| OCR Text |
Show ) 66 ATROCIOUS J"uDG ~S. fA. D. Hv5 Lancaslrian leaders, that Billing was lltereupon maue king's serjeant, and knigltleJ .. vVhea the right to the crown wa: argu d, like a p('ernrrc ea e, at the bar of the llou e oC Lord,, Billing app~ar ·Ll as coun el for Ilenry \ rr., leading the allorney and oliei tor general; but it was rcmarkec.l that hi .. fire ha<l ·laekeneJ much, and he was very complimentary to ihe Duk0 of York, vrho, since the battle of Northmnpton;lw.d. been virtually 1wtslcr of the kingdom. "\Ve know nothing more of the proceedin g~ C this unprin-cipled adyenturer until after the faJl of J)uke l~ichanl, when the s-econd battle of St. Alban'::; hull placed hi: del ' t son on the throne. In. tautly Sir Thomas Billing sent in his adh e~· ion; anJ such zeal diu he cxpre. .; ;s in favor of the Hew <.lyna;:;ty tll;tt hi patent of king's ~e1je~mt was r~ nc\r ·d, ~ln<l he lJecnm(~ principal law acl viscr to Ed wanl I \ T. \ Vhcn I>ar1 iamnnt as, embleu, receiving a writ of summon, to the ll ou:;e of Lonls, he a ' isted in fran1ing tltc ad' hy whie!1 Sir J. Forte cue antl the pri11cipal Lanca~trian s , lli~ patron:;, were atlainleu, ancl the last three reign. \\' ·re pronouneed tyrannical usurpation . lie lil:ewisc took an ueLive part in Lhc n.1easurcs by which the per.-:cvcring cii(n·ts of lluecn l\IargarcL to regain her a.:e.enJenC'y w~re di~toncerll'd, and llcnry VI. ·wa. lodgc<l a clo~c pri~oner iu the T'owcr of L oJHlon. Sir J uhn 1\Iarkh:un, Lhe honorable nnJ c.on ~ j ·Lent l -or kist, now at the head. of the ad min ist ra.lion of the eri111inal l:tw, was by no mean o vigorous iu con\ icting Laneastrians, or per~ons su "pectcd of Ln.ncastrianis1n, a.· Eu "''ax<.l an<l hi:; mili· tary adherents wi.'hecl; alHl wllt:u Late prosecution: failcu, there were strong n1urmur~ against him. In the c l\Ir. Ser· jeant Billing joined, sugge ting how much }Jetter iL wonld l>e A. D. 1-tiO.J T ll O;,L\. ' .DILLING. G7 for the public tranquillity if L11e law wer · properly r 11f'orced. It would ha vc appeared v ry ung racious, [l :::> well as arbitrary, to <li place tlte chief ju ' lice, ·who ha<.l been such a frien<l to the hou:-; ' of York, and wa: . o g ·nerally r esperte<l. T lwt there 1nighL lJe one juL1gc to bt' r eli ··l upon, who Ini o·lJL be put into COilllll it>s ion: oC oyer and 1 ennincr Billi 11g w a~ 111C.Hle a pui~ne justice of the Court or King's Benell. lle was not nli::,iied with this elevation, whieh little improv<.'u his position in the profes~ ion ; Lu t he hoped ::-;pecdil y to lJe ou the wool ·ack, all<l he wa~ re ·oh ·ed that 1nere . cru ples oC con:eicuce should not hold hitn bnek. Being thu: jntru: lcd with the wonl of j u~tice, lte :oon fleshed. it in the un(ortuna le \Valtcr \ Va1ker, indicted Ldorc hitn on the .· tn.i Ll tc 2{) Eu wnru III., {or CO Ill pa ·sing and imagining the Jeath of the king. The pri:oncr kept n.n illn calleJ the Crown, in Ch ea p~iJc, in the city of L ondon, an<l was obnoxiou' io the government bccatL3C a d ub oC youug 111 ll n1et there who w re susped 'Ll to lJe L~1 n cn .. tr ian .. , a nd io be plotting the r ' :-~loration of the impri ·on J king. l3ut there was no wilnc ·s to : peak to any su ·h tren. o n ~1Llc con ~ull; anJ the only evjLlcnee to supporL lhc <..:lunge wa~, that the prisoner hau ouce, in a 1ncrry 1nood, said to hi: ~o n, then a boy, " To1n, jf thou Lehave .. ·t thy.-elf well, I will 111akc th ee heir to the Crown." Counsel w r not alloweJ to p1<'al1 ]n uch cnses tlt f' n, or for Inore than tllr 'C centuric:s nf'kr; but th ) poor publican himself urged that he never hnd formed any e vjl intc11 tion upon the king's life,- that he lHvl eYer peaceably submit ted io the ru lin rr l>Owers - and that t hon o·l1 he '01ild not deny 0 ' 0 the worJs imputed to him, they w 'rc only poken to mnu e his little boy, 1neaning that he shoult.l .- uccced hin1 n , 1na Lor |
