ThatpartofthereportoftheCommitteeofSecrecywhichrelatedtotheEarlofSunderlandwasnexttakenintoconsideration。EveryeffortwasmadetoclearhisLordshipfromtheimputation。AsthecaseagainsthimrestedchieflyontheevidenceextortedfromSirJohnBlunt，greatpainsweretakentomakeitappearthatSirJohn’swordwasnottobebelieved，especiallyinamatteraffectingthehonourofapeerandprivycouncillor。AllthefriendsoftheministryralliedaroundtheEarl，itbeinggenerallyreportedthataverdictofguiltyagainsthimwouldbringaToryministryintopower。Hewaseventuallyacquitted，byamajorityof233against172；butthecountrywasconvincedofhisguilt。Thegreatestindignationwaseverywhereexpressed，andmenacingmobsagainassembledinLondon。Happilynodisturbancestookplace。
ThiswasthedayonwhichMr。Craggs，theelder，expired。Themorrowhadbeenappointedfortheconsiderationofhiscase。Itwasverygenerallybelievedthathehadpoisonedhimself。Itappeared，however，thatgriefforthelossofhisson，oneoftheSecretariesoftheTreasury，whohaddiedfiveweekspreviouslyofthesmall-pox，preyedmuchonhismind。Forthisson，dearlybeloved，hehadbeenamassingvastheapsofriches:hehadbeengettingmoney，butnothonestly；andheforwhosesakehehadbarteredhishonourandsulliedhisfame，wasnownomore。Thedreadoffurtherexposureincreasedhistroubleofmind，andultimatelybroughtonanapoplecticfit，inwhichheexpired。Heleftafortuneofamillionandahalf，whichwasafterwardsconfiscatedforthebenefitofthesufferersbytheunhappydelusionhehadbeensomainlyinstrumentalinraising。
OnebyonethecaseofeverydirectoroftheCompanywastakenintoconsideration。Asumamountingtotwomillionsandfourteenthousandpoundswasconfiscatedfromtheirestatestowardsrepairingthemischieftheyhaddone，eachmanbeingallowedacertainresidue，inproportiontohisconductandcircumstances，withwhichhemightbegintheworldanew。SirJohnBluntwasonlyallowed5，000poundsoutofhisfortuneofupwardsof183，000pounds；SirJohnFellowswasallowed10，000poundsoutof243，000pounds；SirTheodoreJanssen，50，000poundsoutof243，000pounds；Mr。EdwardGibbon，10，000
poundsoutof106，000pounds。；SirJohnLambert，5000poundsoutof72，000pounds。Others，lessdeeplyinvolved，weretreatedwithgreaterliberality。Gibbon，thehistorian，whosegrandfatherwastheMr。
EdwardGibbonsoseverelymulcted，hasgiven，intheMemoirsofhisLifeandWritings，aninterestingaccountoftheproceedingsinParliamentatthistime。Heownsthatheisnotanunprejudicedwitness；but，asallthewritersfromwhichitispossibletoextractanynoticeoftheproceedingsofthesedisastrousyears，wereprejudicedontheotherside，thestatementsofthegreathistorianbecomeofadditionalvalue。Ifonlyontheprincipleofaudialterampartem，hisopinionisentitledtoconsideration。“Intheyear1716，“