The times., 1901-03-10
IN vINDICATIoN OF LORD BACON
Mr. w. n. burr Presents some Facts
OF Importance.

] TO THE EDITOR OF THE TINES: The gem
I eral belief that Lord Chancellor Bacon
! was guilty OF bribe-taking has been
| proved to be without foundation of fact
by his recent biogrsphers. notably By
| James SPEEDING and William HepwOrth
| Dixon. Bacon made a quasi-cOnfessiou.
but it cannot be fairly construed as one
| of guilt. The fact was that neither he
nor Lord Coke. Chief Justice Of the Com
| mon Pleas, received from the Government
anything like an adequate salary. and
the custom was 10 make it up by fees or
presents from suitors. Lord Coke with
a large family. lived like a prince on
salary of only e260 Yet he was one OF
the chief movers in the Indictment OF Ba-
con by the House Of Commons. The case
went before the House OF Lords for trial
Bacon was PROSTATE with sickness. He
declared his innocence. but was persuaded
to avoid trial by some kind of confession.
in the hope of escaping a severe penalty.
So he wrote out specific answer. in the
nature of a confession He acknowledged
/ that in some specified cases he did receive
| from suitors presents of money and val
( uables. but he never conceded that they
| corrupted his judgments. in the first two
| terms of his chancellorship he had de-
! cided several thousand cases. some Of
| twenty years standing. and had cleared
/ the calendar. Nor was ever a single de-
cision reversed by appeal to the House OF
| Lords
And now comes to light a most powerful
| confederation of his innocence. Thomas
4 Bushel. youth Of fifteen years. entered
| the service of the Chancellor as seal
/ bearer. In 1868 Bushel. called by Nieolai
/ the "Superlative Prodigal." published
| book, which is now in the British Mu-
! scum. marked rare" female student.
I signing herself Alicia Amy Leith. has ex-
tracted from that book a letter written
! to Mr. John Eliot, esq. and it is printed
/ in the last quarterly Baconiana. L
! herewith copy the same for The Times. il
! is from what Bushel entities the First
! Part of Youthful Errors
The ample testing OF your true affec-
| ton towards my Lord Verulam, ViscOInt
! St AIbans, hath obliged me your servant
| Yet lest the calamitous tongues of men
might extenuate the good opinion YOU had
of his worth and merit, must ingenious
| " confess myself and others of his ser
wants We're the occasion of exhaling his
| virtues into a dark eclipse, which Ivr-
/ tuesl God knows could have long endured
4 both for the honour of his KING, and
! good of commonaltie, had not we whom
| his bounty nursed. laid on his guiltless
/ 10 be scan'd and censur'de by the whole
/ Senate of a State where no sooner SEN
/ tence was given, but most of US fOrsOok
/ him. which makes US beare the badge OF
Jews to this day. Yet l am confident.
/ there were some Cody Daniels amongst
] us, howsover. l will not mention any for
/ fear of attributing more than their due.
/ and offending others but leave the $ quel
| 20 their own consciences who can best
| nudge of innocence. AS for myself with
| shame l must acquit the title, and pleade
| guilty which greives my very soule, that
! so matchless a Peere should be lost By
| such insinuating catterpillers, who in bis
| own nature scOrn'd the least thought o.
| anv base unworthy. or ignOble act,
! though subject to infirmlties as ordaln
| to the WiseSt for so much / must assure
/ you was his hatred to bribery and corrup-
! ton, or symOnie. that hearing ! had re-
I cefved the profits OF first-fruits for a
! Benefice which his piOus charit1e freely
gave. presently, sent for me and beng
asked of his IOrdship I Sodianly con-
1 fessed whereupOn he fell into so great a
I passion. that he replied, / was curSei IN
! my conception and nursed with a Tiger,
/ for deceiving the Church, threatening
| should no longer be his servant, for that
| one Scab'de Sheepe might infect the Wnole
J flock. Yet Notwithstanding upon my SUD
/ mission the nobleness Of his disposition,
! forgaVe me the fact, received me into
/ favour but never could obtain d spr tuai
! living afterwards.
/ tainiy believe they that minister those
/ hellish pills of bribery gilded them over,
| not only at first with a show of gratulty,
| or in love of cOurteSie, but waited the Op-
/ portunity OF his necessiJie. otherwise Il
/ had been impossible to have wrought an
! impression. So that by each iSuchI
| stratagem the wlsest OF men nay PLo.e
| weakest among all officers, Ior thoSe
/ whose COnsciences are innocent OF mlti-
| eating Justice, either by bribery, gratultS.
friendship, favour or eouTtesIe. let nm nm,
rha firGT
for a Saint upon earth But the report
| goeth that it is the policy OF other
States, when once the subject groahS
/ under oppression, TO select Some mau
/ worthy for allaying clamours OF the NUi-
| gar and congratulate the glddy multi
/ tude which if his misfortune were such
| he is not the first. nor am / cOnfdent,
| will be the last So that IN time II my
/ reflect some comfort to you ana others
! that honoured him in their hearts. but
IN another book. entitled THE Memoirs
| of Thomas Bushel, we are told that
| when his great master was convicted q
/ bribery which he was never rsalIy
guilty. of. but his men, and amongst tne
/ rest this Mr.. BusheI.' the latter got away
! in disguise and went into the Isle OF
Wight, where he turned poor nSherlnHh-
! There he made friends with lame beg
| gar. But he was suspected and arrested
| as a spy On disclosing his real name
| he was put at liberty. AT this time ne
I wrote to Bacon. beginning with My only
/ Lord" and saying: Il am resolved %
I become Your lOrdShipS bsadSman IN some
/ solitary cell and make myself worthy OF
/ your honors company in the other
/ world. ,
BusheI left this solitary place in 1928
! and betoOk himself to one OF his own
| houses in OxfOrdshire, where hard Dy
| was a great natural cave out of whicn
I flowed curious spring In year time
/ he made the place Il little paradise IN
| 1925 Charles l visited 1t with MS royai
I sl1ite and they were entertained Win ar
| tificiaI thunder and lightnings. rain, haii.
I etc II the same year Bushel made verses
/ for a ''Masque of the Rock, whicn vas
/ DIaved before Queen Henrietta Maria
| wife of Charles !.
When King James persuaded Bacon 70
! abandon mis- defence and trust his honor
to the Crown Bacon left the palace say
| ing: Il am the first sacrifice; l wish l
/ NAV be the last" and he wrote to the
I Dears a confession. He was compelled 10
! DIead guilty to the twenty-five counts
! whether true or false. Many OF them
| were ridiculous or frivolous. In four years
I he had decided or pronounced upon 35,tt9
/ cases And vet only twelve suttors came
{ forward 70 charge him with receiving
! rnonev Three counts were for borrowed
! money and two Of these debts Were after
/ ward set up against his estate. Five or
{ six were for arbitration fees outside the
/ Duties of Chancellor. Twelve of the
/ charges either expressly said that the
| money was received after the decree or
omitted to specify the time But IN re-
/ gard to himself and the sentence by the
I lords Bacon said:
u was the justest Chancellor that was
in England these fifty years; but II was
the iustest censure in Parliament that
was there TWO hundred years
It was condemnation of the fee system
in the high courts and not Of Chancellor
= fa~