SIR RICHARD CLOUGH.
Sir Richard Clough was a man of distinguished character, who raised himself by his merit, from a poor boy at Denbigh to be one of the greatest merchants of his time. He was first a chorister at Chester, then had the good fortune to become apprentice to the famous Sir Thomas Gresham, and afterwards his partner, with whom he may be considered as joint founder of the Royal Exchange, having contributed several thousand pounds towards that noble design. His residence was chiefly at Antwerp, where after his death his body was interred; his heart at Whitchurch, in the vicinity of Denbigh. He is said to have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and to have been a knight of the holy sepulchre; and he accordingly assumed the five crosses, the badge of that order, for his arms. His wealth was so great, that his name became proverbial, and the Welsh have a saying, on any person’s attaining great riches, that he is become a Clough. Sir Richard left two daughters, but it is probable that they enjoyed but an inconsiderable part of his wealth, which is said to have gone to Sir Thomas Gresham, according to an agreement in case of survivorship. Sir Richard died first, but the time is unknown. Sir Thomas survived till the year 1579.
The original hint of the Royal Exchange was given to Sir Thomas Gresham by Sir Richard Clough, who in the year 1561, had been advanced by the former, to be his correspondent and agent in the then emporium of the world, Antwerp. Clough wrote to his master, to blame the citizens of London for neglecting so necessary a thing; bluntly saying that “they studied nothing else but their own private profit; that they were content to walk about in the rain, more like pedlars than merchants, and that there was no kind of people but had their place to transact business in, in other countries.” Thus stimulated, Sir Thomas, in 1566, laid the foundation, and the next year completed what was then called the Bourse, which three years after on being visited by queen Elizabeth, was dignified by her with the title of Royal Exchange.
An original picture of Sir Richard Clough is preserved at Llanywern, the seat of Sir Thomas Salusbury, Bart. It is a half length extremely well painted on board, his hair is very short, and of a dark brown. He is dressed in a short close jacket, black, striped with white, and great white breeches. In his right hand a glove; his left on his sword; on his right side is a dagger. The arms of the holy sepulchre, which he had assumed, are on one side of the picture. It was probably painted at Antwerp, which at this period abounded with artists of the first merit.
ROYAL CLEMENCY.
Lewis the thirteenth of France being desirous to sit as judge at the trial of the Duke de la Vallette, assembled, in his cabinet, some members of the Parliament, together with some counsellors of state, to consult on the propriety of such a step. Upon their being compelled by the king to give their opinions concerning the decree for his arrest, the president, De Believre, said, “That he found it very strange that a prince should pass sentence upon one of his subjects; that kings had reserved to themselves the power of pardoning, and left that of condemning to their officers; that his majesty wanted to see before him at the bar, a person, who by his decision was to be hurried away in an hour’s time into another world. That this is what a prince’s countenance, from whence favours flow, should never bear; that his presence alone removed ecclesiastical censures; and that subjects ought not to go away dissatisfied from their prince.” When sentence was passed, the same president said, “This is an unprecedented judgment, and contrary to the example of past ages, to see a king of France, in the quality of a judge, condemning a gentleman to death.”—It may be proper to add, that the sentence was afterwards revoked.
It has always been urged against king James the second, as a proof of the inveterate cruelty of his disposition, that he should have ordered the Duke of Monmouth into his presence, and not pardoned him. Welwood, in his Memoirs, says, that James, in this instance, made an exception to a general rule observed inviolably by kings, “never to allow a criminal, under sentence of death, the sight of his prince’s face, without a design to pardon him.”
The custom of pardoning criminals, by admitting them into the presence of the sovereign, is of very ancient date. When Agag, king of the Amalekites, had been taken prisoner by Saul (1 Sam., xv. 20-33) and his life spared by that monarch, contrary to the divine command, and was afterwards brought into the presence of Samuel, he exclaimed “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” evidently in allusion to this custom. But Samuel executed the command of God, by putting Agag to death, which ought to have been done by Saul, on taking him prisoner.
LOTTERIES.
As a source of revenue, this is only a modern invention; and it is evident, were it not for the monopoly of this species of gambling, which the government insists on enjoying, that it could not possibly prove of any material advantage; for individuals would soon set up private lotteries, could afford to carry them on with less profit, and would soon draw all the benefit of such speculations to themselves.