2 nd S. IX. Af-ril 28. '60. ] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



319 



he hoped by this appointment to show that he had 

 no intention of excluding men from high offices 

 on account of their religious opinions, and that he 

 thought that this would win over many to at least 

 an outward conformity. 



In the beginning of June James discovered 

 that the mere fact of his being a Protestant was 

 sufficient to expose him to the risk of assassination. 

 Information was received of the capture of a 

 priest named Gwynn, who had been taken at sea 

 by a Captain Fisher, and had confessed to his 

 captor that his intention in coming to England 

 was to murder the king.* Gwynn was sent up to 

 London, and, upon confession of his guilt, was 

 committed to the Tower.f 



Rosny, who was at that time in England on a 

 special mission from the French king, informed 

 his master that the effect of this discovery upon 

 James's mind was considerable, and that he re- 

 turned to it again and again iu conversation. 



This feeling of insecurity had not time to wear 

 off before the discovery of Watson's plot threw 

 James again into a state of great anxiety. The 

 evidence obtained of this conspiracy, which is now 

 no longer a mystery, was enough to shake him 

 in his purpose, as it showed that even the priests 

 of the anti- Jesuit party were ready on very insuf- 

 ficient grounds to enter into plots against the 

 government. 



The king told the French ambassador that he 

 had been kind to the Catholics, and had admitted 

 them to his court, and even into his council. He 

 had even ordered that the recusancy fines should 

 be levied upon them no longer, but in spite of this 

 they were seeking his life. Beaumont answered 

 that the conspirators were exceptions amongst a 

 generally loyal body ; and that if liberty of con- 

 science were to be withheld, he would hardly be 

 able to put a stop to similar plots. j James said 

 that he would think the matter over. 



The result seems to have been a determination 

 to spare the laity, but to put in execution the laws 

 against the priests. About the middle of July 

 the principal Koman Catholic laymen were in- 

 formed, that, as long as they continued to behave 

 well to the state, the fines would not be exacted. § 



On the other hand, the instructions to the Pre- 

 sident of the Council of the North ||, dated July 

 22, breathe a very different spirit, as will be seen 

 from the following extract : — 



* S. P. O., Domestic Series, vol. ii. ii. 15. 



t Beaumont an Hoi, July T 7 ? . 



X Beaumont au Roi, July g; 



§ The Petition Apologetical says that thi3 took place a 

 few days before the coronation, which was on the 25th 

 July. 



|| S. P. 0.. Domestic Series, vol. ii. 64. The spelling 

 of the following passage from this paper may be inter- 

 esting in the present state of the Shakspeare controversy ; 

 " The good adiniuistracou of Justice . . betweae partie and 

 party." 



" Further that all due care and good meanes may be 

 hadd for the Advancement of gods true Religion and ser- 

 vice in those parts, wee doe require you ubpon conference 

 w ,h the rest to take good and speedy Order That every 

 Byshoppe, Archdeacon or other Commyssarye or officiall 

 in his particuler Jurrisdiccfln doe in their severall visita- 

 cons by oath of sidemen take Presentment of the nomber 

 of Recusants and trulie certifie them to you o r President 

 and courjcell as in like manner we would that the judges 

 of Assisse should give charge to the Justices of the peace 

 themselves to make inquiry and p'sentment of the said 

 Recusants and to certifie the number of them as they 

 shall have knowledge of them " . . . . 



"Allso o r expresse pleasure and comaundment is That 

 the president and councell w lh all their pollicies by 

 all good waies and meanes shall endeavo r to repress all 

 popish preists Seminary preists and other seducers of o r 

 Sub'icts And shall within the Ley mitts of their authoritie 

 give warrant and dyreccOn under o r Signett there for the 

 search of any houses or places where any such persons 

 shall be suspected to be receyved, or remaine or abyde, 

 And allso shall in their Goale delivery before them to be 

 held putt in execucon w ,h all severity Lawes made and 

 ordayued against Preists Semynaries and their Recyv" 

 Comforters and Ayders and against Rucusants And for 

 the better discovery of such seducery shall call before 

 them all such persons as shall be suspected to have con- 

 tracted Clandestine and secret Marriadge by popish 

 priests or secretly and unlawfully to have baptised their 

 children after the Popish inann r ." 



I have referred to this as if it were part of a 

 decided policy. It will be seen that there is no 

 actual discrepancy between this and the promise 

 to the Catholics given by the Council, even 

 though the judges are directed to put in force 

 the laws against recusants. For the judge's part 

 consisted in convicting of recusancy, and in re- 

 turning the name of the recusant into the Exche- 

 quer. It therefore still rested with the govern- 

 ment to determine whether any fine should be 

 levied in consequence of the conviction. They 

 may have wished to have complete lists of recu- 

 sants, so as to keep the fines suspended over their 

 heads in case of any disloyalty appearing. 



It is possible, however, that the king may have 

 agreed to the instructions before the promise 

 given by the council. The date of July 22nd 

 would probably be appended after the paper was 

 fairly copied out. The day on which it was con- 

 sidered by the council, or presented for the king's 

 approval, would be rather earlier. May it not be 

 that it was prepared immediately -after the first 

 discovery of Watson's plot, at the time when, ac- 

 cording to Beaumont, the king was still uncertain 

 as to the course which he was to pursue ; that the 

 king, influenced by Beaumont's arguments, or- 

 dered the council to declare his favourable in- 

 tentions to the Catholic laity, but that Cecil, who 

 was no friend to the priests, sent oil' the instruc- 

 tions as they stood. He would know that they 

 were not actually opposed to the promises which 

 had been given, and, as the greater part of the 

 paper appears to be a mere copy of instructions 

 given in Elizabeth's reign, might think himself jus- 



