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

com

"Harrison, Samuel Newton "and others, and tha tSamuel "Newton was named by, and "in trust for, the faid lord Sommers, of fhips and goods "taken by the said William "Kidd, with account to be du

fwered, "That the trustees for
"fale of the fee farm-rents, by
"warrant of the commiffioners
"of the treasury, did grant di-
"vers other rents, amounting
“to 3911. os. 3, in lieu and
"reprize of the 3471. 11s. 5d.
"having appeared to be grant-ly made to the use of his ma-
"ed before, or not grantable
"by the faid trustees, or not le-
"viable on furrenders of fuch" have received benefit, had
"rents, which he conceives
"might be, and was lawfully
" done."

XIII. That in the year 1695, the Lord Sommers, being then lord keeper, procured a commiffion to be granted to one William Kidd, a person of evil fame and reputation, and fince that time convicted of piracy; and in a grant from his majefty, of fhips, veffels, and goods, to be taken by the faid William Kidd, unto Richard earl of Bellamont, Edward Harrison, merchant, Samuel Newton, Gent. and others, the name of the faid Samuel Newton was used in truft, and for the only benefit and advantage of the faid lord Sommers. To which he anfwered, "That the faid Wil"liam Kidd, had from his ma

"jefty of a clear tenth part, "whereby the public might

"the faid Kidd faithfully dif"charged the truft; which he

66

failing to do, the owners of "the faid fhip have loft all their

expences, and had not re"ceived any benefit of his ma"jefty's faid grant."

XIV. That the faid lord Sommers, to the great oppreffion of the fubject, 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 several caufes depending before him, by many extraordinary methods and unwarrantable practices, for feveral years, delayed proceedings in the faid causes; and by colour of his office, hath made divers arbitrary and illegal orders, in fubverfion of the laws and ftatutes 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 their informations, and the caufes of their judgments, as the ftatutes in those cafes exprefsly directs; affuming thereby to himself an arbitrary and illegal

power

against lord a

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. ship to the perfons concerned, but very unusual. Notwithstanding 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 refpect 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 commiffioner of the treasury, and auditor of the Exchequer; and, in conclufion, he was charged for advising 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 person of the king only, or to that effect which pofition was highly dangerous to the legal conftitution of this kingdom, and abfolutely deftractive 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, "sas 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 "difpatch of the caufes depend"ing before him; and he deVOL. XV.

Hallifax's answer.

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 forest 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 saw 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 Halifax, 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 ettates of rebels and traitors in Ireland fhould be applied in eate or his majesty's faithful fabjects of the kingdom of England, the fad lord Halifax presumed to advile, pais. or direct the pading a grant to Thomas Railton, Fiq; in trait for himself, of feveral debts, interefts, &c. amounting to 13.000 1. or thereabouts, acraing to his majelly, trom attainders, outlawries, or other forfeitures, in Ireland. To which he aniwe ed, "That "he did accept the said grant, as it was lawral for him to do, without breach of his ** duty, and the trait repofed in him; which grant hath fince "been taken away by act of "puliament; and he hath not "inade clear thereof, as yet, ** above pol."

11. That he has not repaid into the receipt of his majesty's

As

Exchequer, in Ireland, the fum of 1000l. which he had actually received to his own ufe, 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 estates in Ireland.' To which he anfwered, "That he gave direc“tion, after the said aft paffed, "to his agents in Ireland, to "do, in relation to the money "received, as should be ad"vifed by counsel there; by "whom his agents were ad

66

vifed, that the faid monies,

being received out of the "mean profits which were re"mitted by that act, were not "within the first mentioned "claufe in the said act.”

III. That, in the time of a tedious and expenfive war, he did advife, procure, and affent, not only to the pafling of divers grants to others, but did obtain and accept of feveral beneficial ones for himself; which practices were a moft notorious abufe of his majefty's goodness, &c. To which he answered, "That he "ferved his majesty faithfully

As it would be too tedious to relate the meflages from the Will. III. lords to the commons, preffing the trials of the impeached 1701.

ἐσ

in his ftations, and his májefty 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 arti*cles, 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 pleased to direct.”

lords,

Pr. H. C.

V. That he, the faid lord III. 133.--Hallifax, did grant, or procure 181 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 himfelf; 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 requeft, because

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 trust for himself, of the fum of 14,000 1. of fcrubbed beech, birch, holly," Treafury, and to obtain a fur&c. under colour whereof, fap- "render from his faid brother

he intended, in a short time "after, to leave his own em"ployment and places in the

と

" of the faid office, and procure
a grant thereof for himself;
which has been fince done,
"and he conceives, was lawful
"for him to do."

pling oaks, and many tons of
well-grown timber, had been
cut and fallen, and fold and dif-
pofed of for his benefit. To
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 fcrub-beech, birch, &c.
"for the space of feven years;
"which grant was not prejudi-
"cial to any timber growing in
"the faid foreft: And if any
"abuse were, in cutting the
"woods, he conceives, he is not
"answerable for the fame, it
"being done by the direction"
"of his majesty's furveyor-
general, and other his ma-
"jefty's officers."

VI. That the faid lord Hal-
lifax, well knowing the most ap-
parent 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 en-
courage and promote the fame.
To which he answered; " That
"he never faw the faid treaty,
"nor heard the fame read, or
"does as yet know the articles
or agreement it contains; and
"denies, that he ever advised
his majefty to enter into or
K 2
"make

Will. III. lords, and the answers of the commons evading it on account 1701. of formalities, the fubftance of the whole, from bishop Burnet and others, is inferted as follows.

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 first 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 com-
"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-
"vited upon any claufe or ar-
"ticle 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 faid treaty had been "obferved, fo he conceives and "infifts, that he is not nor "ought to be anfwerable for the " fame" Pr. H. C. III. 167.

Burnet obferves here, when, by these 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 wafte of treasure during their adminiftration, that now, upon the ftricteft search, 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 served the king faithfully, and to difcourage others from engaging themselves fo far in his interefts, as thefe lords had done. They saw 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 fpirit in the nation, for fupporting fuch an important and dan gerous war, as this now in profpect was like to prove.

tion,