then send us to jail for complaining."

[Sidenote: 1721--Relief measures]

The Bill went up to the House of Lords on Monday, August 7th, and the
Lords agreed to it without an amendment. On Thursday, August 10th,
Parliament was prorogued. The Lord Chancellor read the King's speech.
"The common calamity," said his Majesty, "occasioned by the wicked
execution of the South Sea scheme, was become so very great before your
meeting that the providing proper remedies for it was very difficult.
But it is a great comfort to me to observe that public credit now
begins to recover, which gives me the greatest hopes that it will be
entirely restored when all the provisions you have made for that end
shall be duly put in execution." The speech went on to tell of his
Majesty's "great compassion for the sufferings of the innocent, and a
just indignation against the guilty;" and added that the King had
readily given his assent "to such bills as you have presented to me for
punishing the authors of our late misfortunes, and for obtaining the
restitution and satisfaction due to those who have been injured by them
in such manner as you judged proper." Certainly there was no lack of
severity in the punishment inflicted on the fraudulent directors.
Their estates were confiscated with such rigor that some of them were
reduced to miserable poverty. They were disqualified from ever holding
any public place or office whatever, and from ever having a seat in
Parliament. Yet, severely as they were punished, the outcry of the
public at the time was that they had been let off far too easily.
Walpole was denounced because he did not carry their punishment much
farther. There was even a ridiculous report spread abroad that he had
defended Sunderland and screened the directors from the most ignoble
and sordid motives, and that he had been handsomely paid for his
compromise with crime. {206} Nothing would have satisfied some of the
sufferers by the South Sea scheme short of the execution of its
principal directors. Even the scaffold, however, could hardly have
dealt more stern and summary justice on the criminals--as some of them
undoubtedly were--than did the actual course of events. When the storm
cleared away, Aislabie was ruined; Craggs, the Postmaster-general, was
dead; Craggs, the Secretary of State, was dead; Lord Stanhope, who was
really innocent--was really unsuspected of any share in the crimes of
the fraudulent directors--was dead