Arizona republican., 1914-07-22
TRIAL OF SIR JOHN FENWICK

Sir John Fenwick was the prince of social highwGymen during the reign of William III, and for being implicated in a plot to assassinate his king he lost his head. In fact, Sir John could not have had very much head to lose. for he was continuously losing his head" throughout the better part of his life. He was a baronet and a man of consid- erable ability, but he was also of a profligate and restless disposition.
 Although Sir John commanded a regiment in the service of William III when that monarch was the Prince of Orange as soon as William became king, John became one of the most per sistent of plotters against his throne. He was always fomenting disturbances and was several times placed in the Tower until his ardor somewhat cooled He was most rude to Queen Mary and according to one version, ventured to cock his hat in her face. while other versions add details of even more marked impertinence
 Two years before he was finally brought to trial he had concocted an elaborate scheme for the assa ssination of the king, but it miscarried in that William unexpectedly left for Flanders before it could be carried out The plot was discovered and Fenwick kept in 1 hiding. When the trial of his confed- crates, who had been captured, was l held, he found there were only two witnesses he had to fear, so he decided that he would be able to bribe them
 Sir John thought he had succeeded and could make his escape, but he was , apprehended in Kent when of his way
 to France. The king did not act hast 1 fly in his case because he believed he
 could secure from him confession
 which would duplicate others. FenWcl
 only revealed as much as would impli.
 cate his political enemies
 When this confession was read, fl
 which he implicated Marlborough, Go
 dolphin, Russell and Shrewsbury. tn,
 king directed the confession to be sen
 to the lords justices expressing, at tn,
 same time, his astonishment and in. crudelity and gave orders that Fen. wick should be sent immediately befor,
 a jury. It was deemed advisable how
 ever not to hurry matters too much
 for the prisoner might be induced tc
 make more revelations.
 | When brought before the bar of the ! house of commons, Fenwick was stil
 obstinate and it was moved and carried
 without division that his confession
 was false and scandalous. While the
 guilt of Fenwick was morally certain and was aggravated by his subseuuen, disingenuous conduct. it can scarcely be l affirmed that the procedure agains, him was justifiable, as regards either the tribunal by which he was tried. or 1 the manner in which the trial was con 1 ducted
 In fact, Fenwick's attainer was de- i cided on to render escape impossible and for the same reason the law re- ] quirng two witnesses in cases or Urea | son was dispensed with, and there were 1 other irregularities
 A writer commenting on the trial at the time said: T do not find many con- cerned for his person. The course of l his life has been such, and the man. 1 agement of the part he had now to act SC bad, that he had few friends; but the method of punishing him being out of | the common road. and such as has not been often used, and when it has been condemned by those who have judged | coolly, is what some are startled at" | Fenwick's wife, Lady Mary, used 1 every effort to save her husbands life by petitioning both the king and the house of lords, but F'enWick's adroit- ness in putting forward the plea that 1 he had been privy to an assassination plot in 1895, and had frustrated it, only served to prove how deeply he was in ] the confidence of the conspirators l against Williams throne.
 | The bill of conviction against Fen wick was passed by the house of lords | by the small majority of seven. Seeing no hope was left, he desired the ser | vices of one of the deprived bishops,