Therefore, that he might not
lose in repute as an informer, he now declared he was also aware
of the commissions held by popish peers. He, however, assigned
them in a different order. Arundel was to be made chancellor;
Powis, treasurer; Bellasis general of the army; Petre,
lieutenant-general; Ratcliffe, major-general; Stafford,
paymaster-general; and Langhorn, advocate-general. Nay, his
information far outstripped Bedlow's, for he swore that to his
knowledge Coleman had given four ruffians eighty guineas to stab
the king, and Sir George Wakeham had undertaken to poison his
majesty for ten thousand pounds. When, however, he was brought
face to face with these men, he was unable to recognise them, a
fact he accounted for by stating he was exhausted by prolonged
examination,
All England was scared by revelations so horrible; "the business
of life," writes Macpherson, "was interrupted by confusion,
panic, clamour, and dreadful rumours." In London, two thousand
catholics were cast into prison; houses were daily searched for
arms and treasonable documents; and in good time merciless
executions filled up the sum of bitter persecutions.
One of the first victims of this so-called plot was William
Staley, a catholic banker of fair renown. The manner in which
his life was sacrificed will serve as an example of the injustice
meted to those accused. One day, William Staley happened to
enter a pastrycook's shop in Covent Garden, opposite his bank,
where there chanced to stand at the time a fellow named
Carstairs; one of the infamous creatures who, envious of the
honours and riches heaped on Oates and Bedlow, resolved to make
new discoveries and enjoy like rewards.
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