his property by marriage to Antony Clifford.

Perhaps the member of the family who played the most important part in
history is Sir Thomas Clifford, afterwards the Lord Clifford whose
initial is the first of the five that together spell 'Cabal.' In its
early days, he was the leading spirit of that famous council. One branch
of the Cliffords had settled in Holland, and it was probably in staying
there with his relations that Sir Thomas had been brought to the notice
of Charles II and first gained his influence over him. Lord Macaulay is
not complimentary in his references to any member of the Cabal, but such
commendations as he has to give are bestowed on Clifford. Sir Thomas, he
says, 'had greatly distinguished himself in the House of Commons. Of the
members of the Cabal, he was the most respectable. For, with a fiery,
imperious temper, he had a strong though a lamentably perverted sense of
duty and honour.' Farther on he adds that Clifford 'alone of the five
had any claim to be regarded as an honest man.' Sir Thomas started a
scheme which was practically the origin of the National Debt. Several
statesmen who enjoyed the King's favour greatly desired the Lord
Treasurer's office, and here Charles displayed his usual astuteness;
for, being, as always, in want of money, he said to them that the man
who should be Lord Treasurer was the man who could show him a way of
putting money into the Treasury. The plan that Sir Thomas proposed to
the King, and which was put into execution, Lord Clifford has most
kindly sketched out as follows: 'The first Lord Clifford of Chudleigh
was made Lord Treasurer by Charles II, and recommended the King to seize
the money deposited in the Exchequer and secured by the allocation of
various revenues. These loans had always up to this been faithfully met.
By seizing this money, nominally only for a year, he acquired the sum of
L1,300,000 at 6 per cent. At the succession of William and Mary the
Public Debt was L664,263, and this was probably part of the money so
seized; but it was not till 5 William and Mary, c. 20, that the
authority of Parliament was given for a loan to be raised by the then
created Bank of England, from which period usually dates the National
Debt. Evelyn ascribes the inception of this idea to Ashley Shaftesbury,
who, foreseeing its illegality, and possibly its disastrous results
(for many persons were ruined), left it to Clifford to propose it to the
King. He gave 6 per cent. in