The Sun.
London, England, 1823-12-22 00:00:00

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-SIR, RO BT. STAPLETON'S CONSPIRACY
AGAINST ARCHBISHOP SANE/VS.

It is recorded, that Sir ItoBrAT STArrATON,
who was on pretended, terms of friendship with
SANnirs, Archbishop of York, contrived and car-
ried into execution a diabolical plot against the
Right Rev. Prelate, in order to obtain money as
well as grunts of lands from him, upon the most
unreasonable terms, which he could not hope to
obtain by fair meens. In order to effect his pur-
pose he bribed an innkeeper at Doncaster, and a
man named MAtyna •(who bed been a servant of
the Archbishop) to assist him in his vile par-
poses. The Archbishop was on a journey, in
the month of May, 1581, and Sir ItoiscaT kepi,
that His G race had arranged to sleep on a Ci'r.
ain night in the inn at Doncaster. According
to a preconcerted plan, as it afterwards ap-
peered, shortly after the Archbishop had retired
to rest, the wife of SYssoN, the innkeeper, went
to bed to him, followed into the room soon after
by her husband, with a dagger in •his hand, ac-
companied by one of the servants, and Mauna.
the Archbishop's late servant. SYssosr, the inn-
keeper, presented the dagger to, the Archbishop's
breast, and accusing him of adultery with hie
wife, demanded 8001. as it compensation.—
It was not known to the Archbishop, or to
any one, except thoeir who were in the conspi-
racy, that Sir Ronewr STAnwroN was at the inn
- et the time, but SyssoN (not very wisely for the
r. taurposes in view) sent his man for him, and
he was presently in the room ; not undressed,
as if he had been called up from his bed, but
with his clothes on, having been, no doubt,
waiting the result, and in expectation of being
called. This ringleader of, the conspiracy,
as had been previously settled, affected friend-
ship fur the Archbishop, and endeavoured to
mitigate his case, till SirsSON agreed to accept
6001. in lieu of the sum he atsfirst demanded.—
Thus matters were for a while bushed up ; for
the Archbishop, like most other men in a similar
situation, however spotless his character, fore-
saw that a charge of adultery, which he could
not well disprove, would ruin him, and therefore
enjoining the parties implicated to strict secresy ;
he made no complaint himself, though, upon cool
reflection, he doubtless saw plainly that it was a
fool conspiracy !
This silent submission on the part of the Arch-
bishop was exactly what Sir ROBFRT STAeLvrox
wished, and, taking advantage of the Arch-
bishop's situation, Sir ROBLRT extorted from him
a lease of some valuable lands upon his own
terms ; but not contented with this, he pressed
the Archbishop for a long lease of two extensive
manors and other property at less than a quarter
of their annual value, threatening, if refused, to
discover the occurrences at the inn at Doncaster;
at the same time having some interest with. Queen
Fa.il.h.stTli, he prevailed upon tier Majesty to
apply in his behalf for the manors, thinking that,
as well frore the Archbishop's fear of discovery,
as iris dread of giving offence to the Queen at that
particular period (immediately after the Refors
mntion),when the Court kept a jealous eye on the
proceedings of the Clergy, he should not fail to oh-
. tain his ends. In this attempt, however, he not
only failed, but brought down that justice upon
himself and his associates which they so richly
merited ; for the good old Prelate, conscious of
his own innocence, and seeing that by longer
concealment, or by complying with the villainous
lvisties of his Persecutor, he should not only ruin
himself, but the See which he had under his care,
resolved to lay the whole story before the proper
authorities, and, if he could not clear himself
from the charge, to relinquish the Archbishopric,
and live in retirement. He, therefore, answered
the QUEEN'S application by representing the un-
remsonableness of Sir Rouva's demands, and
adding that, if Her MAJEsTY insisted on his
granting the leases she required, he would do so
to ace, but not to Sir ItongaT, and at the same
time tendering his resignation of 'the Arch.
bishopric as the consequence of his compliance.
The Archbishop, afterwards, wrote a letter to
the Lord Treasurer BURLEIGH, disclosing the
whole affair for the information of the Quees ;
*ho saw it in a proper point of view, and began
to set her face against Sir RouveT, as much
as she had before endeavoured to befriend him.
Her Majesty issued a Commission from the
Court of Star Chamber into Yorkshire, to
enquire into the truth of the matter ; the
parties were summoned before the Courtos here
the conspiracy was fully proved, and Sir Ito.
is nT STArr.Wroti, and his associates in guilt, were
sentenced to make a public confessiou of, and
apology, for their of at York ! This they
did, but Sir ROOERT wore white ribbons, hi
triumph, at the time, treated the sentence lightly,
end skewed no sigus of contrition : and having
again held out threats against the Archbishop, he
was proceeded against by the Court of Star
Chamber a second time, heavily lined, and corn-
' mitted a prisoner to the Tower, where, and in
the Fleet, he remained upwards of two years,
till he was humbled and brought,to a sense of his
crimes.
Thus, the band of Providence, by the operas
firm of time and circumstances, defeated this
deep laid conspiracy, and rescued an innocent
man from its grasp!
This is one among the many instances in which
false accusetions have been resorted to, for the
purpose of extorting money from the most
sensitively virtuous, who from their station
and profession are least able to submit to
the imputation cast upon their characters,
and, let them be ever so innocent, would
rather yield 'to the extortion than suffer the
charge to he made against them. Nor is this at
all extraordinary, for a spotless life is rarely, if
ever, deemed a sufficient answer to the accusa-
tions of a hand of base conspirators, and so can
singly are their Onus laid, that there cart be no
other persons present at the detection of thee al-
leged crime but themselvk,and, consequently to
their perjuries the party accused can oppose only
his single testimony I—(jW/rang Post.)