Geo. I. progrefs into the country. He fet out the 24th from Hamp1716. ton-Court, and arrived at Knowle in Kent, the feat of the availing an the rioters being become rebels, a party of the horfe-guards was ordered by the privy-co incil to march to Salif bury-Court to fupprefs them; and, upon their appearance, the mob difperfed and fled from the pursuit of juftice; which, however, overtook fome of them; for John Love, Thomas Bean, a fervant to Caffills and Carnegie, two condemned rebels, then in Newgate, George Purchafe, Richard Price, and William Price, five of the moft active of the rioters, were feized, imprisoned, and tried upon the ftatute, which makes it felony to demolish, or begin to demolish, any houfe. The evidence againft them proved their breaking the windows with stones and sticks, pulling down the fign, entering the house, fetching out the goods, treading upon them, and breaking them. It was fworn at their trial, that one of the mob brought three bottles out of Mr. Read's houfe, kneeled down by the Swan ale-houfe door, and drank the pretender's health, by the name of king James the Third. The evidence against these five rioters being very ftrong, they were all found guilty, and received fentence of death. The prince was very much inclined to fhew mercy to one or two of the youngest of them; but the dangerous confequences of riots and tumults, in the heart of the metropolis, and the neceffity of preventing the fame, by exemplary punifhment, being reprefented to the earl prince, he acquiefced in the courfe of juftice; which had the good effect that was forefeen and intended, the putting a ftop to the defperate outrages of an enthufiaftical multitude, The five rioters were executed on a gibbet, erected, on the 21ft of September, at the end of Salisbury-court, near the place where the crimes, for which they died, were committed. George Purchase acknowledged himself greatly guilty, and his fentence juft; praying God to forgive him this and all other his fins. This, he faid, he rafhly committed, not confidering, then, the unlawfulness and difmal confequences of fuch a rebellious fedition, as that was, which so much tended, not only to the ruin of private perfons, but to the great difturbance of, and difhonour to, the whole government.' However, fome party-zealots profecuted Mr. Read for the death of Vaughan, who had led on the mob to deftroy his house. The witneffes against him, at his trial, fwore very ftrongly against him. John Bill depofed, That he believed, Vaughan did not belong to the mob in Salifbury-court, and had no stick in his hand. Charles Tuckey fwore, That Vaughan had no stick. The fame was fworn by Catherine Bennet. Jofeph Harris depofed, That Vaughan told him, He would not be con cerned, but go to work.' This being fo directly contrary to the fact, known to fo many hun dreds earl of Dorfet, before noon, and at Tunbridge-Wells about five in the evening. From thence he went to Haland, in Suffex, the feat of the duke of Newcastle, where he lay, and came to Lewes about ten the next morning; and, about nine in the evening to Stanfted, the earl of Scarborough's feat. The next morning he proceeded to Portfmouth, and, having viewed the fortifications, docks, yards, and magazines, reviewed the regiment there, and went on board the guard-ship and bomb-fhip; dined at lieutenantgeneral Erle's, and returned in the evening to Stanfted, where archdeacon Boucher, one of the canons refidentiary of Chichester, accompanied by the prebendaries and vicars of that cathedral, with many of the neighbouring Clergy, were prefented to him by the lord Lumley. On the 27th, about nine in the morning, the prince left Stanfted, and, on a common near Rake, reviewed Wynn's dragoons. Hé came to Farnham about one, and near that place reviewed Evan's dragoons. In the evening, he arrived at Guilford; and, about eleven at night, returned to Hampton-Court. Two days after, the Venetian ambaffador had a private audience, to notify the fuccefs of the arms of that republic against the Turks, and the raifing the fiege of Corfu, owing chiefly to the conduct of general Schuylenberg, commander of their army, though a Proteftant, and brother to the du chefs of Kendal. In the beginning of November, the princefs of Wales was in extreme danger, having been feveral days in labour, but at laft was delivered of a dead prince, who was privately deposited in a valt in Henry VIII's chapel. Geo. I 1716. borough ta About the fame time the duke of Marlborough was taken The duke ill at Blenheim houfe. His diftemper being apoplectic, the of Marlfit fo far impaired his health, that he never after could be faid ken ill. to be perfectly recovered. and fome executed. The ftate prifoners that were in Edinburgh caftle being Rebelstried, removed to Carlisle, a commiffion was iffued to try them at that place. The prifoners gave the court little trouble, al dreds of fpectators, and fully proved by feveral of them, the jury acquitted Mr. Read, who had 400l. paid him at the treafury, to make good his loffes and charges: And Mr. Gill, at the Roebuck in Cheapfide, had zool. allowed him on the fame account, his houfe having been C4 moft Geo. I. moft all of them pleading guilty. Some were condemned, 1716. and the reft dischargeed; but, however, not one was executed. In December, brigadier Colin Campbel, the most obnoxious of all the prisoners, made his efcape in disguise. The laft of the rebels who were executed at Lancaster and Preston, were captain John Bruce, gentleman of the horse to the duke of Hamilton, Thomas Shuttleworth, John Minkley, George Hodgfon, and William Charnley; these were hanged in October. Accident at the play house. Some chan try. On the 6th of December, an accident happened, which gave occafion to various conjectures. The prince of Wales being in one of the ftage-boxes at the Theatre in DruryLane, to see the Tragedy of Tamerlane, Mr. Freeman, a gentleman of Surrey, who had for fome years paft been troubled with fits of lunacy, came booted and fpurred, and would have preffed into the ftage-box, near the place where the prince was. Being in a mean riding habit, he was stopped by the box-keepers and a grenadier who was upon duty; whereupon he drew out a piftol, and fhot the centinel in the fhoulder. With great difficulty he was fecured; and, being fearched, two or three loaded piftols were found upon him; which, together with his man's waiting for him with two horfes at the end of the play-houfe paffage, did not a little increase the fufpicion of a treasonable defign against the prince. The report of the pistol, and the disturbance that followed it, occafioned a great alarm within the house, particularly among the ladies; and, none rightly knowing the caule of the confufion, the gentlemen and Officers about the prince, and almoft throughout the house, drew their swords; fo that the players were a confiderable time at a stand. But Mr. Freeman being sent prisoner to the guard at St. James's, all was quiet again; the prince having all this while preferved a great prefence of mind, and appeared to be under no apprehenfion. The foldier's wound did not prove mortal; but, Mr. Freeman's attempt of forcing the prince of Wales's guard coming within the ftatute of treafon, after he had been examined before the council, he was committed to Newgate; the rather, because he was faid to have either killed, or mortally wounded a man two days before, in the country. A confiderable change began now to be made in the miges in the niftry. The earl of Sunderland, who had gone beyond fea, under pretence of travelling for his health, had taken the opportunity of waiting upon the king at Hanover, and by his intrigues with the German minifters there, particularly the barons Bothmar and Bernodorff, and monfieur de Ro bethon, bethon, infused a jealoufy into him of the Lord Townshend Geo. I, and Mr. Walpole; fo that, on the 11th of December, an 1716. exprefs arrived in England from Hanover, and the next day it was publickly known, that lord Townshend was removed from his place of fecretary of ftate. This was however foftened with an account, that his lordship was to be advanced to the poft of lord-lieutenant of Ireland; the duke of Grafton, firft lord-juftice of that kingdom, being appointed colonel of the royal regiment of horfe-guards, lately commanded by the duke of Argyle; and the earl of Galway, the other lord-juftice of Ireland, being to enjoy an honourable penfion during life. Two days after, the duke of Roxburgh was made fecretary of state, and keeper of the king's fignet in Scotland. The lord Poleworth was appointed lord clerk regifter, in the room of the duke of Montrofe, who was made keeper of the great feal of Scotland. The duke of Kingfton was appointed keeper of the privy-feal, and the earl of Sunderland fole treasurer of Ireland for life. In this difpofition things remained till the king's return; and the lord Townshend's removal affected no more for the prefent than himself; though the divifions in the ministry feemed irreconcileable (d). (d) The following particulars happened during the king's abfence. Thomas D'Aeth and Matthew Decker were created baronets. The penfion of 2500l. a year was taken from the earl of Nottingham. Edward Southwell, James Vernon, and Andrew Carlton, were appointed commiffioners of the privy-feal, in the abfence of the earl of Sunderland. Mr. Bruce, a Scotch prifoner, changing clothes with his fifter, made his escape out of Newgate. In Auguft there blew fo ftrong a wefterly wind (which forced back the tide, and drove for ward the ebbing water) that the Thames lay perfectly dry above and below bridge, except a nar Du row channel, about four feet Several of the school-masters Margaret, eldest daughter of the lord Coningsby, was created baronefs and viscountess of Coningsby, of Hampton-Court, in Herefordshire, with limitation to her heirs male. January the 4th, the triple Three days after the king's Geo. I Complaints of Spain against the During these transactions at home, the king was not idle 1716. abroad. One of the principal ends of the king's journey to Hanover, was to provide against any future attempts of the Jacobite party, by endeavouring to make alliances with all thofe powers from whence the pretender might expect any fupport. But this was an impoffible undertaking, in the then fituation of the affairs of Europe. The king of Spain pretending to have numberless complaints against the empefor. The evacuation of Catalonia had given great offence, as to the manner of doing it. A tribunal had been erected at Vienna for the affairs of Spain, and the estates of the Flemish, who had served king Philip, were confifcated. But thefe were flight grievances in comparison of what was now in agitation. Sicily had been granted to the duke of Savoy, by the Utrecht treaty, on condition of returning to Spain, in cafe of failure of heirs. The emperor had looked upon this grant with the utmost concern. He had almost persuaded the duke of Savoy to accept Sardinia in exchange, without the participation of the court of Madrid, and without any regard to the claufe of reverfion. To all thefe occafions of rupture were added the pretensions of the two courts to the fucceffion of the Tuscan dominions. emperor. State of As to France, with respect to Spain, the two nations were France and united, but their governors were not fo. King Philip and Spain. the duke of Orleans were ready to contend for the crown of Lewis XV. in case death fhould remove him out of the world. Philip had renounced that crown, and upon that alone was founded the duke of Orleans's title. But, besides that, the renunciation was generally confidered in France as of no force; the emperor's conftant refusal to cease styling himself king of Spain, feemed entirely to annul it, as it was not reasonable that one contracting party fhould be obliged to stand to mutual engagements, to which the other refuses to fubmit. King George therefore could not be attached to France, without offending Spain, nor could he be united to Spain, without giving offence to both the others. return, January the 22d, came Thirty of the Prefton rebels made before the mayor of Liverpool, that they had mastered the fhip's crew, and carried the fhip to France. One hundred of the fame prifoners, who had been confined in the Savoy, were shipped off for the WestIndies. The |