Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/178

'.t$& REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [01.42. to the few who might profit by it ; yet after the repeated acts of treachery which had been at least meditated to- wards Shan with Elizabeth's knowledge, she was scarcely justified in assuming a tone of such innocent anger ; nor was the result of the investigation more satisfactory. After many contradictions and denials Smith at last confessed his guilt, took the entire responsibility on himself, and declared that his object was to rid his country of a dangerous enemy. The English law in the sixteenth century against crimes of violence has not been suspected of too much leniency ; yet it was discovered by some strange interpretation that as the crime had not been completed it was not punishable by death. Notwithstanding Elizabeth's letter there was an evident desire to hush up the inquiry ; and strangest of all, Sir Thomas Cusak induced O'Neil to drop his complaint. ' I persuaded O'Neil to forget the matter/ Cusak wrote to Cecil, ' whereby no more talk should grow of it ; seeing there is no law to punish the offender other than by discretion in imprisonment, which O'Neil would little regard except the party might be executed by death, and that the law doth not suffer. So as the matter being wisely pacified it were well done to leave it. 51 Behind the fragments of information preserved in the State correspondence, much may remain concealed, which if found might explain a conclusion so unexpected. Had Smith been the only offender it might have been Sir Thomas Cusak to Cecil, March 22, 1564: Irish MSS.