The Tories endeavoured to signalize their victory by similar judicial enormities in England. Shaftesbury was brought to trial for high treason, and the king himself condescended to solicit and to suborn witnesses against him. As far as swearing would go, the treason was made out by infamous witnesses. A London grand jury, however, acquitted Shaftesbury, and a shout of joy was given by the spectators in court when the verdict was announced. Colledge, an obscure sharer in the pre tended conspiracy, was tried at Oxford, where opposite principles prevailed. his notes of defence were taken from him on the way to trial, and he was condemned and executed by a jury predetermined on his murder. The populace, too, shouted at this verdict, for, joy that a Whig was to be put to death, as those of London had rejoiced at Shaftesbury's acquittal. To give an account, as Mr Fox has observed, of all the oppression of this period, would be to enumerate every arrest, every trial, every sentence, that took place between the crown and the subjects. Pilkington, Colt, and Oates, were lined each lo0,000/. for speaking disrespectfully of the duke of York. Sir Patience Ward, formerly mayor, who gave evidence for Pilkington, was sued for perjury, and con demned to the pillory ; a sentence intended to deter all witnesses from appearing in favour of those who were prosecuted by the court.
That the subjugation of the people might be complete, measures of a more general nature were adopted. By the law of England, the validity of charters of corpora tions might be inquired into by a writ of Quo Warranto. The profligate judge Jeffreys suggested to the king, that most of them might be annulled by such an inquiry. First the charter of London, and then those of almost all the other corporations in England, were either forfeited, or extorted from their proprietors. By this direct out rage on the rights of subjects, a way was opened to have the choice of magistrates, of juries, and of members of parliament, subjected to the will of the crown. It is needless to mention on what frivolous grounds these actions were maintained and sanctioned by the corrupt judgments of the king's bench. The most trifling de viations from the terms of ancient charters,—the most insignificant offences against obsolete laws,—were made the pretences for forfeiting charters. The charter of St Ives was attacked, because the borough had four con stables instead of three, and three serjeants at mace in stead of two. One of the complaints against Oxford was, that the fair was held in one place instead of ano ther.
While the duke of York in Scotland, and the king in England, were proceeding to the last aggression on the constitution, a band of friends had associated to consult what means were left, or what others might be devised, for delivering their country from the dreadful servitude into which it had fallen. The leaders of this secret as sociation were Monmouth, Shaftesbury, Russel, Essex, Algernon Sidney, and Hambden, the grandson of the great patriot. As the evidence against this party was
given by the basest of its partizans, when, from hopes of pardon they were led to mix falsehood with truth, the designs of the association must still be considered as doubtful. That they meant to levy war against the king, may be suspected, but is by no means certain." That which is certain in this affair, is, that they had com mitted no overt act of treason, and that the condemna tion of Russel and Sidney, who suffered for it, was a fla grant violation of law and justice. An inferior conspiracy was in i the mean time held among the agents of Shaftes bury, in the city, who carried on projects unknown to Monmouth and the other six.. They met at the house of Rumbold, an old republican officer, now a maltster, who possessed a farm called Ryehouse, and their con spiracy was from thence denominated the Ryehouse Plot. They had laid a plan, we are told, for assassinat ing the king ; yet no concerted design, as Mr Hume acknowledges, had been laid, and the whole was little more than loose discourse, the overflowings of their zeal and rancour. Before the conspiracy had been detected, Shaftesbury fled to Holland, and died. Keiling, one the associates of the city, revealed the inferior plot, and others, who were arrested, confessed their associates ; and some of the obscure partizans were executed, whose confession in death, it was hoped, would prepare the public mind for witnessing the executions of Russel and Sidney. The particulars of the fate and trial of those illustrious men, will be seen under the respective articles of their names in this work. Monmouth fled to the continent ; lord Grey was arrested, but escaped from the messenger ; Howard, who was found concealed in a chinmcy,—a lurking place suited to the baseness of a wretch who turned evidence against Sidney and Ilamb den, suffered only by a large fine ; and Essex, one of the greatest and most virtuous men of the age, fell by a voluntary death. Armstrong, one of the chief associates, was refused the common benefit of law to be heard by counsel ; " You shall have the full benefit of law," said the Judge Jeffreys ; "by the grace of God, you shall be executed upon Friday next." Baillie of Jerviswood, a Scottish patriot connected with those in England, was sent to Scotland, where, con trary to the laws, written depositions, extorted by tor ture out of court, were read to the jury. He suffered with several of his countrymen ; but most of the Scot tish associates fled to Holland, and returned at the Revo lution. Spence, the earl of Argyles secretary, suffered the torture twice, and Carstairs for a complete hour, but neither would confess, till it was agreed that they should not be made evidences. Mr Gorden. of Earlstone was brought before the council to be tortured, after he had been sentenced to death by the king's orders, but when the infernal engines were shewn to him, horror drove him instantly into madness.