The first political hoax on record occurred in the reign of Anne. Down the Queen’s Road, riding at a furious rate, ordering turnpikes to be thrown open, and loudly proclaiming the sudden death of the queen, rode a well-dressed man, sparing neither spur nor steed. From west to east, and from north to south, the news spread. Like wildfire it passed through the desolate fields where palaces now abound, till it reached the city. The train-bands desisted from their exercise, furled their colors, and returned home with their arms reversed. The funds fell with a suddenness which marked the importance of the intelligence; and it was remarked that, while the Christian jobbers stood aloof, almost paralyzed with the information, Manasseh Lopez and the Jew interest bought eagerly at the reduced price. There is no positive information to fix the deception upon any one in particular, but suspicion pointed at those who gained by the fraud so publicly perpetrated. The invasion of 1715, as it caused extra expenses, demanded extra grants. The House of Commons voted them; but the House of Peers, a portion of which possessed strong Jacobite feeling, attempted to modify without mending it. Though they did not reject the bill, the lower house resented the mere interference. At an early hour on the morning of the 13th February, Lord Harcourt went to the House of Peers, and made an anxious search for precedents of amendments to money bills. The search proved unsuccessful, as, since the Restoration, the Commons had defended their right of not allowing the Lords to make any alterations in these acts. A committee was appointed, and the Peers fought bravely for their claim; but though the court was willing to support them, money was so immediately necessary, that, at the request of the government, they yielded under protest. CHAPTER IV. _Charitable Corporation Fraud.—Its Discovery.—Appalling Effects and Remedy.—Marlborough’s Victories, their History, and the Loans they brought.—Augmented Importance of the Stock Exchange.—Dislike to the Members.—Increased Loans.—Difficulties in procuring them.—Statement of Sir Robert Walpole.—Gifts of Contractors to Clothiers.—First Payment of Dividends by the Bank.—South-Sea Anecdotes._