The chief political events of 1706 were con nected with the proposed union between land and Scotland. In May Defoe began fishing a series of acute, well-informed and conciliatory essays 'at Removing National Prejudices,' which by January 1707 amounted to six in number. Meanwhile in September 1706 at Harley's orders he had set out for Scot land to help on the negotiations at the meeting of the Scotch Parliament. From October 1706 to December 1707 he continued at his post send ing full and interesting letters to Harley, inter viewing leaders of every faction, encountering the violence of mobs, publishing pamphlets in short, making himself valuable in every way. Except for an occasional visit to a disturbed centre like Glasgow, he remained in Edinburgh, and part of the time he was in attendance on parliamentary committees, serving them by his knowledge of English commerce and finance, and picking up information about Scotland of which he afterward made much use. The pity of it all is that he passed, part of the time at least, as "Alexander Goldsmith," declared that he was in Scotland on his own business and in nobody's pay, and yet was continually writing begging letters to Harley, who was not prompt in forwarding funds. During the 15 months, besides maintaining his Review, he published a poem, 'Caledonia,' and several pamphlets.
On his return to England Defoe found Har ley in political difficulties and in February 1708 learned of his fall. He immediately offered to share his superior's fortunes, but Harley dis countenanced such romantic notions and turned his useful agent over to Godolphin, whom De foe served with apparent fidelity until Harley came into power in 1710. This meant that Defoe was regarded as a permanent secret service man and not as an official of dignified and regular status. He visited Scotland again in 1708 and in 1709, and supported warmly the Whig measures of Godolphin and Marlborough both in his Review and in his pamphlets, which during these years apparently decreased in num ber. One reason for his not appearing oftener in his favorite role is probably to be found in the fact that he was at work upon his volumi nous (History of the Union of Great Britain> (1709) which, while scarcely interesting, is valu able and a clear proof of his interest in everything Scotch. In 1710 he naturally took his part in the Sacheverell controversy and on the dismissal of Godolphin he was glad to be employed once more by Harley. In the fall he visited Edin burgh as "Mr. Claude Guilot," for the purpose of undermining the Jacobites. By February 1710-11 he was back in London having frequent interviews with his chief and writing him letters full of suggestions and also of requests for money. Another visit to Scotland was made in
the fall of 1712, but his travels in Harley's in terest are not so important as the changed tone of the Review and of the pamphlets of the period. Defoe had the hard or, rather, im possible task of maintaining outwardly his journalistic independence and at the same time of abandoning his support of the war and his general Whig attitude. On the whole, he was fairly consistent, opposing vigorously as he did the passage of the Occasional Conformity Bill, but, of course, his path was a perilous one. The extreme Tories, who were powerful in the new Parliament, would not trust him, and the Whigs, whom he had deserted, detested him as a renegade. The modern reader, making allow ance for the facts that it was a factious period, that regular party government was in its in fancy, and that Defoe, both by his disposition and by his circumstances, was practically forced into his equivocal position between the Whigs and the Tories, finds it possible to admire the dexterity of his casuistry and the versatility and range of his activity. Between March 1710 and June 1713 when the Review came to an end, he published more than 60 pamphlets, be sides at least two books. He dealt with Sache verell, public credit and loans (essays errone ously attributed to Harley), the extravagant partisanship of the "October Club," the advan tages of the South Sea trade, the reasons for advocating peace and the treaty of commerce with France, the impolicy of the Occasional Conformity Bill, the political reputation of Har ley and the efforts of the Jacobites in favor of the Pretender. On the last topic he was spe cially effective. His five or more pamphlets (1712-13) are still readable, and one is amused in endeavoring to understand how the ironical 'Reasons against the Succession of the House of Hanover> should have misled the stupid as much as his (Shortest Way with the Dissenters' had done 10 years before. This tract came near getting him into just as much trouble, certain Whigs who had themselves been prosecuted for their writings bringing an action against him for treason based upon his having written as a Jacobite. Defoe injured his cause by dis cussing the case in the Review; but Harley secured bail for him, and, after much manoeu vring, since it was to the interest of both to keep their relations from being definitely known, however much they were suspected, he was finally pardoned under the great seal. The statement of some biographers that Defoe was a between April and November 1713 is shown by his correspondence with Harley and by contemporary newspapers to be an error. He was confined in the Queen's Bench Prison for only a few days.