prudential Reasons 't is thought fit to conceal them at present there being other and farther Uses to be made of them by the Government here after at his Tryal whensoever he falls into the hands of Justice However that I may not be thought to impose upon my Reader if Mr. Bromfeild be told that the Proof of that Matter is contain'd in the Papers under his own hand which he sent out of Ireland by the Carver I am almost confident he will not deny it I equally abhor a false and partial Author but Mr. Bromfeild's Crimes are of themselves so heinous and execrable that his Historian need not give himself the Trouble to add to their Blackness therefore I have rather abbreviated than inlarg'd the Share he had in the Plot and made no other use of him but what serves to trace the Conspiracy from its dark Original at the late Kings going off and lets the Readers into the Methods that began the Treasonable Confederacies Here you see the Foundation of the Lancashire Plot to involve the Nation in Blood and Ruin And as if this would not prove a Tragedy deep enough * Si nequeant Superos Acheronta movebunt the Murther of the King as it has done ever since must either precede or go hand in hand with the Invasion For no sooner was King William setled on the Throne but he received Information * Vid. the History of the late Conspiracy written in French that several Persons were sent into England to Assassinate him The same Discovery was made to a great Man in Holland and to the Right Honourable the now Earl of Romney in England though Thanks be to God they found no Opportunity to execute their barbarous Design 'T is impossible for a sober Man to imagine a Provocation strong enough to excuse either the committing or incouraging such a Villany but it seems his Majesties Enemies were more afraid of the Kings single Person then of the united Strength of all the Allies And therefore resolv'd to take off his Majesty by ways peculiar to such degenerate Wretches that dare commit the basest and most unmanly Sort of Treason to advance their Interests And this I think will suffice at present to convince the Reader of what will be more plainly prov'd to him in the Sequel viz. That the Lancashire Plot and the Assassination of the King were Twins of the same Birth And agrees exactly with Mr. De la Rue's Depositions at Mr. Charnock's Tryal * Vid. his Tryal pag. 29. The Conspiracy says he to Assassinate his Majesty has been carrying on a great while for some years and it originally came from Col. Parker especially as to my knowledge of it and that was about six years ago at St. Germains when I was there he propounded it to me * Vid. Mr. Geo. Harris's Depositions as to Parker's being privy to it and said he would propound it to my Lord Melfort So that 't is clear that from 1689 till 1696 there was a Design to murther his Majesty and that Col. Parker who managed the Insurrection and Rebellion in Lancashire was one of the cheifest in the Assassination Plot also My next Work is to acquaint you how Bromfeild having agre'd the Plot when he was in Lancashire sent over Commissions from the late King to the Northern Conspirators to raise a Rebellion against their Majesties in those Parts Which was to be carry'd on after this Manner Mr. Lunt who followed the late King into France immediatly after his * Vid. Lunt's and Langley's Affidavit in the Appendix Abdication was sent from thence with the rest of his Guards into Ireland and in May 1689 renewed his Acquaintance with Mr. Bromfeild who was lately come out of Lancashire and a general Report being spread upon his Arrival that Lancashire and the adjacent Counties would rise in order to re-inthrone the late King and that they only waited for Commissions from him for that Purpose Mr. Lunt asks Bromfeild if there was any Truth in that Report Bromfeild avers it to be true and knowing that Lunt was a bold and active Fellow laid hold on this Advantage to perswade him to be one of the Persons that should carry over and deliver Commissions to some of the late Kings Friends and Confederates in England Lunt at first refus'd that dangerous Office but being further press'd and courted to it by many of his pretended Friends and particularly recommended to the late King for that Service by the Lords * Vid. Lunt's Depositions in the Appendix Thomas and George Howard and thereupon sent for by Bromfeild to the Lord Melfort's Office he was there over-perswaded to shut his Eyes against the visible Danger to which they were exposing him by ventring on such a hazardous Imployment which was no wonder for what will not Men of a Senceless Bigottry and desperate Fortune undertake who hope to raise themselves upon the Ruin of their Country The Lancashire Papists having now received the News that the late King was arriv'd in Ireland and had raised so great an Army there that as they fondly thought he would soon be Master of that Kingdom and from thence sail into Lancashire as had been concerted between Bromfeild and the Heads of the Conspiracy and not knowing what Care was taking in Ireland to send over their Commissions These Gentlemen I say growing impatient for them resolv'd to send a Messenger of their own to fetch them that they might be in a Condition to to join the late King with their Forces at his Arrival among them Mr. Edmund Thrillfall of the Ashes in Goosner was pitched upon for this Service and the means for his safe and unsuspected Passage into Ireland as well as his secure Returning again into Lancashire was thus contrived The Right Honourable the Earl of Derby sending every Year to fetch Cattle from the Isle of Man into Lancashire * Vid. John Cawson 's Depositions taken before John Patten of Preston Esq and John Cawson of Cockram in the County of Lancaster or his Son Charles Cawson having for some years past been imploy'd in this Service and had now leave from one of that noble Peer's Servants to enter again upon that Voyage as soon as he pleased Mr. Thrillfall treated * Vid. his Affidavit taken Jun. 17. 1689 before John Patten of Preston Esq with John Cawson for his Passage to the Isle of Man and being deny'd by the Father treats with his Son Charles who was to go Master of the Vessel and finding him more plyable trusts him with the Secret and for ten pounds in * See John Knowles's Affidavit taken before Mr. Patten hand and ten pounds more at his return hires the Master to land him at Dublin and bring him back into Lancashire but this Design was to be kept Private and none of the Ships Company were to be acquainted that they were going upon any other or farther Voyage then to fetch Cattle from the Isle
Thomas Yarnol Mayor of Evesham in the County of Worcester Richard Earl Bellemont Sir James Rushout William Bromly Edmund Letchmore and Richard Doldswel Esquires Justices of the Peace for the County of Worcester viz. That there was a design on foot to raise a Rebellion against the King and Queen in Lancashire That divers Persons in that and the adjoyning Counties had receiv'd Commissions from the late King to raise two Regiments of Horse two Regiments of Dragoons and three Regiments of Foot that great numbers of Irish Souldiers and Arms for them were privately kept in divers Places in that County Particularly that Mr. Thomas Tatlock of Simmondswood * Ferguson in his Letter to the Lord chief Justice Holt Printed 1694. near Sefton did harbour above threescore Men for the Service of the late King And that Arms for them were hid in that Wood. That Mr. Molyneux of Marborow did harbour above twenty Irish Souldiers for the same Service And that Arms Saddles Bridles Holsters and other Necessaries for them were hid in a Cellar under a Tower at the Entry of the House of Mr. Blundel of Ince in the Parish of Sefton That John Holland of Prescot and his Partner and a Sadler in Legh made Saddles and Holsters for them and were privy to the Design And that he saw and heard read a Letter in the Hands of the Lord Molyneux 's Son from the late King James 's Queen incouraging the Insurrection intended in Lancashire and giving Assurance of Assistance from the French King of Men and Arms. This Information caus'd many of the Lancashire Papists to be Imprison'd but others who tacitly confest their Guilt by flying and were look'd upon to be dangerous Persons absconded * See the Justices Letter from Middleton and would not be found till they had also prevented the Punishment by removing Kelly into another World I suppose by private Murther for as soon as it was known that Mr. Dodsworth had also discovered the Conspiracy that the King might not have two Witnesses to prove the Treason Kelly was made away and could never be heard off to this time His Fate continues a Mystery but whether he was kill'd or carry'd away 't is certain the Conspirators from that very time began to resume their Courage which was extreamly sunk upon the notice of Mr. Dodsworth's discovery And that these were the Artifices by which they conceal'd the Plot so long and frighted others from discovering it for fear they should meet the like Fate is too plain to he deny'd In December 1689. the Lancashire Plot was discover'd also by Mr. Dodsworth to his Kinsman Roger Kirkby of Kirkby Loinsdale Esq and Governour of Chester Castle and on the 27th of March 1690 to the Right Honourable the Earl of Macclesfeild which his Lordship laying before One of his Majesties Principal Secretaries of State Mr. Dodsworth was sent for to London to declare his Knowledg of the whole Matter and on May the 16th 1690. gave Information upon Oath of this Conspiracy before the Lord chief Justice Holt. And the Clamour that was made upon several Persons of Note being seised and Search made after others brought it to be examin'd before the Honourable the Commons assembled in Parliament The substance whereof was That certain Roman Catholic Gentlemen and others in the County Palatine of Lancashire and Parts adjacent of whose Names and Dwellings he gave a List into the House of Commons where the Original still remains were entred into a treasonable Conspiracy to make War against the King and Kingdom with design to reinthrone the late King James and in order to accomplish these Designs had receiv'd Commissions from the late King James brought over from Ireland by Mr. Thrillfall to raise some Regiments of Horse and Dragoons To furnish which Ammunition was provided Arms and other Necessaries bought and hid in divers Places by the confederated Collonels Which Troops were to be joyn'd by the late Kings Forces from Ireland whilst the French that were to be landed in Cornwal gave the King Diversion there and the Duke of Berwick in Scotland And all to be kept close and still till the late King arriv'd in Lancashire which according to the late Kings Promise should be in a Month or two at the farthest With this Discovery the Honourable House of Commons were so well satisfied that they recommended Mr. Dodsworth to the King for a Reward of his Service to the Public His Majesty gratify'd him with a present Reward in Money and recommended him to the Lords Commissioners of his Treasury for what Employment he was capable of but Mr. Dodsworth being a Papist and consequently uncapable of any Place under his Majesty was too long forgot and had no other Reward but what was given him by the Jacobites to stop his Mouth for ever viz. Murthered for as soon as that Party who have their Spies and Intelligencers in all Places heard there was a Correspondence between Dodsworth and Lunt and that it was whisper'd that Lunt would also discover Mr. Dodsworth was Murther'd by Mr. Deane a known and profess'd Jacobite Mr. Edward Robinson also made a Discovery of this Conspiracy on the 17th day of March 1690 before Richard Wright Esq One of his Majesties Justices of the Peace for the County of Lancaster in Substance thus That Mr. Fitzakerly at Spello House in Lancashire shew'd this Deponent a Commission from the late King James for the raising Men for his Service and Arms wrap'd up in Straw and hid under the Tyles of the House That Mr. Fitzakerly had promis'd all his Tenants that would serve under him in the Service of King James that upon the Death of any of them he would renew their Leases to their Children That they heard from the late King James very often and that he had sent them Word by a Servant of the Lord Molyneux 's that he would be with them in two Months That John Harrington of Egboth Esq told this Deponent that he also had receiv'd a Commission to be a Captain under King James and that Mr. Moore then in the House who had been a Captain of Dragoons in the late Irish Army was to be his Lieutenant Thus have I proved without any help from Mr. Lunt Mr. Wilson or Mr. Womball that there was a Conspiracy against the King and Government form'd by Mr. Bromfeild and the Lancashire Papists his Confederates as early as the latter end of the Year 1688. That Commissions were sent from the late King James to the Conspirators in June 1689. That Arms were provided and Souldiers listed and maintained by the Lancashire Papists to be ready at the Invasion in August 1690. That at the same time the Duke of Berwick was to invade Scotland and the French England and give the King Diversion in the West while the late King was doing the like in the North. And now he that disbelieves the Lancashire Conspiracy after he has seen it thus separately and singly prov'd by Persons at
in Flanders who had their good Wishes while they were busying themselves about what was to follow namely the Invasion The Scheme of this Descent was laid in France and Parker and others sent over to communicate it to the Party here * Vid. Captain Blaire's Depositions before the Councel This he did by calling their General Officers and Collonels together and acquainting them but very privately That their old Master had now obtain'd * of the most Christian King thirty thousand effective Men and that when the Spring was a little more advanc'd the late King who was already marching into Normandy would be wafted over with them into England with Assurance * Vid. Blaire's Dopositions in the Secretaries Office that if that Number was not great enough to reduce his rebellious Subjects France would spare him thirty thousand more Therefore desir'd all to be in Readiness with the greatest Speed and Secresy imaginable To Captain Blaire he address'd himself more particularly at the Instance of Johnson the Priest telling him he was going to his Command in Lancashire but intended to move Southward at the late Kings Landing and therefore desir'd Capt. Blaire to join him in Regard his own Men were raw and the Captains for the most part were all old Officers and Souldiers When Parker went into Lanashire he took with him Blaire's Depositions in the Secretaries Office several good Officers some of which stay'd with him in Lancashire and others he dispos'd of in Yorkshire and the Bishopric of Durham His head Quarters were at Mr. * Vid. Depositions of Geo. Wilson and Oliv. Pearson Walmsley's at Dungan-hall and from thence issued out necessary Ordens for that County And because their Arms were for fear of Discovery hid in Woods and Grounds buried between Walls and in Cellars and Out-houses he order'd them all to be taken out and forthwith distributed * Jo. Womball's Affidavis in the Appendix among their Officers For now the late King and his Army of English Scotch Irish and French Papists * Ap. 1692. were at la Hogue imbarking for England This Allarm being early given among the Party all the Officers are rallying together the Souldiers they had under Subsistence and listing others Among the rest Mr. James Fountain as Lieutenant Coll. to the Lord Montgomery had rais'd a Regiment of Horse in London and was ready to have join'd the late King if he had landed His usual listing Places were three Ale-houses in Fullers Rents and at Redman's at the Bottle in Devoreaux Court near the Temple To the Truth of which tho I need call no other Witnesses than Mr. Day Mr. Cousins Mr. Willoughby Mr. Holmes the Japanner and Mr. Symms who were all Officers under him and brought Men to him to be listed yet having by me an Authentic Affidavit be pleas'd to take the Contents of it as followeth M. Seaton maketh Oath That James Fountain was Captain in the Lord Montgomery's Regiment of Foot and thereafter Major to the said Regiment At the Revolution he follow'd the late King James into France thence into Ireland where he was made Lieutenant Coll. to Coll. Cannons Regiment From Ireland he went into Scotland and joyn'd the Viscount Dundee and a little after the Highlands were reduc'd he came to London and lived Incognito but when the French were at la Hogue in order to invade England Fountain did buy a considerable Number of Horses and Accoutrements for Horses and Riders he had provided for them and did keep the said Riders under Pay and Subsistence to serve King James and joyn him and the French at their Landing Jurat 2 Julij 1694. Coram me James Vernon M. Seaton Collonel Holman was at the same time raising and had almost compleated another Regiment to joyn the French at their Landing And to subsist those that were actually listed he paid fifty Pounds one Week fifty Pounds the next Week and thirty Pounds the Week following to Captain Brice Blaire * See Mr. Blair's and Mr. Bertram's Depositions in the Secretaries Office who distributed it among the Souldiers by the Hands of Mr. Bertram as appears by their Depositions in the Hands of the Government but after the Defeat at la Hogue Mr. Holman would pay no more To these Instances of the Jacobites Attempts to ruin the Government add but the Share that Sir John Friend Sir William Perkins and the Persons of Quality in other Parts of the Kingdom mention'd in Crosby's Papers had in it * See Crosby's orginal Papers page and then tell me whether the Enemies of the Government and their repeated Conspiracies ought to be so much flighted and despis'd and reckoned so inconsiderable in their Numbers and weak in their Power and Interests as some out of no good design I fear would have them thought to be For all these wicked Confederacies and those mention'd by Crosby are but Branches of the Lancashire Conspiracy which at first was thought but the Capricio's of light Heads but you now see it spread almost over the whole Kingdom And justly rous'd the Government to prosecute the first Contrivers of so much intended Mischief to the King and Kingdom Nor were these Preparations for the Invasion the only part of the Plot against England for whilst the English Jacobites are bandying together to joyn their old Master at his Landing the Kings Enemies beyond-Sea are as hot and forward in their cursed Design to Murther his Majesty in Flanders that so the Invasion might find us all in a Confusion and for want of a King and a Government scatter'd like Sheep without a Shepherd and consequently the easier Prey to our Foreign and Intestine Devourers For now Granvalle returning from Paris where he had ingag'd one Leefedale to joyn with Dumont in the Murther of King William appoints a Meeting at Uden whither Dumont was to come from Hanover and both to go from thence into Flanders Where as soon as the Murther was committed Mounsieur Chandlois with a Party of 300 Horse from the Duke of Luxemburg's Army was to be posted at the advanc'd Guards to rescue the Murtherers and perswade the World the Assassination of King William was a Stratagem of War but God Almighty confounded their hellish Politics Dumont and Leefedale discover'd the Conspiracy Granvalle was taken and receiv'd the Reward of his Villany after he had made without being put to the Torture a full Confession of his Crimes At his Execution he seem'd very Penitent and declar'd with some Resentment that he was ruined by the Authors of that detestable Project Matters being thus setl'd by the Kings Enemies on the other side of the Water for his Assassination in Flanders and the Invasion carrying on by the Conduct of Collonel Parker and the rest of the confederate Collonels and other Officers in England and every one acquainted with the Design all Jacobite Eyes were fixt upon the Weather-Cocks and the first Salutation was how 's the Wind which standing long in a Protestant
Quarter of Heaven some of them were silly enough to curse it saying 't would serve them as Treacherously now as it did at the Revolution However that nothing might be omitted on their Part they send an Express to the Lord Melfort by Captain Lloyd acquainting his Lordship that they had corrupted many of our English Sea Commanders who would go over to the French and with that Notice a true List of the Number and Rates of the English Fleet and how long it would be before it was possible they could be joyn'd by the Dutch Praying his Lordship to lay it before the most Christian King and procure his Command to Mareschal Tourville to seek and immediatly sight the English before they could be joyn'd by the Dutch And now the Jacobites thought they had nothing to do but to kill and take possession And therefore were as Insolent and Unsufferable in their Behaviour before the Ingagement as their Fears ' and Cowardise were apparent after it Whilst the Jacobites were pleasing themselves with the hopes of approching Wealth and Opulence the great thing that put a damp upon their Mirth was the various Reports abōut the joyning of the English and Dutch Fleets Once they had notice they were joyn'd but being contradicted the next day least that Report should have Influence upon the French they send over Sir Adam Blaire to assure the French they were not joyn'd But so it happened before that Gentleman could reach Dover they had good Assurance that the Fleets were joyn'd indeed and therefore * Mr. Clark is now in England and I appeal to him for the Truth of it Mr. Clark better known by the nickname of Count Cl. is posted into France to acquaint them with this fatal Junction but the Count was so far from gaining Credit to his Report Sir Adam Blaire averring the contrary that Mr. Clark was imprison'd as a spreader of false News till the late King owning him and their being beaten procured his Liberty But whilst the Queen's Majesty of blessed Memory was taking such measures as might frustrate their wicked Designs and secure the Nation and all Men gazing in dubious Expectations of the Event comes the happy 20th of May 1692 with the joyful News that through the Providence of our good God and the Valour of our couragious Seamen the French Fleet was beaten off la Hogue and their Majesties victorious Navy was pursuing burning and sinking those that by flying endeavour'd to escape And not long after to make our Joy compleat was brought the Notice of Granval's Execution Both great and miraculous Deliverances For This Year the ultra Marine and English Jacobites were resolv'd to play all their Engins at once The French King was to be in Flanders Namure was to be besieged King James was to land in England and his Majesty was to be murther'd all about the same time Here are Plots with a Witness and all so substantially prov'd that the very Thought so crushes me with Horror and Amazement that I tremble to think what the Consequences of them would have been if they had succeeded for 't is much more easy to imagin then express what a dismal Scene of Barbarity and Cruelty of Blood and Horror must have follow'd in England and the greatest Part of Europe but the Snare is broken and we are delivered for which we ought to be Eternally thankful This is the fifth Disappointment of the Jacobian Plot began in Lancashire in 1688. First by Kelly's and Dodsworth's Discovery in 1689. Then by King William's Victory at the Boyne in July 1690. Next by seizing the Lord Preston and Mr. Ashton in December 1690. Fourthly by Dumont's Disappointment And Lastly by the detecting of Granvalle and beating the French at la Hogue in 1692. However that they might prove themselves such as neither Mercies not Judgments could effect about Michaelmas 1692 these Malecontents through the Clemency of the Government assum'd the Confidence to cabal again to find out some new Conspiracy or rather to revive those two old ones of Assassination and Invasion by some more secret Methods than they had hitherto found out And that they might not commit the same Solecisms again like grave Politicians they first enquire into the former Miscarriages and particularly that at la Hogue And 't was agre'd among them that Mareschal Turville's not fighting the English before they were join'd by the Dutch was the Cause of the Overthrow that happen'd afterwards That it was originally if not designedly the Lord Melfort's Fault In not giving the Notices which he receiv'd from England time enough to the French Court viz. to fight the English before they were join'd by the Dutch but suffering the Time prefix'd by his English Advices to be worn out ' ere he communicated what he had in Charge to deliver immediatly Hereupon great Complaints are made to the late King against the Lord Melfort's Ministry and in plain Terms they tell the late King unless Melfort be remov'd they will concern themselves no * Vid. Letters against Melfort in Crosby's Papers more in his Affairs The Popish Jacobites defend Melfort with their utmost Art and Interest and lay the Miscariages at la Hogue * Vid Letters on Melforts behalf upon the Protestant Compounders and so far ingage the Court of Rome in their quarrel that the late King's Pension from the Pope was taken off for siding with Heretics But the Protestants who had gain'd some Papists to their Party against Melfort making use of Sir Sympson a Scotch Knight then and still residing at St. Germans by the Name of Jones between whom and Melfort there was an old Grudg he stagger'd the Lord Melfort in the Opinion of the late King and the French Court and when Sir James Montgomery came over he threw him quite out of Favour insomuch that he was forc'd to leave St. Germans and retire to In the mean time two such strong Parties were form'd at St. Germans that the late King according to his usual Politics of altering his Measures according to the Variety of his Circumstances took the Lord Middleton into his Counsels and employ'd both him and the Lord Melfort by Turns as his Affaris requir'd And these Transactions made an end of the Year 1692. Both the Jacobite Parties being now seemingly pleas'd in having each their Favorite at the Helm for Sir James Montgomery was not yet come into France the Murther of King William and the Invasion of England are again revived The Management of the Invasion is committed to Sir Sympson Major Crosby Captain Lloyd and Mr. Walter Crosby Sympson and Lloyd came and went over several times about it in the beginning of the Year 1693 continued so doing till June following and then having laid the Plan for an Invasion return'd into France in August following Major Crosby as he was commonly call'd came into England about Michaelmas 1693 staid in London a while went down into Lancashire and from thence return'd into France Mr. Walter
Crosby Son of Sir Thomas Crosby a Member of the late Kings Parliament in Ireland was educated in Dublin College and left that Society to carry Intelligence into France From thence through Flanders and England he return'd into Ireland and under the Disguise of a Williamite contributed his utmost to the Destruction of his Native Country till the Seisure of his Letters discover'd him and made him a Prisoner but being admitted to Bail he lest his Security in the Lurch and escaped into France and his former Management of Affairs gave him so much Credit at St. Germans that the Revival of the Plot for an Invasion Insurrection and Rebellion was at last solely committed to his Management November 1693 to the great Satisfaction of the Party he lands in England brings Collonel Parker again out of Lancashire to London revives their former Cabals and adds fresh Life and Vigour to their drooping Spirits Jacobite Meetings are now more frequent and numerous in order to draw up such Proposals as might satisfy the Court of France that the Conquest of England was both practicable and easy I have now shew'd you by what means they were carrying on the Invasion and must now leave Mr. Crosby at his Work in collecting the Sentiments of the Jacobites and putting them into such a Method as might perswade the French King to assist them with Men and Arms to restore the late King and return to the Assassination Plot which always preceded or kept Pace with the Invasion And this calls me back to one of the first Contrivers of it The Lord Melfort who had still some small share in the Management of public Affairs finding his Interest sinking proportionably with the hopes of conquering England resolves to recover his former Credit by pushing on the Assassination of King William by any Methods that would effect it To this end his old Confidents Collonel Parker * Vid Mr. La Rue's Depositions at Charnocks Tryal and Johnson the Priest being absent he takes to his Assistance Mr. Bromfeild and Captain Griffin who promis'd in a short time to give him a good Account of his Project from some Friends they had about Dover which it seems they had already ingaged in this wicked * Vid Lunt's Depositions in the Appendix Enterprise at the Instigation of some more conceal'd and private Person And whilst they were thus in Expectation from Dover another Occasion to strengthen the Number of those already ingaged seem'd to offer it self thus The Lancashire Gentlemen being willing to pay their Devoir to the late King and to receive his Commands as they usually did by a Messenger of their own from his Lips Mr. Lunt whose Services and Sufferings had rendred him the Confident of the Party was sent by the Lord Molyneux and others on this Errand into France July the 3d 1693. coming to St. Germans he deliver'd his Message to the late King in his Closet the Lord Melfort being present Who thinking he had now a fit Opportunity to execute his Plot and Assassinate King William he sends Lunt to Mr. Griffin telling him that Griffin had an Affair to ingage him in Captain Griffin sends him to his old Friend Mr. Bromfeild who after bewailing the ill Success that had so long attended the late Kings Affairs told Lunt they were now upon a quicker Expedient for their Masters Restoration and that was to cut off the Prince of Orange for so they call King William by any way or method the * Vid Lunt's Depositions in the Appendix Undertakers should think fit and if Mr. Lunt would make one in that Service he should have a Reward of five hundred Pounds a Year Lunt consented and after various Discourses at sundry Times upon this Subject Lunt taking his leave of the Lord Melfort his Lordship told him that if the Design that Grissin and Bromfeild had imparted to him took Effect the late King would soon be in England And Bromfeild at Lunt's departure gave him a Signet to carry to the Persons that as Bromfeild told him were in the same Design In December 1693 Lunt arrived at Dover and met with four of the sixteen Persons that were ingag'd in the Assassination of the King * See Lunt's Depositions in the Appendix viz. Captain Nowel of Dover Captain Walton of Foulston Mr. Pepper of Dover and Mr. Preston of Feversham two of which acknowledg'd that they were in the Design of killing the King and made no question but in a Month or two to Effect it Lunt travelling from Dover toward London told several Romish Priests of his Acquaintance tho' not in Plain words the Design he was ingag'd in Some of the Priests were against it as a damnable Sin and others encourag'd him to it as a meritorious Work these different Opinions and the dismal Reflections that his awaken'd Conscience made upon his ingaging in an Action so Inhuman and Barbarous gave him so much Disquiet that he resolv'd to act no further in it but had then no Intention to discover it till a good Friend made him sensible it was his Duty and then he discover'd the whole Conspriacy beginning to his Knowledge in May 1689 and continuing till June 1694 which was the time he discover'd it and now I must return to Mr. Crosby Who Having acquainted himself with the Sentiments of the Party agre'd what Proposals to make to the French King and collected the Names of those that according to his Account were to assist at the Invasion and Insurection was preparing to return to France with these Writings of which for fear one should miscarry there were two Copies One kept by himself and the other by Coll. Parker but good Heaven discover'd this Treason also and Mr. Crosby who had compleated the Work he came about and only waited for a Wind to Transport him into France was apprehended May the 9th and committed to Newgate and Coll. Parker who was defign'd to supply that Fault was taken May the 20th committed to the Tower May the 22th and by this means the Carriage of the Papers was delay'd till Parker broke Prison which was August the 12th following The next day after Mr. Crosby was apprehended the King's Messengers Mr. Legat and Mr. Hopkins search'd the Chamber where Crosby laid up his Papers In the first Room they found store but while they were there Cosen Mally * Mary Jones with another Fomale Jacobite that lodg'd in the same House ript up a Feather Bed and took out thence great quantities of written Papers and Letters directed to Mr. Crosby and that they might tell no Tales threw them into the House of Office and a Pail of Water after them but strewing Feathers in the way through the haste they made to destroy the Writings they guided the Messengers to retrieve them Now Before I produce these Papers give me leave to acquaint you that the following Papers are truly copy'd from the Originals sworn by two Witnesses * Mr. Legat and Mr.
End of June 1695 or beginning of July they had another meeting where after many public Discourses and private Whisperings Mr. Charnock desiring the Company to acquaint him whether they continu'd their former Resolutions they assur'd him they did and would meet him with the Number of Men promised at the former Meeting Upon which Mr. Charnock told them he would begin his Journey in a few days The Invasion being thus promoted by dispatching Mr. Charnock into France that the Assassination might not lagg behind it some of the Assassines calling to mind that nothing would be attempted in that kind till the Commission which Crosby said was upon the Road was come to their Hands See Goodman's Depositions taken April 24 1696 Capt. Porter and Mr. Goodman communicate the Project to Sir George Barclay who was then in England and upon his Departure for France telling him what Difficulties they labour'd under for want of it and that a longer Delay of the Commission would extreamly embarrass the Affair Sir George not only approves but commends the Design and that such a hopeful Project might not miscarry promis'd to use all his Interest when he came to St. Germains that such a Commission should no longer be wanting This Encouragement from so considerable a Favorite as Sir George Barclay whose Biggotry to the Romish Perswasion and the late Kings Interest would prompt him to any thing in favour of them employs all their Heads and opens all their Purses to contribute the last Assistance for the Accomplishment of the Assassination The beginning of August 1695 brings Mr. Charnock again to London with the unwelcome News that the French King was not in a Condition to spare the * See Charnocks Tryal Jacobites such a Number of Men as they defired which being imparted to the Chief of that unruly and blood-thirsty Faction the two Branches of the Conspiracy to overthrow the establish'd Government were both laid aside till the approaching Winter should give them another Resurrection But Notwithstanding this positive Answer to the English Jacobites our Foreign Enemies were at the same Time taking such Measures as might suit with the Request made by the Jacobites tho' they durst not trust them with the Secret For a great Politician being at Marli and considering the Posture of Affairs in England as represented to him in Crosby's Papers he thought this the fairest Opportunity he could wish for the Invading of England Whilst Mr. Caryl the late Queens Secretary Coll. Parker c. were carrying on the Plot to Assassinate his Majesty for no question but a certain great Man in the World that shall be nameless knew what they were contriving at St. Germains tho' they were utter Strangers to the Invasion-Plot that was laying at another Place which as it had the Honour of a great Man 's own contriving so it was not communicated even to the late King James himself till the Squadron of Men of War and four hundred Transport Ships were fitted and the French Army consisting of thirty Battalions were ready to embarque and Money and Orders sent him to go on Board and take possession of England In November 1695 Sir George Barclay with several Officers and Soldiers and eight hundred Pounds in Money comes into England and brings with him a Commission from King James all written with his own Hand to Seise King William which Sir William Perkins confesses to a Committee of Parliament * See the Journal of the House of Commons April 2 1696. And C. Porters Depositions in Perkins Tryal p. 14. that he saw But neither Sir George Barclay nor the Commission being yet in the Hands of the Government and the Jacobites ashamed to set up their late King and themselves under the inglorious Title of Murtherers they mince the Matter into more relishable Terms and say it was only to levy War upon the Prince of Orange and all his Adherents Others say it was to attach the Prince of Orange in his Winter Quarters which are all meer Tricks and Evasions invented by the Party to disguise the Horror of the Action for the very Gloss they themselves put upon it sets it in its true Light for all the Party knew the meaning of attaching the Prince of Orange as appears by Mr. De la * As appears by Mr. De la Rue's Oath in Charnocks Tryal Rue's Oath who deposeth that when the Muscatoon was lent by Mr. Porter to Mr. Pendergrass that would carry six or eight Bullets Mr. King desired him when he shot at his Majesty's Coach he would not be afraid of breaking the Glasses Sr. George Barclay after his Arrival at London loged in Covent-Garden and kept very private till he could speak with Sr. William Perkins Capt. Waugh and Mr. Charnock and that the two and twenty Men that were sent by King James out of France and appointed to obey his Orders were come to London also and now they endeavour to strengthen their Party by the Addition of more Friends And Mr. De la Rue Mr. Pendergrass Mr. Rookwood Major Lowick Mr. Knightly Mr. Bertram Chambers Durant Cramburne Kendrick Grimes Waugh and Goodman some of which were engag'd in the Assassination the Year before were now again confirm'd in it As for Capt. Porter who has now so Honourably and Honestly atton'd for his former Offences they were sure of already to others in whom they had not more than ordinary Confidence they discours'd of the Assassination at a distance * See Captain Blairs Depositions in the bands of the Government and if they found any Reluctancy or Indisposition to the Assassination they turn'd them over to the Invasion Plot and desired them to be ready to meet their old Master at his Landing but to those whom Wickedness had made fit for any Impression they imparted their Villany in words at length and so secured the whole Party to be either Rebels or Murderers Those that came from France knew not what Affair they were sent upon till they arriv'd at London but were kept in a blind Obedience to Sr. George Barclay's Order as appears by the Depositions of Mr. George Harris * Taken April 15 1696. who saith he was an Ensign of Foot under the late King James in Scotland and has since served his second Troop of Guards in France that about the 14 of January 1695 King James sent for this Deponent and Michael Hare his Comerade and in the Queens Bed-Chamber told him that he had an Opportunity of doing something for him as a Reward of his faithful Service that he would send him into England where he should be subsisted and that he should follow Sr. George Barclay's Orders and in so doing he would take Care of him That he had ordered them Money for their Journey which they should receive from Mr. Caryl the late Queen's Secretary and farther told this Informant that he should find Sr. George Barclay every Monday and Thursday between six and seven at night in
the Spirits of the English Jacobites and they made large Offers to the French Court who fed them with as large Promises of Assistance with Men Arms and Money as rais'd their Hopes and Expectations into moral Impossibilities viz. That England should be speedily Invaded and Conquer'd If a Project that was then on Foot did not accomplish the Work by a quicker Dispatch and restore the late King without the Loss of much Blood With these dark Sayings the Jacobites entertain'd themselves and thought they oblig'd others when with great Seriousness and seeming Favour they told them there was a great thing on Foot that would quickly re-establish the late King and confound the Williamites And when most Men were wondring what this great Thing should be Providence to the eternal Reproach of the Contrivers and Encouragers discover'd it to be the Murther of King William For His Majesties Enemies having fail'd in other Attempts and unwilling to wait any longer the uncertain Fate of War thought this Project the best Expedient for their purpose and this Time most agreeable For the King being now in Flanders to murther him there would admit of more Excuses then in another Place this horrid Enterprise with the Promise of great Rewards * Grandvalle was to be made a D. and to have an Estate proportionable and Dumond to be a Knight of St. Lazar have 20000 Livers in Estate being communicated to Granvalle a Captain of Dragoons in the French Service he and Dumond undertook it and travail'd to Loo while the King was there to effect it but missing their Opportunity followed the King to his Royal Camp in Flanders where Granvelle return'd to the French Army and Dumond according to the Orders given him entr'd himself into the Confederate Army that he might take his Opportunity when his Majesty went to visit the Grand-guards or the Lines to Shoot him behind his Back and then make the best of his way to a Body of Horse that Granvalle and Parker should have in readiness upon a previous Intimation to rescue and carry him off But Heaven took Care of the Preservation of Europe that so visibly depended upon one single Life and whether Dumond's Heart fail'd him or whatever else was the Cause after some weeks Attendance not being able to effect his Design he returns to the Court at Hanover and for this Year gives over the acursed Design of Assassinating his Majesty In November 1689 we lest Mr. Lunt and Mr. Abbot committed to Newgate where they reinain'd twenty weeks and then were bail'd to appear at the Assizes at Lancaster Lunt appear'd according to his Recognizance and in August 1690 was committed to Lancaster Goal for high Treason where he continu'd a close Prisoner till about April 1691 and was not only maintain'd at the Charge of the Lancashire Gentlemen but was Caress'd and Applauded as their principal Favorite and now if you ask after all this plain Proof why Lunt was discharg'd it happened on this Manner When the Officers of the Customs feiz'd the Commissions Declarations and other Papers that Lunt left behind him in the Vessel they forgot to set such a mark upon them before they deliver'd them out of their Hands as might enable them to know the Papers again when produced and for want of such Mark being unable to swear 'em to be the very same Papers after they had been so long out of their Hands the Government that always express'd an Unwillingness to prosecute for Life where the Proof was doubtful would not produce them as Witnesses against the Prisoner Nor will I for that Reason recite their Affidavits Nor was this the only Cause of Lunts Acquittal but Mr. Cawson falling sick a little before the Assizes of a Disease that carry'd him to his long Home and the Marriners being all at Sea there was now but one Witness against him viz Mr. Dodsworth which is not sufficient in a Case of high Treason and thus Lunt was discharg'd Thus you have heard it prov'd beyond all Possibility of Contradiction that Lunt did bring Commissions from the late King that he deliver'd those Commissions excepting those few that were lost as directed that he listed Souldiers and bought Arms for the Lancashire Papists that two of those Commissions were seen by Mr. Robinson * See his Depositions that the Jacobites were modelling Officers and Men preparatory to an Insurrection That many of 'em absconded till Kelly was made away that Lunt was accused imprison'd indicted and arraigned for these Treasons and had certainly been hang'd if it had not been for those intervening Accidents And now let the Reader judge how ill this agrees with Lunt's inventing the Lancashire Plot as Taffe falsly charges him at the Tryal at Manchester and what little Reason the Jacobites had to slander him with the Names of perjur'd Cannibal when what he deposed is so strongly confirm'd by Honourable Irreproachable and Uncontroulable Testimonies Lunt having the good Fortune to be thus discharg'd from Imprisonment is again entertain'd and imploy'd by his Lancashire Freinds in listing Men and buying Arms that if the King should be taken off in Flanders they might be ready for an Insurrection in England as soon as the Blow was given These Preparations having spent the Summer and the Campaign in Flanders ended and no News of the Kings Assassination nor the Invasion In November 1691 they sent Lunt into France * See his Depositions to acquaint the late King that they were in a Condition to receive him and therefore desired him to inform them when his Affairs would permit him to make a Descent into this Kingdom Lunt returns again in December following with Advice That the late King would be in England the next Spring and that in the mean time Col. Parker and others should be sent over with full Instructions how to put themselves into a Posture fit for his Reception for now the Descent from la Hogue was agreed on Col. Parker and Johnson the Priest two of the Infamous Cabal that in Conjunction with some of the F C contriv'd the intended Murther of the King and Invasion of England having digested the Theory of both in France landed in England about the latter End of Jan. 1691 to put 'em in Practice The Murther of the King was their darling Project and being the only Means they thought would make their Invasion practicable and their Conquest of England speedy was the great thing they primarily drove at and therefore communicated it to all they could trust * See Goodman's Depositions in the Secretaries Office in hopes to have done it before the King went to Holland but were so long in contriving how by whom when and where it was to be done that the Time elaps'd before their Resolves came to Maturity But this Loss of Time gave them no great Trouble since Parker had assur'd them that the Assassination-Plot would notwistanding the late Disappointment be re-assumed by the same Persons the next Campaign
left London on Fryday the 7th of February 1695 and having a speedy Passage was posting towards Paris but meeting his supposed Father the late King James upon the Read travelling towards Calais he acquaints him that all things were so well settl'd in England for his Restoration that he would have little else to do than to take Possession of that Kingdom there being an utter Impossibility that Projects so well concerted should miscarry With this Account the late King James sends the Duke of Berwick to the who not a little pleas'd that a Design of his own Laying should succeed so luckily communicated it to the Folks about him and after some time spent in diverting themselves with the Account of the Duke of Berwick's going into England and escaping from thence the sent the Duke back to accompany the late King James into England The 15th day of February 1695. was the Day appointed to Murther the King if kind Heaven had not prevented it And now the Leaders having quarter'd the Assassines in several Parts of the Town to prevent Suspicion they all lay close and still expecting Notice from their orderly Men of the Kings being gone to Richmond but so it pleas'd God that his Majesty did not go abroad that day This Disappointment and Fears of a Discovery made Plowden Kendrick and Sherborn decline the Action and withdraw themselves but Sr. George Barclay Sr. William Perkins Capt. Porter and Mr. Goodman concluding the Design was not discover'd because they were not taken up by the Government had another Meeting February 21st and there resolv'd to execute their bloody Project on Saturday 22d of February 1695. The Forenoon of that Day was spent in a tedious Expectation of News that the King was gone abroad but instead of that Account Keyes one of the orderly Men which they lodg'd at Kensington to give them Notice when the King went out tells them that the Guards were all come back in a Foam and that there was a Muttering among the People that a damnable Plot was discover'd and this unexpected News dispers'd all the Conspirators and drove them to shift for themselves by a speedy Flight Nor were their Apprehensions of a Discovery groundless for the Plot and the Progress that was made in it from time to time had been discover'd by Richard Fisher to the Right Honourable the Earl of Portland a considerable Time before any other Person discover'd it and as Things ripen'd for Action his Lordship was acquainted with the Particulars On the 10th of February he acquainted that Noble Lord how far it was advanc'd and promis'd to wait upon his Lordship with a fuller Account in a few days accordingly he did on February the 13th 1695. And then gave his Lordship a full Account of the Design it self and the Time Place and Manner of it's Execution but refusing to give to his Lordship the Names of the Conspirators made his Discovery suspected till the Addition of other Witnesses gave an unquestionable Authority to the Truth of it Mr. Pendergrass who was wholly ignorant of this barbarous Design till he was sent for to London and there acquainted with it being struck with Horror and Astonishment at the first Proposal of it even then took up a Resolution to preserve his Majesties Life and discover the Conspiracy Accordingly on February 14th 1695 he waited on the Earl of Portland at his Lordships Lodgings at Whitehall and being admitted to Privacy with his Lordship though wholly a Stranger without farther Address accosts his Lordship with this surprizing Request Pray My Lord perswade the King to stay at home to morrow for if he goes abroad to hunt he will be murther'd To this he subjoyn'd a Relation of the whole Plot as it had been communicated to him by the confederated Assassines Which he said he would have told the King himself but that he durst not go to Kensington for fear of the two orderly Men which were kept as Spies there to give Intelligence of what occurr'd in that Court He was introduc'd that Night to the King tho' very late and there in his whole Deportment shew'd himself to be a Man of Honour Neither was Mr. De la Rue short of Mr. Pendergrass in making a Discovery of the intended Assassination though his Friend Brigadier Lewson who he design'd should acquaint the King with it being then out of Town makes his Information appear somewhat latter than the former For as he is a Man of too much Honour to be engag'd in a Murther so his Concern to discover it was from the Beginning though he did not declare it till his Discovery might be serviceable to his Majesty and then as soon as he had an Opportunity to impart the Secret he did it and Brigadier Lewson much about the same time acquainted the King that Mr. De la Rue had inform'd him of a Design carrying on to assassinate his Majesty and had given him a particular Account by what Methods it was design'd to be accomplish'd and propos'd a way if the King thought fit how all the Conspirators might be taken in Arms when they thought to attempt it But that which seems strange in all these Discoverers though they punctually agre'd in the Act and in the Circumstances yet they all peremptorily refus'd to Name the Conspirators which might have been of fatal Consequence if the Earl of Portland had not found out the happy Expedient to prevent it by perswading his Majesty to give himself the Trouble of examining Mr. Pendergrass and Mr. De la Rue himself in his Closet His Majesty overcome by the Reasons alledg'd by that Noble Peer condescended to his Request and examin'd them * Feb. 21. 1695. both seperately At Mr. Pendergrass's Examination was present the Earl of Portland and the Lord Cutts and Mr. De la Rue's Examination was heard by the same Noble Earl and Brigadier Lewson After the Examination his Majesty shew'd himself extreamly well satisfy'd in the Truth of their Discoveries and in a very Obliging Manner express'd his Resentments of their Generosity in the great Care and Zeal they shew'd for the Preservation of his Life and the Safety of the Kingdom and at last gave them such unanswerable Reasons why as Men of Honour and Lovers of their Country they should compleat their Duty and Kindness in discovering the Names of the Conspirators as quite subdu'd their former Obstinacies and prevail'd upon them to make a full and true discovery of the Names of the Assassins under the Promise of not being made use of as Evidences but Mr. Pendergrass hearing that Mr. Porter who engaged him in it had discovered and accused him he thought himself discharg'd from any Obligation of Honour in concealing it and therefore afterward as an Evidence for the King freely told all he knew at Charnocks Tryal p. 40. The King having now a perfect Knowledge of the Conspiracy and the Names of the Conspirators his Majesty issues out his Royal Proclamation requiring all his loving
Covent-Garden Square whom they should know by a white Handkercheif hanging out of his Coat Pocket and thereupon the late King James pulling a List out of his Pocket told this Deponent that when he was in England he must go by the Name of Jenkins and his Comerade Hare by the Name of Guiney and further this Deponent saith that Coll. Parker was present heard all that the late King said and went with this Informant and his Comerade to Mr. Caryl who told them that the King had order'd each of them Ten Louis d' Or 's which would be sufficient to carry them into England and if they should be Wind-bound he had writ to the President Tosse at Calais to furnish them with what they should have occasion for the rest of the Assassins were all Men of desperate Fortunes hangers-on at the Court at St. Germains or Soldiers taken out of several Regiments whose Characters render'd them fit for such an inhuman Enterprize All the Assassins being come to London that were expected from France and their Number compleated by the Addition of others that were in England the execrable Design was communicated to all the Desperados Some of which were startled and amazed with horror at the first Relation of it but all the Scruples that Conscience could raise were soon extinguish'd by the Authority of the late King James 's Commission and their Phanciful Prospects of Wealth and Honour that would attend the Action And therefore all consented to forfeit their Honours and hazard their Lives in it Now several ways are proposed by the Conspirators to execute their long design'd Attempt against his Majesties Person Some proposed the seizing his Majesty and carrying him alive into France and to that purpose a faint was made that a Castle on the Sea-side was secured to detain the King in till a Ship was ready to transport him thither but the wiser and more wicked among them that understood what was meant by seizing the King's Person laught at this as a meer Chimera Others proposed to kill his Majesty at Kensington by attaching his Guards and forcing his Pallace in the dead of the night but this upon debating was also thought wholly impracticable Some were for Murthering the King as he came on Sunday to St. James 's Chappel and for this purpose forty Men well armed were to Assault his Majesties Guards which commonly do not exceed above twenty five while six Men on Foot should shut Hide Parke-gate and the rest Assassinate his Majesty * See Mr. Fishers Deposition Feb. 25 1695. 't was agreed also to kill the Coach Horses as they were entring into the Park that the Passage being stopt the Guards might not be able to come up till they had done their Work Another Proposal was to Murther the King as he returned from Hunting in a narrow Lane by a Wood-side leading to the Thames on the other side of the Water about a hundred and fifty paces long in which there is a Gate that when 't is shut hinders Coaches or Horses from passing that way One of the Assassins was sent to view this Ground and another to view the Lane aforementioned but Sr. George Barclay who was to command this infamous Party did not approve that Lane and the Difficulties that arose in the Debate caused that Project to be rejected at last they fix upon a Place betwixt Brentford and Turnham-Green In a bottom where the Ground is moorish there is a Bridge where diverse Roads meet and cross one another on the North side there is a Road that goes round Brentford and on the South a Lane that leads to the River so that one may come thither by four several Ways After you past the Bridge the Road grows narrow having on one side a foot Path and on the other a tall and thick Hedge and this Place was pitcht upon for the Execution of their barbarous Design And truly if Heaven had not discover'd their Treasons all Circumstances consider'd a more unlucky Place and Time could not have been found out For His Majesty very often return'd late from Hunting and usually crost the Water at Queens-Ferry by Brentford with no greater Attendance than five or six of his Guards 'T was also his Majesties Custom to enter the Ferry-Boat without coming out of his Coach and as soon as he landed on this side the Water the Coach drove on without expecting the rest of the Guards who could not cross the Thames till the Boat return'd to Surry-side to bring them over and so the King must inevitably have fallen into the Hands of his Murtherers before the rest of his Guards could have come up to his Assistance Neither was the Time and Place more cunningly and devilishly contrived then their Men were disposed of for having secured several Places at Brentford Turnham-Green and in scatter'd Houses thereabouts to set up their Horses till the King should return from Hunting One of the Conspirators was order'd to wait at Queens-Ferry till the Kings Guards appear'd in sight on Surry-side of the Water and then to give speedy Notice to the rest to be ready at their respective Ports while the King was crossing the Thames For this wicked end they were divided into three Parties which were to make their Approaches by three several ways one of which was to come from Turnham-Green another from the Lane that leads to the Thames and the third from the Road that goes round Brentford One of these Parties were to attack the Guards in the Front and the other in the Rear whilst ten or twelve Men of the bloodiest Sort were to assassinate his Majesty in his Coach And put a Period to that Sacred Life whose Safety and well Being is a Terrour to the Common Enemy of Europe as well as the particular Joy Delight and Safety of England When their execrable Design was accomplish'd the Conspirators resolv'd to keep in a Body till they came beyond Hammersmith and there to seperate and by several Roads hasten to London and from thence to the Sea-side where the sudden Landing of the French might secure them from the Rage of the Multitude and the Hand of Justice Thus was the Assassination to make way for a French Invasion and the Invasion to shelter the Murtherers of our King and Country Horses were now the only necessaries wanting and Sir George Barclay * Vid. Captain Porter's Depositions in the Appendix complaining that the eight hundred Pound he brought over was already so far exhausted that he could not out of the Remainder provide so great a Number as forty they all agre'd he should find but half and the other twenty should be supply'd by Sir W. Perkins Mr. Porter and Mr. Charnock All Things being thus agreed on and the day appointed for the Execution of this inhuman Conspiracy the Duke of Berwick who came into England to countenance the Action and secure a Party among the great Ones to assist at the Invasion having been three Weeks in England