Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-03-07
TITUS OATES
INVENTED CONSPIRACY


Titus Oates. me of the biggest GRIM
lna!s i'm English history, had IL career
which was as picturesque as it was
varied. His chief mania was to stir
up the people through foisting upon
tnem stories of consplracies against
the government and the king. all of
which were inventions pure and sim
pie on the part of Oates. The con-
spiracies. of which he told. never Elk
listed and vet his stories contained so
that was plausible that he did
not nave very great difficulty in max
ing at least the big majority of the
English people believe them.
The lies he told We're the means of
bringing many innocent people to death
n 20 one occasion at least he had
the whole kingdom in the greatest ex-
citement. This was when he reported
That there was a gigantic plot at work
to murder the king of England.
Charles III, and to start "A general mas
sacre.
Oates was the son of an English
weaver. but he switched from this
trade to the ministry. This change
he deemed would be of vantag to
further his schemes. The Baptist
church drove him out on account OF
perjury, %whereupon, through in
British navy. He carried on his ne
farious falsifying i'm this service, from
which he was dismissed for gross mis-
conduct and from there he went to
study for the priesthood in a Jesuit
college.
The college authorities found Oates
to be vidius, hyprocritical and worth
less and they, too. dismissed him in
disgrace. Having been born in 1920 he
thus found himself in 1878. at the g
of SIS. cas- upon the world to pick up
a living by his wits. Flung into the
x.n,1<l e, 9, ,,no,., NO ,,. ~,
to England and c%oncocted the story of
the famous "Popish Plot referred to
above.
Oates alleged that the plot was
formed by the Jesuits and Roman
Catholics for the purpose of murder
testant religion. Godfrey. u justice of
the peace to whom Oates ave evil
dence, was found dead in a ditch and
the Baptists We're accused of his
der, though nothing TRANSFERRED to sub
.stantiate the charge. Parliament met
passed a bill to exclude Catholics from
both houses.
Oates received a pension and this
encouraged Bedloe, a noted thief m
impostor, to come Onward n con
firm Oates statements. He also ac-
cused several noblemen by name OF
a design to take up arms against the
king. Coleman, a secretary to the
Duchess of York, a Jesuit named Ire
land and others We're tried, condemned
and executed on the testimony OF Oates
and Bedloe. In 1850 Viscount Stat
ford was impeached by the commons.
condemned by the lords and executed
as an accomplice OF the plot, on the
evidence of Oates and two of his as
%SOciateS.
King Charles was not deceived by
the lies old by Oates regarding the
plot to assassinate him. Therefore he
turned from the king and found willing
ears among a great number of the
people. many of whom were prominent
in political affairs. Panic stricken
statesmen and populace alike believed
their kings life was really threatened.
and nothing could check their belief.
The nation was mad with excitement.
When Charles died and James II
anne to the throne Oates was con-
victed of perjury and a strange sem
tence was passed upon him. For state
reasons 1t was deemed best not to
execute him, blu it was decided to put
put him to death in another fashion.
then to be clapped into the pillory to
receive Il whipping, after which he was
to be imprisoned for life. At one OF
these whippings. he received LOO
lashes and was so mangled that he had
to be dragged back to prison on a
sledge. But he was tough, and recov-
cred in spite of this treatment.
Three years later. when James was
deposed and William of Orange became
king. one of his earliest acts was to
pardon Oates and to give him an ILL
deserved pension og s1,5o0 a year.
There is hardly any doubt that such
plots as Oates described never existed.
but after his pardon the old perjurer
lived in comfort. vainly trying to stir
up new plots now and then. for the
next IL years. dying in 1905 at he
age of Sc.
Motto for a Home.
From Cnllinr,s Weekly