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 vii. 447, 490, 495). From the moment of the old Protector's death, Thurloe had feared that the government would be ruined by the dissensions of its friends rather than by the attacks of the royalists; but he endeavoured to shake off his melancholy forebodings, and set to work to secure a Cromwellian majority in the coming parliament (ib. vii. 364, 541, 588). He himself was elected for the university of Cambridge, for Tewkesbury, and for Huntingdon, but made his choice for Cambridge (ib. vii. 565, 572, 585–8).

In the parliament of January to April 1659 Thurloe was the official leader of the supporters of the government, and its recognised spokesman. On 1 Feb. he introduced a bill which he had drafted for the recognition of Richard Cromwell as lord-protector (ib. vii. 603, 609;, Diary, iii. 25). On 21 Feb., and again on 24 Feb., he gave a clear exposition of the state of foreign affairs and of the policy of the government (ib. iii. 314, 376, 481). On 7 March he defended the authority of the second house, and on 7 April explained the state of the finances (ib. iv. 68, 365). During the session he was called upon to defend himself with regard to the police administration under the late Protector. From the moment the parliament met, Hyde and the royalist agents in England had regarded an attack upon Thurloe as one of the first and most necessary steps towards the overthrow of the Protectorate (Clarendon State Papers, iii. 426, 428, 436). He had not abused his power to extort money, as some of his colleagues were accused of doing, but he had arbitrarily committed supposed plotters to prison, and transported them without legal trial. On 25 March a certain Rowland Thomas presented a petition stating that he had been sold to Barbados by Thurloe's order, and demanded redress. Thurloe answered these and similar attacks by pleading reason of state, asserting that the persons complaining were royalist conspirators, and adding that similar conspiracies were even now on foot. But the republican opposition, backed by a number of crypto-royalists, replied by asserting that the supposed plots were pretended to justify arbitrary rule (ib. iii. 441, 446, 448, 453, 457, 463;, iv. 254, 301). In the end Thurloe successfully weathered the storm, though some of his subordinate agents were not so fortunate (ib. iv. 307, 407). In spite of their pertinacity the parliamentary opposition were beaten on point after point, and the government seemed in a way to be firmly established. But the quarrel which took place between the parliament and the army proved fatal. To the last Thurloe, deserted by the rest of the council, urged Richard not to dissolve parliament, but Richard at length gave way (Life of John Howe, 1724, p. 9). ‘I am in so much confusion that I can scarce contain myself to write about it,’ said Thurloe in announcing Richard's fall to Lockhart (Clarendon State Papers, iii. 461). For a few days he carried on the management of foreign affairs, and received with apparent favour the offer of French aid to maintain Richard Cromwell's power; but on the restoration of the Long parliament (7 May 1659) those of his functions which were not entrusted to committees were assigned to Thomas Scott (, Richard Cromwell, i. 367, 376, 385, 389, 393, 401).

After the readmission of the secluded members (21 Feb. 1660) Thurloe, to the great disgust of the royalists, was reappointed secretary of state (27 Feb.) as being the only man whose knowledge of the state both of foreign and home affairs fitted him for the post (Clarendon State Papers, iii. 693, 701). The royalists suspected him of desiring to restore Richard, and were anxious to buy him over if possible; but, according to their information, he resisted the restoration of the Stuarts to the last, and did his best to corrupt Monck (ib. iii. 693, 749;, vii. 855). In April, however, he certainly made overtures to Hyde, promising to forward a restoration, but his sincerity was suspected (, vii. 897). Monck so far favoured Thurloe that he recommended him to the borough of Bridgnorth for election to the Convention; but even with this support his candidature was a failure (ib. pp. 888, 895).

After the king's return Thurloe escaped better than he could have expected. On 15 May 1660 he was accused of high treason and committed to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms. The particulars of the charge do not appear. On 29 June he was set at liberty with the proviso of attending the secretaries of state ‘for the service of the state whenever they should require’ (Commons' Journals, viii, 26, 117). He was reputed to have said that if he were hanged he had a black book which would hang many that went for cavaliers, but he seems to have made no revelations as to his secret agents (Hist. MSS. Comm. 5th Rep. pp. 154–84, 208). After his release he usually lived at Great Milton in Oxfordshire, residing at his chambers in Lincoln's Inn occasionally during term-time. The government desired to avail itself of his minute knowledge of the state of foreign affairs, on which subject he addressed several papers to Clarendon (-