I met the French ambassador in the street, who made me great profession of kindness. In the afternoon I went to my Lord Essex, who gave me a letter for the Prince, and withal told the advantage it would be to have him come over, and if he were brought into the House and the council it would be much better; but it was not to be done without taking the oath of allegiance, and whether he could take that or no, he could not tell, because of the Act 30th. He and Lord Halifax are of that reputation, that nobody can blame them for any one action in their whole lives, and they two, with Lord Sunderland, have more land than the King.[1]
At night, I went to Sir William, where we resolved that it would be best for the Prince to bring over the treaty, that it would give less jealousies to France, and be of great advantage to the Prince and every body else. It must be contrived, if the
- ↑ Very great importance was attached in those days to the possession of large landed property. It was one of the main features of Sir W. Temple's celebrated council scheme. He says: "One chief regard necessary to this constitution was that of the personal riches of the new council, which, in revenues of land or offices, was found to amount to about three hundred thousand pounds a year; whereas those of the House of Commons are seldom found to have exceeded four hundred thousand pounds, and authority is observed much to follow land."—Temple's Works, ii. 494.
