... The Allies are
defeated at Steenkirk..... Extravagant rejoicings in France
on Account of this Victory..... Conspiracy against the Life
of King William, hatched by the French Ministry.....
Miscarriage of a Design upon Dunkirk..... The Campaign is
inactive on the Rhine and in Hungary..... The Duke of Savoy
invades Dauphine..... The Duke of Hanover created an Elector
of the Empire._

A CONSPIRACY.

A conspiracy against the government had been lately discovered. In the
latter end of December, the master of a vessel who lived at Barking, in
Essex, informed the marquis of Carmarthen that his wife had let out one
of his boats to carry over some persons to France, and that they would
embark on the thirteenth day of the month. This intelligence being
communicated to the king and council, an order was sent to captain
Billop to watch the motion of the vessel and secure the passengers.
He accordingly boarded her at Gravesend, and found in the hold lord
Preston, Mr. Ashton, a servant of the late queen, and one Elliot.
He likewise seized a bundle of papers, some of which were scarce
intelligible; among the rest, two letters supposed to be written by
Turner, bishop of Ely, to king James and his queen, under fictitious
names. The whole amounted to an invitation to the French king to assist
king James in re-ascending the throne upon certain conditions, while
William should be absent from the kingdom; but the scheme was ill laid,
and countenanced but by a very few persons of consideration, among whom
the chiefs were the earl of Clarendon, the bishop of Ely, lord Preston,
his brother Mr. Graham, and Penn the famous quaker. Notwithstanding
the outcries which had been made against the severities of the late
government, Preston and his accomplice Ashton were tried at the Old
Bailey for compassing the death of their majesties king William and
queen Mary; and their trials were hurried on without any regard to
their petitions for delay. Lord Preston alleged in his defence that the
treasons charged upon him were not committed in the county of Middlesex,
as laid in the indictment; that none of the witnesses declared he had
any concern in hiring the vessel; that the papers were not found upon
him; that there ought to be two credible witnesses to every fact,
whereas the whole proof against him rested on similitude of hands and
mere supposition. He was, nevertheless, found guilty. Ashton behaved
with g