Father Gerard false accused and fully cleared.
But here in defence of the innocent, we have cause to demand of Mr. Attorney why he was not also careful to forbear the offence of a much higher Majesty, that is, of God Himself, by accusing His servants wrongfully, without any cause at all given by them, or occasion offered by the confession of the conspirators, in which they were not so much as named? Yet Mr. Attorney would needs enforce those meetings and consultations to be true which the indictment had mentioned, and which, you heard before, the conspirators disclaimed, and in respect thereof did all plead not guilty: although for their own part, they denied not the fact, nor the consultations which they had amongst themselves before they concluded of the matter. Mr. Attorney, notwithstanding, would needs insist in the same disproved falsehood, and added thereunto another most egregious untruth, never so much as thought of by the party accused, as he hath often and most seriously protested to his private and confident friends, and once in my own hearing. The tale is this: that Father Gerard did give the oath of secrecy and perseverance in this treason unto the conspirators, [pg 198] and then heard their confessions and ministered the Blessed Sacrament unto them. Than which a more false and pernicious slander could not be raised or reported of any man living, nor more contrary to his very natural disposition and known manner of proceeding, as all men will answer for him that are much conversant with him.
But I would ask Mr. Attorney upon what ground he did raise and report this false surmise? Did any one man ever accuse him of it, or could it be justly gathered by any little word or tittle of their confessions? They are printed and published, and I have them now by me whilst I write this. I have often read them over, and my eyes are not of so quick a sight as to discern the least cause of surmise leading to any such matter. But perhaps Mr. Attorney had it by revelation. Certainly he neither had nor brought any proof at all of so foul an accusation, which had been requisite to a man of his place. And it had been well he would have considered for his own credit that which all men know, that if there had been any such thing confessed by the conspirators, without which he could never know it, infallibly it would have been set down in their confessions; which I prove apparently by this reason: Mr. Attorney here affirmeth that he was forced to speak of other Princes, because their names were so intermixed or woven (as he termeth it) into their confessions, that he could not declare the one without the other. If then that which he saith he was so unwilling to speak of was publicly set down in their printed confessions, because they were annexed by the examinates to the discourse of their said confessions, how much more would this against a Jesuit have been left in (which here they charged him withal)[393] if any such thing had been true, or confessed for such by the conspirators? I hope Mr. Attorney will not say that he suppressed the matter for good-will unto him, and was more loth to have his name spoken of in so odious a cause than the names of [pg 199] those Princes which he would so fain have concealed, but that he could not unweave their confessions so much, into which they were inserted.
But if you will indeed know the true reason why this absurd fiction was not set down in their printed confessions, and yet was here averred by Mr. Attorney, you must understand that the author of that first relation and discourse of all this treason and of the course and proceeding thereof (wherein the treason itself of gunpowder, the discovery thereof, the rebellion of the conspirators, their apprehension, and their confessions, were all published with all known, due, and true circumstances) was so careful of his authority and the credit of his narration, that he would not blemish the same with reporting any known untruth. And indeed the author was said to be of no less authority than the King himself; as it is easy to be gathered out of another book set forth soon after by the Earl of Salisbury, entitled An Answer to certain Scandalous Papers, in which, he saith, speaking of that discourse, “that every line discovered where Apelles' hand hath been.” Now, on the other side, Mr. Attorney being not so sure a friend to truth, nor so careful of his own credit in that point, did not stick to allege this dream or device of his own for a true narrative, than which there never was a more foul untruth devised, the party accused being no more privy unto the giving or taking of any such oath, nor to any such plot or purpose in any one of the conspirators than the Attorney himself was, or whosoever doth think himself the furthest from it. And so it may appear that others of greater authority and judgment than Mr. Attorney were persuaded of him. For although when the matter first broke out the Council perhaps might have some suspicion that he was privy unto the Plot, in respect he was supposed to be acquainted with some of the gentlemen that were in the conspiracy, and thereupon his name put in the proclamation, yet after the conspirators [pg 200] were taken, and had been examined, and no proof at all found against him, or mention made of him in any of their confessions, it seems that the wisest, and those that had most to deal in the matter, did hold him free; and therefore neither the Earl of Salisbury nor of Northampton did produce any such accusation against him, although in their several speeches they had often occasion to mention that matter of the oath taken by the conspirators (which oath, as Mr. Winter directly saith in his confession,[394] was taken by themselves being alone and private in a chamber):[395] for these be the words of Mr. Winter's confession related in the foresaid discourse of the whole treason set forth by His Majesty himself, as before hath been declared. “First,” saith Mr. Thomas Winter, “Mr. Percy said unto Mr. Catesby and myself, ‘Shall we always, gentlemen, talk and never do anything?’ Then Mr. Catesby took him aside and had speech about somewhat to be done; so as first we might all take an oath of secrecy, which we resolved within two or three days to do. So as there we met, Mr. Catesby, Mr. Percy, Mr. John Wright, Mr. Guy Faulks, and myself; and having upon a Primer given each other the oath of secrecy in a chamber where no other body was, we went after into the next room and heard Mass and received the Blessed Sacrament upon the same. Then did Mr. Catesby disclose to Mr. Percy, and I together with Jack Wright tell to Mr. Faulks, the business for which we took this oath, which they both approved; and then was Mr. Percy sent to take the house, where the mine was to be begun,” &c.
Here it is most apparent, that in this great business [pg 201] they consulted only with themselves; they took the oath by themselves; they imparted the matter amongst themselves; and assented unto it of themselves; and did admit neither counsel, nor persuasion, nor presence of any other in talking of the same. As for their hearing Mass and receiving the Blessed Sacrament, who seeth not but that might be done, and the Priest not privy to the matter? Whereof they made no scruple at all, as appears by their present receiving, but esteemed the case and cause meritorious and not belonging to confession. And yet who that Priest was, I have heard Father Gerard protest upon his soul and salvation that he doth not know. This confession of Mr. Thomas Winter is likewise approved in the confession of Mr. Faulks related also in the same discourse of this late intended treason, and contradicted by none. But we must pardon Mr. Attorney this overlashing in this his discourse, which seemed rather to be intended against the Jesuits, than to prove the prisoners guilty that were there present before him; for it appeared by his words in divers places, that the chief mark he shot at was, like another Aman, to root out the whole Order of them, not out of England only, but out of the world, if he could; for to that end he compared them with the Order of the Templars, which was suppressed by the See Apostolic. To that end it pleased him, out of his too great liberty of speech, to accuse them of teaching damned heresies, and besides, that they approve for lawful and meritorious the killing of Kings. In which last point, to show his good-will as well to the Head as to the members, he joined them with the Pope himself, affirming that Pope Sixtus Vtus did not only allow of the fact of that Dominican who killed the King of France, but did highly commend the same in a public oration in his Consistory. No marvel therefore if Mr. Attorney did pass the bounds of justice in his reports of those three Jesuits, and had no regard of truth in that fiction of his own fathered upon Father Gerard [pg 202] in particular, sith he showed so great a malice against the whole Order in general, and was so bold as to accuse the Pope himself in that public place, contrary to the rule of modesty in his speech, which himself had before acknowledged to be needful; and contrary to the counsel that is given in such cases, that at least his memory should be good, if his words were not true. But for the further convincing of that fiction, and full clearing of Father Gerard, I will afterwards briefly set down what course he held, to show his innocency both from that and all other participation in this treason.
Now to proceed to Mr. Attorney his speech. He endeavoured to lay open the foulness of the treason intended, with all the parts and circumstances thereof; and showed how great harm and ruin might have come to the commonwealth by their rash and unnatural attempt. Yet for the persons of those that were the conspirators, whereof some were slain and most of them were present, he said, “though some reported them to be persons of mean account, yet,” said he, “not to wrong them, they are gentlemen of good houses and of excellent parts, howsoever most perniciously seduced, corrupted, and Jesuited” (this was his phrase), “of very competent fortunes and estates;” besides he named three that were of very noble houses. But the most of his speech was directly or indirectly still bent against the Jesuits, as the men most maligned by him, and that, in respect of their religion and the industry they use to promote the same, for other matter he had not there, which he could with any justice or truth allege against them.
When it came to the prisoners' turn to answer for themselves, although they had pleaded not guilty, as I said before, that was partly in respect of those conferences between the Jesuits and them, which were not true and therefore by them denied; partly also for that although they acknowledged the fact, yet they accounted themselves not guilty of any crime in the sight of God, [pg 203]
The speech of the prisoners at the bar.
Whom they sought to serve and please in the action, and would not for any other respect have attempted it. To this effect answered Mr. Robert Winter and his brother Thomas, the elder of which, though he were known to be a man both wise and stout, yet he said but little in that place, as it is thought, for that he saw it was in vain to justify the action, and yet he would not condemn it, but showed a willing mind to suffer for the fact which he confessed. In like manner the younger brother, Thomas, though he were a man of very good discourse and had delivered his mind at large before the Council about the whole matter, and that in so good order and with such resolution that he was much commended and pitied by them all, so far that the Earl of Salisbury said if his case were any other but for this Powder Treason, he would have saved his life; yet now in this place he said little or nothing for himself, rather showing a contented, ready mind to suffer: only he asked mercy of the King for his brother, who was, as he said, drawn into the action by himself. It is not amiss to see what is said of them both by that pamphlet which was then by some base person published of their arraignment and execution; for that being written in as disgraceful manner of them as could be devised, it is the surer witness of anything that may be well interpreted of their mind. Of the elder he hath this, that he said little, but had a guilty conscience, that he swallowed and concealed his grief and made little show of sorrow for that time. Of the younger, he saith that he thought himself already half a saint for his whole villainy, that he said little that either made show of sorrow or sought mercy, but only made a request to the King for his brother, &c. By which relation set down to their disgrace, it may appear what opinion they had of the attempt itself and of their present state of mind in regard of their intention in the former.
Mr. Rookwood spake more at large, declaring how he had ever been brought up in the Catholic religion, and taught to fear God from his infancy; that he was the rather induced to attempt this enterprise, as thinking it the only likely means to restore the Catholic religion; that his friendship also and love to Mr. Catesby was such as moved him the sooner to follow his counsel and example: he requested, withal, favour for his wife and children. Of him the aforesaid book hath these words, “That he would fain have made his bringing up and breeding in idolatry to have been some excuse to his villainy; but a fair tale could not help a foul deed.” So he.