Edward Colman

For other uses, see Edward Colman (disambiguation).

"Coleman drawn to his execution"; one of a set of playing cards depicting the Popish Plot by Francis Barlow, c. 1679

Edward Colman or Coleman (17 May 1636 – 3 December 1678) was an English Catholic courtier under Charles II of England. He was hanged, drawn and quartered on a treason charge, having been implicated by Titus Oates in his false accusations concerning a Popish Plot. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

Life

He was born at Brent Eleigh, Suffolk, son of the local vicar, and was cousin to Salisbury MP, Richard Colman. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving an MA in 1659. Colman converted to Roman Catholicism in the early 1660s. He has been described as a man of charm and ability, but utterly lacking in common sense or political realism: Sir Robert Southwell called him "a man who must run himself into the briars".

Career

In June 1661 he became a gentleman pensioner to Charles II. He was a charismatic advocate of the Catholic cause and is credited with several high profile conversions, including possibly, the future James II. In 1673 James appointed him secretary to his wife, Mary of Modena, despite warnings from several sources, including Charles II, that he was not a man to be trusted. Subsequently he was in contact with highly placed Catholics in France. Through an English Catholic army officer stationed in Paris, Sir William Throckmorton, he passed on political information to the Jesuit Jean Ferrier who was confessor to Louis XIV. In 1675 he offered his services in favour of Catholicism to François de la Chaise, successor to Ferrier; in 1676 he was in communication with Father Saint-Germain, former confessor to Charles II's sister-in-law Mary of Modena, offering his assistance to prevent a rupture between England and France. These attempts failed to procure money, due mainly to the scepticism of Simon Arnauld, Marquis de Pomponne, Louis' Foreign Minister, who put no faith in Colman, Throckmorton or indeed King Charles II, whom he did not even think worth the trouble of bribing, a view which Louis evidently shared. Colman succeeded later in obtaining £3500 from three successive French ambassadors, whom he supplied with information on the proceedings of Parliament.

Colman acted independently of Charles II in trying to obtain French financial assistance to reduce the King's dependence on the anti-Catholic Parliament. When money was eventually secured, it was not through any of Colman's efforts. Throckmorton had been killed in a duel in the spring of 1675: this, following on Ferrier's death the previous winter, deprived Colman of his most useful contacts at the French Court. He was still in touch with Father Saint-Germain, but this connection did him nothing but harm, as Saint-Germain, who had been forced to flee from England after allegedly threatening the life of a former priest called de Luzancy, was regarded by the English Court as even more unstable and fanatical than Colman himself.

Lord High Treasurer Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby viewed Colman as a dangerous influence on James, a view shared by the King. Danby had him dismissed in 1676 after Colman was caught leaking naval intelligence in a newsletter; according both to the Dictionary of National Biography and recent research, the dismissal was at the prompting of the Bishop of London, Henry Compton, although Antonia Fraser notes that the King himself had on several occasions urged his brother to dismiss him. Edward continued with unofficial duties for James and he may have disbursed bribes to MPs on behalf of the French ambassador.

The Popish Plot

Colman was targeted by Oates when the latter presented his fantasy plot before the King and the Privy Council on 28 September 1678. Oates did not know him personally (which caused him some awkward moments at Colman's trial, where he had difficulty in explaining his failure to recognise him at the subsequent Council meeting of 30 September), but he had evidently learnt enough about him to realise that he was vulnerable to attack. According to Oates, Colman would become secretary of state on the death of Charles. It later emerged that the magistrate, Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey had contacted Colman, who was a friend of his, shortly after the meeting and the following day Colman's house was searched; letters covering his dealings with France were uncovered.

Arrest

The warrant for his apprehension was sent out on Sunday night, 29 September. At the suggestion of Danby, Colman's papers were to be searched for strictly. William Bedloe carried the warrant to apprehend Colman and search for his papers; Oates, in an inspired bluff, had already suggested that if Colman's letters were opened, and in particular his letters to Father La Chaise, they would contain treasonable matter, "which might cost him his neck" (whether this was his own inspiration or suggested by someone else, is unclear). Colman's papers were found, some of recent date in paper bags; incriminating letters of earlier years were in a deal box, slightly nailed down. Inexplicably, Colman continued to deny having written them for several weeks after they were discovered: it is possible, as Kenyon suggests, that after a lapse of four or five years he had actually forgotten writing them, or perhaps he did not recall how incriminating their contents were. The letters were carried off, but Colman's wife declared him to be absent, and to the Government's later embarrassment she persuaded the searchers to let her keep several bundles of letters which she claimed were personal. On Monday morning he came forward voluntarily, and offered himself to the Secretary of State, Sir Joseph Williamson. In the afternoon he was heard before Sir Robert Southwell, and others of the Privy Council, in the presence of Oates, who was unable to recognise him. He made so "voluble and fair a defence", urging his voluntary appearance as proof of his innocence, that the Council, exhausted by the long days proceedings, decided not to order his arrest. He was only committed to the care of a messenger, and his papers were not searched carefully till a week later.

The informers seemed about to lose credit when the death of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey revived the flagging investigation. On 16 October Colman was removed from the messenger's care and committed to Newgate Prison. Even a careful scrutiny of his letters revealed nothing directly pertaining to Oates' allegations, but the Government was horrified at the manner in which a minor civil servant had undertaken on behalf of a foreign power to alter the Government of England, while they were naturally irritated by the unflattering portraits Colman had given Louis XIV of themselves. The legal advice to the Crown was that some of the letters were clearly treasonable. Kenyon argues that the King quickly decided to make an example of Colman, in order to reassure the public that the Crown would allow the law to take its course even against Court officials, and that he was happy to sacrifice a man whom he had always distrusted. By 10 November Colman, having been shown the French correspondence, at last admitted to having written it. The strange optimism (Kenyon attributes it to a natural levity of mind) which he had shown up to then finally deserted him: he predicted correctly to the House of Lords that "I have confessed to that which will destroy me" (although many believed that he continued to hope in vain for a pardon right up to the very end).

Trial

Parliament had reassembled on 21 October, in an atmosphere of unprecedented hysteria about the supposed Plot. Ominously for Colman, the simple cry of "Colman's letters!" was enough to cause uproar in the House of Commons. The Government quickly decided that to appease the public anger and desire for blood, it was vital that at least a few of the suspected plotters be sacrificed as quickly as possible. The first victim of the plot was William Staley, a young Catholic banker who had allegedly vowed to kill the King (in fact the threat seems to have been simply some wild words spoken in drink). Staley was executed on 26 November 1678, but clearly the death of an almost unknown layman would not be enough to appease public anger: indeed at Staley's trial the prosecution had some difficulty in explaining why he, as opposed to some leading Jesuit father, was on trial at all. On 10 November Colman was offered a pardon, if he made a full confession; he was warned that if found guilty he would suffer in full the gruesome death prescribed for convicted traitors. Colman refused to confess, and preparations were made to try him as quickly as possible.

On Saturday, 23 November 1678, Colman was arraigned for high treason, and the trial took place on Wednesday, the 27th, at the King's Bench bar, before the Lord Chief Justice William Scroggs and three junior judges. Scroggs was a firm believer in the Popish Plot, and although he assured Colman that he would receive a fair trial- "we seek no man's blood, but only our own safety"- there is no doubt that he was determined to secure a conviction by any means necessary.

Colman declared that he had not continued the correspondence beyond 1674. Oates swore that he had carried a treasonable letter from Colman to the rector of St. Omer, containing a sealed answer to Father La Chaise, with thanks for the ten thousand pounds given for the propagation of the Catholic religion, and chiefly to cut off the King of England. Then followed details of the narrative according to Oates of 'consults' with the Jesuits in May 1678. Arrangements had been made to assassinate the King. 'This resolve of the Jesuits was communicated to Mr. Colman in my hearing at Wild House,' said Oates. Then Oates told of a consultation in August at the Savoy, with Colman present, arranging to poison the Duke of Ormonde and to rise in rebellion. Four Irish ruffians had been sent to Windsor, and £80 for their payment was ordered to be carried by a messenger, to whom Colman gave a guinea. Ten thousand pounds were to be offered to Sir George Wakeman, physician to Queen Catherine of Braganza, to poison the king; instructions had been seen and read by Colman, by him copied out and sent to other conspirators. Colman had been appointed a principal secretary of state by commission from Father D'Oliva (Giovanni Paolo Oliva), general of the Society of Jesus. In cross-examination Oates shuffled and excused himself; in particular he could not explain to the Court's satisfaction why he had not recognised Colman at the crucial Council meeting of 30 September. Bedloe was examined concerning the packets of letters from Colman to Father La Chaise in 1675, which Colman admitted to sending, and the money which Colman had received from the French Government to bribe members of Parliament; again, Colman admitted receiving the money, but insisted that he had simply pocketed it. Bedloe, there as at later trials, made a very poor witness. Scroggs, who could never resist the urge to bully a witness, even one appearing for the Crown, gave both Oates and Bedloe a most unpleasant time in the witness box, but, mindful of the need to secure a conviction, did not go so far as to accuse them of perjury. In his summing up he referred briefly to their evidence ("you have heard it") but made no comment, one way or the other, on their veracity

To spare the Duke of York any embarrassment, the prosecution did not tell the jury that Colman had ever been in his employment, instead referring vaguely to his holding an unspecified public office (although they can scarcely have believed that the jury were unaware of his true position). Colman in his defence could have pleaded that he had acted throughout on the Duke's express orders, and was clearly tempted to do so, but at the last moment he seems to have suffered from a fatal hesitation (perhaps he still hoped for a pardon), and took refuge in evasion and ambiguous remarks such as "I might possibly make use of the Duke's name; it is possible, they say I did it". Scroggs, not unreasonably, said : "you have such a swimming way of melting words that it is a troublesome thing for a man to collect matter out of them".

The finding of the letters having been certified, and the handwriting identified as Colman's, they were put in evidence, and the Attorney-General William Jones laid great stress on them; they did prove the strong desire of Colman for the dissolution of parliament. He plainly had advocated foreign bribery of the king to insure such a dissolution, and used some strong phrases as to the Catholic hopes of suppressing heresy.Kenyon argues that a case may be made for his guilt, noting similarities between Colman's case and that of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford.

Verdict and execution

There was no proof of connivance with a plot for assassination or rebellion except the testimony of Oates and Bedloe. The jury found Colman guilty. Scroggs replied to his solemn declarations of innocence: 'Mr. Colman, your own papers are enough to condemn you.' Next morning sentence of death and confiscation of property was pronounced, and on Tuesday, 3 December, he was executed, avowing his faith and declaring his innocence. Some onlookers thought that he was hoping for a reprieve, even at the very end, but it did not come.

References

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

Further reading

• Andrew Barclay, The Rise of Edward Colman, The Historical Journal (1999), 42:109–131