116 THE END OF THE STRUGGLE the steward of the Dutch factory afterwards declared that " it was an usual speech amongst soldiers to en- quire one of another how strong the watch might be, that they might know how many hours they might stand sentinel.' ' Van Speult was, however, on the lookout for con- spiracy, and perhaps anxious to redeem his reputation from the charge of slackness at headquarters. In the previous summer he had written to the Governor-Gen- eral Coen about the English at Amboyna: " We hope to direct things according to your orders that our sov- ereignty shall not be diminished or injured in any way by their encroachments, and if we may hear of any con- spiracies of theirs against the sovereignty, we shall with your sanction do justice to them, suitably, unhesi- tatingly, and immediately." In October, 1622, Coen gave this sanction. In February, 1623, the opportunity arrived. Van Speult put the Japanese soldier to the torture, and after he had " endured pretty long," wrung from him an accusation against the English. His state- ment was signed by the unhappy man on the day of his torment, in direct contravention of the Dutch law that one who had confessed under torture should be re-heard to confirm it not sooner than twenty-four hours after- wards, "ne durare adhuc tormentorum metus videa- tur." Eight or nine other Japanese soldiers in the service of the Dutch, whose names he had mentioned, denied the plot, but were tortured on that and the following day, until a complete story of treason was evolved.
