felt himself so ill that he was obliged to leave the House and retire
to his chamber. He was cupped immediately, and also let blood on the
following morning, but with slight relief. The fatal result was not
anticipated. Towards evening he became drowsy, and turning himself on
his face, expired. The sudden death of this statesman caused great
grief to the nation. George I was exceedingly affected, and shut
himself up for some hours in his closet, inconsolable for his loss.

Knight, the treasurer of the company, was apprehended at
Tirlemont, near Liege, by one of the secretaries of Mr. Leathes, the
British resident at Brussels, and lodged in the citadel of Antwerp.
Repeated applications were made to the court of Austria to deliver him
up, but in vain. Knight threw himself upon the protection of the
states of Brabant, and demanded to be tried in that country. It was a
privilege granted to the states of Brabant by one of the articles of
the Joyeuse Entree, that every criminal apprehended in that country
should be tried in that country. The states insisted on their
privilege, and refused to deliver Knight to the British authorities.
The latter did not cease their solicitations; but in the mean time,
Knight escaped from the citadel.

On the 16th of February the Committee of Secrecy made their first
report to the House. They stated that their inquiry had been attended
with numerous difficulties and embarrassments; every one they had
examined had endeavoured, as far as in him lay, to defeat the ends of
justice. In some of the books produced before them, false and
fictitious entries had been made; in others, there were entries of
money, with blanks for the name of the stockholders. There were
frequent erasures and alterations, and in some of the books leaves
were torn out. They also found that some books of great importance had