■WILLIAM TIIE miBD.

15

down a royal message authorising the Commons to elect another ciur.

Speaker. _ ... TEhfi

The Whig chiefs wished to place Littleton in the chair: but roIcTthey were unable to accomplish their object. Foley was chosen,presented and approved. Though he had of late generallyvoted with the Tories, he still called himself a Whig, and wasnot unacceptable to many of the Whigs. He had both theabilities and the knowledge which were necessary to enable himto preside over the debates with dignity: but what, in the pe-culiar circumstances in which the House then found itselfplaced, was not unnaturally considered as his principal recom-mendation, was that implacable hatred of jobbery and corrup-tion which he somewhat ostentatiously professed, and doubtlesssincerely felt. On the day after he entered on his functions, hispredecessor was expelled.*

The indiscretion of Trevor had been equal to his baseness;and his guilt had been apparent on the first inspection of theaccounts of the City. The accounts of the East India Com- EosiIndiapany were more obscure. The committee reported that they P * 11Jr 'had sate in Leadenhall Street, had examined documents, hadinterrogated directors and clerks, but had been unable to arriveat the bottom of the mystery of iniquity. Some most suspiciousentries had been discovered, under the head of special service.

The expenditure on this account had, in the year 1693, exceededeighty thousand pounds. It was proved that, as to the outlayof this money, the directors had placed implicit confidence inthe governor, Sir Thomas Cook. He had merely told them ingeneral terms that he had been at a charge of twenty threethousand, of twenty five thousand, of thirty thousand pounds,in the matter of the Charter; and the Court had, without callingon him for any detailed explanation, thanked him for his care,

* Commons’ Journals, March 12, 13, 14, 15, 16., 169f; Vernon to Lex-ington, March 15.; LTIermitage, March