On the day of the arrest, a royal messenger was sent to the French ambassador, to tell him that he must not be amazed at what had happened, for though common ignorant people spoke of it ‘variously,’ the King said that he was determined that Marillac should know the truth. Henry stated that while he was trying ‘by all possible means to lead back religion to the way of truth, Cromwell, as attached to the German Lutherans, had always favoured the doctors who preached such erroneous opinions, and hindered those who preached the contrary, and that recently warned by some of his principal servants to reflect that he was working against the intention of the King and of the Acts of Parliament, he had betrayed himself and said he hoped to suppress the old preachers and have only the new, adding that the affair would soon be brought to such a pass that the King with all his power could not prevent it, but rather his own party would be so strong that he would make the King descend to the new doctrines even if he had to take arms against him[710].’ From this and from another letter written by the council to Wallop at the same time[711] it appears that the King had been able to devise no more plausible pretext for the destruction of his minister than that which had been suggested by the Bishop of Winchester, a pretext which as we have seen was false and unjust in every respect, but convenient in many ways, especially as it was sure to win the approval of the mass of the people, who looked upon Cromwell as a true Protestant and hated him as such, not being able to see that it was solely owing to political motives, that he had been connected with the Reformers[712]. But the fact that the charge on which he was convicted was totally unjustifiable does not in any way imply that Cromwell was wrongly condemned. There were other perfectly valid reasons for his punishment, which, however, it was quite impossible to bring forward against him, simply because the King had shared his guilt. If the number of innocent persons, whom the minister’s influence had brought to the block, be not a sufficient warrant for his conviction and execution, it would be difficult to find a character in English history who merited the death penalty. But all these crimes could not be laid to his charge because the King had supported him in them, and he was arrested instead on the false accusation of opposition to the master to whose service he had devoted his life.