Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 5.djvu/313

Rh pleaded at the bar of the king's bench his majesty's pardon for the murder of Edward Wilson, and was attended on this occasion by the duke of Argyle, the earl of Hay, and several other friends.

Mr Law's re-appearance in Britain excited some uneasy feelings on the part of various senators. The earl of Coningsby, in particular, moved the house of lords for an inquiry, whether Sir John Norris had orders to bring over a person of his dangerous character. The affair, however, was hushed, and it is thought that he at first received some kind of pension or allowance from the British government. Meanwhile, he maintained a constant correspondence with the regent of France, who caused his official salary of 20,000 livres per annum to be regularly remitted to him, and held several consultations with the council respecting the propriety of recalling him. The sudden death, however, of the regent, on the 2nd of December, 1723, was a fatal blow to the reviving hopes of the ci-devant minister of finance. His pension ceased to be remitted, his prospect of a reversion from the sale of his property in France was annihilated, his embarrassments at home increased, and demands were made upon him by the India company to the enormous amount of 20,236,375 livres. On the 25th of August, 1724, we find him addressing a letter to the duke of Bourbon, from London, in which he writes:

"Notwithstanding the confusion in which my affaiis have become involved, one hour will suffice to put your highness in full acquaintance with them. The subjoined memoir explains by what means I purpose to fulfill my engagements and obtain a livelihood for myself. The means which I suggest are of the very simplest nature. It is likewise the interest of the state that my affairs should be wound up; for although the number of those who desire my return is not great, their confidence in me is considerable, and must either destroy or retard the success of those measures which have been adopted by those persons to whom the king has been pleased to intrust the management of the finances. If my matters were arranged, madame Law, my daughter, my brother, and his family, would return to England, and I would fix myself here in such a manner as should convince the public that I entertained no intention of ever again setting foot in France.

"Those who have set themselves to oppose me, by retarding the decision in my case, have acted thus upon a mistaken principle altogether, and against their own view of things; they accuse me of having done the thing which they would have done themselves if they had been in my place; and in examining into my conduct they are unintentionally doing me a great honour. There are few, perhaps no instances, of a stranger having acquired the unlimited confidence of a prince, arid realized a real fortune by means perfectly honourable, and who yet on leaving France reserved nothing for himself and his family, not even the fortune which he had brought into the country with him.

"Your highness knows that I never entertained the idea of making my escape from France. I had made no provision for this purpose when it was announced to me that the regent had ordered me to be provided with passports; for I had indeed at one time thought of quitting the kingdom, when I requested his royal highness's permission to resign my office; but after that I had deliberated upon the reasons which the prince then urged against my taking this step, I renounced the idea altogether, although fully aware of the personal danger to which I would expose myself, by remaining in France after having ceased to hold office in the administration.

"I have said that my enemies have advised no measures opposed even to their own principles; for if what they allege had been true; if I had carried a great sum of money with me out of the kingdom, it would surely have been their