20

nrsTOHY of England.

chap.

XXI.

Impeach-ment ofLeeds.

mission, left them at His Grace’s house in the care of a Swissnamed Hobart, who was His Grace’s confidential man of busi-ness. It should seem that these facts admitted of only oneinterpretation. Bates however swore that the Duke had re-fused to accept a farthing. “Why then,” it was asked, “was thegold left, by his consent, at his house and in the hands of hisservant?” “Because,” answered Bates, “I am bad at tellingcoin. I therefore begged Ilis Grace to let me leave the pieces,in order that Hobart might count them for me; and His Gracewas so good as to give leave.” It was evident that, if thisstrange story had been true, the guineas would, in a few hours,have been taken away. But Bates was forced to confess thatthey had remained half a year where he had left them. Themoney had indeed at last, — and this was one of the mostsuspicious circumstances in the case, — been paid back byHobart on the very morning on which the committee first met inthe Exchequer Chamber. Who could believe that, if thetransaction had been free from all taint of corruption, theguineas w-ould have been detained as long as Cook w r as ableto remain silent, and would have been refunded on the veryfirst day on which he w r as under the necessity of speaking out? *

A few hours after the examination of Bates, Wharton re-ported to the Commons what had passed in the ExchequerChamber. The indignation w r as general and vehement. “Younow understand,” said Wharton, “why obstructions have beenthrown in our way at every step, why we have had to wring outtruth drop by drop, why His Majesty’s name has been artfullyused to prevent us from going into an inquiry which has broughtnothing to light but what is to His Majesty’s honour. Can wethink it strange that our difficulties should have been great,when we consider the power, the dexterity, the experience of

* L’llcrmitage 1(595^ justly remarks, that the way in which

the money was sent back strengthened the case against Leeds.