Just when the war was brought so unexpectedly to an end Charles signified his desire for another loan by the City to the extent of £200,000. The matter was brought to the notice of the Common Council on the last day of July, and on the 1st August the lord mayor issued his precept to the aldermen of the several wards to invite subscriptions.(1424) For what purpose the money was required we are not told. It was generally feared that the king meditated a suppression of the liberties of his subjects by the introduction of foreign troops. This fear was enhanced by the knowledge that if Charles died the crown would fall to his brother, an uncompromising Catholic. The public mind became so unhinged that every breath or rumour created the greatest trepidation. Within a fortnight after the City had signified its assent to the last loan the nation was suddenly surprised by some words let drop by Dr. Tonge, the weak and credulous rector of St. Michael’s, Wood Street, and the tool of the infamous Titus Oates. A Popish plot was, he said, on foot and the king’s life in danger, in proof of which he produced documentary evidence. Oates, the prime mover in starting the idea of a plot, was ready in the most shameless way with depositions to corroborate all that Tonge had said. These depositions he made before a Middlesex magistrate, Sir Edmondesbury Godfrey. The next morning Godfrey’s corpse was found lying in a ditch near Primrose Hill. All London was wild with excitement and jumped to the conclusion that the Middlesex Justice had met a violent death for listening to Oates’s evidence, although there is reason for believing him to have fallen by his own hands. The cry against Papists continued unabated for years.(1425) The city presented the appearance of a state of siege with its gates kept closed, its streets protected with posts and chains, and an armed watch kept by night and day.(1426) In October, when according to custom the king was to be invited to the lord mayor’s banquet, the Recorder was instructed to congratulate his majesty upon his recent escape and to make arrangements for a deputation to wait upon him in person.(1427) (M724) When parliament met on the 21st of this month it passed a new Test Act rigidly excluding all Catholics from both Houses. Five Catholic peers were committed to the Tower, and Coleman, the secretary of the Duchess of York, was tried and executed for having in his possession papers betraying a design for forcing the Roman Catholic religion on the nation. It next proceeded to impeach Danby for having been concerned in certain money transactions between Charles and the king of France. Knowing the danger likely to arise from such an investigation, Charles dissolved (24 Jan., 1679) the parliament, which had now sat for more than seventeen years. (M725)