It would be idle to
refuse to believe that many unjust and cruel acts were not committed at
this time, as we know they were committed subsequently, merely because
they cannot be succinctly proved. It is unlikely that Claverhouse
himself wasted over-much time on sifting every case that was brought in
to him by his spies; and where he was not himself present--and it must
be remembered that he was not the only officer engaged in this service,
and also that his own soldiers were often employed under his lieutenants
on duties he was personally unable to attend to--it is hard to doubt
that much wild and brutal work went on. The whole case, in short, except
in a very few instances (which will be examined elsewhere), is one
solely of hearsay and tradition; and it is no more than common justice
in any attempt to define Claverhouse's share in it, to give him the
benefit of the doubt where it is not directly contrary to the proved
facts and the evidence of his despatches. For Claverhouse, it should be
also and always remembered, may be implicitly trusted to speak the truth
in these matters, for the simple reason that he was not in the least
ashamed of his work. We may well believe that it was not the work he
would have chosen; but it was the work he had been set to do; and his
concern was only to execute it as completely as possible.
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