As many inconveniences had arisen from a want of co-operation among the friends of the Chevalier in the south of Scotland, Mr. Lockhart, in concert with the Bishop of Edinburgh, proposed to James that the Earls of Eglinton and Wigton, Lord Balmerino, the Bishop of Edinburgh, (the head of the nonjuring clergy,) Mr. Paterson of Preston-hall, and Captain Straiton, should be appointed commissioners or trustees for transacting his affairs in Scotland. This proposal on the whole was well received by the Chevalier, who, however, probably influenced by the jealous schemers who surrounded him, did not sanction the formation of a regularly organized authoritative commission. Writing to Lockhart in February, 1721, he says, “to appoint a certain number of persons for this effect by commission, is by no means, at this time, advisable, because of the inconveniences it might draw, sooner or later, upon the persons concern’d; since it could not but be expected that the present government would, at long run, be inform’d of such a paper which, by its nature, must be known to a great number of people; besides, that many who might be most fit to discharge such a trust might, with reason, not be fond of having their names exposed in such a matter; while, on the other hand, numbers might be disobliged for not having a share where it is not possible all can be concerned; but I think all these inconveniences may be obviated, the intent of the proposal comply’d with, and equal advantages drawn from it if the persons named below, or some of them, would meet and consult together for the intents above-mention’d. The persons you propose I entirely approve, to wit, the Earls of Eglinton and Wigton, Lord Balmerino, the Bishop of Edinburgh, Mr. Paterson and Captain Straiton, to whom I would have added Mr. Harry Maul, Sir John Erskine, Lord Dun, Pourie and Glengary.”[765]
Mr. Lockhart acquainted the different persons, therein named, of its contents, and all of them undertook to execute the trust reposed in them; but as they judged it advisable to conceal the powers they had received from their friends, they requested Mr. Lockhart, when their advice was wanted, to communicate with them individually, and having collected their sentiments, to give the necessary instructions with due caution.
In June 1721, a treaty of peace was signed at Madrid between Great Britain and Spain, and at the same time a defensive alliance was entered into between Great Britain, France, and Spain. As the two last were the only powers from whom the “Pretender” could expect any effectual aid in support of his pretensions, his long-wished-for restoration seemed now to be hopeless, and King George secure, as he imagined, from foreign invasion and domestic plots, made preparations for visiting his German dominions, and actually appointed a regency to act in his absence. But early in the year 1722, a discovery was made, on information received by the king from the regent of France, that the Jacobites were busy in a new conspiracy against the government. It appeared that the Chevalier de St. George, who was at Rome, was to sail from Porto-Longone for Spain, under the protection of three Spanish men-of-war, and there to wait the resolutions of his friends.[766] In following the clue given by the Duke of Orleans, it was ascertained that all the letters, in relation to the conspiracy, were carried to Mr. George Kelly, an Irish clergyman, who despatched them to their different destinations. The insurrection was to have taken place during the king’s absence in Hanover; but his majesty having deferred his journey in consequence of the discovery of the plot, the conspirators resolved to postpone their attempt till the dissolution of parliament.
The conspirators, finding they were watched by government, became extremely cautious, and the ministers, desirous of getting hold of the treasonable correspondence, ordered Kelly, the principal agent, to be arrested. He was accordingly apprehended, but not until he had, by keeping his assailants at bay with his sword, succeeded in burning the greater part of his papers. Although the papers which were seized from Kelly, and others which had been intercepted by government, bore evident marks of a conspiracy, yet it became very difficult, from the fictitious names used in them, to trace out the guilty persons. “We are in trace of several things very material,” observes Robert Walpole in a letter to his brother, in reference to this discovery, “but we fox-hunters know that we do not always find every fox that we cross upon.” Among other persons who were arrested on suspicion, were the Duke of Norfolk, Lords North and Grey, Strafford, and Orrery, Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Harry Goring.
To check the threatened insurrection, a camp was immediately formed in Hyde-park, and all military officers were ordered to repair to their respective regiments. Lieutenant-general Macartney was despatched to Ireland to bring over some troops from that kingdom, and the states of Holland were requested to have their auxiliary troops in readiness for embarkation. These preparations, and the many rumours which prevailed respecting the extent of the conspiracy, affected public credit, and a run took place upon the bank, but the panic soon subsided, and public confidence was restored.
Of all the persons seized of any note, the Bishop of Rochester was the only individual against whom a charge could plausibly be maintained. He was equally noted for his high literary attainments and a warm attachment to the exploded dogma of passive obedience. He had written Sacheverel’s defence con amore, and he had carried his partisanship for the house of Stuart so far, that, according to Lord Harcourt, he offered, upon the death of Queen Anne, to proclaim the Chevalier de St. George at Charing-cross in his lawn sleeves, and when his proposal was declined, he is said to have exclaimed, “Never was a better cause lost for want of spirit.”
After an examination before the privy-council, the bishop was committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason. The committal of the bishop was highly resented by the clergy, who considered it an outrage upon the Church of England and the Episcopal order, and they gave full vent to their feelings by offering up public prayers for his health in all the churches and chapels of London and Westminster.
The new parliament met in the month of October, and the first thing the king did was to announce, by a speech from the throne, the nature of the conspiracy. A bill for suspending the habeas corpus act for a whole year was immediately brought into the house of lords, but as the period of suspension was double of any suspension hitherto known, it met with some opposition. In the commons, however, the opposition was so violent, that Mr. Robert Walpole found himself necessitated to invent a story of a design to seize the bank and the exchequer, and to proclaim the “Pretender” on the royal exchange. This ridiculous tale, uttered with the greatest confidence, alarmed the commons, and they passed the bill.
As the Catholics were supposed to be chiefly concerned in the conspiracy, a bill was introduced into the house of commons for raising £100,000 upon the real and personal estates of all “papists,” or persons educated in the Catholic religion, towards defraying the expenses incurred by the late rebellion and disorders. This bill being justly regarded as a species of persecution, was warmly opposed by some members, but it was sent up to the house of lords along with another bill, obliging all persons, being “papists,” in Scotland, and all persons in Great Britain refusing or neglecting to take the oaths appointed for the king’s person and government, to register their names and real estates. As might have been anticipated, both bills were passed without amendments, and received the royal assent.
Atterbury was brought up for trial on the 9th of May, 1723, and sentenced to banishment under pain of death if he should ever return. He quitted the kingdom in June, and after a short stay at Brussels, finally settled in Paris. It is said that when crossing over to Calais he met Lord Bolingbroke, then on his way to England, whom he thus addressed with a smile, “My lord, you and I are exchanged!”