o oppose the succession
of Hanover in the least.

It may be objected to me, that they might be in the interest of the
pretender for all that; it is true they might, but that is nothing to
me. I am not vindicating their conduct, but my own; as I never was
employed in anything that way, so I do still protest I do not believe it
was ever in their design, and I have many reasons to confirm my thoughts
in that case, which are not material to the present case. But be that as
it will, it is enough to me that I acted nothing in any such interest,
neither did I ever sin against the protestant succession of Hanover in
thought, word, or deed; and if the ministry did, I did not see it, or so
much as suspect them of it.

It was a disaster to the ministry, to be driven to the necessity of
taking that set of men by the hand, who nobody can deny, were in that
interest; but as the former ministry answered, when they were charged
with a design to overthrow the church, because they favoured, joined
with, and were united to the dissenters; I say they answered, that they
made use of the dissenters, but granted them nothing (which, by the way,
was too true;) so these gentlemen answer, that it is true they made use
of jacobites, but did nothing for them.

But this by the by. Necessity is pleaded by both parties for doing
things which neither side can justify. I wish both sides would for ever
avoid the necessity of doing evil; for certainly it is the worst plea in
the world, and generally made use of for the worst things.

I have often lamented the disaster which I saw employing jacobites was
to the late ministry, and certainly it gave the greatest handle to the
enemies of the ministry to fix that universal reproach upon them of
being in the interest of the pretender. But there was no medium. The
whigs refused to show them a safe retreat, or to give them the least
opportunity to take any other measures, but at the risk of their own
destruction; and they ventured upon that course in hopes of being able
to stand alone at last without help of either the one or the other; in
which they were no doubt, mistaken.

However, in this part, as I was always assured, and have good reason
still to believe, that her majesty was steady in the interest of the
house of Hanover, and as nothing was ever offered to me, or required of
me, to the prejudice of that interest, on what ground can I be
reproached with the secret reserved designs of any, if they had