There is no doubt that Walpole grew much richer in office than he had been as a mere landowner and member of Parliament. But the Tories were unable to prove that he had personally gained from any of the transactions they brought up at trial. No matter. Eliminating Walpole’s opportunity to torment the government from the floor of the House was all that mattered, so the Tory majority voted to convict him of “a high breach of trust and notorious corruption.”
