a party, that could not be taken from him, but by a féntence of the houfe; a vote of the house could not deprive him of it; otherwife, a majority might upon any pretence deny fome peers their right of voting, and the commons, by impeaching many peers at once, for the fame offence, might exclude as many lords as they pleafed from judging: It was alfo obferved, that a man might be a judge in any caufe, in which he might be a witnefs; and it was a common practice to bring perfons, charged with the same offence, if they were not in the fame indictment, to witness the fact, with which they themselves were charged in another indictment: And a parity of reafon appeared in the case of lords, who were charged in different impeachments for the fame facts, that they might be judges in one another's trials. In conclufion, therefore, the lords, on the 12th of June, came to the following refolutions, which were fent down to the Refolutions commons. 1. That no lord of parliament, impeached for high crimes the lords. and mifdemeanors, and coming to his trial, fhall, upon his trial, be without the bar. 2. That no lord of parliament, impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors, can be precluded from voting on any occafion, except in his own trial. Upon thefe points many meffages paffed between the two houfes with fo much precipitation, that it was not easy to diftinguish between the answers and replies. The commons still kept off the trials by affected delays; and it was vifible, that, when the trials fhould come on, they had nothing to charge thefe lords with: So the leaders of the party fhewed their skill in finding out excufes to keep up a clamour, and to hinder the matter from being brought to an iffue. The main point that was ftill infifted upon, was a committee of both houses houfes to fettle preliminaries; fo, according to the forms of Will. III. the house, it was brought to a free conference. The day before the free conference, the king, coming to the house of peers to pafs the bill of fucceffion, took occafion to make the following fpeech to both houfes : "My lords and gentlemen, I 1701. of fucceffion. Return you my hearty thanks for the care you have The king's taken to establish the fucceffion to the crown in the fpeech at paf"Proteftant line. And I must not lofe this occafion of ac- fing the act "quainting you, that I am likewife extremely fenfible of your repeated affurances of fupporting me in fuch alliances. as fhall be moft proper for the prefervation of the liberty "of Europe, and for the fecurity of England and Holland. "Your ready compliance with my defires, as to the fuccours "for the States-general, is alfo a great fatisfaction to me, as "well as a great advantage to the common caufe. And as I "have nothing fo much at heart as the prefervation of the "liberty of Europe, and the honour and interest of England, "fo I make no doubt of attaining thofe great ends, by the "bleffing of God, and the continuance of your chearful "The feafon of the year makes it neceflary to have a "speedy recefs; and the pofture of affairs abroad does abfo"lutely require my prefence, for the encouragement of our "allies, and for the perfecting of fuch alliances, as may be "moft effectual for the common intereft. And therefore "I must recommend a dispatch of the public bufinefs, efpe<c cially of those matters which are of the greateft importance." The commons, interpreting this fpeech as an approbation of their proceedings in refpect to their contefts with the lords, prefented an addrefs of thanks for his majefty's being pleafed to approve of their proceedings, and affured him, they would fupport fuch alliances, as he fhould think fit to make, in conjunction with the emperor and the States-general, for the peace of Europe, and for the reducing the exorbitant power of France. So, without any farther interruption, they returned to their difputes with the lords. The free conference began the 13th of June. In it the Lord Haverlord Haverfham, fpeaking to the point of lords being partial ham reflecte K 4 in on the im peachment, |