260

HISTORY OP ENGLAND,

li

CHAP.

II.

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Persecu-tion ofthe

Whigs.

was singularly judicious. He determined to conform to thelaw, but at the same time to make vigorous and unsparing useof the law against his adversaries. He was not bound to con-voke a Parliament till three years should have elapsed. Hewas not much distressed for money. The produce of thetaxes which had been settled on him for life exceeded theestimate. He was at peace with all the world. He couldretrench his expenses by giving up the costly and uselesssettlement of Tangier; and he might hope for pecuniary aidfrom France. He had, therefore, ample time and means fora systematic attack on the opposition under the forms of theconstitution. The Judges were removable at his pleasure:the juries were nominated by the Sheriffs; and, in almost allthe counties of England, the Sheriffs were nominated by him-self. Witnesses, of the same class with those who had re-cently sworn away the lives of Papists, were ready to swearaway the lives of Whigs.

The first victim was College, a noisy and violent de-magogue of mean birth and education. He was by trade ajoiner, and was celebrated as the inventor of the Protestantflail. * He had been at Oxford when the Parliament satethere, and was accused of having planned a rising and anattack on the King’s guards. Evidence was given againsthim by Dugdale and Turberville, the same infamous menwho had, a few months earlier, borne false witness againstStafford. In the sight of a jury of country squires no Ex-clusionist was likely to find favour. College was convicted.The verdict was received by the crowd which filled the courthouse of Oxford with a roar of exultation, as barbarous asthat which he and his friends had been in the habit of raisingwhen innocent Papists were doomed to the gallows. His

* This is mentioned in the curious work entitled “Ragguaglio dellasolenne Comparsa fntta in Roma gli otto di Gennaio, 1087, dall' illusIris—sinto et excellenlissimo signor Conte di Casilemaine.”

’■MGS V