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Anne succeeds to the Throne..... She resolves to fulfil the
Engagements of her Predecessor with his Allies..... A French
Memorial presented to the States-general..... The Queen's
Inclination to the Tories..... War declared against
France..... The Parliament prorogued..... Warm Opposition to
the Ministry in the Scottish Parliament..... They recognize
her Majesty's Authority..... The Queen appoints
Commissioners to treat of an Union between England and
Scotland..... State of Affairs on the Continent.....
Keiserswaert and Landau taken by the Allies..... Progress of
the Earl of Marlborough in Flanders..... He narrowly escapes
being taken by a French Partisan..... The Imperialists are
worsted at Fridlinguen..... Battle of Luzzara in Italy.....
The King of Sweden defeats Augustus at Lissou in Poland.....
Fruitless expedition to Cadiz by the Duke of Ormond and Sir
George Booke..... They take and destroy the Spanish Galleons
at Vigo..... Admiral Benbow's Engagement with Ducasse in the
West Indies..... The Queen assembles a new Parliament.....
Disputes between the two Houses..... The Lords inquire into
the Conduct of Sir George Rooke..... The Parliament make a
Settlement on Prince George of Denmark..... The Earl of
Marlborough created a Duke..... All Commerce and
Correspondence prohibited between Holland and the two Crowns
of France and Spain..... A Bill for preventing occasional
Conformity..... It miscarries..... Violent Animosity
between the two Houses produced by the Inquiry into the
Public Accounts..... Disputes between the two Houses of
Convocation..... Account of the Parties in Scotland.....
Dangerous Heats in the Parliament of that Kingdom..... The
Commissioner is abandoned by the Cavaliers..... He is in
Danger of his Life, and suddenly prorogues the
Parliament..... Proceedings of the Irish Parliament.....
They pass a severe Act against Papists..... The Elector of
Bavaria defeats the Imperialists at Scardingen, and takes
Possession of Ratisbon..... The Allies reduce Bonne.....
Battle of Eckeren..... The Prince of Hesse is defeated by
the French at Spirebath..... Treaty between the Emperor and
the Duke of Savoy..... The King of Portugal accedes to the
Grand Alliance..... Sir Cloudesley Shovel sails with a Fleet
to the Mediterranean..... Admiral Graydon's bootless
Expedition to the West Indies..... Charles King of Spain
arrives in England.
ANNE, 1701—1714
William was succeeded as sovereign of England by Anne princess of Denmark, who ascended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of her age, to the general satisfaction of all parties. Even the Jacobites seemed pleased with her elevation, on the supposition that as in all probability she would leave no heirs of her own body, the dictates of natural affection would induce her to alter the succession in favour of her own brother. She had been taught to cherish warm sentiments of the tories, whom she considered as the friends of monarchy, and the true sons of the church; and they had always professed an inviolable attachment to her person and interest; but her conduct was wholly influenced by the countess of Marlborough, a woman of an imperious temper and intriguing genius, who had been intimate with the princess from her tender years, and gained a surprising ascendancy over her. Anne had undergone some strange vicissitudes of fortune in consequence of her father's expulsion, and sustained a variety of mortifications in the late reign, during which she conducted herself with such discretion as left little or no pretence for censure or resentment. Such conduct indeed was in a great measure owing to a natural temperance of disposition not easily ruffled or inflamed. She was zealously devoted to the church of England, from which her father had used some endeavours to detach her before the Revolution; and she lived in great harmony with her husband, to whom she bore six children, all of whom she had already survived. William had no sooner yielded up his breath, than the privy-council in a body waited on the new queen, who, in a short but sensible speech, assured them that no pains nor diligence should be wanting on her part to preserve and support the religion, laws, and liberties of her country, to maintain the succession in the protestant line, and the government in church and state, as by law established. She declared her resolution to carry on the preparations for opposing the exorbitant power of France, and to assure the allies that she would pursue the true interest of England, together with theirs, for the support of the common cause. The members of the privy-council having taken the oaths, she ordered a proclamation to be published, signifying her pleasure that all persons in office of authority or government at the decease of the late king, should so continue till further directions. By virtue of an act passed in the late reign, the parliament continued sitting even after the king's death. Both houses met immediately, and unanimously voted an address of condolence and congratulation; and in the afternoon the queen was proclaimed. Next day the lords and commons severally attended her with an address, congratulating her majesty's accession to the throne; and assuring her of their firm resolution to support her against all her enemies whatsoever. The lords acknowledged that their great loss was no otherwise to be repaired but by a vigorous adherence to her majesty and her allies, in the prosecution of those measures already concerted to reduce the exorbitant power of France. The commons declared they would maintain the succession of the crown in the protestant line, and effectually provide for the public credit of the nation. These addresses were graciously received by the queen, who, on the eleventh day of March, went to the house of peers with the usual solemnity, where, in a speech to both houses, she expressed her satisfaction at their unanimous concurrence with her opinion, that too much could not be done for the encouragement of their allies in humbling the power of France; and desired they would consider of proper methods towards obtaining an union between England and Scotland. She observed to the commons that the revenue for defraying the expenses of civil government was expired; and that she relied entirely on their affection for its being supplied in such a manner as should be most suitable to the honour and dignity of the crown. She declared it should be her constant endeavour to make them the best return for their duty and affection, by a careful and diligent administration for the good of all her subjects. "And as I know my own heart to be entirely English (continued she) I can very sincerely assure you, there is not any thing you can expect or desire from me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England; and you shall always find me a strict and religious observer of my word." These assurances were extremely agreeable to the parliament; and she received the thanks of both houses. Addresses of congratulation were presented by the bishop and clergy of London; by the dissenters in and about that city; and by all the counties, cities, towns, and corporations of England. She declared her attachment to the church; she promised her protection to the dissenters; and received the compliments of all her subjects with such affability as ensured their affection.
William's death was no sooner known at the Hague, than all Holland was filled with consternation. The states immediately assembled, and for some time gazed at each other in silent fear and astonishment. They sighed, wept, and interchanged embraces and vows that they would act with unanimity, and expend their clearest blood in defence of their country. Then they despatched letters to the cities and provinces, informing them of this unfortunate event, and exhorting them to union and perseverance. The express from England having brought the queen's speech to her privy-council, it was translated and published to revive the drooping spirits of the people. Next day pensionary Fagel imparted to the states of Holland a letter which he had received from the earl of Marlborough, containing assurances, in the queen's name, of union and assistance. In a few days, the queen wrote a letter in the French language to the States, confirming these assurances; it was delivered by Mr. Stanhope, whom she had furnished with fresh credentials as envoy from England. Thus animated, the states resolved to prosecute vigorous measures; their resolutions were still more inspirited by the arrival of the earl of Marlborough, whom the queen honoured with the order of the garter, and invested with the character of ambassador-extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the states-general; he was likewise declared captain general of her forces both at home and abroad. He assured the states that her Britannic majesty would maintain the alliances which had been concluded by the late king, and do every thing that the common concerns of Europe required. The speech was answered by Dickvelt, president of the week, who, in the name of the states, expressed their hearty thanks to her majesty, and their resolutions of concurring with her in a vigorous prosecution of the common interest.
The importance of William's life was evinced by the joy that diffused itself through the kingdom of France at the news of his decease. The person who first brought the tidings to Calais, was imprisoned by the governor until his information was confirmed. The court of Versailles could hardly restrain their transports so as to preserve common decorum; the people of Paris openly rejoiced at the event; all decency was laid aside at Rome, where this incident produced such indecent raptures, that cardinal Grimani, the imperial minister, complained of them to the pope, as an insult on his master the emperor, who was William's friend, confederate, and ally. The French king despatched credentials to Barré, whom the count D'Avaux had left at the Hague to manage the affairs of France, together with instructions to renew the negotiation with the states, in hope of detaching them from the alliance. This minister presented a memorial implying severe reflections on king William, and the past conduct of the Dutch; and insinuating that now they had recovered their liberty, the court of France hoped they would consult their true interest. The count de Goes, envoy from the emperor, animadverted on these expressions in another memorial, which was likewise published; the states produced in public an answer to the same remonstrance, expressing their resentment at the insolence of such insinuations, and their veneration for the memory of their late stadtholder. The earl of Marlborough succeeded in every part of his negotiation. He animated the Dutch to a full exertion of their vigour; he concerted the operations of the campaign; he agreed with the states-general and the imperial minister, that war should be declared against France on the same day at Vienna, London, and the Hague; and on the third of April embarked for England, after having acquired the entire confidence of those who governed the United Provinces.
By this time the house of commons in England had settled the civil list upon the queen for her life. When the bill received the royal assent, she assured them that one hundred thousand pounds of this revenue should be applied to the public service of the current year; at the same time she passed another bill for receiving and examining the public accounts. A commission for this purpose was granted in the preceding reign, but had been for some years discontinued; and indeed always proved ineffectual to detect and punish those individuals who shamefully pillaged their country. The villany was so complicated, the vice so general, and the delinquents so powerfully screened by artifice and interest, as to elude all inquiry. On the twenty-fourth day of March the oath of abjuration was taken by the speaker and members, according to an act for the further security of her majesty's person, and the succession of the crown in the protestant line, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince of Wales. The queen's inclination to the tories plainly appeared in her choice of ministers. Doctor John Sharp, archbishop of York, became her ghostly director and counsellor in all ecclesiastical affairs; the earl of Rochester was continued lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and enjoyed a great share of her majesty's confidence; the privy-seal was intrusted to the marquis of Normandy; the earl of Nottingham and sir Charles Hedges were appointed secretaries of state; the earl of Abingdon, viscount Weymouth, lord Dartmouth, sir Christopher Musgrave, Grenville, Howe, Gower, and Harcourt, were admitted as members of the privy-council, together with sir Edward Seymour, now declared comptroller of the household. The lord Godolphin declined accepting the office of lord high-treasurer, until he was over-ruled by the persuasions of Marlborough, to whose eldest daughter his son was married. This nobleman refused to command the forces abroad, unless the treasury should be put into the hands of Godolphin, on whose punctuality in point of remittances he knew he could depend. George, prince of Denmark, was invested with the title of generalissimo of all the queen's forces by sea and land; and afterwards created lord high admiral, the earl of Pembroke having been dismissed from this office with the offer of a large pension, which he generously refused. Prince George, as admiral, was assisted by a council, consisting of sir George Rooke, sir David Mitch el, George Churchill, and Richard Hill. Though the legality of this board was doubted, the parliament had such respect and veneration for the queen, that it was suffered to act without question.
A rivalship for the queen's favour already appeared between the earls of Rochester and Marlborough. The former, as first cousin to the queen, and chief of the tory faction, maintained considerable influence in the council; but even there the interest of his rival predominated. Marlborough was not only the better courtier, but by the canal of his countess, actually directed the queen in all her resolutions. Rochester proposed in council, that the English should avoid a declaration of war with France, and act as auxiliaries only. He was seconded by some other members; but the opinion of Marlborough preponderated. He observed, that the honour of the nation was concerned to fulfil the late king's engagements; and affirmed that France could never be reduced within due bounds, unless the English would enter as principals in the quarrel. This allegation was supported by the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire, the earl of Pembroke, and the majority of the council. The queen being resolved to declare war, communicated her intention to the house of commons, by whom it was approved; and on the fourth day of May the declaration was solemnly proclaimed. The king of France was, in this proclamation, taxed with having taken possession of great part of the Spanish dominions; with designing to invade the liberties of Europe; and obstruct the freedom of navigation and commerce; with having offered an unpardonable insult to the queen and her throne, by taking upon him to declare the pretended prince of Wales king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The three declarations of the emperor, England, and the states-general, which were published in one day, did not fail to disconcert, as well as to provoke the French monarch. When his minister De Torcy recited them in his hearing, he spoke of the queen with some acrimony; but with respect to the states-general, he declared with great emotion, that "Messieurs the Dutch merchants should one day repent of their insolence and presumption, in declaring war against so powerful a monarch;" he did not, however, produce his declaration till the third day of July.
The house of commons, in compliance with the queen's desire, brought in a bill empowering her majesty to name commissioners to treat with the Scots for an union of the two kingdoms. It met with warm opposition from sir Edward Seymour and other tory members, who discharged abundance of satire and ridicule upon the Scottish nation; but the measure seemed so necessary at that juncture, to secure the protestant succession against the practices of France and the claims of the pretender, that the majority espoused the bill, which passed through both houses, and on the sixth day of May received the royal assent, together with some bills of less importance. The enemies of the late king continued to revile his memory. 107 [See note P, at the end of this Vol.] They even charged him with having formed a design of excluding the princess Anne from the throne, and of introducing the elector of Hanover as his own immediate successor. This report had been so industriously circulated, that it began to gain credit all over the kingdom. Several peers interested themselves in William's character, and a motion was made in the upper house that the truth of this report should be inquired into. The house immediately desired that those lords who had visited the late king's papers, would intimate whether or not they had found any among them relating to the queen's succession, or to the succession of the house of Hanover. They forthwith declared that nothing of that sort appeared. Then the house resolved, That the report was groundless, false, villanous, and scandalous, to the dishonour of the late king's memory, and highly tending to the disservice of her present majesty, whom they besought to give orders that the authors or publishers of such scandalous reports should be prosecuted by the attorney-general. The same censure was passed upon some libels and pamphlets tending to inflame the factions of the kingdom, and to propagate a spirit of irreligion. 108 [See note Q, at the end of this Vol.] On the twenty-first day of May, the commons in an address advised her majesty to engage the emperor, the states-general, and her other allies, to join with her in prohibiting all intercourse with France and Spain; and to concert such methods with the states-general as might most effectually secure the trade of her subjects and allies. The lords presented another address, desiring the queen would encourage her subjects to equip privateers, as the preparations of the enemy seemed to be made for a piratical war, to the interruption of commerce; they likewise exhorted her majesty to grant commissions or charters to all persons who should make such acquisitions in the Indies, as she in her great wisdom should judge most expedient for the good of her kingdoms. On the twenty-fifth day of May the queen having passed several public and private bills, 109 [See note R, at the end of this Vol.] dismissed the parliament by prorogation, after having in a short speech thanked them for their zeal, recommended unanimity, and declared she would carefully preserve and maintain the act of toleration.
In Scotland a warm contest arose between the revolutioners and those in the opposition, concerning the existence of the present parliament. The queen had signified her accession to the throne in a letter to her privy-council for Scotland, desiring they would continue to act in that office until she should send a new commission. Meanwhile she authorized them to publish a proclamation ordaining all officers of state, counsellors, and magistrates, to act in all things conformably to the commissions and instructions of his late majesty until new commissions should be prepared. She likewise assured them of her firm resolution to protect them in their religion, laws, and liberties, and in the established government of the church. She had already, in presence of twelve Scottish counsellors, taken the coronation-oath for that kingdom; but those who wanted to embroil the affairs of their country, affirmed that this was an irregular way of proceeding, and that the oath ought to have been tendered by persons deputed for that purpose either by the parliament or the privy council of the kingdom. The present ministry, consisting of the duke of Queensberry, the earls of Marchmont, Melvil, Seafield, Hyndford, and Selkirk, were devoted to revolution principles, and desirous that the parliament should continue, in pursuance of a late act for continuing the parliament that should be then in being, six months after the death of the king, and that it should assemble in twenty days after that event. The queen had, by several adjournments, deferred the meeting almost three months after the king's decease; and therefore the anti-revolutioners affirmed that it was dissolved. The duke of Hamilton was at the head of this party which clamoured loudly for a new parliament. This nobleman, together with the marquis of Tweedale, the carls Marshal and Kothes, and many other noblemen, repaired to London in order to make the queen acquainted with their objections to the continuance of the present parliament. She admitted them to her presence and calmly heard their allegations; but she was determined by the advice of her privy-council for that kingdom, who were of opinion that the nation was in too great a ferment to hazard the convocation of a new parliament. According to the queen's last adjournment, the parliament met at Edinburgh on the ninth day of June, the duke of Queensberry having been appointed high commissioner. Before the queen's commission was read, the duke of Hamilton for himself and his adherents, declared their satisfaction at her majesty's accession to the throne, not only on account of her undoubted right by descent, but likewise because of her many personal virtues and royal qualities. He said they were resolved to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in defence of her majesty's right against all her enemies whatever; but, at the same time, they thought themselves bound in duty to give their opinion that they were not warranted by law to sit and act as a parliament. He then read a paper to the following effect:—That forasmuch as, by the fundamental laws and constitution of this kingdom, all parliaments do dissolve on the death of their sovereign, except in so far as innovated by an act in the preceding reign, that the parliament in being at his majesty's decease should meet and act what might be needful for the defence of the true protestant religion as by law established, and for the maintenance of the succession to the crown as settled by the claim of right, and for the preservation and security of the public peace; and seeing these ends are fully answered by her majesty's succession to the throne, we conceive ourselves not now warranted by law to meet, sit, or act; and therefore do dissent from anything that shall be done or acted. The duke having recited this paper, and formally protested against the proceedings of the parliament, withdrew with seventy-nine members amidst the acclamations of the people.
Notwithstanding their secession, the commissioner, who retained a much greater number, produced the queen's letter signifying her resolution to maintain and protect her subjects in the full possession of their religion, laws, liberties, and the presbyterian discipline. She informed them of her having declared war against France; she exhorted them to provide competent supplies for maintaining such a number of forces as might be necessary for disappointing the enemy's designs, and preserving the present happy settlement; and she earnestly recommended to their consideration an union of the two kingdoms. The duke of Queensberry and the carl of Marchmont having enforced the different articles of this letter, committees were appointed for the security of the kingdom, for controverted elections, for drawing up an answer to her majesty's letter, and for revising the minutes. Meanwhile the duke of Hamilton and his adherents sent the lord Blantyre to London with an address to the queen, who refused to receive it, but wrote another letter to the parliament expressing her resolution to maintain their dignity and authority against all opposers. They, in answer to the former, had assured her that the groundless secession of some members should increase and strengthen their care and zeal for her majesty's service. They expelled sir Alexander Bruce for having given vent to some reflections against presbytery. The lord advocate prosecuted the faculty of advocates before the parliament for having passed a vote among themselves in favour of the protestation and address of the dissenting members. The faculty was severely reprimanded; but the whole nation seemed to resent the prosecution. The parliament passed an act for recognising her majesty's royal authority; another for adjourning the court of judicature called the session; a third declaring this meeting of parliament legal, and forbidding any person to disown, quarrel with, or impugn the dignity and authority thereof, under the penalty of high treason; a fourth for securing the true protestant religion and presbyterian church government; a fifth for a land tax; and a sixth, enabling her majesty to appoint commissioners for an union between the two kingdoms.
The earl of Marchmont, of his own accord, and even contrary to the advice of the high commissioner, brought in a bill for abjuring the pretended prince of Wales; but this was not supported by the court party, as the commissioner had no instructions how to act on the occasion. Perhaps the queen and her English ministry resolved to keep the succession open in Scotland as a check upon the whigs and house of Hanover. On the thirtieth day of June the commissioner adjourned the parliament, after having thanked them for their cheerfulness and unanimity in their proceedings; and the chiefs of the opposite parties hastened to London to make their different representations to the queen and her ministry. In the meantime she appointed commissioners for treating about the union, and they met at the Cockpit on the twenty-second day of October. On the twentieth day of the next month they adjusted preliminaries, importing, That nothing agreed on among themselves should be binding except ratified by her majesty and the respective parliaments of both nations; and that unless all the heads proposed for the treaty were agreed to, no particular thing agreed on should be binding. The queen visited them in December, in order to quicken their mutual endeavours. They agreed that the two kingdoms should be inseparably united into one monarchy, under her majesty, her heirs, and successors, and under the same limitations according to the Acts of Settlement; but when the Scottish commissioners proposed that the rights and privileges of their company trading to Africa and the Indies should be preserved and maintained, such a difficulty arose as could not be surmounted, and no further progress was made in this commission. The tranquillity of Ireland was not interrupted by any new commotion. That kingdom was ruled by justices whom the earl of Rochester had appointed; and the trustees for the forfeited estates maintained their authority.
While Britain was engaged in these civil transactions, her allies were not idle on the continent. The old duke of Zell, and his nephew, the elector of Brunswick, surprised the dukes of Wolfenbuttle and Saxe-Gotha, whom they compelled to renounce their attachments to France, and concur in the common councils of the empire. Thus the north of Germany was reunited to the interest of the confederates; and the princes would have been in a condition to assist them effectually, had not the neighbourhood of the war in Poland deterred them from parting with their forces. England and the states-general endeavoured in vain to mediate a peace between the kings of Sweden and Poland. Charles was become enamoured of war and ambitious of conquest. He threatened to invade Saxony through the dominions of Prussia. Augustus retired to Cracow, while Charles penetrated to Warsaw, and even ordered the cardinal-primate to summon a diet for choosing a new king. The situation of affairs at this juncture was far from being favourable to the allies. The court of Vienna had tampered in vain with the elector of Bavaria, who made use of this negotiation to raise his terms with Louis. His brother, the elector of Cologn, admitted French garrisons into Liege and all his places on the Rhine. The elector of Saxony was too hard pressed by the king of Sweden to spare his full proportion of troops to the allies; the king of Prussia was overawed by the vicinity of the Swedish conqueror; the duke of Savoy had joined his forces to those of France, and overrun the whole state of Milan; and the pope, though he professed a neutrality, evinced himself strongly biassed to the French interests.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The war was begun in the name of the elector-palatine with the siege of Keiserswaert, which was invested in the month of April by the prince of Nassau-Saarburgh, mareschal-du-camp to the emperor: under this officer the Dutch troops served as auxiliaries, because war had not yet been declared by the states-general. The French garrison made a desperate defence. They worsted the besiegers in divers sallies, and maintained the place until it was reduced to a heap of ashes. At length the allies made a general attack upon the counterscarp and ravelin, which they carried after a very obstinate engagement, with the loss of two thousand men. Then the garrison capitulated on honourable terms, and the fortifications were razed. During this siege, which lasted from the eighteenth day of April to the middle of June, count Tallard posted himself on the opposite side of the Rhine, from whence he supplied the town with fresh troops and ammunition, and annoyed the besiegers with his artillery; but finding it impossible to save the place, he joined the grand army commanded by the duke of Burgundy in the Netherlands. The siege of Keiserswaert was covered by a body of Dutch troops under the earl of Athlone, who lay encamped in the duchy of Cleve. Meanwhile general Coehorn, at the head of another detachment, entered Flanders, demolished the French lines between the forts of Donat and Isabella, and laid the chatellaine of Bruges under contribution; but a considerable body of French troops advancing under the marquis de Bedmar, and the count de la Motte, he overflowed the country, and retired under the Avails of Sluys. The duke of Burgundy, who had taken the command of the French army under Bouifflers, encamped at Zanten near Cleve, and laid a scheme for surprising Nimeguen; in which, however, he was baffled by the vigilance and activity of Athlone, who, guessing his design, marched thither and encamped under the cannon of the town. In the beginning of June, Landau was invested by prince Louis of Baden: in July, the king of the Romans arrived in the camp of the besiegers with such pomp and magnificence as exhausted his father's treasury. On the ninth day of September the citadel was taken by assault, and then the town surrendered.
When the earl of Marlborough arrived in Holland, the earl of Athlone, in quality of veldt-mareschal, insisted upon an equal command with the English general; but the states obliged him to yield this point in favour of Marlborough, whom they declared generalissimo of all their forces. In the beginning of July he repaired to the camp at Nimeguen, where he soon assembled an army of sixty thousand men, well provided with all necessaries; then he convoked a council of the general officers to concert the operations of the campaign. On the sixteenth day of the month he passed the Maese, and encamped at Overasselt, within two leagues and a half of the enemy, who had entrenched themselves between Goch and Gedap. He afterwards repassed the river below the Grave, and removed to Gravenbroeck, where he was joined by the British train of artillery from Holland. On the second day of August, he advanced to Petit Brugel, and the French retired before him, leaving Spanish Guelderkind to his discretion. He had resolved to hazard an engagement, and issued orders accordingly; but he was restrained by the Dutch deputies, who were afraid of their own interest in case the battle should have proved unfortunate. The duke of Burgundy, finding himself obliged to retreat before the allied army, rather than expose himself longer to such a mortifying indignity, returned to Versailles, leaving the command to Boufflers, who lost the confidence of Louis by the ill success of this campaign. The deputies of the states-general having represented to the earl of Marlborough the advantages that would accrue to Holland, from his dispossessing the enemy of the places they maintained in the Spanish Guelderland, by which the navigation of the Maese was obstructed, and the important town of Maestricht in a manner blocked up, he resolved to deliver them from such a troublesome neighbourhood. He detached general Schultz with a body of troops to reduce the town and castle of Werk, which were surrendered after a slight resistance. In the beginning of September he undertook the siege of Venlo, which capitulated on the twenty-fifth day of the month, after fort St. Michael had been stormed and taken by lord Cutts and the English volunteers, among whom the young earl of Huntingdon distinguished himself by very extraordinary acts of valour. Then the general invested Euremonde, which he reduced after a very obstinate defence, together with the fort of Stevensuaert, situated on the same river. Boufflers, confounded at the rapidity of Marlborough's success, retired towards Liege in order to cover that city; but, at the approach of the confederates, he retired with precipitation to Tongeren, from whence he directed his route towards Brabant, with a view to defend such places as the allies had no design to attack. When the earl of Marlborough arrived at Liege, he found the suburbs of St. Walburgh had been set on fire by the French garrison, who had retired into the citadel and the Chartreux. The allies took immediate possession of the city; and in a few days opened the trenches against the citadel, which was taken by assault. On this occasion, the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel charged at the head of the grenadiers, and was the first person who mounted the breach. Violani the governor, and the duke of Charost, were made prisoners. Three hundred thousand florins in gold and silver were found in the citadel, besides notes for above one million drawn upon substantial merchants in Liege, who paid the money. Immediately after this exploit, the garrison of the Chartreux capitulated on honourable terms, and were conducted to Antwerp. By the success of this campaign the earl of Marlborough raised his military character above all censure, and confirmed himself in the entire confidence of the states-general, who, in the beginning of the season, had trembled for Nimeguen, and now saw the enemy driven back into their own domains.
When the army broke up in November, the general repaired to Maestricht, from whence he proposed to return to the Hague by water. Accordingly he embarked in a large boat, with five-and-twenty soldiers under the command of a lieutenant. Next morning he was joined at Ruremonde by Coehorn in a larger vessel, with sixty men, and they were moreover escorted by fifty troopers, who rode along the bank of the river. The large boat outsailed the other, and the horsemen mistook their way in the dark. A French partisan, with five-and-thirty men from Gueldres, who lurked among the rushes in wait for prey, seized the rope by which the boat was drawn, hauled it ashore, discharged their small arms and hand-grenades, then rushing into it, secured the soldiers before they could put themselves in a posture of defence. The earl of Marlborough was accompanied by general Opdam, and mynheer Gueldermalsen, one of the deputies, who were provided with passports. The earl had neglected this precaution; but recollecting he had an old passport for his brother general Churchill, he produced it without any emotion, and the partisan was in such confusion that he never examined the date. Nevertheless, he rifled their baggage, carried off the guard as prisoners, and allowed the boat to proceed. The governor of Venlo receiving information that the earl was surprised by a party and conveyed to Gueldres, immediately marched out with his whole garrison to invest that place. The same imperfect account being transmitted to Holland, filled the whole province with consternation. The states forthwith assembling, resolved that all their forces should march immediately to Gueldres, and threaten the garrison of the place with the utmost extremities unless they would immediately deliver the general. But, before these orders could be despatched, the earl arrived at the Hague, to the inexpressible joy of the people, who already looked upon him as their saviour and protector.
The French arms were not quite so unfortunate on the Rhine as in Flanders. The elector of Bwaria surprised the city of Ulm in Suabia by a stratagem, and then declared for France, which had by this time complied with all his demands. The diet of the empire assembled at Batisbon were so incensed at his conduct in seizing the city of Ulm by perfidy, that they presented a memorial to his Imperial majesty, requesting he would proceed against the elector according to the constitutions of the empire. They resolved, by a plurality of voices, to declare war in the name of the empire against the French king and the duke of Anjou, for having invaded several fiefs of the empire in Italy, the archbishopric of Cologn, and the diocese of Liege; and they forbade the ministers of Bavaria and Cologn to appear in the general diet. In vain did these powers protest against their proceedings. The empire's declaration of war was published and notified, in the name of the diet, to the cardinal of Limberg, the emperor's commissioner. Meanwhile the French made themselves masters of Neuburgh, in the circle of Suabia, while Louis prince of Baden, being weakened by sending off detachments, was obliged to lie inactive in his camp near Fridlinguen. The French army was divided into two bodies, commanded by the marquis de Villars and the count de Guiscard; and the prince thinking himself in danger of being enclosed by the enemy, resolved to decamp. Villars immediately passed the Rhine to fall upon him in his retreat, and an obstinate engagement ensuing, the Imperialists were overpowered by numbers. The prince having lost two thousand men, abandoned the field of battle to the enemy, together with his baggage, artillery, and ammunition, and retired towards Stauffen without being pursued. The French army, even after they had gained the battle, were unaccountably seized with such a panic, that if the Imperial general had faced them with two regiments he would have snatched the victory from Villars, who was upon this occasion saluted mareschal of France by the soldiers; and next day the town of Fridlinguen surrendered. The prince being joined by some troops under general Thungen and other reinforcements, resolved to give battle to the enemy; but Villars declined an engagement, and repassed the Rhine. Towards the latter end of October, count Tallard and the marquis de Lo-marie, with a body of eighteen thousand men, reduced Triers and Traerbach; on the other hand, the prince of Hesse-Cassel, with a detachment from the allied army at Liege, retook from the French the towns of Zinch, Lintz, Brisac, and Andernach.
In Italy prince Eugene laboured under a total neglect of the Imperial court, where his enemies, on pretence of supporting the king of the Romans in his first campaign, weaned the emperor's attention entirely from his affairs on the other side of the Alps, so that he left his best army to moulder away for want of recruits and reinforcements. The prince thus abandoned could not prevent the duke de Vendôme from relieving Mantua, and was obliged to relinquish some other places he had taken. Philip, king of Spain, being inspired with the ambition of putting an end to the war in this country, sailed in person for Naples, where he was visited by the cardinal-legate with a compliment from the pope; yet he could not obtain the investiture of the kingdom from his holiness. The emperor, however, was so disgusted at the embassy which the pope had sent to Philip, that he ordered his ambassador at Eome to withdraw. Philip proceeded from Naples to Final under convoy of the French fleet which had brought him to Italy; here he had an interview with the duke of Savoy, who began to be alarmed at the prospect of the French king's being master of the Milanese; and, in a letter to the duke de Vendôme, he forbade him to engage prince Eugene until he himself should arrive in the camp. Prince Eugene, understanding that the French army intended to attack Luzzara and Guastalla, passed the Po with an army of about half the number of the enemy, and posted himself behind the dike of Zero in such a manner that the French were ignorant of his situation. He concluded that on their arrival at the ground they had chosen, the horse would march out to forage, while the rest of the army would be employed in pitching tents and providing for their refreshment. His design was to seize that opportunity of attacking them, not doubting that he should obtain a complete victory; but he was disappointed by mere accident. An adjutant with an advanced guard had the curiosity to ascend the dike in order to view the country, when he discovered the Imperial infantry lying on their faces, and their horse in the rear, ranged in order of battle. The French camp was immediately alarmed, and as the intermediate ground was covered with hedges which obliged the assailants to defile, the enemy were in a posture of defence before the Imperialists could advance to action; nevertheless, the prince attacked them with great vivacity in hopes of disordering their line, which gave way in several places; but night interposing, he was obliged to desist, and in a few days the French reduced Luzzara and Guastalla. The prince, however, maintained his post, and Philip returned to Spain without having obtained any considerable advantage.
The French king employed all his artifice and intrigues in raising up new enemies against the confederates. He is said to have bribed count Mansfield, president of the council of war at Vienna, to withhold the supplies from prince Eugene in Italy. At the Ottoman Porte he had actually gained over the vizier, who engaged to renew the war with the emperor. But the mufti and all the other great officers were averse to the design, and the vizier fell a sacrifice to their resentment. Louis continued to broil the kingdom of Poland by means of the cardinal-primate. The young king of Sweden advanced to Lissou, where he defeated Augustus. Then he took possession of Cracow, and raised contributions; nor could he be persuaded to retreat, although the Muscovites and Lithuanians had ravaged Livonia, and even made an irruption into Sweden.
The operations of the combined squadrons at sea did not fully answer the expectation of the public. On the twelfth day of May, sir John Munden sailed with twelve ships to intercept a French squadron appointed as a convoy to a new viceroy of Mexico, from Corunna to the West Indies. On the twenty-eighth day of the month, he chased fourteen sail of French ships into Corunna.
Then he called a council of war, in which it was agreed that as the place was strongly fortified, and by the intelligence they had received, it appeared that seventeen of the enemy's ships of war rode at anchor in the harbour, it would be expedient for them to follow the latter part of their instructions, by which they were directed to cruise in soundings for the protection of the trade. They returned accordingly, and being distressed by want of provisions, came into port to the general discontent of the nation. For the satisfaction of the people, sir John Munden was tried by a court-martial and acquitted; but as this miscarriage had rendered him very unpopular, prince George dismissed him from the service. We have already hinted that king William had projected a scheme to reduce Cadiz, with intention to act afterwards against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies. This design queen Anne resolved to put in execution. Sir George Rooke commanded the fleet, and the duke of Ormond was appointed general of the land forces destined for this expedition. The combined squadrons amounted to fifty ships of the line, exclusive of frigates, fire-ships, and smaller vessels; and the number of soldiers embarked was not far short of fourteen thousand. In the latter end of June the fleet sailed from St. Helen's; on the twelfth of August they anchored at the distance of two leagues from Cadiz. Next day the duke of Ormond summoned the duke de Brancaccio, who was governor, to submit to the house of Austria; but that officer answered he would acquit himself honourably of the trust reposed in him by the king. On the fifteenth the duke of Ormond landed with his forces in the bay of Bulls, under cover of a smart fire from some frigates, and repulsed a body of Spanish cavalry; then he summoned the governor of Fort St. Catharine's to surrender, and received an answer, importing, that the garrison was prepared for his reception. A declaration was published in the Spanish language, intimating, that the allies did not come as enemies to Spain, but only to free them from the yoke of France, and assist them in establishing themselves under the government of the house of Austria. These professions produced very little effect among the Spaniards, who were either cooled in their attachment to that family, or provoked by the excesses of the English troops. These having taken possession of Fort St. Catharine and Port St. Mary's, instead of protecting, plundered the natives, notwithstanding the strict orders issued by the duke of Ormond to prevent this scandalous practice; even some general officers were concerned in the pillage. A battery was raised against Montagorda fort opposite to the Puntal; but the attempt miscarried, and the troops were re-embarked.
Captain Hardy having been sent to water in Lagos bay, received intelligence that the galleons from the West Indies had put into Vigo under convoy of a French squadron. He sailed immediately in quest of sir George Rooke, who was now on his voyage back to England, and falling in with him on the sixth day of October, communicated the substance of what he had learned. Rooke immediately called a council of war, in which it was determined to alter their course and attack the enemy at Vigo. He forthwith detached some small vessels for intelligence, and received a confirmation that the galleons and the squadron commanded by Chateau Renault, were actually in the harbour. They sailed thither, and appeared before the place on the eleventh day of October. The passage into the harbour was narrow, secured by batteries, forts, and breast-works on each side; by a strong boom, consisting of iron chains, top-masts, and cables, moored at each end of a seventy-gun ship, and fortified within by five ships of the same strength lying athwart the channel with their broadsides to the offing. As the first and second rates of the combined fleets were too large to enter, the admirals shifted their flags into smaller ships; and a division of five-and-twenty English and Dutch ships of the line, with their frigates, fire-ships, and ketches, was destined for the service. In order to facilitate the attack, the duke of Ormond landed with five-and-twenty hundred men, at the distance of six miles from Vigo, and took by assault a fort and platform of forty pieces of cannon at the entrance of the harbour. The British ensign was no sooner seen flying at the top of this fort than the ships advanced to the attack. Vice-admiral Hop-son, in the Torbay, crowding all his sail, ran directly against the boom, which was broken by the first shock; then the whole squadron entered the harbour through a prodigious fire from the enemy's ships and batteries. These last, however, were soon stormed and taken by the grenadiers who had been landed. The great ships lay against the forts at each side of the harbour, which in a little time they silenced, though vice-admiral Hop-son narrowly escaped from a fire-ship by which he was boarded. After a very vigorous engagement, the French, finding themselves unable to cope with such an adversary, resolved to destroy their ships and galloons, that they might not fall into the hands of the victors. They accordingly burned and ran ashore eight ships and as many advice-boats; but ten ships of war were taken, together with eleven galleons. Though they had secured the best part of their plate and merchandize before the English fleet arrived, the value of fourteen millions of pieces of eight, in plate and rich commodities, was destroyed in six galleons that perished; and about half that value was brought off by the conquerors; so that this was a dreadful blow to the enemy, and a noble acquisition to the allies. Immediately after this exploit, sir George Rooke was joined by sir Cloudesley Shovel, who had been sent out with a squadron to intercept the galleons. This officer was left to bring home the prizes and dismantle the fortifications, while Rooke returned in triumph to England.
The glory which the English acquired in this expedition was in some measure tarnished by the conduct of some officers in the West Indies. Thither admiral Benbow had been detached with a squadron of ten sail in the course of the preceding year. At Jamaica he received intelligence that monsieur Du Casse was in the neighbourhood of Hispaniola, and resolved to beat up to that island. At Leogane he fell in with a French ship of fifty guns, which her captain ran ashore and blew up. He took several other vessels, and having alarmed Petit-Guavas, bore away for Donna Maria bay, where he understood that Du Casse had sailed for the coast of Carthagena. Benbow resolved to follow the same course; and on the nineteenth of August discovered the enemy's squadron near Saint Martha, consisting of ten sail, steering along shore. He formed the line, and an engagement ensued, in which he was very ill seconded by some of his captains. Nevertheless, the battle continued till night, and he determined to renew it next morning, when he perceived all his ships at the distance of three or four miles astern, except the Ruby, commanded by captain George Walton, who joined him in plying the enemy with chase guns. On the twenty-first these two ships engaged the French squadron; and the Ruby was so disabled that the admiral was obliged to send her back to Jamaica. Next day the Greenwich, commanded by Wade, was five leagues astern; and the wind changing, the enemy had the advantage of the weather-gage. On the twenty-third the admiral renewed the battle with his single ship unsustained by the rest of the squadron. On the twenty-fourth his leg was shattered by a chain-shot; notwithstanding which accident, he remained on the quarter-deck in a cradle and continued the engagement. One of the largest ships of the enemy lying like a wreck upon the water, four sail of the English squadron poured their broadsides into her, and then ran to leeward without paying any regard to the signal for battle. Then the French bearing down upon the admiral with their whole force, shot away his main-top-sail-yard, and damaged his rigging in such a manner that he was obliged to lie by and refit, while they took their disabled ship in tow. During this interval he called a council of his captains, and expostulated with them on their behaviour. They observed, that the French were very strong, and advised him to desist. He plainly perceived that he was betrayed, and with the utmost reluctance returned to Jamaica, having not only lost a leg, but also received a large wound in his face, and another in his arm, while he in person attempted to board the French admiral. Exasperated at the treachery of his captains, he granted a commission to rear-admiral Whetstone and other officers, to hold a court-martial and try them for cowardice. Hudson, of the Pendennis, died before his trial: Kirby and Wade were convicted, and sentenced to be shot: Constable, of the Windsor, was cashiered and imprisoned: Vincent, of the Falmouth, and Fogg, the admiral's own captain of the Breda, were convicted of having signed a paper that they would not fight under Benbow's command; but as they behaved gallantly in the action, the court inflicted upon them no other punishment than that of a provisional suspension. Captain Walton had likewise joined in the conspiracy while he was heated with the fumes of intoxication, but he afterwards renounced the engagement, and fought with admirable courage until his ship was disabled. The boisterous manner of Benbow had produced this base confederacy. He was a rough seamen; but remarkably brave, honest, and experienced. 112 [See note S, at the end of this Vol.] He took this miscarriage so much to heart, that he became melancholy, and his grief co-operating with the fever occasioned by his wounds, put a period to his life. Wade and Kirby were sent home in the Bristol; and, on their arrival at Plymouth, shot on board of the ship, by virtue of a dead warrant for their immediate execution, which had lain there for some time. The same precaution had been taken in all the western ports, in order to prevent applications in their favour.
ANNE, 1701—1714
During these transactions the queen seemed to be happy in the affection of her subjects. Though the continuance of the parliament was limited to six months after the king's decease, she dissolved it by proclamation before the term was expired; and issued writs for electing another, in which the tory interest predominated. In the summer the queen gave audience to the count de Platens, envoy-extraordinary from the elector of Hanover; then she made a progress with her husband to Oxford, Bath, and Bristol, where she was received with all the marks of the most genuine affection. The new parliament meeting on the twentieth day of October, Mr. Harley was chosen speaker. The queen in her speech, declared that she had summoned them to assist her in carrying on the just and necessary war in which the nation was engaged. She desired the commons would inspect the accounts of the public receipts and payments, that if any abuses had crept into the management of the finances, they might be detected and the offenders punished. She told them that the funds assigned in the last parliament had not produced the sums granted; and that the deficiency was not supplied even by the one hundred thousand pounds which she had paid from her own revenue for the public service. She expressed her concern for the disappointment at Cadiz, as well as for the abuses committed at Port St. Mary's, which had obliged her to give directions for the strictest examination of the particulars. She hoped they would find time to consider of some better and more effectual method to prevent the exportation of wool, and improve that manufacture, which she was determined to encourage. She professed a firm persuasion, that the affection of her subjects was the surest pledge of their duty and obedience. She promised to defend and maintain the church as by law established; and to protect her subjects in the full enjoyment of all their rights and liberties. She protested, that she relied on their care of her: she said her interest and theirs were inseparable; and that her endeavours should never be wanting to make them all safe and happy. She was presented with a very affectionate address from either house, congratulating her upon the glorious success of her arms, and those of her allies, under the command of the earl of Marlborough: but that of the commons was distinguished by an implicated reproach on the late reign, importing, that the wonderful progress of her majesty's arms under the earl of Marlborough had signally "retrieved" the ancient honour and glory of the English nation. This expression had excited a warm debate in the house, in the course of which many severe reflections were made on the memory of king William. At length the question was put, whether the word "retrieved" should remain? and carried in the affirmative by a majority of one hundred.
The strength of the tories appeared in nothing more conspicuous than in their inquiry concerning controverted elections. The borough of Hindon, near Salisbury, was convicted of bribery, and a bill brought in for disfranchising the town; yet no vote passed against the person who exercised this corruption, because he happened to be a tory. Mr. Howe was declared duly elected for Gloucestershire, though the majority of the electors had voted for the other candidate. Sir John Packington exhibited a complaint against the bishop of Worcester and his son, for having endeavoured to prevent his election: the commons having taken it into consideration, resolved, that the proceedings of William lord bishop of Worcester, and his son, had been malicious, unchristian, and arbitrary, in high violation of the liberties and privileges of the commons of England. They voted an address to the queen, desiring her to remove the father from the office of lord-almoner; and they ordered the attorney-general to prosecute the son, after his privilege as member of the convocation should be expired. A counter address was immediately voted and presented by the lords, beseeching her majesty would not remove the bishop of Worcester from the place of lord-almoner, until he should be found guilty of some crime by due course of law; as it was the undoubted right of every lord of parliament, and of every subject of England, to have an opportunity to make his defence before he suffers any sort of punishment. The queen said she had not as yet received any complaint against the bishop of Worcester; but she looked upon it as her undoubted right to continue or displace any servant attending upon her own person, when she should think proper. The peers having received this answer, unanimously resolved, That no lord of their house ought to suffer any sort of punishment by any proceedings of the house of commons, otherwise than according to the known and ancient rules and methods of parliament. When the commons attended the queen with their address against the bishop, she said she was sorry there was occasion for such a remonstrance, and that the bishop of Worcester should no longer continue to supply the place of her almoner. This regard to their address was a flagrant proof of her partiality to the tories, who seemed to justify her attachment by their compliance and liberality.
In deliberating on the supplies, they agreed to all the demands of the ministry. They voted forty thousand seamen, and the like number of land forces, to act in conjunction with those of the allies. For the maintenance of these last, they granted eight hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and twenty-six pounds; besides three hundred and fifty thousand pounds for guards and garrisons; seventy thousand nine hundred and seventy-three pounds for ordnance; and fifty-one thousand eight hundred and forty-three pounds for subsidies to the allies. Lord Shannon arriving with the news of the success at Vigo, the queen appointed a day of thanksgiving for the signal success of her arms under the earl of Marlborough, the duke of Ormond, and sir George Rooke; and on that day, which was the twelfth of November, she went in state to St. Paul's church, attended by both houses of parliament. Next day the peers voted the thanks of their house to the duke of Ormond for his services at Vigo, and, at the same time, drew up an address to the queen, desiring she would order the duke of Ormond and sir George Rooke to lay before them an account of their proceedings: a request with which her majesty complied. These two officers were likewise thanked by the house of commons: vice-admiral Hopson was knighted, and gratified with a considerable pension. The duke of Ormond, at his return from the expedition, complained openly of Rooke's conduct, and seemed determined to subject him to a public accusation; but that officer was such a favourite among the commons, that the court was afraid to disoblige them by an impeachment, and took great pains to mitigate the duke's resentment. This nobleman was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and Rooke was admitted into the privy-council. A motion however being made in the house of lords, that the admiral's instructions and journals relating to the last expedition might be examined, a committee was appointed for that purpose, and prepared an unfavourable report; but it was rejected by a majority of the house; and they voted, That sir George Rooke had done his duty, pursuant to the councils of war, like a brave officer, to the honour of the British nation.
On the twenty-first day of November, the queen sent a message to the house of commons by Mr. Secretary Hedges, recommending further provision for the prince her husband, in case he should survive her. This message being considered, Mr. Howe moved, that the yearly sum of one hundred thousand pounds should be settled on the prince, in case he should survive her majesty. No opposition was made to the proposal; but warm debates were excited by a clause in the bill, exempting the prince from that part of the act of succession by which strangers, though naturalized, were rendered incapable of holding employments. This clause related only to those who should be naturalized in a future reign; and indeed was calculated as a restriction upon the house of Hanover. Many members argued against the clause of exemption, because it seemed to imply, that persons already naturalized would be excluded from employments in the next reign, though already possessed of the right of natural-born subjects, a consequence plainly contradictory to the meaning of the act. Others opposed it, because the lords had already resolved by a vote, that they would never pass any bill sent up from the commons, to which a clause foreign to the bill should be tacked; and this clause they affirmed to be a tack, as an incapacity to hold employments was a circumstance altogether distinct from a settlement in money. The queen expressed uncommon eagerness in behalf of this bill; and the court influence was managed so successfully that it passed through both houses, though not without an obstinate opposition, and a formal protest by seven-and-twenty peers.
The earl of Marlborough arriving in England about the latter end of November, received the thanks of the commons for his great and signal services, which were so acceptable to the queen, that she created him a duke, gratified him with a pension of five thousand pounds upon the revenue of the post office during his natural life; and in a message to the commons, expressed a desire that they would find some method to settle it on the heirs male of his body. This intimation was productive of warm debates, during which sir Christopher Musgrave observed, that he would not derogate from the duke's eminent services; but he affirmed his grace had been very well paid for them by the profitable employments which he and his duchess enjoyed. The duke, understanding that the commons were heated by the subject, begged her majesty would rather forego her gracious message in his behalf, than create any uneasiness on his account, which might embarrass her affairs, and be of ill consequence to the public. Then she sent another message to the house, signifying that the duke of Marlborough had declined her interposition. Notwithstanding this declaration, the commons in a body presented an address, acknowledging the eminent services of the duke of Marlborough, yet expressing their apprehension of making a precedent to alienate the revenue of the crown, which had been so much reduced by the exorbitant grants of the late reign, and so lately settled and secured by her majesty's unparalleled grace and goodness. The queen was satisfied with their apology; but their refusal in all probability helped to alienate the duke from the tories, with whom he had been hitherto connected.
In the beginning of January, the queen gave the house of commons to understand, that the states-general had pressed her to augment her forces, as the only means to render ineffectual the great and early preparations of the enemy. The commons immediately resolved, that ten thousand men should be hired, as an augmentation of the forces to act in conjunction with the allies; but on condition that an immediate stop should be put to all commerce and correspondence with France and Spain on the part of the states-general. The lords presented an address to the queen on the same subject, and to the same effect; and she owned that the condition was absolutely necessary for the good of the whole alliance. The Dutch, even after the declaration of war, had carried on a traffic with the French; and at this very juncture Louis found it impossible to make remittances of money to the elector of Bwaria in Germany, and to his forces in Italy, except through the channel of English, Dutch, and Geneva merchants. The states-general, though shocked at the imperious manner in which the parliament of England prescribed their conduct, complied with the demand without hesitation, and published a prohibition of all commerce with the subjects of France and Spain.
The commons of this parliament had nothing more at heart than a bill against occasional conformity. The tories affected to distinguish themselves as the only true friends to the church and monarchy; and they hated the dissenters with a mixture of spiritual and political disgust. They looked upon these last as an intruding sect, which constituted great part of the whig faction that extorted such immense sums of money from the nation in the late reign, and involved it in pernicious engagements, from whence it had no prospect of deliverance. They considered them as encroaching schismatics that disgraced and endangered the hierarchy; and those of their own communion, who recommended moderation, they branded with the epithets of lukewarm christians, betrayers, and apostates. They now resolved to approve themselves zealous sons of the church, by seizing the first opportunity that was in their power to distress the dissenters. In order to pave the way to this persecution, sermons were preached, and pamphlets were printed, to blacken the character of the sect, and inflame the popular resentment against them. On the fourth day of November, Mr. Bromley, Mr. St. John, and Mr. Annesley, were ordered by the house of commons to bring in a bill for preventing occasional conformity. In the preamble, all persecution for conscience sake was condemned: nevertheless it enacted, that all those who had taken the sacrament and test for offices of trust, or the magistracy of corporations, and afterwards frequented any meeting of dissenters, should be disabled from holding their employments, pay a fine of one hundred pounds, and five pounds for every day in which they continued to act in their employment after having been at any such meeting: they were also rendered incapable of holding any other employment, till after one whole year's conformity; and, upon a relapse, the penalties and time of incapacity were doubled. The promoters of the bill alleged, that an established religion and national church were absolutely necessary, when so many impious men pretended to inspiration, and deluded such numbers of people: that the most effectual way to preserve this national church, would be the maintenance of the civil power in the hands of those who expressed their regard to the church in their principles and practice: that the parliament, by the corporation and test acts, thought they had raised a sufficient barrier to the hierarchy, never imagining that a set of men would rise up, whose consciences would be too tender to obey the laws, but hardened enough to break them: that, as the last reign began with an act in favour of dissenters, so the commons were desirous that in the beginning of her majesty's auspicious government an act should pass in favour of the church of England: that this bill did not intrench on the act of toleration, or deprive the dissenters of any privileges they enjoyed by law, or add any thing to the legal rights of the church of England: that occasional conformity was an evasion of the law, by which the dissenters might insinuate themselves into the management of all corporations: that a separation from the church, to which a man's conscience will allow him occasionally to conform, is a mere schism, which in itself was sinful, without the superaddition of a temporal law to make it an offence: that the toleration was intended only for the ease offender consciences, and not to give a license for occasional conformity: that conforming and non-conforming were contradictions; for nothing but a firm persuasion that the terms of communion required are sinful and unlawful, could justify the one; and this plainly condemns the other. The members who opposed the bill argued, that the dissenters were generally well affected to the present constitution: that to bring any real hardship upon them, or give rise to jealousies and fears at stich a juncture, might be attended with dangerous consequences; that the toleration had greatly contributed to the security and reputation of the church, and plainly proved that liberty of conscience and gentle measures were the most effectual means for increasing the votaries of the church, and diminishing the number of dissenters: that the dissenters could not be termed schismatics without bringing a heavy charge upon the church of England, which had not only tolerated such schism, but even allowed communion with the reformed churches abroad: that the penalties of this bill were more severe than those which the laws imposed on papists, for assisting at the most solemn act of their religion: in a word, that toleration and tenderness had been always productive of peace and union, whereas persecution had never failed to excite disorder and extend superstition. Many alterations and mitigations were proposed, without effect. In the course of the debate, the dissenters were mentioned and reviled with great acrimony; and the bill passed the lower house by virtue of a considerable majority.
The lords, apprehensive that the commons would tack it to some money-bill, voted, that the annexing any clause to a money-bill was contrary to the constitution of the English government, and the usage of parliament. The bill met with a very warm opposition in the upper house, where a considerable portion of the whig interest still remained. These members believed that the intention of the bill was to model corporations, so as to eject all those who would not vote in elections for the tories. Some imagined this was a preparatory step towards a repeal of the toleration; and others concluded that the promoters of the bill designed to raise such disturbances at home as would discourage the allies abroad, and render the prosecution of the war impracticable. The majority of the bishops, and among these Burnet of Sarum, objected against it on the principles of moderation, and from motives of conscience. Nevertheless, as the court supported this measure with its whole power and influence, the bill made its way through the house, though not without alterations and amendments, which were rejected by the commons. The lower house pretended, that the lords had no right to alter any fines and penalties that the commons should fix in bills sent up for their concurrence, on the supposition that those were matters concerning money, the peculiar province of the lower house; the lords ordered a minute inquiry to be made into all the rolls of parliament since the reign of Henry the Seventh; and a great number of instances were found, in which the lords had begun the clauses imposing fines and penalties, altered the penalties which had been fixed by the commons, and even changed the uses to which they were applied. The precedents were entered in the books; but the commons resolved to maintain their point without engaging in any dispute upon the subject. After warm debates, and a free conference between the two houses, the lords adhered to their amendments, though this resolution was carried by a majority of one vote only; the commons persisted in rejecting them; the bill miscarried, and both houses published their proceedings, by way of appeal to the nation. 114 [See note T, at the end of this Vol.] A bill was now brought into the lower house, granting another year's consideration to those who had not taken the oath abjuring the pretended prince of Wales. The lords added three clauses, importing, that those persons who should take the oath within the limited time might return to their benefices and employments, unless they should be already legally filled; that any person endeavouring to defeat the succession to the crown, as now limited by law, should be deemed guilty of high treason; and that the oath of abjuration should be imposed upon the subjects in Ireland. The commons made some opposition to the first clause; but at length the question being put, Whether they should agree to the amendments, it was carried in the affirmative by one voice.
No object engrossed more time, or produced more violent debates, than did the inquiry into the public accounts. The commissioners appointed for this purpose pretended to have made great discoveries. They charged the earl of Ranelagh, paymaster-general of the army, with flagrant mismanagement. He acquitted himself in such a manner as screened him from all severity of punishment; nevertheless, they expelled him from the house for a high crime and misdemeanor, in misapplying several sums of the public money; and he thought proper to resign his employment. A long address was prepared and presented to the queen, attributing the national debt to mismanagement of the funds; complaining that the old methods of the exchequer had been neglected; and that iniquitous frauds had been committed by the commissioners of the prizes. Previous to this remonstrance, the house, in consequence of the report of the committee, had passed several severe resolutions, particularly against Charles lord Halifax, auditor of the receipt of the exchequer, as having neglected his duty, and been guilty of a breach of trust. For these reasons they actually besought the queen, in an address, that she would give directions to the attorney-general to prosecute him for the said offences; and she promised to comply with their request. On the other hand, the lords appointed a committee to examine all the observations which the commissioners of accounts had offered to both houses. They ascribed the national debt to deficiencies in the funds: they acquitted lord Halifax, the lords of the treasury, and their officers, whom the commons had accused; and represented these circumstances in an address to the queen, which was afterwards printed with the vouchers to every particular. This difference blew up a fierce flame of discord between the two houses, which manifested their mutual animosity in speeches, votes, resolutions, and conferences. The commons affirmed, that no cognizance the lords could take of the public accounts would enable them to supply any deficiency, or appropriate any surplusage of the public money; that they could neither acquit nor condemn any person whatsoever, upon any inquiry arising originally in their own house; and that their attempt to acquit Charles lord Halifax was unparliamentary. The lords insisted upon their right to take cognizance originally of all public accounts; they affirmed, that in their resolutions, with respect to lord Halifax, they had proceeded according to the rules of justice. They owned however that their resolutions did not amount to any judgment or acquittal; but that finding a vote of the commons reflected upon a member of their house, they thought fit to give their opinion in their legislative capacity. The queen interposed by a message to the lords, desiring they would despatch the business in which they were engaged. The dispute continued even after this intimation; one conference was held after another, at length both sides despaired of an accommodation. The lords ordered their proceedings to be printed, and the commons followed their example. On the twenty-seventh day of February, the queen, having passed all the bills that were ready for the royal assent, ordered the lord-keeper to prorogue the parliament, after having pronounced a speech in the usual style. She thanked them for their zeal, affection, and despatch; declared, she would encourage and maintain the church as by law established; desired they would consider some further laws for restraining the great license assumed for publishing scandalous pamphlets and libels; and assured them, that all her share of the prizes which might be taken in the war, should be applied to the public service. By this time the earl of Eochester was entirely removed from the queen's councils. Finding himself outweighed by the interest of the duke of Marlborough and lord Godolphin, he had become sullen and intractable; and, rather than repair to his government of Ireland, chose to resign the office, which, as we have already observed, was conferred upon the duke of Ormond, an accomplished nobleman, who had acquired great popularity by the success of the expedition to Vigo. The parties in the house of lords were so nearly matched, that the queen, in order to ascertain an undoubted majority in the next session, created four new peers, 115 [See note-J, at the end of this Vol.] who had signalized themselves by the violence of their speeches in the house of commons.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The two houses of convocation, which were summoned with the parliament, bore a strong affinity with this assembly, by the different interests that prevailed in the upper and lower. The last, in imitation of the commons, was desirous of branding the preceding reign; and it was with great difficulty that they concurred with the prelates in an address of congratulation to her majesty. Then their former contest was revived. The lower house desired, in an application to the archbishop of Canterbury and his suffragans, that the matters in dispute concerning the manner of synodical proceedings, and the right of the lower house to hold intermediate assemblies, might be taken into consideration and speedily determined. The bishops proposed, that in the intervals of sessions, the lower house might appoint committees to prepare matters; and when business should be brought regularly before them, the archbishop would regulate the prorogations in such a manner, that they should have sufficient time to sit and deliberate on the subject. This offer did not satisfy the lower house, which was emboldened to persist in its demand by a vote of the commons. These, in consequence of an address of thanks from the clergy, touching Mr. Lloyd, son to the bishop of Worcester, whom they ordered to be prosecuted after his privilege as member of the convocation should be expired, had resolved, that they would on all occasions assert the just rights and privileges of the lower house of convocation. The prelates refused to depart from the archbishop's right of proroguing the whole convocation with consent of his suffragans. The lower house proposed to refer the controversy to the queen's decision. The bishops declined this expedient, as inconsistent with the episcopal authority, and the presidency of the archbishop. The lower house having incurred the imputation of favouring presbytery, by this opposition to the bishops, entered in their books a declaration, acknowledging the order of bishops as superior to presbyters, and to be a divine apostolical institution. Then they desired the bishops in an address to concur in settling the doctrine of the divine apostolical right of episcopacy, that it might be a standing rule of the church. They likewise presented a petition to the queen, complaining, that in the convocation called in the year 1700, after an interruption of ten years, several questions having arisen concerning the rights and liberties of the lower house, the bishops had refused a verbal conference; and afterwards declined a proposal to submit the dispute to her majesty's determination; they therefore fled for protection to her majesty, begging she would call the question into her own royal audience. The queen promised to consider their petition, which was supported by the earl of Nottingham; and ordered their council to examine the affair, how it consisted with law and custom. Whether their report was unfavourable to the lower house, or the queen was unwilling to encourage the division, no other answer was made to their address. The archbishop replied to their request presented to the upper house, concerning the divine right of presbytery, that the preface to the form of ordination contained a declaration of three orders of ministers from the times of the apostles; namely, bishops, priests, and deacons, to which they had subscribed; but he and his brethren conceived, that without a royal license, they had not authority to attempt, enact, promulge, or execute any canon, which should concern either doctrine or discipline. The lower house answered this declaration in very petulant terms; and the dispute subsisted when the parliament was prorogued. But these contests produced divisions through the whole body of the clergy, who ranged themselves in different factions, distinguished by the names of high-church and low-church. The first consisted of ecclesiastical tories; the other included those who professed revolution principles, and recommended moderation towards the dissenters. The high-church party reproached the other as time-servers, and presbyterians in disguise; and were in their turn stigmatized as the friends and abettors of tyranny and persecution. At present, however, the tories both in church and state triumphed in the favour of their sovereign. The right of parliaments, the memory of the late king, and even the act limiting the succession of the house of Hanover, became the subjects of ridicule. The queen was flattered as possessor of the prerogatives of the ancient monarchy; the history written by her grandfather, the earl of Clarendon, was now for the first time published, to inculcate the principles of obedience, and inspire the people with an abhorrence of opposition to an anointed sovereign. Her majesty's hereditary right was deduced from Edward the Confessor, and as heir of his pretended sanctity and virtue, she was persuaded to touch persons afflicted with the king's evil, according to the office inserted in the Liturgy for this occasion.
The change of the ministry in Scotland seemed favourable to the episcopalians and anti-revolutioners of that kingdom. The earls of Marchmont, Melvil, Selkirk, Leven, and Hyndford, were laid aside; the earl of Seafield was appointed chancellor; the duke of Queensberry and the lord viscount Tarbat, were declared secretaries of state; the marquis of Annandale was made president of the council, and the earl of Tullibardin, lord privy-seal. A new parliament having been summoned, the earl of Seafield employed his influence so successfully, that a great number of anti-revolutioners were returned as members. The duke of Hamilton had obtained from the queen a letter to the privy-council in Scotland, in which she expressed her desire that the presbyterian clergy should live in brotherly love and communion with such dissenting ministers of the reformed religion as were in possession of benefices, and lived with decency, and submission to the law. The episcopal clergy, encouraged by these expressions in their favour, drew up an address to the queen, imploring her protection; and humbly beseeching her to allow those parishes in which there was a majority of episcopal freeholders, to bestow the benefice on ministers of their principles. This petition was presented by Dr. Skeen and Dr. Scot, who were introduced by the duke of Queensberry to her majesty. She assured them of her protection and endeavours to supply their necessities; and exhorted them to live in peace and christian love with the clergy, who were by law invested with the church-government in her ancient kingdom of Scotland. A proclamation of indemnity having been published in March, a great number of Jacobites returned from France and other countries, pretended to have changed their sentiments, and took the oaths, that they might be qualified to sit in parliament. They formed an accession to the strength of the anti-revolutioners and episcopalians, who now hoped to out-number the presbyterians, and outweigh their interest. But this confederacy was composed of dissonant parts, from which no harmony could be expected. The presbyterians and revolutioners were headed by the duke of Argyle. The country party of malcontents, which took its rise from the disappointments of the Darien settlement, acted under the auspices of the duke of Hamilton and marquis of Tweedale; and the earl of Hume appeared as chief of the anti-revolutioners. The different parties who now united, pursued the most opposite ends. The majority of the country party were friends to the revolution, and sought only redress of the grievances which the nation had sustained in the late reign. The anti-revolutioners considered the accession and government of king William as an extraordinary event, which they were willing to forget, believing that all parties were safe under the shelter of her majesty's general indemnity. The Jacobites submitted to the queen, as tutrix or regent for the prince of Wales, whom they firmly believed she intended to establish on the throne. The whigs under Argyle, alarmed at the coalition of all their enemies, resolved to procure a parliamentary sanction for the revolution.
The parliament being opened on the sixth day of May at Edinburgh, by the duke of Queensberry as commissioner, the queen's letter was read, in which she demanded a supply for the maintenance of the forces, advised them to encourage trade, and exhorted them to proceed with wisdom, prudence, and unanimity. The duke of Hamilton immediately offered the draft of a bill for recognising her majesty's undoubted right and title to the imperial crown of Scotland, according to the declaration of the estates of the kingdom, containing the claim of right. It was immediately received; and at the second reading, the queen's advocate offered an additional clause, denouncing the penalties of treason against any person who should question her majesty's right and title to the crown, or her exercise of the government, from her actual entry to the same. This, after a long and warm debate, was carried by the concurrence of the anti-revolutioners. Then the earl of Hume produced the draft of a bill for the supply; immediately after it was read, the marquis of Tweedale made an overture, that, before all other business, the parliament would proceed to make such conditions of government, and regulations in the constitution of the kingdom, to take place after the decease of her majesty and the heirs of her body, as should be necessary for the preservation of their religion and liberty. This overture and the bill were ordered to lie upon the table; and in the meantime the commissioner found himself involved in great perplexity. The duke of Argyle, the marquis of Annandale, and the earl of Marchmont, gave him to understand in private, that they were resolved to move for an act ratifying the revolution; and for another confirming the presbyterian government; that they would insist upon their being discussed before the bill of supply, and that they were certain of carrying the points at which they aimed. The commissioner now found himself reduced to a very disagreeable alternative. There was a necessity for relinquishing all hope of a supply, or abandoning the anti-revolutioners, to whom he was connected by promises of concurrence. The whigs were determined to oppose all schemes of supply that should come from the cavaliers; and these last resolved to exert their whole power in preventing the confirmation of the revolution and the presbyterian discipline. He foresaw that on this occasion the whigs would be joined by the duke of Hamilton and his party, so as to preponderate against the cavaliers. He endeavoured to cajole both parties; but found the task impracticable. He desired in parliament, that the act for the supply might be read, promising that they should have full time afterwards to deliberate on other subjects. The marquis of Tweedale insisted upon his overture; and after warm debates, the house resolved to proceed with such acts as might be necessary for securing the religion, liberty, and trade of the nation, before any bill for supply or other business should be discussed. The marquis of Athol offered an act for the security of the kingdom, in case of her majesty's decease; but before it was read, the duke of Argyle presented his draft of a bill for ratifying the revolution, and all the acts following thereupon, An act for limiting the succession after the death of her majesty, and the heirs of her body, was produced by Mr. Fletcher of Saltoun. The earl of Rothes recommended another, importing, that after her majesty's death, and failing heirs of her body, no person coming to the crown of Scotland, being at the same time king or queen of England, should as king or queen of Scotland, have power to make peace or war without the con* sent of parliament. The earl of Marchmont recited the draft of an act for securing the true protestant religion and presbyterian government; one was also suggested by sir Patrick Johnston, allowing the importation of wines, and other foreign liquors. All these bills were ordered to lie upon the table. Then the earl of Strath-more produced an act for toleration to all protestants in the exercise of religious worship. But against this the general assembly presented a most violent remonstrance; and the promoters of the bill, foreseeing that it would meet with great opposition, allowed it to drop for the present. On the third day of June, the parliament passed the act for preserving the true reformed protestant religion, and confirming presbyterian church government, as agreeable to the word of God, and the only government of Christ's church within the kingdom. The same party enjoyed a further triumph in the success of Argyle's act, for ratifying and perpetuating the first act of king William's parliament; for declaring it high treason to disown the authority of that parliament, or to alter or renovate the claim of right or any article thereof. This last clause was strenuously opposed; but at last the bill passed with the concurrence of all the ministry, except the marquis of Athol and the viscount Tarbat, who began at this period to correspond with the opposite party.
The cavaliers thinking themselves betrayed by the duke of Queensberry, who had assented to these acts, first expostulated with him on his breach of promise, and then renounced his interest, resolving to separate themselves from the court, and jointly pursue such measures as might be for the interest of their party. But of all the bills that were produced in the course of this remarkable session, that which produced the most violent altercation was the act of security, calculated to abridge the prerogative of the crown, limit the successor, and throw a vast additional power into the hands of the parliament. It was considered paragraph by paragraph; many additions and alterations were proposed, and some adopted; inflammatory speeches were uttered; bitter sarcasms retorted from party to party; and different votes passed on different clauses. At length, in spite of the most obstinate opposition from the ministry and the cavaliers, it was passed by a majority of fifty-nine voices. The commissioner was importuned to give it the royal assent; but declined answering their entreaties till the tenth day of September. Then he made a speech in parliament, giving them to understand that he had received the queen's pleasure, and was empowered to give the royal assent to all the acts voted in this session, except the act for the security of the kingdom. A motion was made to solicit the royal assent in an address to her majesty; but the question being put, it was carried in the negative by a small majority. On the sixth day of the same month, the earl of Marchmont had produced a bill to settle the succession on the house of Hanover. At first the import of it was not known; but when the clerk in reading it mentioned the princess Sophia, the whole house was kindled into a flame. Some proposed that the overture should be burned; others moved that the earl might be sent prisoner to the castle; and a general dissatisfaction appeared in the whole assembly. Not that the majority in parliament were averse to the succession in the house of Hanover; but they resolved to avoid a nomination without stipulating conditions; and they had already provided, in the act of security, that it should be high treason to own any person as king or queen after her majesty's decease, until he or she should take the coronation oath, and accept the terms of the claim of right, and such conditions as should be settled in this or any ensuing parliament.
Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a man of undaunted courage and inflexible integrity, who professed republican principles, and seemed designed by nature as a member of some Grecian commonwealth, after having observed that the nation would be enslaved should it submit, either willingly or by commission, to the successor of England, without such conditions of government as should secure them against the influence of an English ministry, offered the draft of an act, importing, that after the decease of her majesty, without heirs of her body, no person being successor to the English throne should succeed to the crown of Scotland but under the following limitations, which, together with the coronation oath and claim of right, they should swear to observe: namely, that all offices and places, civil and military, as well as pensions, should for the future be conferred by a parliament to be chosen at every Michaelmas head-court, to sit on the first day of November, and adjourn themselves from time to time till the ensuing Michaelmas; that they should choose their own president; that a committee of six-and-thirty members, chosen out of the whole parliament, without distinction of estates, should, during the intervals of parliament, be vested, under the king, with the administration of the government, act as his council, be accountable to parliament, and call it together on extraordinary occasions. He proposed that the successor should be nominated by the majority; declaring for himself that he would rather concur in nominating the most rigid papist with those conditions, than the truest protestant without them. The motion was seconded by many members; and though postponed for the present, in favour of an act of trade under the consideration of the house, it was afterwards resumed with great warmth. In vain the lord-treasurer represented that no funds were as yet provided for the army, and moved for a reading of the act presented for that purpose; a certain member observed, that this was a very unseasonable juncture to propose a supply, when the house had so much to do for the security of the nation; he said they had very little encouragement to grant supplies when they found themselves frustrated of all their labour and expense for these several months; and when the whole kingdom saw that supplies served for no other use but to gratify the warice of some insatiable ministers. Mr. Fletcher expatiated upon the good consequences that would arise from the act which he had proposed. The chancellor answered, that such an act was laying a scheme for a commonwealth, and tending to innovate the constitution of a monarchy. The ministry proposed a state of a vote, whether they should first give a reading to Fletcher's act or to the act of subsidy. The country party moved that the question might be, "Overtures for subsidies, or overtures for liberty." Fletcher withdrew his act, rather than people should pervert the meaning of laudable designs. The house resounded with the cry of "Liberty or Subsidy." Bitter invectives were uttered against the ministry. One member said it was now plain the nation was to expect no other return for their expense and toil than that of being loaded with a subsidy, and being obliged to bend their necks under the yoke of slavery, which was prepared for them from that throne; another observed, that as their liberties were suppressed, so the privileges of parliament were like to be torn from them; but that he would venture his life in defence of his birthright, and rather die a free man than live a slave. When the vote was demanded, and declined by the commissioner, the earl of Roxburgh declared, that if there was no other way of obtaining so natural and undeniable a privilege of parliament, they would demand it with their swords in their hands. The commissioner, foreseeing this spirit of freedom and contradiction, ordered the foot-guard to be in readiness, and placed a strong guard upon the eastern gate of the city. Notwithstanding these precautions, he ran the risk of being torn to pieces; and, in this apprehension, ordered the chancellor to inform the house that the parliament should proceed upon overtures for liberty at their next sitting. This promise allayed the ferment which had begun to rise. Next day the members prepared an overture, implying, that the elective members should be chosen for every seat at the Michaelmas head courts; that a parliament should be held once in two years at least; that the short adjournments de die in diem should be made by the parliaments themselves as in England; and that no officer in the army, customs, or excise, nor any gratuitous pensioner, should sit as an elective member. The commissioner being apprised of their proceedings, called for such acts as he was empowered to pass, and having given the royal assent to them, prorogued the parliament to the twelfth day of October. 117 [See note X, at the end of this Vol.] Such was the issue of this remarkable session of the Scottish parliament, in which the duke of Queensberry was abandoned by the greatest part of the ministry; and such a spirit of ferocity and opposition prevailed, as threatened the whole kingdom with civil war and confusion. The queen conferred titles upon those who appeared to have influence in the nation 118 [See note Y, at the end of this Vol.] and attachment to her government, and revived the order of the thistle, which the late king had dropped.
Ireland was filled with discontent by the behaviour and conduct of the trustees for the forfeited estates. The earl of Rochester had contributed to foment the troubles of the kingdom by encouraging the factions which had been imported from England. The duke of Ormond was received with open arms as heir to the virtues of his ancestors, who had been the bulwarks of the protestant interest in Ireland. He opened the parliament on the twenty-first day of September, with a speech to both houses, in which he told them that his inclination, his interest, and the examples of progenitors, were indispensable obligations upon him to improve every opportunity to the advantage and prosperity of his native country. The commons having chosen Allen Broderick to be their speaker, proceeded to draw up very affectionate addresses to the queen and the lord lieutenant. In that to the queen they complained that their enemies had misrepresented them, as desirous of being independent of the crown of England; they, therefore, to vindicate themselves from such false aspersions, declared and acknowledged that the kingdom of Ireland was annexed and united to the imperial crown of England. In order to express their hatred of the trustees, they resolved, that all the protestant freeholders of that kingdom had been falsely and maliciously misrepresented, traduced, and abused, in a book entitled, "The Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Irish Forfeitures;" and it appearing that Francis Annesley, member of the house, John Trenchard, Henry Langford, and James Hamilton, were authors of that book, they further resolved, that these persons had scandalously and maliciously misrepresented and traduced the protestant freeholders of that kingdom, and endeavoured to create a misunderstanding and jealousy between the people of England and the protestants of Ireland. Annesley was expelled the house, Hamilton was dead, and Trenchard had returned to England. They had finished the inquiry before the meeting of this parliament; and sold at an undervalue the best of the forfeited estates to the sword-blade company of England. This, in a petition to the Irish parliament, prayed that heads of a bill be brought in for enabling them to take conveyance of lands in Ireland; but the parliament was very little disposed to confirm the bargains of the trustees, and the petition lay neglected on the table. The house expelled John Asgil, who, as agent to the sword-blade company, had offered to lend money to the public in Ireland, on condition that the parliament would pass an act to confirm the company's purchase of the forfeited estates. His constituents disowned his proposal; and when he was summoned to appear before the house, and answer for his prevarication, he pleaded his privilege as member of the English parliament. The commons, in a representation of the state and grievances of the nation, gave her majesty to understand that the constitution of Ireland had been of late greatly shaken; and their lives, liberties, and estates, called in question, and tried in a manner unknown to their ancestors; that the expense to which they had been unnecessarily exposed by the late trustees for the forfeited estates, in defending their just rights and titles, had exceeded in value the current cash of the kingdom; that their trade was decayed, their money exhausted; and that they were hindered from maintaining their own manufactures; that many protestant families had been constrained to quit the kingdom in order to earn a livelihood in foreign countries; that the want of frequent parliaments in Ireland had encouraged evil-minded men to oppress the subject; that many civil officers had acquired great fortunes in that impoverished country, by the exercise of corruption and oppression; that others, in considerable employments, resided in another kingdom, neglecting personal attendance on their duty, while their offices were ill executed, to the detriment of the public, and the failure of justice. They declared, that it was from her majesty's gracious interposition alone they proposed to themselves relief from those their manifold grievances and misfortunes. The commons afterwards voted the necessary supplies, and granted one hundred and fifty thousand pounds to make good the deficiencies of the necessary branches of the establishment.
They appointed a committee to inspect the public accounts, by which they discovered that above one hundred thousand pounds had been falsely charged as a debt upon the nation. The committee was thanked by the house for having saved this sum, and ordered to examine what persons were concerned in such a misrepresentation, which was generally imputed to those who acted under the duke of Ormond. He himself was a nobleman of honour and generosity, addicted to pleasure, and fond of popular applause; but he was surrounded by people of more sordid principles, who had ingratiated themselves into his confidence by the arts of adulation. The commons voted a provision for the half-pay officers; and abolished pensions to the amount of seventeen thousand pounds a-year, as unnecessary branches of the establishment. They passed an act settling the succession of the crown after the pattern set them by England; but the most important transaction of this session was a severe bill to prevent the growth of popery. It bore a strong affinity to that which had passed three years before in England; but contained more effectual clauses. Among others it enacted, that all estates of papists should be equally divided among the children, notwithstanding any settlement to the contrary, unless the person to whom they might be settled should qualify themselves by taking the oaths, and communicating with the church of England. The bill was not at all agreeable to the ministry in England, who expected large presents from the papists, by whom a considerable sum had been actually raised for this purpose. But as they did not think proper to reject such a bill while the English parliament was sitting, they added a clause which they hoped the parliament of Ireland would refuse: namely, that no persons in that kingdom should be capable of any employment, or of being in the magistracy of any city, who did not qualify themselves by receiving the sacrament according to the test act passed in England. Though this was certainly a great hardship on the dissenters, the parliament of Ireland sacrificed this consideration to their common security against the Roman catholics, and accepted the amendment without hesitation. This affair being discussed, the commons of Ireland passed a vote against a book entitled, "Memoirs of the late king James II." as a seditious libel. They ordered it to be burned by the hands of the common hangman; and the bookseller and printer to be prosecuted. When this motion was made, a member informed the house that in the county of Limerick the Irish papists had begun to form themselves into bodies, to plunder the protestants of their arms and money; and to maintain a correspondence with the disaffected in England. The house immediately resolved, that the papists of the kingdom still retained hopes of the accession of the person known by the name of the Prince of Wales in the life-time of the late king James, and now by the name of James III. In the midst of this zeal against popery and the pretender, they were suddenly adjourned by the command of the lord-lieutenant, and broke up in great animosity against that nobleman. 119 [See note Z, at the end of this Vol.]
The attention of the English ministry had been for some time chiefly engrossed by the affairs of the continent. The emperor agreed with the allies that his son, the archduke Charles should assume the title of king of Spain, demand the infanta of Portugal in marriage, and undertake something of importance, with the assistance of the maritime powers. Mr. Methuen, the English minister at Lisbon, had already made some progress in a treaty with his Portuguese majesty; and the court of Vienna promised to send such an army into the field as would in a little time drive the elector of Bavaria from his dominions. But they were so dilatory in their preparations, that the French king broke all their measures by sending powerful reinforcements to the elector, in whose ability and attachment Louis reposed great confidence. Mareschal Villars, who commanded an army of thirty thousand men at Strasburgh, passed the Rhine and reduced fort Kehl, the garrison of which was conducted to Philipsburgh. The emperor, alarmed at this event, ordered count Schlick to enter Bwaria on the side of Saltsburgh, with a considerable body of forces; and sent another, under count Stirum, to invade the same electorate by the way of Newmark, which was surrendered to him after he had routed a party of Bavarians; the city of Amberg met with the same fate. Meanwhile count Schlick defeated a body of militia that defended the lines of Saltsburgh, and made himself master of Biedt, and several other places. The elector assembling his forces near Brenau, diffused a report that he intended to besiege Passau, to cover which place Schlick advanced with the greatest part of his infantry, leaving behind his cavalry and cannon. The elector having by this feint divided the Imperialists, passed the bridge of Scardingen with twelve thousand men, and, after an obstinate engagement, compelled the Imperialists to abandon the field of battle; then he marched against the Saxon troops which guarded the artillery, and attacked them with such impetuosity that they were entirely defeated. In a few days after these actions, he took Newburgh on the Inn by capitulation. He obtained another advantage over an advanced post of the Imperialists near Burgenfeldt, commanded by the young prince of Brandenburgh Anspach, who was mortally wounded in the engagement. He advanced to Batisbon, where the diet of the empire was assembled, and demanded that he should be immediately put in possession of the bridge and gate of the city. The burghers immediately took to their arms, and planted cannon on the ramparts; but when they saw a battery erected against them, and the elector determined to bombard the place, they thought proper to capitulate, and comply with his demands. He took possession of the town on the eighth day of April, and signed an instrument obliging himself to withdraw his troops as soon as the emperor should ratify the diet's resolution for the neutrality of Ratisbon. Mareschal Villars having received orders to join the elector at all events, and being reinforced by a body of troops under count Tallard, resolved to break through the lines which the prince of Baden had made at Stolhoffen. This general had been luckily joined by eight Dutch battalions, and received the French army, though double his number, with such obstinate resolution, that Villars was obliged to retreat with great loss, and directed his route towards Offingen. Nevertheless he penetrated through the Black Forest, and effected a junction with the elector. Count Stirum endeavoured to join prince Louis of Baden; but being attacked near Schwemmingen, retired under the cannon of Nortlingen.
The confederates were more successful on the Lower Rhine and in the Netherlands. The duke of Marlborough crossed the sea in the beginning of April, and assembling the allied army, resolved that the campaign should be begun with the siege of Bonne, which was accordingly invested on the twenty-fourth day of April. Three different attacks were carried on against this place: one by the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel; another by the celebrated Coehorn; and a third by lieutenant-general Fagel. The garrison defended themselves vigorously till the fourteenth day of May, when the fort having been taken by assault, and the breaches rendered practicable, the marquis d'Alegre, the governor, ordered a parley to be beat; hostages were immediately exchanged; on the sixteenth the capitulation was signed; and in three days the garrison evacuated the place in order to be conducted to Luxembourg. During the siege of Bonne, the mareschals Boufflers and Villeroy advanced with an army of forty thousand men towards Tongeren, and the confederate army, commanded by M. d'Auverquerque, was obliged at their approach to retreat under the cannon of Maestricht. The enemy having taken possession of Tongeren, made a motion against the confederate army, which they found already drawn up in order of battle, and so advantageously posted, that, notwithstanding their great superiority in point of number, they would not hazard an attack, but retired to the ground from whence they had advanced. Immediately after the reduction of Bonne, the duke of Marlborough, who had been present at the siege, returned to the confederate army in the Netherlands, now amounting to one hundred and thirty squadrons, and fifty-nine battalions. On the twenty-fifth day of May, the duke having passed the river Jecker in order to give battle to the enemy, they marched with precipitation to Boekwren, and abandoned Tongeren, after having blown up the walls of the place with gunpowder. The duke continued to follow them to Thys, where he encamped, while they retreated to Hannye, retiring as he advanced. Then he resolved to force their lines: this service was effectually performed by Coehorn, at the point of Callo, and by baron Spaar, in the county of Waes, near Stoken. The duke had formed the design of reducing Antwerp, which was garrisoned by Spanish troops under the command of the marquis de Bedmar. He intended with the grand army to attack the enemy's lines on the side of Louvaine and Mechlin: he detached Coehorn with his flying camp on the right of the Scheldt towards Dutch Flanders, to amuse the marquis de Bed-mar on that side; and he ordered the baron Opdam, with twelve thousand men, to take post between Eckeren and Capelle, near Antwerp, that he might act against that part of the lines which was guarded by the Spanish forces.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The French generals, in order to frustrate the scheme of Marlborough, resolved to cut off the retreat of Opdam. Boufflers, with a detachment of twenty thousand men from Villeroy's army, surprised him at Eckeren, where the Dutch were put in disorder; and Opdam, believing all was lost, fled to Breda. Nevertheless, the troops rallying under general Schlangenburg, maintained their ground with the most obstinate valour till night, when the enemy was obliged to retire, and left the communication free with fort Lillo, to which place the confederates marched without further molestation, having lost about fifteen hundred men in the engagement. The damage sustained by the French was more considerable. They were frustrated in their design, and had actually abandoned the field of battle; yet Louis ordered Te Deum to be sung for the victory; nevertheless Boufflers was censured for his conduct on this occasion, and in a little time totally disgraced. Opdam presented a justification of his conduct to the states-general; but by this oversight he forfeited the fruits of a long service, during which he had exhibited repeated proofs of courage, zeal, and capacity. The states honoured Schlangenburg with a letter of thanks for the valour and skill he had manifested in this engagement; but in a little time they dismissed him from his employment on account of his having given umbrage to the duke of Marlborough, by censuring his grace for exposing such a small number of men to this disaster. After this action, Villeroy, who lay encamped near Saint Job, declared he waited for the duke of Marlborough, who forthwith advanced to Hoogstraat, with a view to give him battle; but at his approach the French general, setting fire to his camp, retired within his lines with great precipitation. Then the duke invested Huy, the garrison of which, after a vigorous defence, surrendered themselves prisoners of war on the twenty-seventh day of August. At a council of war held in the camp of the confederates, the duke proposed to attack the enemies' lines between the Mehaigne and Leuwe, and was seconded by the Danish, Hanoverian, and Hessian generals; but the scheme was opposed by the Dutch officers, and the deputies of the states, who alleged that the success was dubious, and the consequences of forcing the lines would be inconsiderable; they therefore recommended the siege of Limburgh, by the reduction of which they would acquire a whole province, and cover their own country, as well as Juliers and Gueldres, from the designs of the enemy. The siege of Limburgh was accordingly undertaken. The trenches were opened on the five-and-twentieth day of September, and in two days the place was surrendered; the garrison remaining prisoners of war. By this conquest the allies secured the country of Liege, and the electorate of Cologn, from the incursions of the enemy; before the end of the year they remained masters of the whole Spanish Guelderland, by the reduction of Gueldres, which surrendered on the seventeenth day of September, after having been long blockaded, bombarded, and reduced to a heap of ashes, by the Prussian general Lottum. Such was the campaign in the Netherlands, which in all probability would have produced events of greater importance, had not the duke of Marlborough been restricted by the deputies of the states-general, who began to be influenced by the intrigues of the Louvestein faction, ever averse to a single dictator.
The French king redoubled his efforts in Germany. The duke de Vendôme was ordered to march from the Milanese to Tyrol, and there join the elector of Bwaria, who had already made himself master of Inspruck. But the boors rising in arms, drove him out of the country before he could be joined by the French general, who was therefore obliged to return to the Milanese. The Imperialists in Italy were so ill supplied by the court of Vienna, that they could not pretend to act offensively. The French invested Ostiglia, which, however, they could not reduce; but the fortress of Barsillo, in the duchy of Beggio, capitulating after a long blockade, they took possession of the duke of Modena's country. The elector of Bwaria rejoining Villars, resolved to attack count Stirum, whom prince Louis of Baden had detached from his army. With this view they passed the Danube at Donawert, and discharged six guns as a signal for the marquis D'Usson, whom they had left in the camp at Lavingen, to fall upon the rear of the imperialists, while they should charge them in front. Stirum no sooner perceived the signal than he guessed the intention of the enemy, and instantly resolved to attack D'Usson before the elector and the mareschal should advance. He accordingly charged him at the head of some select squadrons with such impetuosity, that the French cavalry were totally defeated; and all his infantry would have been killed and taken, had not the elector and Villars come up in time to turn the fate of the day. The action continued from six in the morning till four in the afternoon, when Stirum, being overpowered by numbers, was obliged to retreat to Norlin-gen, with the loss of twelve thousand men, and all his baggage and artillery. In the meantime the duke of Burgundy, assisted by Tallard, undertook the siege of Old Brisac, with a prodigious train of artillery. The place was very strongly fortified, though the garrison was small and ill provided with necessaries. In fourteen days the governor surrendered the place, and was condemned to lose his head for having made such a slender defence. The duke of Burgundy returned in triumph to Versailles, and Tallard was ordered to invest Landau. The prince of Hesse-Cassel being detached from the Netherlands for the relief of the place, joined the count of Nassau-Weilbourg, general of the Palatine forces, near Spires, where they resolved to attack the French in their lines. But by this time Mons. Pracon-tal, with ten thousand men, had joined Tallard, and enabled him to strike a stroke which proved decisive. He suddenly quitted his lines, and surprised the prince at Spirebach, where the French obtained a complete victory after a very obstinate and bloody engagement, in which the prince of Hesse distinguished himself by uncommon marks of courage and presence of mind. Three horses were successively killed under him, and he slew a French officer with his own hand. After incredible efforts, he was fain to retreat with the loss of some thousands. The French paid dear for their victory, Pracontal having been slain in the action. Nevertheless they resumed the siege, and the place was surrendered by capitulation. The campaign in Germany was finished by the reduction of Augsburg by the elector of Bwaria, who took it in the month of December, and agreed to its being secured by a French garrison.
The emperor's affairs at this juncture wore a very unpromising aspect. The Hungarians were fleeced and barbarously oppressed by those to whom he intrusted the government of their country. They derived courage from despair. They seized this opportunity, when the emperor's forces were divided, and his councils distracted, to exert themselves in defence of their liberties. They ran to arms under the auspices of prince Ragotzki. They demanded that their grievances should be redressed, and their privileges restored. Their resentment was kept up by the emissaries of France and Bwaria, who likewise encouraged them to persevere in their revolt, by repeated promises of protection and assistance. The emperor's prospect, however, was soon mended by two incidents of very great consequence to his interest. The duke of Savoy foreseeing how much he should be exposed to the mercy of the French king, should that monarch become master of the Milanese, engaged in a secret negotiation with the emperor, which, notwithstanding all his caution, was discovered by the court of Versailles. Louis immediately ordered the duke of Vendôme to disarm the troops of Savoy that were in his army, to the number of two-and-twenty thousand men; to insist upon the duke's putting him in possession of four considerable fortresses; and demand that the number of his troops should be reduced to the establishment stipulated in the treaty of 1696. The duke, exasperated at these insults, ordered the French ambassador, and several officers of the same nation, to be arrested. Louis endeavoured to intimidate him by a menacing letter, in which he gave him to understand that since neither religion, honour, interest, nor alliances, had been able to influence his conduct, the duke de Vendôme should make known the intentions of the French monarch, and allow him four-and-twenty hours to deliberate on the measures he should pursue. This letter was answered by a manifesto: in the meantime the duke concluded a treaty with the court of Vienna; acknowledged the archduke Charles as king of Spain; and sent envoys to England and Holland. Queen Anne, knowing his importance as well as his selfish disposition, assured him of her friendship and assistance; and both she and the states sent ambassadors to Turin. He was immediately joined by a body of imperial horse under Visconti, and afterwards by count Staremberg, at the head of fifteen thousand men, with whom that general marched from the Modenese in the worst season of the year, through an enemy's country, and roads that were deemed impassable. In vain the French forces harassed him in his march, and even surrounded him in many different places on the route: he surmounted all these difficulties with incredible courage and perseverance, and joined the duke of Savoy at Canelli, so as to secure the country of Piedmont. The other incident which proved so favourable to the imperial interest, was a treaty by which the king of Portugal acceded to the grand alliance. His ministry perceived that should Spain be once united to the crown of France, their master would sit very insecure upon his throne. They were intimidated by the united fleets of the maritime powers, which maintained the empire of the sea; and they were allured by the splendour of a match between their infanta and the archduke Charles, to whom the emperor and the king of the Romans promised to transfer all their pretensions to the Spanish crown. By this treaty, concluded at Lisbon between the emperor, the queen of Great Britain, the king of Portugal, and the states-general, it was stipulated that king Charles should be conveyed to Portugal by a powerful fleet, having on board twelve thousand soldiers, with a great supply of money, arms, and ammunition; and that he should be joined immediately upon his landing by an army of eight-and-twenty thousand Portuguese.
The confederates reaped very little advantage from the naval operations of this summer. Sir George Rooke cruised in the channel, in order to alarm the coast of France, and protect the trade of England. On the first day of July, sir Cloudesley Shovel sailed from St. Helen's with the combined squadrons of England and Holland: he directed his course to the Mediterranean, and being reduced to great difficulty by want of water, steered to Altea, on the coast of Valentia, where brigadier Seymour landed, and encamped with five-and-twenty hundred marines. The admiral published a short manifesto, signifying that he was not come to disturb but to protect the good subjects of Spain, who should swear allegiance to their lawful monarch the archduke Charles, and endeavour to shake off the yoke of France. This declaration produced little or no effect; and the fleet being watered, sir Cloudesley sailed to Leghorn. One design of this armament was to assist the Cevennois, who had in the course of the preceding year been persecuted into a revolt on account of religion, and implored the assistance of England and the states-general. The admiral detached two ships into the gulf of Narbonne, with some refugees and French pilots, who had concerted signals with the Cevennois; but the mareschal de Montrevil having received intimation of their design, took such measures as prevented all communication; and the English captains having repeated their signals to no purpose, rejoined sir Cloudesley at Leghorn. This admiral, having renewed the peace with the piratical states of Barbary, returned to England without having taken one effectual step for annoying the enemy, or attempted any thing that looked like the result of a concerted scheme for that purpose. The nation naturally murmured at the fruitless expedition, by which it had incurred such a considerable expense. The merchants complained that they were ill supplied with convoys. The ships of war were victualled with damaged provisions; and every article of the marine being mismanaged, the blame fell upon those who acted as council to the lord high-admiral.
Nor were the arms of England by sea much more successful in the West Indies. Sir George Rooke, in the preceding year, had detached from the Mediterranean captain Hovenden Walker, with six ships of the line and transports, having on board four regiments of soldiers, for the Leeward islands. Being joined at Antigua by some troops under colonel Codrington, they made a descent upon the island of Guadaloupe, where they razed the fort, burned the town, ravaged the country, and reimbarked with precipitation, in consequence of a report that the French had landed nine hundred men on the back of the island. They retired to Nevis, where they must have perished by famine, had they not been providentially relieved by vice-admiral Graydon, in his way to Jamaica. This officer had been sent out with three ships to succeed Benbow, and was convoyed about one hundred and fifty leagues by two other ships of the line. He had not sailed many days when he fell in with part of the French squadron, commanded by Du Casse, on their return from the West Indies, very full and richly laden. Captain Cleland, of the Montagu, engaged the sternmost; but he was called off by a signal from the admiral, who proceeded on his voyage without taking-further notice of the enemy. When he arrived at Jamaica, he quarrelled with the principal planters of the island; and his ships beginning to be crazy, he resolved to return to England. He accordingly sailed through the gulf of Florida, with a view to attack the French at Placentia in Newfoundland; but his ships were dispersed in a fog that lasted thirty days; and afterwards the council of war which he convoked were of opinion that he could not attack the settlement with any prospect of success. At his return to England, the house of lords, then sitting, set on foot an inquiry into his conduct. They presented an address to the queen, desiring she would remove him from his employments; and he was accordingly dismissed. The only exploit that tended to distress the enemy was performed by rear-admiral Dilkes, who in the month of July sailed to the coast of France with a small squadron; and, in the neighbourhood of Granville, took or destroyed about forty ships and their convoy. Yet this damage was inconsiderable, when compared to that which the English navy sustained from the dreadful tempest that began to blow on the twenty-seventh day of November, accompanied with such flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder, as overwhelmed the whole kingdom with consternation. The houses in London shook from their foundations, and some of them falling buried the inhabitants in their ruins. The water overflowed several streets, and rose to a considerable height in Westminster-hall. London bridge was almost choked with the wrecks of vessels that perished in the river. The loss sustained by the capital was computed at a million sterling; and the city of Bristol suffered to a prodigious amount; but the chief national damage fell upon the navy. Thirteen ships of war were lost, together with fifteen hundred seamen, including rear-admiral Beaumont, who had been employed in observing the Dunkirk squadron, and was then at anchor in the Downs, where his ship foundered. This great loss, however, was repaired with incredible diligence, to the astonishment of all Europe. The queen immediately issued orders for building a greater number of ships than that which had been destroyed; and she exercised her bounty for the relief of the shipwrecked seamen, and the widows of those who were drowned, in such a manner as endeared her to all her subjects.
The emperor having declared his second son, Charles, king of Spain, that young prince set out from Vienna to Holland, and at Dusseldorp was visited by the duke of Marlborough, who, in the name of his mistress, congratulated him upon his accession to the crown of Spain. Charles received him with the most obliging courtesy. In the course of their conversation, taking off his sword he presented it to the English general, with a very gracious aspect, saying, in the French language, "I am not ashamed to own myself a poor prince. I possess nothing but my cloak and sword; the latter may be of use to your grace; and I hope you will not think it the worse for my wearing it one day."—"On the contrary," replied the duke, "it will always put me in mind of your majesty's just right and title, and of the obligations I lie under to hazard my life in making you the greatest prince in Christendom." This nobleman returned to England in October and king Charles embarking for the same kingdom, under convoy of an English and Dutch squadron, arrived at Spithead on the twenty-sixth day of December. There he was received by the dukes of Somerset and Marlborough, who conducted him to Windsor; and on the road he was met by prince George of Denmark. The queen's deportment towards him was equally noble and obliging; and he expressed the most profound respect and veneration for this illustrious princess. He spoke but little; yet what he said was judicious; and he behaved with such politeness and affability, as conciliated the affection of the English nobility. After having been magnificently entertained for three days, he returned to Portsmouth, from whence on the fourth of January he sailed for Portugal, with a great fleet commanded by sir George Rooke, having on board a body of land forces under the duke of Schomberg. When the admiral had almost reached Cape Finisterre, he was driven back by a storm to Spithead, where he was obliged to remain till the middle of February. Then being favoured with a fair wind, he happily performed the voyage to Lisbon, where king Charles was received with great splendour, though the court of Portugal was overspread with sorrow excited by the death of the infanta, whom the king of Spain intended to espouse. In Poland all hope of peace seemed to vanish. The cardinal-primate, by the instigation of the Swedish king, whose army lay encamped in the neighbourhood of Dantzick, assembled a diet at Warsaw, which solemnly deposed Augustus, and declared the throne vacant. Their intention was to elect young Sobieski, son of their late monarch, who resided at Breslau in Silesia: but their scheme was anticipated by Augustus, who retired hastily into his Saxon dominions, and seizing Sobieski, with his brother, secured them as prisoners at Dresden.
The Commons revive the Bill against occasional
Conformity..... Conspiracy trumped up by Simon Fraser, Lord
Lovat..... The Lords present a Remonstrance to the Queen.....
The Commons pass a Vote in favour of the Karl of
Nottingham..... Second Remonstrance of the Lords.....
Further Disputes between the two Houses..... The Queen
grants the first Fruits and the tenths to the poor
Clergy..... Inquiry into Naval Affairs..... Trial of
Lindsay..... Meeting of the Scottish Parliament..... Violent
Opposition to the Ministry in that Kingdom..... Their
Parliament pass the Act of Security..... Melancholy Situation
of the Emperor's Affairs..... The duke of Marlborough
marches at the head of the Allied Army into Germany..... He
defeats the Bavarians at Schellenberg..... Fruitless
Negotiation with the Elector of Bavaria..... The
Confederates obtain a complete Victory at Hochstadt..... Siege
of Landau..... The Duke of Marlborough returns to
England..... State of the War in different parts of
Europe..... Campaign in Portugal..... Sir George Rooke takes
Gibraltar, and worsts the French Fleet in a Battle off
Malaga..... Session of Parliament in England..... An Act of
Alienation passed against the Scots..... Manor of Woodstock
granted to the Duke of Marlborough..... Disputes between the
two Houses on the Subject of the Aylesbury Constables.....
The Parliament dissolved..... Proceedings in the Parliament
of Scotland..... They pass an Act for a Treaty of Union with
England..... Difference between the Parliament and
Convocation in Ireland..... Fruitless Campaign on the
Moselle..... The Duke of Marlborough forces the French lines
in Brabant..... He is prevented by the Deputies of the States
from attacking the French Army..... He visits the Imperial
Court of Vienna..... State of the War on the Upper Rhine, in
Hungary, Piedmont, Portugal, and Poland..... Sir Thomas
Dilkes destroys part of the French Fleet, and relieves
Gibraltar..... The Earl of Peterborough and Sir Cloudesley
Shovel reduce Barcelona..... The Karl's surprising Progress
in Spain..... New Parliament in England..... Bill for a
Regency in case of the Queen's Decease..... Debates in the
House of Lords upon the supposed Danger to which the Church
was exposed..... The Parliament prorogued..... Disputes in
the Convocation..... Conferences opened for a Treaty of
Union with Scotland..... Substance of the Treaty.
When the parliament met in October, the queen in her speech took notice of the declaration by the duke of Savoy, and the treaty with Portugal, as circumstances advantageous to the alliance. She told them, that although no provision was made for the expedition to Lisbon, and the augmentation of the land forces, the funds had answered so well, and the produce of prizes been so considerable, that the public had not run in debt by those additional services; that she had contributed out of her own revenue to the support of the circle of Suabia, whose firm adherence to the interest of the allies deserved her seasonable assistance. She said, she would not engage in any unnecessary expense of her own, that she might have the more to spare towards the ease of her subjects. She recommended despatch and union, and earnestly exhorted them to avoid any heats or divisions that might give encouragement to the common enemies of the church and state. Notwithstanding this admonition, and the addresses of both houses, in which they promised to avoid all divisions, a motion was made in the house of commons for renewing the bill against occasional conformity, and carried by a great majority. In the new draft, however, the penalties were lowered and the severest clauses mitigated. As the court no longer interested itself in the success of this measure, the house was pretty equally divided with respect to the speakers, and the debates on each side were maintained with equal spirit and ability; at length it passed, and was sent up to the lords, who handled it still more severely. It was opposed by a small majority of the bishops, and particularly by Burnet of Sarum, who declaimed against it as a scheme of the papists to set the church and protestants at variance. It was successively attacked by the duke of Devonshire, the earl of Pembroke, the lords Haversham, Mohun, Ferrars, and Wharton. Prince George of Denmark absented himself from the house; and the question being put for a second reading, it was carried in the negative; yet the duke of Marlborough and lord Godolphin entered their dissent against its being rejected, although the former had positively declared that he thought the bill unseasonable. The commons having perused a copy of the treaty with Portugal, voted forty thousand men, including five thousand marines, for the sea service of the ensuing year; and a like number of land forces, to act in conjunction with the allies, besides the additional ten thousand: they likewise resolved, that the proportion to be employed in Portugal should amount to eight thousand. Sums were granted for the maintenance of these great armaments, as well as for the subsidies payable to her majesty's allies; and funds appointed equal to the occasion. Then they assured the queen, in an address, that they would provide for the support of such alliances as she had made, or should make with the duke of Savoy.
At this period the nation was alarmed by the detection of a conspiracy said to be hatched by the Jacobites of Scotland. Simon Fraser, lord Lovat, a man of desperate enterprise, profound dissimulation, abandoned morals, and ruined fortune, who had been outlawed for having ravished a sister of the marquis of Athol, was the person to whom the plot seems to have owed its origin. He repaired to the court of St. Germain's, where he undertook to assemble a body of twelve thousand highlanders to act in favour of the pretender, if the court of France would assist them with a small reinforcement of troops, together with officers, arms, ammunition, and money. The French king seemed to listen to the proposal; but as Fraser's character was infamous, he doubted his veracity. He was therefore sent back to Scotland with two other persons, who were instructed to learn the strength and sentiments of the clans, and endeavour to engage some of the nobility in the design of an insurrection. Fraser had no sooner returned, than he privately discovered the whole transaction to the duke of Queensberry, and undertook to make him acquainted with the whole correspondence between the pretender and the Jacobites. In consequence of this service he was provided with a pass, to secure him from all prosecution; and made a progress through the highlands, to sound the inclination of the chieftains. Before he set out on this circuit, he delivered to the duke a letter from the queen dowager at St. Germain's, directed to the marquis of Athol: it was couched in general terms, and superscribed in a different character; so that, in all probability, Fraser had forged the direction with a view to ruin the marquis, who had prosecuted him for the injury done to his sister. He proposed a second journey to France, where he should be able to discover other more material circumstances; and the duke of Queensberry procured a pass for him to go to Holland from the earl of Nottingham, though it was expedited tinder a borrowed name. The duke had communicated his discovery to the queen without disclosing his name, which he desired might be concealed: her majesty believed the particulars, which were confirmed by her spies at Paris, as well as by the evidence of sir John Maclean, who had lately been convoyed from France to England in an open boat, and apprehended at Feldstone. This gentleman pretended at first that his intention was to go through England to his own country, in order to take the benefit of the queen's pardon; and this in all probability was his real design; but being given to understand that he would be treated in England as a traitor, unless he should merit forgiveness by making important discoveries, he related all he knew of the proposed insurrection. From his informations the ministry gave directions for apprehending one Keith, whose uncle had accompanied Fraser from France, and knew all the intrigues of the court of St. Germain's. He declared that there was no other design on foot, except that of paving the way for the pretender's ascending the throne after the queen's decease. Ferguson, that veteran conspirator, affirmed that Fraser had been employed by the duke of Queensberry to decoy some persons whom he hated into a conspiracy, that he might have an opportunity to effect their ruin; and by the discovery establish his own credit, which began to totter. Perhaps there was too much reason for this imputation. Among those who were seized at this time was a gentleman of the name of Lindsay, who had been under-secretary to the earl of Middleton. He had returned from France to Scotland in order to take the benefit of the queen's pardon, under the shelter of which he came to England, thinking himself secure from prosecution. He protested he knew of no designs against the queen or her government; and that he did not believe she would ever receive the least injury or molestation from the court of St. Germain's. The house of lords having received intimation of this conspiracy, resolved, that a committee should be appointed to examine into the particulars; and ordered that sir John Maclean should be next day brought to their house. The queen, who was far from being pleased with this instance of their officious interposition, gave them to understand by message, that she thought it would be inconvenient to change the method of examination already begun; and that she would in a short time inform the house of the whole affair. On the seventeenth day of December the queen went to the house of peers, and having passed the bill for the land-tax, made a speech to both houses, in which she declared that she had unquestionable information of ill practices and designs carried on by the emissaries of France in Scotland. The lords persisting in their resolution to bring the inquiry into their own house, chose their select committee by ballot; and, in an address, thanked her majesty for the information she had been pleased to communicate.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The commons, taking it for granted that the queen was disobliged at these proceedings of the upper house—which indeed implied an insult upon her ministry, if not upon herself—presented an address, declaring themselves surprised to find that when persons suspected of treasonable practices were taken into custody by her majesty's messengers in order to be examined, the lords, in violation to the known laws of the land, had wrested them out of her hands, and arrogated the examination solely to themselves; so that a due inquiry into the evil practices and designs against her majesty's person and government, might in a great measure be obstructed. They earnestly desired that she would suffer no diminution of the prerogative; and they assured her they would, to the utmost of their power, support her in the exercise of it at home, as well as in asserting it against all invasions whatsoever. The queen thanked them for their concern and assurances; and was not ill pleased at the nature of the address, though the charge against the peers was not strictly true; for there were many instances of their having assumed such a right of inquiry. The upper house deeply resented the accusation. They declared, that by the known laws and customs of parliament, they had an undoubted right to take examinations of persons charged with criminal matters, whether those persons were or were not in custody. They resolved, That the address of the commons was unparliamentary, groundless, without precedent, highly injurious to the house of peers, tending to interrupt the good correspondence between the two houses, to create an ill opinion in her majesty of the house of peers, of dangerous consequence to the liberties of the people, the constitution of the kingdom, and privileges of parliament. They presented a long remonstrance to the queen, justifying their own conduct, explaining the steps they had taken, recriminating upon the commons, and expressing the most fervent zeal, duty, and affection to her majesty. In her answer to this representation, which was drawn up with elegance, propriety, and precision, she professed her sorrow for the misunderstanding which had happened between the two houses of parliament, and thanked them for the concern they had expressed for the rights of the crown and the prerogative; which she should never exert so willingly as for the good of her subjects, and the protection of their liberties.
Among other persons seized on the coast of Sussex on their landing from France, was one Boucher, who had been aidecamp to the duke of Berwick. This man, when examined, denied all knowledge of any conspiracy: he said, that being weary of living so long abroad, and having made some unsuccessful attempts to obtain a pass, he had chosen rather to cast himself on the queen's mercy than to remain longer in exile from his native country. He was tried and condemned for high treason, yet continued to declare himself ignorant of the plot. He proved that in the war of Ireland, as well as in Flanders, he had treated the English prisoners with great humanity. The lords desisted from the prosecution; he obtained a reprieve, and died in Newgate. On the twenty-ninth day of January, the earl of Nottingham told the house that the queen had commanded him to lay before them the papers containing all the particulars hitherto discovered of the conspiracy in Scotland; but that there was one circumstance which could not yet bo properly communicated without running the risk of preventing a discovery of greater importance. They forthwith drew up and presented an address, desiring that all the papers might be immediately submitted to their inspection. The queen said she did not expect to be pressed in this manner immediately after the declaration she had made; but in a few days the earl of Nottingham delivered the papers, sealed, to the house, and all the lords were summoned to attend on the eighth day of February, that they might be opened and perused. Nottingham was suspected of a design to stifle the conspiracy. Complaint was made in the house of commons that he had discharged an officer belonging to the late king James, who had been seized by the governor of Berwick. A warm debate ensued, and at length ended in a resolve, That the earl of Nottingham, one of her majesty's principal secretaries of state, for his great ability and diligence in the execution of his office, for his unquestionable fidelity to the queen and her government, and for his steady adherence to the church of England as by law established, highly merited the trust her majesty had reposed in him. They ordered the speaker to present this resolution to the queen, who said, she was glad to find them so well satisfied with the earl of Nottingham, who was trusted by her in so considerable an office. They perused the examinations of the witnesses which were laid before them, without passing judgment or offering advice on the subject; but they thanked her majesty for having communicated those particulars, as well as for her wisdom and care of the nation. When the lords proceeded with uncommon eagerness in their inquiry, the lower house, in another address, renewed their complaints against the conduct of the peers, which they still affirmed was without a precedent. But this was the language of irritated faction, by which indeed both sides were equally actuated. The select committee of the lords prosecuted the inquiry, and founded their report chiefly on the confession of sir John Maclean, who owned that the court of St. Germain's had listened to Lovat's proposal; that several councils had been held at the pretender's court on the subject of an invasion; and that persons were sent over to sound some of the nobility in Scotland. But the nature of their private correspondence and negotiation could not be discovered. Keith had tampered with his uncle to disclose the whole secret; and this was the circumstance which the queen declined imparting to the lords until she should know the success of his endeavours, which proved ineffectual. The uncle stood aloof; and the ministry did not heartily engage in the inquiry. The house of lords having finished these examinations, and being warmed with violent debates, voted that there had been dangerous plots between some persons in Scotland and the courts of France and St. Germain's; and that the encouragement for this plotting arose from the not settling the succession to the crown of Scotland in the house of Hanover. These votes were signified to the queen in an address; and they promised, that when the succession should be thus settled, they would endeavour to promote the union of the two kingdoms upon just and reasonable terms. Then they composed another representation in answer to the second address of the commons touching their proceedings. They charged the lower house with want of zeal in the whole progress of this inquiry. They produced a great number of precedents to prove that their conduct had been regular and parliamentary; and they, in their turn, accused the commons of partiality and injustice in vacating legal elections. The queen, in answer to this remonstrance, said, she looked upon any misunderstanding between the two houses as a very great misfortune to the kingdom; and that she should never omit anything in her power to prevent all occasions of them for the future.
The lords and commons, animated by such opposite principles, seized every opportunity of thwarting each other. An action having been brought by one Matthew Ashby against William White and the other constables of Aylesbury, for having denied him the privilege of voting in the last election, the cause was tried at the assizes, and the constables were cast with damages. But an order was given in the queen's bench to quash all the proceedings, since no action had ever been brought on that account. The cause being moved by writ of error into the house of lords, was argued with great warmth; at length it was carried by a great majority, that the order of the queen's bench should be set aside, and judgment pronounced according to the verdict given at the assizes. The commons considered these proceedings as encroaching on their privileges. They passed five different resolutions, importing, That the commons of England, in parliament assembled, had the sole right to examine and determine all matters relating to the right of election of their own members; that the practice of determining the qualifications of electors in any court of law would expose all mayors, bailiffs, and returning officers, to a multiplicity of vexatious suits and insupportable expenses, and subject them to different and independent jurisdictions, as well as to inconsistent determinations in the same case, without relief; that Matthew Ashby was guilty of a breach of privilege, as were all attorneys, solicitors, counsellors, and sergeants-at-law, soliciting, prosecuting, or pleading, in any case of the same nature. These resolutions, signed by the clerk, were fixed upon the gate of Westminster-hall. On the other hand, the lords appointed a committee to draw up a state of the case; and, upon their report, resolved, That every person being wilfully hindered to exercise his right of voting, might maintain an action in the queen's courts against the officer by whom his vote should be refused, to assert his right, and recover damage for the injury; that an assertion to the contrary was destructive of the property of the subjects, against the freedom of elections, and manifestly tended to the encouragement of partiality and corruption; that the declaring of Matthew Ashby guilty of a breach of privilege of the house of commons, was an unprecedented attempt upon the judicature of parliament, and an attempt to subject the law of England to the votes of the house of commons. Copies of the case, and these resolutions, were sent by the lord-keeper to all the sheriffs of England, to be circulated through all the boroughs of their respective counties.
On the seventh day of February, the queen ordered secretary Hedges to tell the house of commons that she had remitted the arrears of the tenths to the poor clergy; that she would grant her whole revenue arising out of the first fruits and tenths, as far as it should become free from incumbrance, as an augmentation of their maintenance; that if the house of commons could find any method by which her intentions to the poor clergy might be made more effectual, it would be an advantage to the public, and acceptable to her majesty. The commons immediately brought in a bill enabling her to alienate this branch of the revenue, and create a corporation by charter, to direct the application of it to the uses proposed; they likewise repealed the statute of mortmain, so far as to allow all men to bequeath by will, or grant by deed, any sum they should think fit to give towards the augmentation of benefices. Addresses of thanks and acknowledgment from all the clergy of England were presented to the queen for her gracious bounty; but very little regard was paid to Burnet, bishop of Sarum, although the queen declared that prelate author of the project. He was generally hated, either as a Scot, a low-churchman, or a meddling partisan.
In March, an inquiry into the condition of the navy was begun in the house of lords. They desired the queen in an address to give speedy and effectual orders that a number of ships, sufficient for the home service, should be equipped and manned with all possible expedition. They resolved, that admiral Graydon's not attacking the four French ships in the channel, had been a prejudice to the queen's service, and a disgrace to the nation; that his pressing men in Jamaica, and his severity towards masters of merchant vessels and transports, had been a great discouragement to the inhabitants of that island, as well as prejudicial to her majesty's service; and they presented an address against him, in consequence of which he was dismissed. They examined the accounts of the earl of Oxford, against which great clamour had been raised; and taking cognizance of the remarks made by the commissioners of the public accounts, found them false in fact, ill-grounded, and of no importance. The commons besought the queen to order a prosecution on account of ill practices in the earl of Ranelagh's office; and they sent up to the lords a bill for continuing the commission on the public accounts. Some alterations were made in the upper house, especially in the nomination of commissioners; but these were rejected by the commons. The peers adhering to their amendments, the bill dropped, and the commission expired. No other bill of any consequence passed in this session, except an act for raising recruits, which empowered justices of the peace to impress idle persons for soldiers and marines. On the third day of April the queen went to the house of peers, and having made a short speech on the usual topics of acknowledgment, unity, and moderation, prorogued the parliament to the fourth day of July. The division still continued between the two houses of convocation; so that nothing of moment was transacted in that assembly, except their address to the queen upon her granting the first fruits and tenths for the augmentation of small benefices. At the same time, the lower house sent their prolocutor with a deputation to wait upon the speaker of the house of commons, to return their thanks to that honourable house for having espoused the interest of the clergy; and to assure them that the convocation would pursue such methods as might best conduce to the support, honour, interest, and security of the church as now by law established. They sent up to the archbishop and prelates divers representations, containing complaints, and proposing canons and articles of reformation; but very little regard was paid to their remonstrances.
About this period the earl of Nottingham, after having ineffectually pressed the queen to discard the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire, resigned the seals. The carl of Jersey and sir Edward Seymour were dismissed; the earl of Kent was appointed chamberlain, Harley secretary of state, and Henry St. John secretary of war. The discovery of the Scottish conspiracy was no sooner known in France, than Louis ordered Fraser to be imprisoned in the Bastile. In England, Lindsay being sentenced to die for having corresponded with France, was given to understand that he had no mercy to expect, unless he would discover the conspiracy, He persisted in denying all knowledge of any such conspiracy; and scorned to save his life by giving false information. In order to intimidate him into a confession, the ministry ordered him to be conveyed to Tyburn, where he still rejected life upon the terms proposed; then he was carried back to Newgate, where he remained some years; at length he was banished, and died of hunger in Holland. The ministers had been so lukewarm and languid in the investigation of the Scottish conspiracy, that the whigs loudly exclaimed against them as disguised Jacobites, and even whispered insinuations, implying, that the queen herself had a secret bias of sisterly affection for the court of St. Germain's. What seemed to confirm this allegation was the disgrace of the duke of Queensberry, who had exerted himself with remarkable zeal in the detection; but the decline of his interest in Scotland was the real cause of his being laid aside at this juncture.
1704
The design of the court was to procure in the Scottish parliament the nomination of a successor to the crown, and a supply for the forces, which could not be obtained in the preceding session. Secretary Johnston, in concert with the marquis of Tweedale, undertook to carry these points in return for certain limitations on the successor, to which her majesty agreed. The marquis was appointed commissioner. The office of lord-register was bestowed upon Johnston; and the parliament met on the sixth day of July. The queen, in her letter, expressed her concern that these divisions should have risen to such a height, as to encourage the enemies of the nation to employ their emissaries for debauching her good subjects from their allegiance. She declared her resolution to grant whatever could in reason be demanded for quieting the minds of the people. She told them she had empowered the marquis of Tweedale to give unquestionable proofs of her determination to maintain the government in church and state, as by law established in that kingdom; to consent to such laws as should be found wanting for the further security of both, and for preventing all encroachments for the future. She earnestly exhorted them to settle the succession in the protestant line, as a step absolutely necessary for their own peace and happiness, the quiet and security of all her dominions, the reputation of her affairs abroad, and the improvement of the protestant interest through all Europe. She declared that she had authorized the commissioners to give the royal assent to whatever could be reasonably demanded, and was in her power to grant, for securing the sovereignty and liberties of that her ancient kingdom. The remaining part of the letter turned upon the necessity of their granting a supply, the discouragement of vice, the encouragement of commerce, and the usual recommendation of moderation and unanimity.
The duke of Hamilton presented a resolve, that the parliament would not name a successor to the crown, until the Scots should have concluded a previous treaty with England in relation to commerce and other concerns. This motion produced a warm debate, in the course of which Fletcher of Saltoun expatiated upon the hardships and miseries which the Scots had sustained since the union of the two crowns under one sovereign, and the impossibility of bettering their condition, unless they should take care to anticipate any design that tended to a continuation of the same calamities. Another resolve was produced by the earl of Rothes, importing, that the parliament should proceed to make such limitations and conditions of the government as might be judged proper for rectifying the constitution—for vindicating and securing the sovereignty and independency of the nation; and that then parliament would take into consideration the other resolve offered by the duke of Hamilton, for a treaty previous to the nomination of a successor. This proposal was seconded by the court party, and violent heats ensued. At length sir James Falconer of Phesdo offered an expedient, which neither party could refuse with any show of moderation. He suggested a resolve, that the parliament would not proceed to the nomination of a successor until the previous treaty with England should be discussed; and that it would make the necessary limitations and conditions of government before the successor should be nominated. This joint resolve being put to the vote, was carried by a great majority. The treaty with England was neglected, and the affair of the succession consequently postponed. The duke of Athol moved, that her majesty should be desired to send down the witnesses and all the papers relating to the conspiracy, that, after due examination, those who were unjustly accused might be vindicated, and the guilty punished according to their demerits. The commissioner declared, that he had already written, and would write again to the queen on that subject. The intention of the cavaliers was to convict the duke of Queensberry of malice and calumny in the prosecution of that affair, that they might wreak their vengeance upon him for that instance of his animosity, as well as for his having deserted them in the former session. He found means however to persuade the queen, that such an inquiry would not only protract the session, but also divert them from the settlement of the succession, and raise such a ferment as might be productive of tragical consequences. Alarmed at these suggestions, she resolved to prevent the examination, and gave no answer to the repeated applications made by her parliament and ministers. Meanwhile the duke of Queensberry appeased his enemies in Scotland, by directing all his friends to join in the opposition.
The duke of Hamilton again moved, that the parliament should proceed to the limitations, and name commissioners to treat with England previous to all other business, except an act for a land tax of two months necessary for the immediate subsistence of the forces. The earl of Marchmont proposed an act to exclude all popish successors; but this was warmly opposed, as unseasonable, by Hamilton and his party, A bill of supply being offered by the lord justice Clerk, the cavaliers tacked to it great part of the act of security, to which the royal assent had been refused in the former session. Violent debates arose; so that the house was filled with rage and tumult. The national spirit of independence had been wrought up to a dangerous pitch of enthusiasm. The streets were crowded with people of all ranks, exclaiming against English influence, and threatening to sacrifice as traitors to their country all who should embrace measures that seemed to favour a foreign interest. The commissioner and his friends were confounded and appalled. Finding it impossible to stem the torrent, he, with the concurrence of the other ministers, wrote a letter to the queen, representing the uncomfortable situation of affairs, and advising her majesty to pass the bill encumbered as it was with the act of security. Lord Godolphin, on whose council she chiefly relied, found himself involved in great perplexity. The tories had devoted him to destruction. He foresaw that the queen's concession to the Scots in an affair of such consequence, would furnish his enemies with a plausible pretence to arraign the conduct of her minister; but he chose to run that risk rather than see the army disbanded for want of a supply, and the kingdom left exposed to an invasion. He therefore seconded the advice of the Scottish ministers; and the queen authorized the commissioner to pass the bill that was depending. The act provided, that in case of the queen's dying without issue a parliament should immediately meet and declare the successor to the crown, different from the person possessing the throne of England, unless before that period a settlement should be made in parliament of the rights and liberties of the nation, independent of English councils; by another clause they were empowered to arm and train the subjects, so as to put them in a posture of defence. The Scottish parliament having, by a laudable exertion of spirit, obtained this act of security, granted the supply without further hesitation; but not yet satisfied with this sacrifice, they engaged in debates about the conspiracy, and the proceedings of the house of lords in England, which they termed an officious intermeddling in their concerns, and an encroachment upon the sovereignty and independency of the nation, They drew up an address to the queen, desiring that the evidence and papers relating to the plot might be subjected to their examination in the next session. Meanwhile, the commissioner, dreading the further progress of such an ungovernable ferocity, prorogued the parliament to the seventh day of October. The act of security being transmitted to England, copies of it were circulated by the enemies of Godolphin, who represented it as a measure of that minister; and the kingdom was filled with murmurs and discontent. People openly declared, that the two kingdoms were now separated by law so as never to be rejoined. Reports were spread that great quantities of arms had been conveyed to Scotland, and that the natives were employed in preparations to invade England. All the blame of these transactions was imputed to lord Godolphin, whom the tories determined to attack, while the other party resolved to exert their whole influence for his preservation; yet, in all probability, he owed his immediate support to the success of his friend the duke of Marlborough.
Nothing could be more deplorable than the situation to which the emperor was reduced in the beginning of the season. The malcontents in Hungary had rendered themselves formidable by their success; the elector of Bavaria possessed all the places on the Danube as far as Passau, and even threatened the city of Vienna, which must have been infallibly lost, had the Hungarians and Bavarians acted in concert. By the advice of prince Eugene, the emperor implored the assistance of her Britannic majesty; and the duke of Marlborough explained to her the necessity of undertaking his relief. This nobleman in the month of January had crossed the sea to Holland, and concerted a scheme with the deputies of the states-general for the operations of the ensuing campaign. They agreed that general Averquerque should lie upon the defensive with a small body of troops in the Netherlands, while the main army of the allies should act upon the Rhine, under the command of the duke of Marlborough. Such was the pretext under which this consummate general concealed another plan, which was communicated to a few only in whose discretion he could confide. It was approved by the pensionary and some leading men, who secured its favourable reception with the states-general when it became necessary to impart the secret to that numerous assembly. In the meantime, the preparations were made on pretence of carrying the war to the banks of the Moselle.
In the month of April, the duke, accompanied by his brother general Churchill, lieutentant-general Lumley, the earl of Orkney, and other officers of distinction, embarked for Holland, where he had a long conference with a deputation of the states concerning a proposal of sending a large army towards the Moselle. The deputies of Zealand opposed this measure of sending their troops to stich a distance so strenuously, that the duke was obliged to tell them in plain terms he had received orders to march thither with the British forces. He accordingly assembled his army at Maestricht, and on the eight day of May began his march into Germany. The French imagined his intention was to begin the campaign with the siege of Traerbach, and penetrate into France along the Moselle. In this persuasion they sent a detachment to that river, and gave out that they intended to invest Huy, a pretence to which the duke paid no regard. He continued his route by Bedburgh, Kerpenord, Kalsecken; he visited the fortifications of Bonne, where he received certain advice that the recruits and reinforcements for the French army in Bavaria had joined the elector at Villigen. He redoubled his diligence, passed the Neckar on the third of June, and halted at Ladenburgh; from thence he wrote a letter to the states-general, giving them to understand that he had the queen's orders to march to the relief of the empire, and expressing his hope that they would approve the design, and allow their troops to share the honour of the expedition By the return of a courier he received their approbation, and full power to command their forces He then proceeded to Mildenheim, where he was visited by prince Eugene; and these two great men, whose talents were congenial, immediately contracted an intimacy of friendship, Next day prince Louis of Baden arrived in the camp at Great Hippach, He told the duke, his grace was come to save the empire, and to give him an opportunity of vindicating his honour, which he knew was at the last stake in the opinion of some people. The duke replied he was come to learn of him how to serve the empire: that they must be ignorant indeed who did not know that the prince of Baden, when his health permitted him, had preserved the empire and extended its conquests.
Those three celebrated generals agreed that the two armies should join, that the command should be alternately vested in the duke and prince Louis from day to day, and that prince Eugene should command a separate army on the Rhine, Prince Louis returned to his army on the Danube, prince Eugene set out for Philipsburgh; the duke of Marlborough being joined by the imperial army under prince Louis of Baden at Wastertellen, prosecuted his march by Elchingen, Gingen, and Landthaussen. On the first day of July he was in sight of the enemy's entrenchments at Dillingen, and encamped with his right at Amerdighem, and his left at Onderin-gen. Understanding that the elector of Bavaria had detached the best part of his infantry to reinforce the count D'Arco, who was posted behind strong lines at Schellenberg near Donawert, he resolved to attack their entrenchments without delay On the second day of July he advanced towards the enemy, and passed the river Wermitz; about five o'clock in the afternoon the attack was begun by the English and Dutch infantry, supported by the horse and dragoons. They were very severely handled, and even obliged to give way, when prince Louis of Baden marching up at the head of the imperialists to another part of the line, made a diversion in their favour. After an obstinate resistance they forced the entrenchments, and the horse entering with the infantry, fell so furiously upon the enemy, already disordered, that they were routed with great slaughter. They fled with the utmost trepidation to Donawert and the Danube, leaving six thousand men dead on the field of battle, The confederates took sixteen pieces of cannon, thirteen pairs of colours, with all the tents and baggage. Yet the victory was dearly purchased; some thousands of the allies were slain in the attack, including many gallant officers, among whom were the generals Goor and Beinheim, and count Stirum was mortally wounded. Next day the Bavarian garrison abandoned Donawert, of which the confederates took immediate possession, while the elector passed the Danube in his march to the river Leche, lest the victors should cut off his retreat to his own country. The confederates having crossed the Danube on several bridges of pontoons, a detachment was sent to pass the Leche, and take post in the country of the elector, who had retired under the cannon of Augsburgh. The garrison of Neuburgh retiring to Ingoldstadt, the place was secured by the confederates, and the count de Frize was detached with nine battalions and fifteen squadrons to invest the town of Rain. Advice arriving from prince Eugene that the mareschals Villeroy and Tallard had passed the Rhine at Fort Kehl, with an army of five-and-forty thousand men, to succour the elector of Bavaria, the generals of the allies immediately detached prince Maximilian of Hanover with thirty squadrons of horse as a reinforcement to the prince. In a few days Rain surrendered, and Aicha was taken by assault. The emperor no sooner received a confirmation of the victory of Schellenberg, than he wrote a letter of acknowledgment to the duke of Marlborough, and ordered count Wratislau to intimate his intention of investing him with the title of prince of the empire, which the duke declined accepting until the queen interposed her authority at the desire of Leopold.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The allies advanced within a league of Augsburgh, and though they found the elector of Bavaria too securely posted under the cannon of that city to be dislodged or attacked with any prospect of success, they encamped with Friedburgh in the centre, so as to cut off all communication between him and his dominions. The duke of Marlborough having reduced him to this situation, proposed very advantageous terms of peace, provided he would abandon the French interest, and join the imperialists in Italy. His subjects seeing themselves at the mercy of the allies, pressed him to comply with these offers rather than expose his country to ruin and desolation. A negotiation was begun, and he seemed ready to sign the articles, when hearing that mareschal Tallard had passed the Black Forest to join him with a great body of forces, he declared that since the king of France had made such powerful efforts to support him, he thought himself obliged in honour to continue firm in his alliance. The generals of the allies were so exasperated at this disappointment, that they sent out detachments to ravage the country of Bavaria as far as Munich: upwards of three hundred towns, villages, and castles were inhumanly destroyed, to the indelible disgrace of those who countenanced and conducted such barbarbous practices. The elector, shocked at these brutal proceedings, desired, in a letter to the duke of Marlborough, that a stop might be put to acts of violence so opposite to true glory. The answer he received implied, that it was in his own power to put an end to them by a speedy accommodation. Incensed at this reply, he declared that since they had obliged him to draw the sword, he would throw away the scabbard. The duke and prince Louis finding it impracticable to attack the elector in his strong camp, resolved to undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, and for that purpose passed the Paer near the town of Schrobbenhausen, where they encamped, with their left at Closterburgh. On the fifth day of August the elector of Bavaria marched to Biberach, where he was joined by Tallard. He resolved to pass the Danube at Lawingen to attack prince Eugene, who had followed the French army from the lines of Bichi, and lay encamped at Hochstadt. Next day, however, he made a motion that disappointed the enemy. Nevertheless, they persisted in their design of passing the Danube and encamping at Blenheim. The allies resolved that prince Louis should undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, whilst prince Eugene and the duke should observe the elector of Bavaria. Advice being received that he had actually crossed the Danube at Lawingen, the duke of Marlborough joined the forces of prince Eugene at the camp of Munster on the eleventh day of August, prince Louis having by this time marched off towards the place he intended to besiege. Next day the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene observed the posture of the enemy, who were advantageously posted on a hill near Hochstadt, their right being covered by the Danube and the village of Blenheim, their left by the village of Lutzengen, and their front by a rivulet, the banks of which were steep, and the bottom marshy.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, the generals resolved to attack them immediately, rather than lie inactive until their forage and provisions should be consumed. They were moreover stimulated to this hazardous enterprise by an intercepted letter to the elector of Bavaria, from mareschal Villeroy, giving him to understand that he had received orders to ravage the country of Wirtem-berg, and intercept all communication between the Rhine and the allied army. The dispositions being made for the attack, and the orders communicated to the general officers, the forces advanced into the plain on the thirteenth day of August, and were ranged in order of battle. The cannonading began about nine in the morning, and continued on both sides till one in the afternoon. The French and Bavarians amounted to about sixty thousand men, Mareschal Tallard commanded on the right, and posted twenty-seven battalions, with twelve squadrons, in the village of Blenheim, supposing that there the allies would make their chief effort: their left was conducted by the elector of Bavaria, assisted by Marsin, a French general of experience and capacity. The number of the confederates did not exceed fifty-five thousand: their right was under the direction of prince Eugene, and their left commanded by the duke of Marlborough. At noon the battle was begun by a body of English and Hessians under major-general Wilkes, who having passed the rivulet with difficulty, and filed off to the left in the face of the enemy, attacked the village of Blenheim with great vigour; but were repulsed after three successive attempts. Meanwhile the troops in the centre, and part of the right wing, passed the rivulet on planks in different places, and formed on the other side without any molestation from the enemy. At length, however, they were charged by the French horse with such impetuosity, and so terribly galled in flank by the troops posted at Blenheim, that they fell in disorder, and part of them repassed the rivulet; but a reinforcement of dragoons coming up, the French cavalry were broke in their turn, and driven to the very hedges of the village of Blenheim. The left wing of the confederates being now completely formed, ascended the hill in a firm compacted body, charged the enemy's horse, which could no longer stand their ground, but rallied several times as they gave way. Tallard, in order to make a vigorous effort, ordered ten battalions to fill up the intervals of his cavalry. The duke, perceiving his design, sent three battalions of the troops of Zell to sustain his horse. Nevertheless, the line was a little disordered by the prodigious fire from the French infantry, and even obliged to recoil about sixty paces: but the confederates advancing to the charge with redoubled ardour, routed the French horse; and their battalions being thus abandoned, were cut in pieces. Tallard, having rallied his broken cavalry behind some tents that were still standing, resolved to draw off the troops he had posted in the village of Blenheim, and sent an aidecamp to Marsdin, who was with the elector of Bavaria on the left, to desire he would face the confederates with some troops to the right of the village of Oberklau, so as to keep them in play, and favour the retreat of the forces from Blenheim. That officer assured him he was so far from being in a condition to spare troops, that he could hardly maintain his ground. The fate of the day was now more than half decided. The French cavalry being vigorously attacked in flank, were totally defeated. Part of them endeavoured to gain the bridge which they had thrown over the Danube between Hochstadt and Blenheim, but they were so closely pursued, that those who escaped the slaughter threw themselves into the river, where they perished. Tallard, being surrounded, was taken near a mill behind the village of Sonderen, together with the marquis de Montperouz, general of horse, the major-generals de Seppeville, de Silly, de la Valiere, and many other officers of distinction. While these occurrences passed on the loft wing, Marsin's quarters at the village of Oberklau, in the centre, were attacked by ten battalions under the prince of Holsteinbeck, who passed the rivulet with undaunted resolution; but before he could form his men on the other side, he was overpowered by numbers, mortally wounded, and taken prisoner. His battalions being supported by some Danish and Hanoverian cavalry, renewed the charge, and were again repulsed: at length the duke of Marlborough in person brought up some fresh squadrons from the body of reserve, and compelled the enemy to retire. By this time prince Eugene had obliged the left wing of the enemy to give ground, after having surmounted a great number of difficulties, sustained a very obstinate opposition, and seen his cavalry, in which his chief strength seemed to lie, three times repulsed. The duke of Marlborough had no sooner defeated the right wing, than he made a disposition to reinforce the prince, when he understood from an aidecamp that his highness had no occasion for assistance; and that the elector, with monsieur de Mar-sin, had abandoned Oberklau and Luteingen. They were pursued as far as the villages of Morselingen and Teissenhoven, from whence they retreated to Dillingen and Lawingen. The confederates being now masters of the field of battle, surrounded the village of Blenheim, in which, as we have already observed, twenty-seven battalions and twelve squadrons were posted. These troops seeing themselves cut off from all communication with the rest of their army, and despairing of being able to force their way through the allies, capitulated about eight in the evening, laid down their arms, delivered their colours and standards, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, on condition that the officers should not be rifled. This was one of the most glorious and complete victories that ever was obtained. Ten thousand French and Bavarians were left dead on the field of battle: the greater part of thirty squadrons of horse and dragoons perished in the river Danube: thirteen thousand were made prisoners: one hundred pieces of cannon were taken, with twenty-four mortars, one hundred and twenty-nine colours, one hundred and seventy-one standards, seventeen pair of kettle-drums, three thousand six hundred tents, thirty-four coaches, three hundred laden mules, two bridges of boats, fifteen pontoons, fifteen barrels and eight casks filled with silver. Of the allies, about four thousand five hundred men were killed, and about eight thousand wounded or taken. The loss of the battle was imputed to two capital errors committed by Tallard; namely, his weakening the centre by detaching such a number of troops to the village of Blenheim, and his suffering the confederates to pass the rivulet, and form unmolested. Certain it is, these circumstances contributed to the success of the duke of Marlborough, who rode through the hottest of the fire with the calmest intrepidity, giving his orders with that presence of mind and deliberation which were so peculiar to his character. When he next day visited Tallard, he told that general he was sorry such a misfortune should happen personally to one for whom he had a profound esteem. The mareschal congratulated him on having vanquished the best troops in the world; a compliment to which the duke replied, that he thought his own the best troops in the world, seeing they had conquered those upon whom the mareschal had bestowed such an encomium.
The victorious generals having by this decisive stroke saved the house of Austria from entire ruin, and entirely changed the face of affairs in the empire, signified their opinion to prince Louis of Baden, that it would be for the advantage of the common cause to join all their forces and drive the French out of Germany, rather than lose time at the siege of Ingoldstadt, which would surrender of course. This opinion was confirmed by the conduct of the French garrison at Augsburg, who quitted that place on the sixteenth day of August. The magistrates sent a deputation, craving the protection of the duke of Marlborough, who forthwith ordered a detachment to take possession of that important city. The duke having sent mareschal de Tallard under a guard of dragoons to Frankfort, and disposed of the other prisoners of distinction in the adjacent places, encamped at Sefillingen, within half a league of Ulm. Here he held a conference with the princes Eugene and Louis of Baden, in which they agreed that, as the enemy retreated towards the Bhine, the confederate army should take the same rout, excepting three-and-twenty battalions and some squadrons to be left for the siege of Ulm, under general Thungen. They began their march on the twenty-sixth day of August, by different routes, to the general rendezvous at Bruschal near Philipsburgh. Then they resolved that prince Louis of Baden should undertake the siege of Landau, in order to secure the circle of Suabia from the incursions of that garrison. Considering the consternation that prevailed all over France, nothing could be more impolitic than this measure, which gave the enemy time for recollection, and recruiting their forces. It was a proposal on which the prince of Baden insisted with uncommon obstinacy. He was even suspected of corruption: he was jealous of the glory which the duke of Marlborough had acquired, and such a bigoted papist, that he repined at the success of an heretical general. On the twelfth day of September he marched towards Landau with the troops destined for the siege; and the duke of Marlborough, with prince Eugene, encamped at Croon Weissenburgh to cover the enterprise. By this time Ulm had surrendered to Thungen, even before the trenches were opened. Villeroy advanced with his army towards Landau, as if he had intended to attack the confederates; but retired without having made any attempt for the relief of the place, which was defended with the most obstinate valour till the twenty-third day of November, when the besiegers having lodged themselves on the counterscarp, the breaches being practicable, and the dispositions made for a general assault, the garrison capitulated upon honourable conditions. The king of the Romans had arrived in the camp, that he might have the credit of taking the place, the command of which he bestowed on the count de Frize, who had before defended it with equal courage and ability.
The next enterprise which the confederates undertook was the siege of Traerbach. The hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, being intrusted with the direction of the attacks, invested the castle in the beginning of November. Though it was strongly fortified and well defended, he carried on his operations with such spirit and assiduity, that in about six weeks the garrison surrendered the place on honourable terms. In the meantime the duke of Marlborough repaired to Berlin, where he negotiated for a reinforcement of eight thousand Prussians, to serve under prince Eugene in Italy during the next campaign. Thence he proceeded to the court of Hanover, where, as in all other places, he was received with particular marks of distinction. When he arrived at the Hague, he was congratulated by the states-general on his victories at Schellenberg and Blenheim, and as much considered in Holland as if he had been actually stadt-holder. He had received a second letter from the emperor couched in the warmest terms of acknowledgment, and was declared prince of the empire. In December he embarked for England, where he found the people in a transport of joy, and was welcomed as a hero who had retrieved the glory of the nation.
In Flanders nothing of moment was executed, except the bombardment of Bruges and Namur by baron Spaar, with nine thousand Dutch troops; and two attempts upon the French lines, which were actually penetrated by Auverquerque, though he was not able to maintain the footing he had gained. The elector of Bavaria, who had retired to Brussels after his defeat, formed a scheme for surprising the Dutch general at the end of the campaign, and assembled all his troops at Tirlemont: but the French court, apprehensive of his temerity, sent Villeroy to watch his conduct, and prevent his hazarding an engagement, except with a fair prospect of advantage. The mareschal finding him determined to give battle at all events, represented the improbability of succeeding against an enemy so advantageously posted; and the ill consequences of a repulse: but finding the elector deaf to all his remonstrances, he flatly refused to march, and produced the king's order to avoid an engagement. In Italy the French met with no opposition. The duke of Savoy, being unable to face the enemy in the field, was obliged to lie inactive. He saw the duke de Vendome reduce Vercelli and Ivrea, and undertake the siege of Verac; while he posted his little army on the other side of the Po, at Crescentino, where he had a bridge of communication by which he supplied the place occasionally with fresh troops and provisions. The place held out five months against all the efforts of the French general: at length, the communication being cut off, the duke of Savoy retired to Chivas. He bore his misfortunes with great equanimity, and told the English minister that though he was abandoned by the allies, he would never abandon himself. The emperor had neglected Italy that he might act with more vigour against Ragotzki and the Hungarian malcontents, over whom he obtained several advantages; notwithstanding which they continued formidable, from their number, bravery, and resolution. The ministers of the allies pressed Leopold to enter into a negotiation for a peace with those rebels, and conferences were opened; but he was not sincerely disposed to an accommodation, and Ragotzki aimed at the principality of Transylvania, which the court of Vienna would not easily relinquish. The emperor was not a little alarmed by a revolution at the Ottoman porte, until the new sultan despatched a chiaus to Vienna, with an assurance that he would give no assistance to the malcontents of Hungary. In Poland, the diet being assembled by the cardinal-primate, Stanislaus Lezinski, palatine of Posnania, was elected and proclaimed king, and recognised by Charles of Sweden, who still maintained his army by contributions in that country, more intent upon the ruin of Augustus than upon the preservation of his own dominions; for he paid no regard to the progress of the Muscovites, who had ravaged Livonia, reduced Narva, and made incursions into Sweden. Augustus retreated into his Saxon dominions, which he impoverished in order to raise a great army with which he might return to Poland; the pope espoused the interest of this new convert, so far as to cite the cardinal-primate to appear at Rome, and give an account of the share he had in the Polish troubles. The protestants of the Cevennois, deriving courage from despair, became so troublesome to the government of France, that Louis was obliged to treat them with lenity: he sent mareschal Villars against them with a fresh reinforcement, but at the same time furnished him with instructions to treat for an accommodation. This officer immediately commenced a negotiation with Cavalier, the chief of the revolters; and a formal treaty was concluded, by which they were indulged with liberty of conscience: but these articles were very ill observed by the French ministry.
In Portugal, the interest of king Charles wore a very melancholy aspect. When he arrived at Lisbon, he found no preparations made for opening the campaign. The Portuguese ministry favoured the French in secret; the people were averse to heretics; the duke of Schom-berg was on ill terms with Fagel, the Dutch general; the Portuguese forces consisted of raw undisciplined peasants; and the French ambassador had bought up the best horses in the kingdom; so that the troopers could not be properly mounted. The king of Portugal had promised to enter Spain with Charles by the middle of May; but he was not ready till the beginning of June, when they reached Santaran. By this time they had published their respective manifestoes; Charles displaying his title to the crown of Spain, and promising pardon to all his subjects who would in three months join his army; and the king of Portugal declaring, that his sole aim in taking up arms was to restore liberty to the Spanish nation, oppressed by the power of France, as Avell as to assert the right of Charles to that monarchy. The present possessor, whom they mentioned by the name of the duke of Anjou, had already anticipated their invasion. His general, the duke of Berwick, entering Portugal, took the town of Segura by stratagem. The governor of Salvaterra surrendered at discretion; Cebreros was reduced without much opposition; Zode-bre was abandoned by the inhabitants; and the town of Lhana la Viella was taken by assault. Portugal was at the same time invaded in different parts by the marquis de Jeoffreville, prince Tserclas de Tilly, and the marquis de Villadarias. Two Dutch battalions were attacked and taken by the duke of Berwick at Sodreira Formosa. Then he passed the Tagus, and joined prince Tserclas. King Philip arriving in the army, invested Portalegre; and the garrison, including an English regiment of foot commanded by colonel Stanhope, were made prisoners of war. The next place he besieged was Castel Davide, which met with the same fate. On the other hand, the marquis Das Minas, in order to make a diversion, entered Spain with fifteen thousand men, took Feuenta Grimaldo in Castile, by assault, defeated a body of French and Spaniards commanded by Don Ronquillo, and made himself master of Manseinto. The weather growing excessively hot, Philip sent his troops into quarters of refreshment; and the allies followed his example. Duke Schomberg finding his advice very little regarded by the Portuguese ministry, and seeing very little prospect of success, desired leave to resign his command, which the queen bestowed upon the earl of Galway, who, with a reinforcement of English and Dutch troops, arrived at Lisbon on the thirtieth day of July. About the latter end of September, the two kings repaired to the camp near Almeida, resolving to invade Castile; but they found the river Aguada so well guarded by the duke of Benvick, that they would not attempt a passage. They therefore retired into the territories of Portugal, and the army was put into winter quarters. The Spaniards were now so weakened by detachments sent with the marquis de Villadarias towards Gibraltar, that the duke of Berwick could not execute any scheme of importance during the remaining part of the campaign.
The arms of England were not less fortunate by sea than they had been upon the Danube. Sir George Rooke having landed king Charles at Lisbon, sent a squadron to cruise off Cape Spartell, under the command of rear admiral Dilkes, who on the twelfth of March, engaged and took three Spanish ships of war, bound from St. Sebastian's to Cadiz. Rooke received orders from the queen to sail to the relief of Nice and Villa Franca, which were threatened with a siege by the duke de Vendôme; at the same time he was pressed by king Charles to execute a scheme upon Barcelona, projected by the prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, who declared his opinion, that the Catalonians would declare for the house of Austria, as soon as they should be assured of proper support and protection. The ministry of England understanding that the French were employed in equipping a strong squadron at Brest, and judging it was destined to act in the Mediterranean, sent out sir Cloudesley Shovel with a considerable fleet, to watch the motions of the Brest squadron; and he was provided with instructions how to act, in case it should be sailed to the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, sir George Rooke, in compliance with the entreaties of King Charles, sailed with the transports under his convoy to Barcelona, and on the eighteenth of May appeared before the city. Next day the troops were landed by the prince of Hesse, to the number of two thousand, and the Dutch ketches bombarded the place; but by this time the governor had secured the chiefs of the Austrian party; and the people exhibiting no marks of attachment to king Charles, the prince re-embarked his soldiers, from an apprehension of their being attacked and overpowered by superior numbers. On the sixteenth day of June, sir George Rooke, being joined by sir Cloudesley Shovel, resolved to proceed up the Mediterranean in quest of the French fleet, which had sailed thither from Brest, and which Rooke had actually discovered, in the preceding month, on their voyage to Toulon. On the seventeenth day of July the admiral called a council of war in the road of Tetuan, when they resolved to make an attempt upon Gibraltar, which was but slenderly provided with a garrison. Thither they sailed, and on the twenty-first day of the month the prince of Hesse landed on the isthmus with eighteen hundred marines; then he summoned the governor to surrender, and was answered, that the place would be defended to the last extremity. Next day the admiral gave orders for cannonading the town; perceiving that the enemy were driven from their fortifications at the south mole-head, he commanded captain Whi-taker to arm all the boats, and assault that quarter. The captains Hicks and Juniper, who happened to be nearest the mole, immediately manned their pinnaces, and entered the fortifications sword in hand. The Spaniards sprung a mine, by which two lieutenants, and about a hundred men were killed or wounded. Nevertheless, the two captains took possession of a platform, and kept their ground until they were sustained by captain Whi-taker, and the rest of the seamen, who took by storm a redoubt between the mole and the town. Then the governor capitulated; and the prince of Hesse entered the place, amazed at the success of this attempt, considering the strength of the fortifications, which might have been defended by fifty men against a numerous army.
A sufficient garrison being left with his highness, the admiral returned to Tetuan to take in wood and Water; and when he sailed, on the ninth day of August, he descried the French fleet, to which he gave chase with all the sail he could spread. On the thirteenth he came up with it, as it lay in a line off Malaga ready to receive him, to the number of two-and-fifty great ships, and four-and-twenty galleys, under the command of the count de Tholouse, high-admiral of France, with the inferior flags of the white and blue divisions. The English fleet consisted of three-and-fifty ships of the line, exclusive of frigates, but they were inferior to the French in number of guns and men, as well as in weight of metal, and altogether unprovided with galleys, from which the enemy reaped great advantage during the engagement. A little after ten in the morning the battle began, with equal fury on both sides, and continued to rage with doubtful success till two in the afternoon, when the van of the French gave way; nevertheless, the fight was maintained till night, when the enemy bore away to leeward. The wind shifting before morning, the French gained the weather-gage; but they made no use of this advantage; for two successive days the English admiral endeavoured to renew the engagement, which the count de Tholouse declined, and at last he disappeared. The loss was pretty equal on both sides, though not a single ship was taken or destroyed by either; but the honour of the day certainly remained with the English. Over and above the disadvantages we have enumerated, the bottoms of the British fleet were foul, and several large ships had expended all their shot long before the battle ceased; yet the enemy were so roughly handled, that they did not venture another engagement during the whole war. The French king, in order to raise the drooping spirits of his people, claimed the victory, and published an account of the action, which, at this distance of time, plainly proves that he was reduced to the mean shift of imposing upon his subjects, by false and partial representations. Among other exaggerations in this detail, we find mention made of mischief done to French ships by English bombs; though nothing is more certain than that there was not one bomb vessel in the combined fleet. The French academy, actuated by a servile spirit of adulation, caused a medal to be struck on the occasion, which, instead of perpetuating the glory of their prince, served only to transmit their own shame to posterity. After the battle, sir George Rooke sailed to Gibraltar to refit, and leaving a squadron with sir John Leake, set sail for England on the twenty-fourth day of August. He arrived in September, and was received by the ministry, and the people in general, with those marks of esteem and veneration which were due to his long services and signal success; but he was still persecuted with a spirit of envy and detraction. Philip king of Spain, alarmed at the reduction of Gibraltar, sent the marquis de Villadarias with an army to retake it. The siege lasted four months, during which the prince of Hesse exhibited many shining proofs of courage and ability. The place was supplied with men and provisions by convoys from Lisbon, until monsieur de Pointis put a stop to that communication, by entering the bay with a strong squadron; but he was obliged to retire at the approach of sir John Leake and admiral Vanderdussen; and the marquis de Villadarias, having made little or no progress on land, thought proper to abandon the enterprise.
The parliament of England meeting on the twenty-ninth day of October, the queen in her speech, observed, that the great and remarkable success with which God had blessed her arms, produced unanimous joy and satisfaction through all parts of the kingdom; and that a timely improvement of the present advantages would enable her to procure a lasting foundation of security for England, as well as a firm support for the liberty of Europe. She declared her intention was to be kind and indulgent to all her subjects. She expressed her hope that they would do nothing to endanger the loss of this opportunity; and that there would be no contention among them, but an emulation to promote the public welfare. Congratulatory addresses were voted and presented by both houses. They were equal in their professions of duty and affection to the queen; but the addresses imbibed a very different colour from the different sanctions by which the two houses were influenced. The lords congratulated her on the great and glorious success of her arms under the command of the duke of Marlborough, without deigning to mention sir George Rooke, who had defeated the French navy at sea, and added the important fortress of Gibraltar to the British conquests. On the other hand, the commons affected to mention the battle of Blenheim, and Rooke's naval victory, as events of equal glory and importance. However they might be warped by prejudice against individuals, they did not suffer the war to languish for want of supplies. Having taken into consideration the services of the army and navy, they voted that the queen should be desired to bestow her bounty on the seamen and land forces who had behaved themselves so gallantly. Then they deliberated upon the different articles of national expense, and granted four millions six hundred and seventy thousand nine hundred and thirty-one pounds, for the occasion's of the ensuing year, to be raised by a land tax, by the sale of annuities, and other expedients. These measures were taken with such expedition, that the land tax received the royal assent on the ninth day of December; when the queen, in a short speech, thanked the commons for their despatch, which she considered a sure pledge of their affection.
The high church party took this occasion to promote the bill against occasional conformity, which was revived and brought into the house in a new model by Mr. William Bromley, who moved that it might be tacked to the land-tax bill, and sent up to the lords for their concurrence. The court no longer espoused this measure, and the violent party was weakened by defection. After a warm and tedious debate, the tack was rejected by a great majority. The bill, however, passed the house of commons, and was sent up to the lords on the fourteenth day of December, when it would hardly have excited a debate had not the queen been present, and desirous of hearing what could be said on both sides of the question. For the information and satisfaction of her majesty the subject was again discussed, and all the arguments being repeated, the bill was rejected by a majority of one-and-twenty voices. The next subject on which the house of lords employed their attention, was the late conduct of the Scottish parliament. The lord Haversham, in a set speech, observed, that the settlement of the succession in Scotland had been postponed, partly because the ministry for that kingdom were weak and divided; partly from a received opinion that the succession was never sincerely and cordially intended by those who managed the affairs of Scotland in the cabinet-council. He expatiated on the bad consequences that might attend the act of security, which he styled a bill of exclusion, and particularly mentioned that clause by which the heritors and boroughs were ordained to exercise their fencible men every month. He said the nobility and gentry of Scotland were as learned and brave as any nation in Europe, and generally discontented: that the common people were very numerous, very stout, and very poor; and he asked who was the man that could tell what such a multitude, so armed, and so disciplined, might do under such leaders could opportunities suit their intention. He recommended these circumstances to the consideration of the house, and concluded with these words of Lord Bacon, "Let men beware how they neglect or suffer matter of troubles to be prepared, for no man can forbid the sparks that may set all on fire." The lords resolved to consider these subjects on the twenty-ninth day of November, when the queen repaired to the house of peers to hear the debates, and by her presence moderate the heat of both parties. The earl of Nottingham reflected so severely on the memory of king William, that he would have been sent to the Tower, had not the lords declined any such motion out of respect to her majesty. After much declamation on the Scottish act of security, the grand committee of the peers, by the advice of lord Wharton, resolved that the queen should be enabled by act of parliament on the part of England, to name commissioners to treat about an union with Scotland, provided that the parliament of Scotland should first appoint commissioners on their part for the same purpose; that no Scotsmen should enjoy the privileges of Englishmen, except such as were settled in England, Ireland, and the plantations, and such as were or might be in the sea or land service, until an union could be effected, or the succession settled as in England: that the traffic by cattle from Scotland to England should be prevented: that the lord admiral should issue orders for taking such vessels as should be found trading from Scotland to France, or to the ports of any of her majesty's enemies: and that care should be taken to prevent the exportation of English wool into Scotland. On these resolutions a bill was formed for an entire union, and passed the house on the twentieth day of December. The lords presented an address to the queen, representing that they had duly weighed the dangerous and pernicious effects that were likely to be produced by divers acts of parliament lately passed in Scotland: that they were of opinion the safety of the kingdom required that speedy and effectual orders should be given to put Newcastle in a posture of defence, to secure the port of Tynemouth, and repair the fortifications of Hull and Carlisle. They likewise advised her majesty to give directions for disciplining the militia of the four northern counties; for providing them with arms and ammunition; for maintaining a competent number of regular troops on the northern borders of England, as well as in the north of Ireland; and for putting the laws in execution against papists. The queen promised that a survey should be made of the places they had mentioned, and laid before parliament, and that she would give the necessary directions upon the other articles of the address. The commons seemed to concur with the lords in their sentiments of the Scottish act of security. They resolved that a bill should be brought in for the effectual securing the kingdom of England from the apparent dangers that might arise from several acts lately passed in the parliament of Scotland, and this was formed on nearly the same resolutions which had been taken in the upper house. The bill sent down by the lords was thrice read, and ordered to lie on the table, but they passed their own, to take effect at Christmas, provided before that time the Scots should not settle the succession. When it was offered to the lords they passed it without any amendment, contrary to the expectation and even to the hope of some members who were no friends to the house of Hanover, and firmly believed the lords would have treated this bill with the same contempt which had been manifested for that which they had sent down to the commons.
The duke of Marlborough, at his first appearance in the house after his return to England, was honoured with a very extraordinary eulogium, pronounced by the lord-keeper, in the name of the peers of England; and a compliment of the same nature was presented to him by a committee of the house of commons. Doctor Delaune, vice-chancellor of Oxford, accompanied by the principal members of the University, attended the queen with an address of congratulation upon the success of her arms in Germany, under the admirable conduct and invincible courage of the duke of Marlborough; and at sea, under the most brave and faithful admiral sir George Booke. He received a civil answer from her majesty, though now she took umbrage at Booke's being raised upon a level with the duke of Marlborough, whose great victories had captivated her administration, and whose wife had alienated her affection from the tories. The commons perceiving how high he stood in her majesty's esteem, and having been properly tutored for the purpose, took into consideration the great services of the duke; and, in an address, besought her majesty to consider some proper means to perpetuate the memory of such noble actions. In a few days she gave them to understand, by a message that she was inclined to grant the interest of the crown in the honour and manor of Woodstock and hundred of Wooton, to the duke of Marlborough and his heirs; and that as the lieutenancy and rangership of the parks, with the rents and profits of the manors and hundreds, were granted for two lives, she wished that incumbrance could be removed. A bill was immediately brought in, enabling the queen to bestow these honours and manors on the duke of Marlborough and his heirs, and the queen was desired to advance the money for clearing the incumbrances. She not only complied with this address, but likewise ordered the comptroller of her works to build in Woodstock-park a magnificent palace for the duke, upon a plan much more solid than beautiful. By this time sir George Rooke was laid aside, and the command of the fleet bestowed upon sir Cloudesley Shovel, now declared rear-admiral of England. Mareschal de Tallard, with the other French generals taken at Hochstadt, arrived on the sixteenth of December in the river Thames, and were immediately conveyed to Nottingham and Lichfield, attended by a detachment of the royal regiment of horse guards. They were treated with great respect, and allowed the privilege of riding ten miles around the places of their confinement.
ANNE, 1701—1714
While the house of commons, in two successive addresses, thanked the queen for the treaty which the duke of Marlborough had concluded with Prussia concerning the troops to be sent to the duke of Savoy, and desired she would use her interest with the allies that they might next year furnish their complete proportions of men by sea and land; the lords examined into all the proceedings at sea and all the instructions of the admiralty, and presented an address to the queen, explaining all the different articles of mismanagement. She promised to consider them particularly, and give such directions upon them as might be most for the advantage of the public service. The remaining part of the session was consumed in disputes and altercations between the two houses on the subject of the Aylesbury constables, who were sued by five other inhabitants for having denied them the right of voting at the election. These five persons were committed to Newgate by order of the house of commons. They moved for a habeas-corpus in the King's Bench, but the court would take no cognizance of the affair. Two of the prisoners petitioned the queen that their case might be brought before her majesty in parliament. The commons, in an address, besought the queen to refuse granting a writ of error in this case, which would tend to the overthrowing the undoubted rights and privileges of the commons of England. She assured them she would not do any thing to give them just cause of complaint, but this matter relating to the course of judicial proceedings being of the highest importance, she thought it necessary to weigh and consider very carefully what might be proper for her to do in a thing of so great concern. They voted all the lawyers, who had pleaded on the return of the habeas-corpus in behalf of the prisoners, guilty of a breach of privilege, and ordered them to be taken into custody. They likewise ordered the prisoners to be removed from Newgate into the custody of their serjeant-at-arms, lest they should have been discharged by the queen's granting writs of error. The prisoners, finding themselves at the mercy of the exasperated commons, petitioned the lords for relief. The upper house passed six different resolutions against the conduct of the commons, as being an obstruction to justice, and contrary to Magna Charta. The lower house demanded a conference, in which they insisted upon the sole right of determining elections: they affirmed that they only could judge who had a right of voting, and that they were judges of their own privileges, in which the lords could not intermeddle.
The upper house demanded a free conference, which proved ineffectual. New resolutions were taken by the commons, diametrically opposite to those of the peers; who, on the other hand, attended the queen with along representation of all the particulars relating to this affair. They affirmed that the proceedings of the house of commons against the Aylesbury men, were wholly new and unprecedented: that it was the birthright of every Englishman, who apprehended himself injured, to seek for redress in her majesty's courts of justice: that if any power could control this right, and prescribe when he should, and when he should not, be allowed the benefit of the laws, he ceased to be a freeman, and his liberty and property were precarious. They requested, therefore, that no consideration whatever should prevail with her majesty to suffer an obstruction to the known course of justice, but that she would be pleased to give effectual orders for the immediate issuing of the writs of error. The queen assured them that she would have complied with their request, but finding an absolute necessity for putting an immediate end to the session, she knew there could be no further proceedings on that matter. On the very day, which was the fourteenth of March, she went to the house of lords and passed the bills that were ready for the royal assent. Then she thanked the parliament for having despatched the public business: she warned them to avoid the fatal effects of animosity and dissension: and ordered the lord keeper to prorogue them to Thursday the first of May; but on the fifth of April they were dissolved by proclamation, and another was published for calling a new parliament. The queen, accompanied by the prince of Denmark, made an excursion to Newmarket, and afterwards dined by invitation with the university of Cambridge, where she conferred the honour of knighthood upon Dr. Ellis the vice-chancellor, upon James Montague, counsel for the University, and upon the celebrated Isaac Newton, mathematical professor. The two houses of convocation still continued at variance. The lower house penned petulant representations, and the archbishop answered them by verbal reprehension and admonition. The tory interest was now in the wane. The duke of Buckinghamshire was deprived of the privy-seal, and that office conferred on the duke of Newcastle, a nobleman of powerful influence with the whig party. The earl of Montague was created marquis of Mounthermer and duke of Montague; the earl of Peterborough and lord Cholmondeley were chosen of the privy-council; and lord Cutts was sent to command the troops in Ireland under the duke of Ormond.
The ministry of Scotland was now entirely changed. The marquis of Tweedale and Johnston having been found unequal to the undertaking, were dismissed. The duke of Queensberry resumed the management of affairs in that kingdom under the title of lord privy-seal, and the office of commissioner was conferred upon the young duke of Argyle, who succeeded to his father's influence among the presbyterians. He was a nobleman possessed of good natural talents, which had not been neglected; candid, open, and sincere; brave, passionate, and aspiring; had he been endued with a greater share of liberality, his character would have been truly heroic. At this juncture he was instructed to procure an act of the Scottish parliament, settling the protestant succession, or to set on foot a treaty for the union of the two kingdoms. At the opening of the session in June, the members were divided into three parties, namely, the cavaliers or Jacobites, the revolutioners, the squadrone volante, or flying squadron, headed by the marquis of Tweedale, who disclaimed the other two factions, and pretended to act from the dictates of conscience alone. The parliament was adjourned to the third day of July, when her majesty's letter was read, earnestly recommending the settlement of the succession in the protestant line, and an act for a commission to treat of an union between the two kingdoms. The marquis of Annandale proposed that the parliament should proceed on the limitations and conditions of government: that a committee should be appointed to consider the condition of the coin and the commerce of the nation. The earl of Mar moved that the house would, preferable to all other business, consider the means for engaging in a treaty with England. After a long debate they resolved to proceed on the coin and the commerce. Schemes for supplying the nation with money by a paper credit were presented by Dr. Hugh Chamberlain and John Law, but rejected. The house resolved that any kind of paper credit, by the circulation of bills, was an improper expedient, and appointed a council to put the laws relating to trade in execution. The duke of Hamilton proposed that the parliament should not proceed to the nomination of a successor until the treaty with England should be discussed, and the limitations settled. This proposal being approved, a draft of an answer to her majesty's letter was presented by the marquis of Tweedale. Two different forms of an act for a treaty with England were offered by the earl of Mar and the marquis of Lothian: others were produced concerning the elections of officers of state, and the regulation of commerce.
1705
The chief aim of the cavaliers was to obstruct the settlement of the succession, and with that view they pressed the project of limitations, to which they knew the court would never assent. A motion being made to grant the first reading to an act of commission for a treaty with England, the duke of Hamilton insisted on the limitations, and a vote being stated in these terms, "Proceed to consider the act for a treaty of limitation," the latter was carried in favour of the cavaliers. On the twenty-second day of August an act for this purpose was approved; and next day an act for a triennial parliament, which the courtiers were enabled to defeat. They likewise passed an act, ordaining, that the Scottish ambassadors representing Scotland should be present when the sovereign might have occasion to treat with foreign princes and states, and be accountable to the parliament of Scotland. Fletcher of Saltoun, presented a scheme of limitations that savoured strongly of republican principles. He afterwards enlarged upon every article, endeavouring to prove that they were absolutely necessary to prevent the consequences of English influence; to enable the nation to defend its rights and liberties; to deter ministers of state from giving bad advice to their sovereign; to preserve the courts of judicature from corruption, and screen the people from tyranny and oppression. The earl of Stair having argued against these limitations, Fletcher replied, "It is no wonder he opposed the scheme; for, had such an act subsisted, his lordship would have been hanged for the bad counsel he had given to king James; for the concern he had in the massacre of Glencoe; and for his conduct since the revolution." The next subject on which the parliament deliberated was the conspiracy. A motion being made that the house might know what answer the queen had returned to their address in the last session, the chancellor delivered to the clerk register the papers relating to the plot, that they might be perused by the members: but these being copies, and the evidences remaining at London, no further progress was made in the affair. Yet the duke of Athol, in a distinct narrative of the pretended conspiracy, boldly accused the duke of Queensberry of having endeavoured to mislead the queen by false accusations against her good subjects. When the act for a treaty of union fell under consideration, a draft for that purpose, presented by the earl of Mar, was compared with the English act, importing, that the queen should name and appoint not only the commissioners for England, but likewise for Scotland.
Fletcher did not fail to inveigh against the imperious conduct of the English parliament in this affair. He exhorted the house to resent such treatment, and offered the draft of an address to her majesty on the subject, but this the house rejected. Duke Hamilton proposed that a clause might be added to the act, importing, that the union should nowise derogate from any fundamental laws, ancient privileges, offices, rights, liberties, and dignities of the Scottish nation. This occasioned a long debate; and a question being put, was carried in the negative. Another clause was proposed, that the Scottish commissioners should not begin to treat until the English parliament should have rescinded their clause enacting that the subjects of Scotland should be adjudged and taken as aliens after the twenty-fifth day of December. The courtiers, considering the temper of the house, would not venture to oppose this motion directly, but proposed that the clause should be formed into a separate act, and the expedient was approved. Though the Duke of Athol entered a vigorous protest, to which the greater part of the cavaliers and all the squadrone adhered, comprehending four-and-twenty peers, seven-and-thirty barons, and eighteen boroughs, the act for the treaty of union was, after much altercation, finished, empowering commissioners to meet and treat of an union; but restraining them from treating of any alterations of the church government as by law established. Whilst this important subject was under consideration, the duke of Hamilton, to the amazement of his whole party, moved that the nomination of the commissioners should be left to the queen. Fourteen or fifteen of the cavaliers ran out of the house in a transport of indignation, exclaiming that they were deserted and basely betrayed by the duke of Hamilton. A very hot debate ensued, in the course of which the duke was severely handled by those whom he had hitherto conducted: but at length the question being put whether the nomination should be left to the queen or to the parliament, the duke's motion was approved by a very small majority. He afterwards excused himself for his defection, by saying he saw it was in vain to contend, and that since the court had acquired a great majority, he thought he might be allowed to pay that compliment to his sovereign. He was desirous of being in the commission, and the duke of Argyle promised he should be nominated. The queen refusing to honour him with that mark of distinction, Argyle would not suffer himself to be named, and threatened to oppose the union, but means were found to appease his resentment. Two drafts of an address being presented by the earl of Sutherland and Fletcher of Saltoun, beseeching her majesty to use her endeavours with the parliament of England to rescind that part of their act which declared the subjects of Scotland aliens; and an overture of a bill being offered, ordaining that the Scottish commissioners should not enter upon the treaty of union until that clause should be repealed; the courtiers moved that the parliament should proceed by way of order to their commissioners, and by address to her majesty. After some debate, the house assenting to this proposal, the order and address was drawn up and approved. The great and weighty affair of the treaty being at length happily transacted, though not without a protest by Athol and his adherents, the parliament granted a supply of fifty thousand pounds, and the house was adjourned to the twentieth day of December; then the queen declaring the earl of Mar secretary of state in the room of the marquis of Annandale, who was appointed lord president of the council.
In Ireland, the parliament met at Dublin on the fifth day of March, and voted one hundred and fifty thousand pounds for the support of the necessary branches of the establishment. A dispute arose between the commons and the lower house of convocation, relating to the tithes of hemp and flax, ascertained in a clause of a bill for the better improvement of the hempen and flaxen manufactures of the kingdom. The lower house of convocation presented a memorial against this clause as prejudicial to the rights and properties of the clergy. The commons voted the person who brought it in guilty of a breach of privilege, and ordered him to be taken into custody. Then they resolved that the convocation were guilty of a contempt and breach of the privilege of that house. The convocation presuming to justify their memorials, the commons voted that all matters relating to it should be razed out of the journals and books of convocation. The duke of Ormond, dreading the consequences of such heats, adjourned the parliament to the first day of May, when the houses meeting again, came to some resolutions that reflected obliquely on the eon-vocation as enemies to her majesty's government and the protestant succession. The clergy, in order to acquit themselves of all suspicion, resolved in their turn that the church and nation had been happily delivered from popery and tyranny by king William at the revolution: that the continuance of these blessings were due, under God, to the auspicious reign and happy government of her majesty queen Anne: that the future security and preservation of the church and nation depended wholly, under God, on the succession of the crown as settled by law in the protestant line: that if any clergyman should by word or writing declare anything in opposition to these resolutions, they should look upon him as a sower of divisions among the protestants, and an enemy to the constitution. They levelled another resolution against the presbyterians, importing, that to teach or to preach against the doctrine, government, rites, or ceremonies of the church, or to maintain schools or seminaries for the education of youth, in principles contrary to those of the established church, was a contempt of the ecclesiastical laws of the kingdom; of pernicious consequence; and served only to continue and widen the unhappy schisms and divisions in the nation. In June the parliament was prorogued to the same month of the following year: then the duke of Ormond embarked for England, leaving the administration in the hands of sir Richard Cox, lord chancellor, and lord Cutts, the commander-in-chief of the queen's forces, who were appointed lords-justices during the duke's absence.
During these transactions in Great Britain and Ireland, the allies had not been remiss in their preparations for the ensuing campaign. The duke of Marlborough had fixed upon the Moselle for the scene of action; and magazines of all sorts were formed at Triers. On the thirteenth day of March the duke embarked for Holland, where he prevailed upon the states-general to contribute their troops for the execution of his project. Having concerted with the deputies of the states and the Dutch generals the necessary measures for opening the campaign, he set out for Maestricht in order to assemble his army. On the fifth day of May the emperor Leopold died at Vienna, and was succeeded on the imperial throne by his eldest son Joseph, king of the Romans, a prince who resembled his father in meekness of disposition, narrowness of intellect, and bigotry to the Romish religion. On the fifteenth of June the English troops passed the Maese, and continued their march towards the Moselle, under the command of general Churchill; and the duke set out for Cruetznach, to confer with prince Louis of Baden, who excused himself on pretence of being much indisposed. Marlborough visited him at Castadt, where in a conference they resolved that a sufficient number of German troops should be left for the security of the lines of Lauterburg and Stolhoffen, under the command of general Thungen, and that prince Louis of Baden should march with a large detachment towards the Saar, to act in concert with the duke of Marlborough. The confederate army passed the Moselle and the Saar in the beginning of June, and encamped at Elft in sight of the enemy, who retired with great precipitation, and intrenched themselves in the neighbourhood of Coningsmarcheren. The duke's design was to besiege Saar-Louis; but prince Louis failed in the performance of his engagement: he feigned himself sick, and repaired to the bath at Schlangenbacle, leaving the small number of imperial troops he conducted as far as Cruetznach, under the command of the count de Frize. He was suspected of treachery; but probably acted from envy of the duke's military reputation.*
* The duke of Marlborough finding himself obliged to
retreat, sent a note with a trumpeter to Villars, containing
an apology for decamping:—"Do me the justice, said he, to
believe that my retreat is entirely owing to the failure of
the prince of Baden; but that my esteem for you is still
greater than my resentment of his conduct."
While this nobleman sustained such a mortifying disappointment on the Moselle, the French did not fail to take advantage of their superiority in the Netherlands, where general d'Auverquerque was obliged to stand on the defensive. They invested Huy, and carried on their operations so vigorously, that in a few days the garrison were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war; then Villeroy undertook the reduction of Liege, and actually began his works before the citadel. Marlborough was no sooner informed of the enemy's progress than he marched to Triers, where, in a council, it was resolved that the army should return to the Netherlands. The troops were in motion on the nineteenth of June, and marched with such expedition that they passed the Maese on the first day of July. Villeroy having received advice of the duke's approach, abandoned his enterprise, and retired to Tonegren, from whence he retreated within his lines, that reached from Marche aux Dames on the Mouse, along the Mehaigne as far as Lenuive. Marlborough having joined d'Auverquerque, sent general Scholten with a detachment to invest Huy, and in a few days the garrison surrendered at discretion. The English general, resolving to strike some stroke of importance that should atone for his disappointment on the Moselle, sent general Hompesch to the states, with a proposal for attacking the French lines; and obtained their permission to do whatever he should think proper for the good of the common cause. Then he explained the scheme in two successive councils of war, by which at length it was approved and resolved upon, though some Dutch generals declared themselves against the undertaking. The enemy were posted along the lines, amounting to one hundred battalions, and one hundred and forty-six squadrons. The allied army did not much exceed that number. In order to divide them, d'Auverquerque made a false motion, and passed the Mehaigne as if he had intended to attack the lines about Messelin. The stratagem succeeded. The French weakened the other parts by strengthening that which was on the side of the Gerbise towards Namur. The duke of Marlborough having made the disposition, the army began to march in the night between the seventeenth and eighteenth of July, in order to force a passage of the French lines at Heylesem, the castle of Wauge, and the villages of Wauge, Neerhespen, and Oostmalen. These posts were taken with very little difficulty; but before the infantry could come up, the enemy advanced with fifty squadrons and twenty battalions, and began to fire from eight pieces of cannon with triple barrels, which did considerable execution. The duke perceiving that they were continually reinforced from the other parts of the lines, ordered the horse to charge their cavalry, which were soon broken and routed; but rallying behind their infantry, interlined with foot, and joined by fresh squadrons, they advanced again towards the allies, who were now sustained by their infantry, and moved forward to renew the charge. After a warm though short engagement, the enemy's horse were defeated with great slaughter. The infantry, seeing themselves abandoned in the plain, retreated in great disorder, between the villages of Heylesem and Golsteven, where they were joined by the rest of their army, and formed again in order of battle. Meanwhile the duke of Marlborough ordered all his troops to enter the lines; and extended his right towards the great Geete before Tirlemont, where the enemy had left the battalion of Montluc, which surrendered at discretion. In this action the confederates took the marquis d'Alegre and the count de Home, lieutenant-generals, one major-general, two brigadier-generals, with many other officers, and a great number of common soldiers; a large heap of standards, four colours, one pair of kettle-drums, and ten pieces of cannon. In the action, as the duke of Marlborough advanced to the charge at the head of several squadrons, a Bavarian officer rode up to attack him sword in hand; but in raising himself on his stirrups to strike with the greater advantage, he fell from his horse and was immediately slain.
The body of troops commanded by monsieur d'Alegre being thus defeated with little or no loss to the confederates, the elector of Bavaria and the mareschal de Villeroy passed the great Geete and the Deule, with great expedition, and took possession of the strong camp at Parck, their left extending to Eoselser, and their right to Winselen against the height of Louvain. Next day the duke of Marlborough, marching through the plain of Parck, took twelve hundred prisoners, who could not keep pace with the rest of the enemy's forces; and in the evening he encamped with the right at the abbey of Vliersbeck, and the left before Bierbcek, under the cannon of Louvain. He detached lieutenant-gen-carl Henkelum, the duke of Wirtemberg, and count Oxienstiern, with a considerable body of forces, to attack some posts on the Deule which were slenderly guarded. Their advanced guard accordingly passed the river and repulsed the enemy; but for want of timely support, they were obliged to pass it and retire. On the third of August baron Spaar, with a body of Dutch troops, marched to Raboth on the canal of Bruges, forced the French lines at Lovendegen, and took four forts by which they were defended; but receiving advice that the enemy were on their march towards him, he retired to Mildegem, and carried with him several hostages as security for the payment of the contributions he had raised. On the fifteenth the duke moved from Mildert to Corbais; next day he continued his march to Genap, from whence he advanced to Fischer-mont. On the seventeenth general d'Auverquerque took the post of Waterloo; and next day the confederate army was drawn up in order of battle before the enemy, who extended from Overysche, near the wood of Soignies, to Neerysche, with the little river Ysche in their front, so as to cover Brussels and Louvain. The duke of Marlborough proposed to attack them immediately, before they should recollect themselves from their consternation; and d'Auverquerque approved of the design; but it was opposed by general Schlangenburg and other Dutch officers, who represented it in such a light to the deputies of the states, that they refused to concur in the execution. The duke being obliged to relinquish the scheme, wrote an expostulatory letter to the states-general, complaining of their having withdrawn that confidence which they had reposed in him while he acted Germany. This letter being published at the Hague, excited murmurs among the people, and the English nation were incensed at the presumption of the deputies, who wrote several letters in their own justification to the states-general; but these had no effect upon the populace, by whom the duke was respected even to a degree of adoration. The states being apprised of the resentment that prevailed over all England, and that the earl of Pembroke, lord-president of the council, was appointed as envoy-extraordinary to Holland, with instructions to demand satisfaction, thought proper to anticipate his journey by making submissions to the duke, and removing Schlangenburg from his command. The confederate army returned to Corbais, from whence it inarched to Perwitz, where it encamped. The little town of Sout-Leeuwe, situated in the middle of a morass, and constituting the chief defence of the enemy's lines, being taken by a detachment under the command of lieutenant-general Dedem, the duke ordered the lines from this place to Wasseigne to be levelled, and the town of Tirlemont to bo dismantled; then passing the Demer, he encamped on the nineteenth day of September at Aerschot. About the latter end of the month he marched to Heventlials; from hence the duke repaired to the Hague, where he had several conferences with the pensionary. In a few days he returned to the army, which decamping from Heventlials, marched to Clampthout. On the twenty-fourth day of October, the count de Noyelles invested Santvliet, which surrendered before the end of the month.
ANNE, 1701—1714
At this period the duke, in consequence of pressing letters from the emperor, set out for Vienna in order to concert the operations for the ensuing campaign, and other measures of importance, in which the concerns of the allies were interested. In his way he was magnificently entertained by the elector Palatine, and him of Triers, and complimented by the magistracy of Frankfort, where he conferred with prince Louis of Baden. On the twelfth of November he arrived at Vienna, where he was treated with the highest marks of distinction and cordial friendship by their imperial majesties. His son-in-law, the earl of Sunderland, had been sent thither as envoy-extraordinary; and now they conferred together with the emperor and his ministers. They resolved to maintain the war with redoubled vigour. The treaties were renewed, and provision made for the security of the duke of Savoy. The emperor, in consideration of the duke's signal service to the house of Austria, presented him with a grant of the lordship of Mindel-heim in Suabia, which was now erected into a principality of the Roman empire. In his return with the earl of Sunderland he visited the courts of Berlin and Hanover, where he was received with that extraordinary respect which was due to his character; and arrived at the Hague on the fourteenth day of December. There he settled the operations of the next campaign with the states-general, who consented to join England in maintaining an additional body of ten thousand men reinforcement to the army of prince Eugene in Italy. While the allies were engaged in the siege of Santvliet, the elector of Bavaria sent a detachment, under the command of don Marcello de Grimaldi, to invest Diest, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war.
On the Upper Rhine, mareschal Villars besieged and took Homburgh, and passed the Rhine at Strasburgh on the sixth day of August. Prince Louis of Baden arriving in the camp of the Imperialists at Stolhoffen, not only obliged him to retire, but having passed the river, forced the French lines at Hagenau; then he reduced Drusenheim and Hagenau, but attempted no enterprise equal to the number of his army, although the emperor had expostulated with him severely on his conduct, and he had now a fair opportunity of emulating the glory of Marlborough, upon whom he looked with the eyes of an envious rival. In Italy a battle was fought at Casano, between prince Eugene and the duke de Vendôme, with dubious success. The duke de Feuillade reduced Chivas, and invested Nice, which, after an obstinate defence, surrendered in December. All the considerable places belonging to the duke of Savoy were now taken, except Coni and Turin; and his little army was reduced to twelve thousand men, whom he could hardly support. His duchess, his clergy, and his subjects in general, pressed him to submit to the necessity of his affairs; but he adhered to the alliance with surprising fortitude. He withstood the importunities of his duchess, excluded all the bishops and clergy from his councils; and when he had occasion for a confessor, he chose a priest occasionally either from the Dominicans or Franciscans. The campaign in Portugal began with a very promising aspect. The allies invaded Spain by the different frontiers of Beyra and Alentejo. Their army, under the command of the Condo das Galveas, undertook the siege of Valencia D'Alcantara in May, and took it by assault; Albuquerque surrendered upon articles, and then the troops were sent into quarters of refreshment. The marquis de las Minas, who commanded the Portuguese in the province of Beyra, reduced the town of Salva-terra, plundered and burned Sarca, but was obliged to retire to Panamacos at the approach of the enemy. Towards the end of September the confederates, being reassembled, invested Badajox, by the advice of the earl of Gal-way, who lost his right hand by a cannon ball, and was obliged to be carried off; so that the conduct of the siege was left to General Fagel. He had made considerable progress towards the reduction of the place, when the marquis de Thessé found means to throw in a powerful reinforcement, and then the confederates abandoned the enterprise. The war continued to rage in Hungary with various success. Ragotzki, though frequently worsted, appeared still in arms, and ravaged the country, which became a scene of misery and desolation. In Poland the old cardinal-primate owned Stanislaus, but died before the coronation, which was performed by the bishop of Cujavia. In the beginning of winter king Augustus had passed through Poland in disguise to the Muscovite army, which was put under his command in Lithuania; and the campaign was protracted through the whole winter season, notwithstanding the severity of the weather in that northern climate. In the spring the Swedish general, Reinchild, obtained a complete victory over the Saxon army, which was either cut in pieces or taken, with their camp, baggage, and artillery; yet the war was not extinguished. The king of Sweden continued obstinately deaf to all proposals of peace, and was become as savage in his manners, as brutal in his revenge.
At sea the arms of the allies were generally prosperous. Philip of Spain, being obstinately bent upon retaking Gibraltar, sent mareschal de Thessé to renew the siege, while de Pontis was ordered to block up the place by sea with his squadron. These French officers carried on the siege with such activity, that the prince of Hesse despatched an express to Lisbon with a letter, desiring sir John Leake to sail immediately to his assistance. This admiral having been reinforced from England by sir Thomas Dilkes, with five sail of the line and a body of troops, set sail immediately; and on the tenth day of March descried five ships of war hauling out of the bay of Gibraltar. These were commanded by de Pontis in person, to whom the English admiral gave chase. One of them struck, after having made a very slight resistance; and the rest ran ashore to the westward of Marbella, where they were destroyed. The remaining part of the French squadron had been blown from their anchors, and taken shelter in the bay of Malaga; but now they slipped their cables and made the best of their way to Toulon. The mareschal de Thessé, inconsequence of this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, and withdrew the greater part of his forces. While sir John Leake was employed in this expedition, sir George Byng, who had been ordered to cruise in soundings for the protection of trade, took a ship of forty guns from the enemy, together with twelve privateers, and seven vessels richly laden from the West Indies.
But the most eminent achievement of this summer was the reduction of Barcelona, by the celebrated earl of Peterborough and sir Cloudesley Shovel, who sailed from St. Helen's in the latter end of May with the English fleet, having on board a body of five thousand land forces; and on the twentieth day of June arrived at Lisbon; where they were joined by sir John Leake and the Dutch admiral Allemonde. In a council of war, they determined to put to sea with eight-and-forty ships of the line, which should be stationed between cape Spartel and the bay of Cadiz, in order to prevent the junction of the Toulon and Brest squadrons. The prince of Hesse-d'Armstadt arriving from Gibraltar, assured king Charles that the province of Catalonia and the kingdom of Valencia were attached to his interest; and his majesty, being weary of Portugal, resolved to accompany the earl of Peterborough to Barcelona. He accordingly embarked with him on board of the Ranelagh; and the fleet sailed on the twenty-eighth day of July, the earl of Galway having reinforced them with two regiments of English dragoons. At Gibraltar they took on board the English guards, and three old regiments, in lieu of which they left two new raised battalions. On the eleventh day of August they anchored in the bay of Altea, where the earl of Peterborough published a manifesto in the Spanish language, which had such an effect that all the inhabitants of the place, the neighbouring villages, and adjacent mountains, acknowledged king Charles as their lawful sovereign. They seized the town of Denia for his service; and he sent thither a garrison of four hundred men under the command of major-general Ramos. On the twenty-second they arrived in the bay of Barcelona: the troops were disembarked to the eastward of the city, where they encamped in a strong situation, and were well received by the country people. King Charles landed amidst the acclamations of an infinite multitude from the neighbouring towns and villages, who threw themselves at his feet, exclaiming, "Long live the king!" and exhibiting all the marks of the most extravagant joy. The inhabitants of Barcelona were well affected to the house of Austria, but overawed by a garrison of five thousand men under the duke de Popoli, Velasco, and other officers devoted to the interest of king Philip. Considering the strength of such a garrison, and the small number of Dutch and English troops, nothing could appear more desperate and dangerous than the design of besieging the place; yet this was proposed by the prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, who served in the expedition as a volunteer, strongly urged by king Charles, and approved by the earl of Peterborough and sir Cloudesley Shovel. The city was accordingly invested on one side; but, as a previous step to the reduction of it, they resolved to attack the fort of Montjuic, strongly situated on a hill that commanded the city. The out-works were taken by storm, with the loss of the gallant prince of Hesse, who was shot through the body, and expired in a few hours: then the earl of Peterborough began to bombard the body of the fort; and a shell chancing to fall into the magazine of powder, blew it up, together with the governor and some of the best officers: an accident which struck such a terror into the garrison, that they surrendered without further resistance.
This great point being gained, the English general erected his batteries against the town, with the help of the Miquelets and seamen; the bomb ketches began to fire with such execution, that in a few days the governor capitulated, and on the fourth day of October king Charles entered in triumph. 136 [See note K, at the end of this Vol.] All the other places in Catalonia declared for him, except Roses; so that the largest and richest province of Spain was conquered with an army scarce double the number of the garrison of Barcelona. King Charles wrote a letter with his own hand to the queen of England, containing a circumstantial detail of his affairs, the warmest expressions of acknowledgment, and the highest encomiums on her subjects, particularly the earl of Peterborough. In a council of war it was determined that the king and the earl should continue in Catalonia with the land forces; that sir Cloudesley Shovel should return to England; that five-and-twenty English and fifteen Dutch ships of war should winter at Lisbon under the command of sir John Leake and the Dutch rear-admiral Wassenaer; and that four English and two Dutch frigates should remain at Barcelona. Don Francisco de Velasco was transported to Malaga with about a thousand men of his garrison; the rest voluntarily engaged in the service of king Charles, and six other regiments were raised by the states of Catalonia. The count de Cifuentas, at the head of the Miquelets and Catalans attached to the house of Austria, secured Tar-ragonia, Tortosa, Lerida, San-Mattheo, Gironne, and other places. Don Raphael Nevat, revolting from Philip with his whole regiment of horse, joined general Ramos at Denia, and made themselves masters of several places of importance in the kingdom of Valencia. Flushed with such unexpected success, they penetrated to the capital of the same name, which they surprised, together with the marquis de Villa-Gracia, the viceroy, and the archbishop. These advantages however were not properly improved. The court of Charles was divided into factions, and so much time lost in disputes, that the enemy sent a body of six thousand men into the kingdom of Valencia, under the command of the conde de las Torres, who forthwith invested San-Mattheo, guarded by colonel Jones at the head of five hundred Miquelets. This being a place of great consequence on account of its situation, the earl of Peterborough marched thither with one thousand infantry, and two hundred dragoons; and by means of feigned intelligence artfully conveyed to the conde, induced that general to abandon the siege with precipitation, in the apprehension of being suddenly attacked by a considerable army. Peterborough afterwards took possession of Nules, and purchasing horses at Castillon de la Plana, began to form a body of cavalry which did good service in the sequel. Having assembled a little army, consisting of ten squadrons of horse and dragoons, and four battalions of regular troops, with about three thousand militia, he marched to Molviedro, which was surrendered to him by the governor, brigadier Mahoni. Between this officer and the duke d'Arcos, the Spanish general, he excited such jealousies by dint of artifices, not altogether justifiable even in war, that the duke was more intent upon avoiding the supposed treachery of Mahoni than upon interrupting the earl's march to Valencia, where the inhabitants expressed uncommon marks of joy at his arrival. About this period a very obstinate action happened at St. Istevan de Litera, where the chevalier d'Asfeldt, with nine squadrons of horse and dragoons, and as many battalions of French infantry, attacked colonel Wills at the head of a small detachment; but this last being supported by lieutenant-general Cunningham, who was mortally wounded in the engagement, repulsed the enemy, though three times his number, with the loss of four hundred men killed upon the spot. The troops on both sides fought with the most desperate valour, keeping up their fire until the muzzles of their pieces met, and charging each other at the point of the bayonet. The only misfortune that attended the English arms in the course of this year, was the capture of the Baltic fleet homeward-bound, with their convoy of three ships of war, which were taken by the Dunkirk squadron under the command of the count de St. Paul, though he himself was killed in the engagement. When an account of this advantage was communicated to the French king, he replied with a sigh, "Very well, I wish the ships were safe again in any English port, provided the count de St. Paul could be restored to life." After the death of the famous du Bart, this officer was counted the best seaman in France.
The kingdom of England was now wholly engrossed by the election of members for the new parliament. The tories exerted themselves with great industry, and propagated the cry of the church's being in danger; a cry in which the Jacobites joined with great fervour; but, notwithstanding all their efforts in words and writing, a majority of whigs was returned; and now the lord Godolphin, who had hitherto maintained a neutrality, thought proper openly to countenance that faction. By his interest, co-operating with the influence of the duchess of Marlborough, sir Nathan Wright was deprived of the great seal, which was committed to Mr. William Cowper, with the title of lord-keeper. This was a lawyer of good extraction, superior talents, engaging manners, and eminence in his profession. He was staunch to whig principles, and for many years had been considered as one of their best speakers in the house of commons. The new parliament meeting on the twenty-fifth day of October, a violent contest arose about the choice of a speaker. Mr. Bromley was supported by the tories, and the whigs proposed Mr. John Smith, who was elected by a majority of forty-three voices. The queen in her speech represented the necessity of acting vigorously against France, as a common enemy to the liberties of Europe; she commended the fortitude of the duke of Savoy, which she said was without example; she told them her intention was to expedite commissions for treating of an union with Scotland; she earnestly recommended an union of minds and affections among her people; she observed, that some persons had endeavoured to foment animosities, and even suggested in print that the established church was in danger; she affirmed that such people were enemies to her and the kingdom, and meant only to cover designs which they durst not publicly own, by endeavouring to distract the nation with unreasonable and groundless distrusts and jealousies; she declared she would always affectionately support and countenance the church of England, as by law established; that she would inviolably maintain the toleration; that she would promote religion and virtue, encourage trade, and every thing else that might make them a happy and flourishing people.
The majority in both houses now professed the same principles, and were well disposed to support the queen in all her designs. They first presented the usual addresses in the warmest terms of duty and affection. Then the commons drew up a second, assuring her they would, to the utmost of their power, assist her in bringing the treaty of union to a happy conclusion. They desired that the proceedings of the last session of parliament, relating to the union and succession, might be laid before the house. The lords had solicited the same satisfaction; and her majesty promised to comply with their request. The lower house having heard and decided in some cases of controverted elections, proceeded to take into consideration the estimates for the service of the ensuing year, and granted the supplies without hesitation. In the house of lords, while the queen was present, lord Haversham, at the end of a long speech, in which he reflected upon the conduct of the duke of Marlborough, both on the Moselle and in Brabant, moved for an address to desire her majesty would invite the presumptive heir to the crown of England to come and reside in the kingdom. This motion was earnestly supported by the duke of Buckingham, the earls of Rochester, Nottingham, and Anglesea. They said there was no method so effectual to secure the succession as that of the successor's being upon the spot, ready to assume and maintain his or her right against any pretender; and they observed, that in former times, when the throne of England was vacant, the first comer had always succeeded in his pretensions. The proposal was vehemently opposed by the whigs, who knew it was disagreeable to the queen, whom they would not venture to disoblige. They argued, that a rivalry between the two courts might produce distractions, and be attended with very ill consequences; and observed, that the princess Sophia had expressed a full satisfaction in the assurances of the queen, who had promised to maintain her title. The question being put, was carried in the negative by a great majority. The design of the tories in making this motion, was to bring the other party into disgrace either with the queen or with the people. Their joining in the measure would have given umbrage to their sovereign; and, by opposing it, they ran the risk of incurring the public odium as enemies to the protestant succession: but the pretence of the tories was so thin, the nation saw through it; and the sole effect the motion produced was the queen's resentment against the whole party. Burnet, bishop of Sarum, proposed, that provision might be made for maintaining the public quiet in the interval between the queen's decease and the arrival of her successor; the motion was seconded by the lord-treasurer, and a bill brought in for the better security of her majesty's person and government, and of the succession to the crown of England. By this act a regency was appointed, of the seven persons that should possess the offices of archbishop of Canterbury, lord-chancellor, or lord-keeper, lord-treasurer, lord-president, lord privy-seal, lord high-admiral, and the lord chief-justice of the queen's bench. Their business was to proclaim the next successor through the kingdom of England, and join with a certain number of persons named as regents by the successor, in three lists to be sealed up and deposited with the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord-keeper, and the ministry residentiary of Hanover. It was enacted, that these joint regencies should conduct the administration; that the last parliament, even though dissolved, should reassemble, and continue sitting for six months after the decease of her majesty. The bill met with a warm opposition from the tories, and did not pass the upper house without a protest. It was still further obstructed in the house of commons even by some of the whig party, who were given to understand that the princess Sophia had expressed an inclination to reside in England. Exceptions were likewise taken to that clause in the bill, enacting, that the last parliament should be reassembled. They affirmed, that this was inconsistent with part of the act by which the succession was at first settled; for among other limitations, the parliament had provided, that when the crown should devolve to the house of Hanover, no man who had either place or pension should be capable of sitting in the house of commons. After tedious disputes and zealous altercations, they agreed that a certain number of offices should be specified as disqualifying places. This self-denying clause, and some other amendments, produced conferences between the two houses, and at length the bill passed by their mutual assent. Lord Haversham moved for an inquiry into the miscarriages of the last campaign, hoping to find some foundation for censure in the conduct of the duke of Marlborough; but the proposal was rejected as invidious; and the two houses presented an address to the queen, desiring she would preserve a good correspondence among all the confederates. They likewise concurred in repealing the act by which the Scots had been alienated, and all the northern counties alarmed with the apprehension of a rupture between the two nations. The lord Shannon and brigadier Stanhope arriving with an account of the expedition to Catalonia, the queen communicated the good news in a speech to both houses, expressing her hope that they would enable her to prosecute the advantages which her arms had acquired. The commons were so well pleased with the tidings, that they forthwith granted two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for her majesty's proportion in the expense of prosecuting the successes already gained by king Charles III. for the recovery of the monarchy of Spain to the house of Austria. On the fifteenth day of November, the queen gave the royal assent to an act for exhibiting a bill to naturalize the princess Sophia, and the issue of her body.
These measures being taken, the sixth day of December was appointed for inquiring into those dangers to which the tories affirmed the church was exposed; and the queen attended in person, to hear the debates on this interesting subject. The earl of Eochester compared the expressions in the queen's speech at the beginning of the session, to the law enacted in the reign of Charles II. denouncing the penalties of treason against those who should call the king a papist; for which reason, he said, he always thought him of that persuasion. He affirmed that the church's danger arose from the act of security in Scotland, the absence of the successor to the crown, and the practice of occasional conformity. He was answered by lord Halifax, who, by way of recrimination, observed that king Charles II. was a Roman-catholic, at least his brother declared him a papist after his death; that his brother and successor was a known Roman-catholic, yet the church thought herself secure; and those patriots who stood up in its defence were discountenanced and punished: nay, when the successor ascended the throne, and the church was apparently in the most imminent danger by the high commission court and otherwise, the nation was then indeed generally alarmed; and every body knew who sat in that court, and entered deeply into the measures which were then pursued. Compton, bishop of London, declared that the church was in danger, from profaneness, irreligion, and the licentiousness of the press. He complained, that sermons were preached wherein rebellion was countenanced, and resistance to the higher powers encouraged. He alluded to a sermon preached before the lord mayor by Mr. Hoadly, now bishop of Winchester. Burnet of Sarum said, the bishop of London was the last man who ought to complain of that sermon; for if the doctrine it contained was not good, he did not know what defence his lordship could make for his appearing in arms at Nottingham. He affirmed the church would be always subject to profaneness and irreligion, but that they were not now so flagrant as they usually had been; he said the society set up for reformation in London and other cities, had contributed considerably to the suppression of vice; he was sure the corporation for propagating the gospel had done a great deal towards instructing men in religion, by giving great numbers of books in practical divinity; by erecting libraries in country parishes; by sending many able divines to the foreign plantations, and founding schools to breed up children in the christian knowledge; though to this expense very little had been contributed by those who appeared so wonderfully zealous for the church. The archbishop of York expressed his apprehension of danger from the increase of dissenters, particularly from the many academies they had instituted; he moved, that the judges might be consulted with respect to the laws that were in force against such seminaries, and by what means they might be suppressed. Lord Wharton moved, that the judges might also be consulted about means of suppressing schools and seminaries held by non-jurors, in one of which the sons of a noble lord in that house had been educated. To this sarcasm the archbishop replied, that his sons were indeed taught by Mr. Ellis, a sober virtuous man; but that when he refused the oath of abjuration, they were immediately withdrawn from his instructions. Lord Wharton proceeded to declare, that he had carefully perused a pamphlet entitled "The Memorial," which was said to contain a demonstration that the church was in danger; but all he could learn was, that the duke of Buckingham, the earls of Rochester and Nottingham, were out of place; that he remembered some of these noblemen sat in the high commission court, and then made no complaint of the church's being in danger. Patrick, bishop of Ely, complained of the heat and passion manifested by the gentlemen belonging to the universities, and of the undutiful behaviour of the clergy towards their bishops. He was seconded by Hough of Litchfield and Coventry, who added, that the inferior clergy calumniated their bishops, as if they were in a plot to destroy the church, and had compounded to be the last of their order. Hooper of Bath and Wells, expatiated on the invidious distinction implied in the terms "high church," and "low church." The duke of Leeds asserted, that the church could not be safe without an act against occasional conformity. Lord Somers recapitulated all the arguments which had been used on both sides of the question: he declared his own opinion was, that the nation was happy under a wise and just administration; that for men to raise groundless jealousies at that juncture, could mean no less than an intention to embroil the people at home, and defeat the glorious designs of the allies abroad. The debate being finished, the question was put, Whether the church of England was in danger? and carried in the negative by a great majority: then the house resolved, that the church of England, as by law established, which was rescued from the extremest danger by king William III. of glorious memory, is now, by God's blessings under the happy reign of her majesty, in a most safe and nourishing condition; and that whoever goes about to suggest or insinuate that the church is in danger, under her majesty's administration, is an enemy to the queen, the church, and the kingdom. Next day the commons concurred in this determination, and joined the lords in an address to the queen, communicating this resolution, beseeching her to take effectual measures for making it public, and also for punishing the authors and spreaders of the seditious and scandalous reports of the church's being in danger. She accordingly issued a proclamation containing the resolution of the two houses, and offering a reward for discovering the author of the memorial of the church of England, and for apprehending David Edwards, a professed papist, charged upon oath to be the printer and publisher of that libel.
ANNE, 1701—1714
After a short adjournment, a committee of the lower house presented the thanks of the commons to the duke of Marlborough, for his great services performed to her majesty and the nation in the last campaign, and for his prudent negotiations with her allies. This nobleman was in such credit with the people, that when he proposed a loan of five hundred thousand pounds to the emperor, upon a branch of his revenue in. Silesia, the money was advanced immediately by the merchants of London. The kingdom was blessed with plenty; the queen was universally beloved; the people in general were zealous for the prosecution of the war; the forces were well paid; the treasury was punctual; and, though a great quantity of coin was exported for the maintenance of the war, the paper currency supplied the deficiency so well, that no murmurs were heard, and the public credit flourished both at home and abroad. All the funds being established, one in particular for two millions and a-half by way of annuities for ninety-nine years, at six and a-half per cent., and all the bills having received the royal assent, the queen went to the house of peers on the nineteenth day of March, where, having thanked both houses for the repeated instances of their affection which she had received, she prorogued the parliament to the twenty-first day of May following.*
* Among other bills passed during this session, was an act
for abridging and reforming some proceedings in the common
law and in chancery.
The new convocation, instead of imitating the union and harmony of the parliament, revived the divisions by which the former had been distracted, and the two houses seemed to act with more determined rancour against each other. The upper house having drawn tip a warm address of thanks to the queen for her affectionate care of the church, the lower house refused to concur, nor would they give any reason for their dissent. They prepared another in a different strain, which was rejected by the archbishop. Then they agreed to divers resolutions, asserting their right of having what they offered to the upper house received by his grace and their lordships. In consequence of this dissension the address was dropped, and a stop put to all further communication between the two houses. The dean of Peterborough protested against the irregularities of the lower house. The queen, in a letter to the archbishop, signified her resolution to maintain her supremacy, and the due subordination of presbyters to bishops. She expressed her hope that he and his suffragans would act conformably to her resolution, in which case they might be assured of the continuance of her favour and protection: she required him to impart this declaration to the bishops and clergy, and to prorogue the convocation to such time as should appear most convenient. When he communicated this letter to the lower house, the members were not a little confounded: nevertheless, they would not comply with the prorogation, but continued to sit in defiance of her majesty's pleasure.
The eyes of Great Britain were now turned upon a transaction of the utmost consequence to the whole island; namely, the treaty for an union of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. The queen having appointed the commissioners 139 [See note 2 A, at the end of this Vol.] on both sides, they met on the sixteenth day of April, in the council chamber of the Cockpit near Whitehall, which was the place appointed for the conferences. Their commissions being opened and read by the respective secretaries, and introductory speeches being pronounced by the lord-keeper of England, and the lord chancellor of Scotland, they agreed to certain preliminary articles, importing, that all the proposals should be made in writing; and every point, when agreed, reduced to writing; that no points should be obligatory, till all matters should be adjusted in such a manner as would be proper to be laid before the queen and the two parliaments for their approbation; that a committee should be appointed from each commission, to revise the minutes of what might pass, before they should be inserted in the books by the respective secretaries; and that all the proceedings during the treaty should be kept secret. The Scots were inclined to a federal union, like that of the United Provinces; but the English were bent upon an incorporation, so that no Scottish parliament should ever have power to repeal the articles of the treaty. The lord-keeper proposed that the two kingdoms of England and Scotland should be for ever united into one realm, by the name of Great Britain: that it should be represented by one and the same parliament; and that the succession of this monarchy, failing of heirs of her majesty's body, should be according to the limitations mentioned in the act of parliament passed in the reign of king William, intituled, an act for the further limitation of the crown, and the better securing the rights and liberties of the subject. The Scottish commissioners, in order to comply in some measure with the popular clamour of their nation, presented a proposal implying that the succession to the crown of Scotland should be established upon the same persons mentioned in the act of king William's reign; that the subjects of Scotland should for ever enjoy all the rights and privileges of the natives in England, and the dominions thereunto belonging; and that the subjects of England should enjoy the like rights and privileges in Scotland; that there should be a free communication and intercourse of trade and navigation between the two kingdoms, and plantations thereunto belonging; and that all laws and statutes in either kingdom, contrary to the terms of this union, should be repealed. The English commissioners declined entering into any considerations upon these proposals, declaring themselves fully convinced that nothing but an entire union could settle a perfect and lasting friendship between the two kingdoms. The Scots acquiesced in this reply, and both sides proceeded in the treaty without any other intervening dispute. They were twice visited by the queen, who exhorted them to accelerate the articles of a treaty that would prove so advantageous to both kingdoms. At length they were finished, arranged, and mutually signed, on the twenty-second of July, and next day presented to her majesty, at the palace of St. James's, by the lord-keeper, in the name of the English commissioners; at the same time a sealed copy of the instrument was likewise delivered by the lord chancellor of Scotland; and each made a short oration on the subject, to which the queen returned a very gracious reply. That same day she dictated an order of council, that whoever should be concerned in any discourse or libel, or in laying wagers relating to the union, should be prosecuted with the utmost rigour of the law.
In this famous treaty it was stipulated, that the succession to the united kingdom of Great Britain should be vested in the princess Sophia, and her heirs, according to the acts already passed in the parliament of England: that the united kingdoms should be represented by one and the same parliament: that all the subjects of Great Britain should enjoy a communication of privileges and advantages: that they should have the same allowances, encouragements, and drawbacks; and be under the same prohibitions, restrictions, and regulations, with respect to commerce and customs: that Scotland should not be charged with the temporary duties on some certain commodities: that the sum of three hundred and ninety-eight thousand and eighty-five pounds ten shillings, should be granted to the Scots, as an equivalent for such parts of the customs and excise charged upon that kingdom in consequence of the union, as would be applicable to the payment of the debts of England, according to the proportion which the customs and excise of Scotland bore co those of England: that, as the revenues of Scotland might increase, a further equivalent should be allowed for such proportion of the said increase as should be applicable to the payment of the debts of England: that the sura to be paid at present, as well as the monies arising from the future equivalents, should be employed in reducing the coin of Scotland to the standard and value of the English coin; in paying off the capital stock and interest due to the proprietors of the African company, which should be immediately dissolved; in discharging all the public debts of the kingdom of Scotland; in promoting and encouraging manufactures and fisheries, under the direction of commissioners to be appointed by her majesty, and accountable to the parliament of Great Britain: that the laws concerning public right, policy, and civil government, should be the same throughout the whole united kingdom; but that no alteration should be made in laws which concerned private right, except for evident utility of the subjects within Scotland: that the court of session and all other courts of judicature in Scotland, should remain as then constituted by the laws of that kingdom, with the same authority and privileges as before the union; subject, nevertheless, to such regulations as should be made by the parliament of Great Britain: that all heritable offices, superiorities, heritable jurisdictions, offices for life, and jurisdictions for life, should be reserved to the owners, as rights and property, in the same manner as then enjoyed by the laws of Scotland: that the rights and privileges of the royal boroughs in Scotland should remain entire after the union: that Scotland should be represented in the parliament of Great Britain by sixteen peers and forty-five commoners, to be elected in such a manner as should be settled by the present parliament of Scotland: that all peers of Scotland, and the successors to their honours and dignities, should, from and after the union, be peers of Great Britain, and should have rank and precedency next and immediately after the English peers of the like orders and degrees, at the time of the union; and before all peers of Great Britain of the like orders and degrees, who might be created after the union: that they should be tried as peers of Great Britain, and enjoy all privileges of peers, as fully as enjoyed by the peers of England, except the right and privilege of sitting in the house of lords, and the privileges depending thereon, and particularly the right of sitting upon the trials of peers: that the crown, sceptre, and sword of state, the records of parliament, and all other records, rolls, and registers whatsoever, should still remain as they were, within that part of the united kingdom called Scotland: that all laws and statutes in either kingdom, so far as they might be inconsistent with the terms of these articles, should cease and be declared void by the respective parliaments of the two kingdoms.—Such is the substance of that treaty of union which was so eagerly courted by the English ministry, and proved so unpalatable to the generality of the Scottish nation.
Battle of Ramillies, in which the French are defeated.....
The Siege of Barcelona raised by the English fleet..... Prince
Eugene obtains a complete victory over the French at
Turin..... Sir Cloudesley Shovel sails with a reinforcement
to Charles king of Spain..... the king of Sweden marches
into Saxony..... The French King demands Conferences for a
Peace..... Meeting of the Scottish Parliament..... Violent
Opposition to the Union..... The Scots in general averse to
the Treaty, which is nevertheless confirmed in their
Parliament..... Proceedings in the English Parliament.....
The Commons approve of the Articles of the Union..... The
Lords pass a Bill for the Security of the Church of
England..... Arguments used against the Articles of the
Union, which, however, are confirmed by Act of
Parliament..... The Parliament revived by Proclamation.....
The Queen gives audience to a Muscovite Ambassador.....
Proceedings in Convocation..... France threatened with total
Ruin..... The Allies are defeated at Almanza.....
Unsuccessful Attempt upon Toulon..... Sir Cloudesley Shovel
wrecked on the Rocks of Scilly..... Weakness of the Emperor
on the Upper Rhine..... Interview between the King of Sweden
and the Duke of Marlborough..... Inactive Campaign in the
Netherlands..... Harley begins to form a Party against the
Duke of Marlborough..... The Nation discontented with the
Whig Ministry..... Meeting of the first British
Parliament..... Inquiry into the State of the War in
Spain..... Gregg, a Clerk in the Secretary's Office,
detected in a Correspondence with the French Ministry.....
Harley resigns his Employments..... The Pretender
embarks at Dunkirk for Scotland..... His design is
defeated..... State of the Nation at that Period.....
Parliament dissolved..... The French surprise Ghem and
Bruges..... They are routed at Oudenarde..... The Allies
invest Lisle..... They defeat a large Body of French Forces
at Wynendale..... The Elector of Bavaria attacks
Brussels..... Lisle surrendered..... Ghent taken, and Bruges
abandoned..... Conquest of Minorca by General Stanhope.....
Rupture between the Pope and the Emperor..... Death of
Prince George of Denmark..... The new Parliament
assembled..... Naturalization Bill..... Act of Grace.....
Disputes about the Muscovite Ambassador compromised.
While this treaty was on the carpet at home, the allied arms prospered surprisingly in the Netherlands, in Spain, and in Piedmont. The French king had resolved to make very considerable efforts in these countries; and, indeed, at the beginning of the campaign his armies were very formidable. He hoped that, by the reduction of Turin and Barcelona, the war would be extinguished in Italy and Catalonia. He knew that he could out-number any body of forces that prince Louis of Baden should assemble on the Rhine; and he resolved to reinforce his army in Flanders, so as to be in a condition to act offensively against the duke of Marlborough. This nobleman repaired to Holland in the latter end of April, and conferred with the states-general. Then he assembled the army between Borschloen and Groes Waren, and found it amounted to seventy-four battalions of foot, and one hundred and twenty-three squadrons of horse and dragoons, well furnished with artillery and pontoons. The court of France having received intelligence that the Danish and Prussian troops had not yet joined the confederates, ordered the elector of Bavaria and the mareschal Villeroy to attack them before the junction could be effected. In pursuance of this order they passed the Deule on the nineteenth day of May, and posted themselves at Tirlemont, being superior in number to the allied army. There they were joined by the horse of the army, commanded by mareschal Marsin, and encamped between Tirlemont and Judoigne. On Whitsunday, early in the morning, the duke of Marlborough advanced with his army in eight columns towards the village of Ramillies, being by this time joined by the Danes; and he learned that the enemy were in march to give him battle. Next day the French generals perceiving the confederates so near them, took possession of a strong camp, the right extending to the tomb of Hautemont, on the side of the Mehaigne; their left to Anderkirk; and the village of Ramillies being near their centre. The confederate army was drawn up in order of battle, with the right wing near Foltz on the brook of Yause, and the left by the village of Franquenies, which the enemy had occupied. The duke ordered lieutenant-general Schultz, with twelve battalions and twenty pieces of cannon, to begin the action by attacking Eamillies, which was strongly fortified with artillery. At the same time velt-mareschal d'Auverquerque on the left commanded colonel Wertmuller, with four battalions and two pieces of cannon, to dislodge the enemy's infantry posted among the hedges of Franquenies. Both these orders were successfully executed. The Dutch and Danish horse of the left wing charged with great vigour and intrepidity, but were so roughly handled by the troops of the French king's household, that they began to give way, when the duke of Marlborough sustained them with the body of reserve, and twenty squadrons drawn from the right, where a morass prevented them from acting. In the meantime, he in person rallied some of the broken squadrons, in order to renew the charge, when his own horse falling, he was surrounded by the enemy, and must have been either killed or taken prisoner, had not a body of infantry come seasonably to his relief. When he remounted his horse, the head of colonel Brienfield, his gentleman of the horse, was carried off by a cannon ball while he held the duke's stirrup. Before the reinforcement arrived, the best part of the French mousquetaires were cut in pieces. All the troops posted in Ramillies were either killed or taken. The rest of the enemy's infantry began to retreat in tolerable order, under cover of the cavalry on their left wing, which formed themselves in three lines between Ossuz and Anderkirk; but the English horse having found means to pass the rivulet which divided them from the enemy, fell upon them with such impetuosity, that they abandoned their foot, and were terribly slaughtered in the village of Anderkirk. They now gave way on all sides. The horse fled three different ways, but were so closely pursued that very few escaped. The elector of Bavaria and the mareschal de Villeroy saved themselves with the utmost difficulty. Several waggons of the enemy's van-guard breaking down in a narrow pass, obstructed the way in such a manner that the baggage and artillery could not proceed; nor could their troops defile in order. The victorious horse being informed of this accident, pressed on them so vigorously that great numbers threw down their arms and submitted. The pursuit was followed through Judoigne till two o'clock in the morning, five leagues from the field of battle, and within two of Louvaine. In a word, the confederates obtained a complete victory. They took the enemy's baggage and artillery, about one hundred and twenty colours or standards, six hundred officers, six thousand private soldiers, and about eight thousand were killed or wounded.*
* The French impute the loss of this battle to the
misconduct of Villeroy, who, it must be owned, made a most
wretched disposition. When he returned to Versailles, where
he expected to meet with nothing else but reproaches, Louis
received him without the least mark of displeasure, saying,
"Mr. Mareschal, you and I are too old to be fortunate."
Prince Maximilian and prince Monbason lost their lives; the major-general Palavicini and Mizieres were taken, together with the marquasses de Bar, de Nonant, and de la Beaume, (this last the son of the mareschal de Tallard,) monsieur de Montmorency, nephew to the duke of Luxembourg, and many other persons of distinction. The loss of the allies did not exceed three thousand men, including prince Louis of Hesse, and Mr. Bentinck, who were slain in the engagement. The French generals retired with precipitation to Brussels, while the allies took possession of Louvaine, and next day encamped at Bethlem. The battle of Eamillies was attended with the immediate conquest of all Brabant. The cities of Louvaine, Mechlin, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges, submitted without resistance, and acknowledged king Charles. Ostend, though secured by a strong garrison, was surrendered after a siege of ten days. Menin, esteemed the most finished fortification in the Netherlands, and guarded by six thousand men, met with the same fate. The garrison of Dendermonde surrendered themselves prisoners of war; and Aeth submitted on the same conditions. The French troops were dispirited. The city of Paris was overwhelmed with consternation. Louis affected to bear his misfortunes with calmness and composure; but the constraint had such an effect upon his constitution, that his physicians thought it necessary to prescribe frequent bleeding, which he accordingly underwent. At his court no mention was made of military transactions: all was solemn, silent, and reserved.
Had the issue of the campaign in Catalonia been such as the beginning seemed to prognosticate, the French king might have in some measure consoled himself for his disgraces in the Netherlands. On the sixth day of April king Philip, at the head of a numerous army, undertook the siege of Barcelona, while the count de Thoulouse blocked it up with a powerful squadron. The inhabitants, animated by the presence of king Charles, made a vigorous defence; and the garrison was reinforced with some troops from Gironne and other places. But, after the fort of Montjuic was taken, the place was so hard pressed, that Charles ran the utmost risk of falling into the hands of the enemy; for the carl of Peterborough, who had marched from Valencia with two thousand men, found it impracticable to enter the city. Nevertheless, he maintained his post upon the hills; and, with surprising courage and activity, kept the besiegers in continual alarm. At length, sir John Leake sailed from Lisbon with thirty ships of the line; and on the eighth day of May arrived in sight of Barcelona. The French admiral no sooner received intelligence of his approach, than he set sail for Toulon. In three days after his departure, king Philip abandoned the siege and retired in great disorder, leaving behind his tents, with the sick and wounded. On the side of Portugal, the duke of Berwick was left with such an inconsiderable force as proved insufficient to defend the frontiers. The earl of Galway, with an army of twenty thousand men, undertook the siege of Alcantra; and in three days the garrison, consisting of four thousand men, were made prisoners of war. Then he marched to Placentia, and advanced as far as the bridge of Almaris; but the Portuguese would penetrate no farther until they should know the fate of Barcelona. When they understood the siege was raised, they consented to proceed to Madrid. Philip guessed their intention, posted to that capital, and sent his queen with all his valuable effects to Burgos, whither he followed her in person, after having destroyed everything that he could not carry away. About the latter end of June, the earl of Galway entered the city without resistance; but the Spaniards were extremely mortified to see an army of Portuguese, headed by an heretic, in possession of their capital. King Charles loitered away his time in Barcelona, until his competitor recovered his spirits, and received such reinforcements as enabled him to return to Madrid with an army equal to that commanded by the earl of Galway. This general made a motion towards Arragon, in order to facilitate his conjunction with Charles, who had set out by the way of Saragossa, where he was acknowledged as sovereign of Arragon and Valencia. In the beginning of August this prince arrived at the Portuguese camp with a small reinforcement; and in a few days was followed by the carl of Peterborough, at the head of five hundred dragoons. The two armies were now pretty equal in point of number; but as each expected farther reinforcements, neither chose to hazard an engagement. The earl of Peterborough, who aspired to the chief command, and hated the prince of Lichtenstein, who enjoyed the confidence of king Charles, retired in disgust; and embarking on board an English ship of war, set sail for Genoa. The English fleet continued all the summer in the Mediterranean; they secured Carthagena, which had declared for Charles; they took the town of Alicant by assault, and the castle by capitulation. Then sailing out of the Straits, one squadron was detached to the West Indies, another to lie at Liston, and the rest were sent home to England.
Fortune was not more propitious to the French in Italy than in Flanders. The duke de Vendôme having been recalled to assume the command in Flanders after the-battle of Ramillies, the duke of Orleans was placed at the head of the army in Piedmont, under the tutorage and direction of the mareschal de Marsin. They were ordered to besiege Turin, which was accordingly invested in the month of May, and the operations carried on till the beginning of September. Great preparations had been made for this siege. It was not undertaken until the duke of Savoy had rejected all the offers of the French monarch, which were sufficient to have shaken a prince of less courage and fortitude. The duke de la Feuillade having finished the lines of circumvallation and contravallation, sent his quarter-master-general with a trumpet to offer passports and a guard for the removal of the duchess and her children. The duke of Savoy replied, that he did not intend to remove his family, and that the mareschal might begin to execute his master's orders whenever he should think fit; but, when the siege began with uncommon fury, and the French fired red-hot balls into the place, the two duchesses, with the young prince and princesses, quitted Turin, and retired to Quierasco, from whence they were conducted through many dangers into the territories of Genoa. The duke himself forsook his capital in order to put himself at the head of his cavalry; and was pursued from place to place by five and forty squadrons, under the command of the count d'Aubeterre. Notwithstanding the very noble defence which was made by the garrison of Turin, which destroyed fourteen thousand of the enemy during the course of the siege, the defences were almost ruined, their ammunition began to fail, and they had no prospect of relief but from prince Eugene, who had numberless difficulties to en-counter before he could march to their assistance. The duke de Vendôme, before he left Italy, had secured all the fords of the Adige, the Mincio, and the Oglio, and formed such lines and intrenchments as he imagined would effectually hinder the Imperial general from arriving in time to relieve the city of Turin. But the prince surmounted all opposition; passed four great rivers in despite of the enemy, and reached the neighbourhood of Turin on the thirteenth day of August. There, being joined by the duke of Savoy, he passed the Po between Montcalier and Cavignan. On the fifth day of September they took a convoy of eight hundred loaded mules: next day they passed the Doria, and encamped with the right on the bank of that river before Pianessa, and the left on the Stura before the Veneria. The enemy were intrenched, having the Stura on their right, the Doria on their left, and the convent of Capuchins, called Notre Dame de la Campagne, in their centre. When prince Eugene approached Turin, the duke of Orleans proposed to march out of the intrenchments and give him battle; and this proposal was seconded by all the general officers, except Marsin, who, finding the duke determined, produced an order from the French king commanding the duke to follow the mareschal's advice. The court of Versailles was now become afraid of hazarding an engagement against those who had so often defeated their armies; and this officer had private instructions to keep within the trenches. On the seventh day of September the confederates marched up to the entrenchments of the French in eight columns, through a terrible fire from forty pieces of artillery, and were formed in order of battle within half cannon-shot of the enemy. Then they advanced to the attack with surprising resolution, and met with such a warm reception as seemed to stop their progress. Prince Eugene perceiving this check, drew his sword, and putting himself at the head of the battalions on the left, forced the entrenchments at the first charge. The duke of Savoy met with the same success in the centre, and on the right near Lucengo. The horse advanced through the intervals of the foot, left for that purpose; and breaking in with vast impetuosity, completed the confusion of the enemy, who were defeated on all hands, and retired with precipitation to the other side of the Po, while the duke of Savoy entered his capital in triumph. The duke of Orleans exhibited repeated proofs of the most intrepid courage, and received several wounds in the engagement. Mareschal de Marsin fell into the hands of the victors, his thigh being shattered with a ball, and died in a few hours after the amputation. Of the French army about five thousand men were slain on the field of battle; a great number of officers, and upwards of seven thousand men were taken, together with two hundred and fifty-five pieces of cannon, one hundred and eighty mortars, an incredible quantity of ammunition, all the tents and baggage, five thousand beasts of burden, ten thousand horses belonging to thirteen regiments of dragoons, and the mules of the commissary-general, so richly laden that this part of the booty alone was valued at three millions of livres. The loss of the confederates did not exceed three thousand men killed or disabled in the action, besides about the same number at the garrison of Turin, which had fallen since the beginning of the siege. This was such a fatal stroke to the interest of Louis, that madame de Main-tenon would not venture to make him folly acquainted with the state of his affairs. He was told that the duke of Orleans had raised the siege of Turin at the approach of prince Eugene, but he knew not that his own army was defeated and ruined. The spirits of the French were a little comforted in consequence of an advantage gained about this time by the count de Medavigrancey, who commanded a body of troops left in the Mantuan territories. He surprised the prince of Hesse in the neighbourhood of Castiglione, and obliged him to retire to the Adige with the loss of two thousand men; but this victory was attended with no consequence in their favour. The duke of Orleans retreated into Dauphiné, while the French garrisons were driven out of every place they occupied in Piedmont and Italy, except Cremona, Valenza, and the castle of Milan, which were blocked up by the confederates.
ANNE, 1701—1714
Over and above these disasters which the French sustained in the course of this campaign, they were miserably alarmed by the project of an invasion from Britain, formed by the marquis de Guiscard, who, actuated by a family disgust, had abandoned his country and become a partisan of the confederates. He was declared a lieutenant-general in the emperor's army, and came over to London, after having settled a correspondence with the malcontents in the southern parts of France. He insinuated himself into the friendship of Henry St. John, secretary of war, and other persons of distinction. His scheme of invading France was approved by the British ministry, and he was promoted to the command of a regiment of dragoons destined for that service. About eleven thousand men were embarked under the conduct of Earl Rivers, with a large train of artillery; and the combined squadrons, commanded by sir Cloudesley Shovel, set sail from Plymouth on the thirteenth day of August. Next day they were forced into Torbay by contrary winds, and there they held a council of war to concert their operations, when they discovered that Guiscard's plan was altogether chimerical, or at least founded upon such slight assurances and conjectures as could not justify their proceeding to execution. An express was immediately despatched to the admiralty with the result of this council; and, in the meantime, letters arrived at court from the earl of Galway, after his retreat from Madrid to Valencia, soliciting succours with the most earnest entreaties. The expedition to France was immediately postponed, and sir Cloudesley Shovel was ordered to make the best of his way to Lisbon, there to take such measures as the state of the war in Spain should render necessary. Guiscard and his officers being set on shore, the fleet sailed with the first fair wind, and towards the latter end of October arrived at Lisbon. On the twenty-eighth day of the next month the king of Portugal died, and his eldest son and successor being but eighteen years of age, was even more than his father influenced by a ministry which had private connexions with the court of Versailles. Nevertheless, sir Cloudesley Shovel and Earl Rivers, being pressed by letters from king Charles and the earl of G-alway, sailed to their assistance in the beginning of January; and on the twenty-eighth arrived at Alicant, from whence the earl of Rivers proceeded by land to Valencia, in order to assist at a general council of war. The operations of the ensuing campaign being concerted, and the army joined by the reinforcement from England, earl Rivers, disliking the country, returned with the admiral to Lisbon.
Poland was at length delivered from the presence of the king of Sweden, who in the beginning of September suddenly marched through Lusatia into Saxony; and in a little time laid that whole electorate under contribution. Augustus being thus cut off from all resource, resolved to obtain peace on the Swede's own terms, and engaged in a secret treaty for this purpose. In the meantime the Poles and Muscovites attacked the Swedish forces at Kalish in Great Poland, and by dint of numbers routed them with great slaughter. Notwithstanding this event, Augustus ratified the treaty, by which he acknowledged Stanislaus as true and rightful king of Poland, reserving to himself no more than the empty title of sovereign. The confederates were not a little alarmed to find Charles in the heart of Germany, and the French court did not fail to court his alliance; but he continued on the reserve against all their solicitations. Then they implored his mediation for a peace; and he answered, that he would interpose his good offices as soon as he should know they would be agreeable to the powers engaged in the grand alliance.
The pride of Louis was now humbled to such a degree as might have excited the compassion of his enemies. He employed the elector of Bavaria to write letters in his name to the duke of Marlborough and the deputies of the states-general, containing proposals for opening a congress. He had already tampered with the Dutch, in a memorial presented by the marquis d'Alegre. He likewise besought the pope to interpose in his behalf. He offered to cede either Spain and the West Indies, or Milan, Naples, and Sicily, to king Charles; to give up a barrier for the Dutch in the Netherlands; and to indemnify the duke of Savoy for the ravages that had been committed in his dominions. Though his real aim was' peace, yet he did not despair of being able to excite such jealousies among the confederates as might shake the basis of their union. His hope was not altogether disappointed. The court of Vienna was so much alarmed at the offers he had made, and the reports circulated by his emissaries, that the emperor resolved to make himself master of Naples before the allies should have it in their power to close with the proposals of France. This was the true motive of his concluding a treaty with Louis in the succeeding winter, by which the Milanese was entirely evacuated, and the French king at liberty to employ those troops in making strong efforts against the confederates in Spain and the Netherlands. The Dutch were intoxicated with success, and their pensionary, Heinsius, entirely influenced by the duke of Marlborough, who found his account in the continuance of the war, which at once gratified his warice and ambition; for all his great qualities were obscured by the sordid passion of accumulating wealth. During the whole war the allies never had such an opportunity as they now enjoyed to bridle the power of France effectually, and secure the liberties of the empire; and indeed, if their real design was to establish an equal balance between the houses of Austria and Bourbon, it could not have been better effected than by dividing the Spanish monarchy between these two potentates. The accession of Spain, with all its appendages, to either, would have destroyed the equilibrium which the allies proposed to establish. But other motives contributed to a continuation of the war. The powers of the confederacy were fired with the ambition of making conquests; and England in particular thought herself intitled to an imdemnification for the immense sums she had expended. Animated by these concurring considerations, queen Anne and the states-general rejected the offers of France; and declared that they would not enter into any negotiation for peace, except in concert with their allies.
The tories of England began to meditate schemes of opposition against the duke of Marlborough. They looked upon him as a selfish nobleman, who sacrificed the interest of the nation, in protracting a ruinous war for his own private advantage. They saw their country oppressed with an increasing load of taxes, which they apprehended would in a little time become an intolerable burden; and they did not doubt but at this period such terms might be obtained as would fully answer the great purpose of the confederacy. This indeed was the prevailing opinion among all the sensible people of the nation who were not particularly interested in the prosecution of the war, either by being connected with the general, or in some shape employed in the management of the finances. The tories were likewise instigated by a party spirit against Marlborough, who, by means of his wife, was in full possession of the queen's confidence, and openly patronized the whig faction. But the attention of people in general was now turned upon the Scottish parliament, which took into consideration the treaty of union lately concluded between the commissioners of both kingdoms. On the third day of October the duke of Queensberry, as high commissioner, produced the queen's letter, in which she expressed her hope that the terms of the treaty would be acceptable to her parliament of Scotland. She said, an entire and perfect union would be the solid foundation of a lasting peace: it would secure their religion, liberty, and property; remove the animosities that prevailed among themselves, and the jealousies that subsisted between the two nations: it would increase their strength, riches, and commerce: the whole island would be joined in affection, and free from all apprehensions of different interests: it would be enabled to resist all its enemies, support the protestant interest everywhere, and maintain the liberties of Europe. She renewed her assurance of maintaining the government of their church; and told them, that now they had an opportunity of taking such steps as might be necessary for its security after the union. She demanded the necessary supplies. She observed, that the great success with which Almighty God had blessed her arms, afforded the nearer prospect of a happy peace, with which they would enjoy the full advantages of this union: that they had no reason to doubt but the parliament of England would do all that should be necessary on their part to confirm the union: finally, she recommended calmness and unanimity in deliberating on this great and weighty affair, of such consequence to the whole island of Great Britain.
Hitherto the articles of the union had been industriously concealed from the knowledge of the people: but the treaty being recited in parliament, and the particulars divulged, such a flame was kindled through the whole nation as had not appeared since the restoration. The cavaliers or Jacobites had always foreseen that this union would extinguish all their hopes of a revolution in favour of the pretender. The nobility found themselves degraded in point of dignity and influence, by being excluded from their seats in parliament. The trading part of the nation beheld their commerce saddled with heavy duties and restrictions, and considered the privilege of trading to the English plantations as a precarious and uncertain prospect of advantage. The barons, or gentlemen, were exasperated at a coalition by which their parliament was annihilated, and their credit destroyed. The people in general exclaimed, that the dignity of their crown was betrayed; that the independency of their nation had fallen a sacrifice to treachery and corruption; that whatever conditions might be speciously offered, they could not expect they would be observed by a parliament in which the English had such a majority. They exaggerated the dangers to which the constitution of their church would be exposed from a bench of bishops, and a parliament of episcopalians. This consideration alarmed the presbyterian ministers to such a degree, that they employed all their power and credit in waking the resentment of their hearers against the treaty, which produced an universal ferment among all ranks of people. Even the most rigid puritans joined the cavaliers in expressing their detestation of the union; and laying aside their mutual animosities, promised to co-operate in opposing a measure so ignominous and prejudicial to their country. In parliament, the opposition was headed by the dukes of Hamilton and Athol, and the marquis of Annandale. The first of these noblemen had wwered so much in his conduct, that it is difficult to ascertain his real political principles. He was generally supposed to favour the claim of the pretender; but he was afraid of embarking too far in his cause, and avoided violent measures in the discussion of the treaty, lest he should incur the resentment of the English parliament, and forfeit the estate he possessed in that kingdom. Athol was more forward in his professions of attachment to the court of St. Germain's; but he had less ability, and his zeal was supposed to be inflamed by resentment against the ministry. The debates upon the different articles of the treaty were carried on with great heat and vivacity, and many shrewd arguments were used against this scheme of incorporating the union. One member affirmed, that it would furnish a handle to any aspiring prince to overthrow the liberties of all Britain; for if the parliament of Scotland could alter, or rather subvert its constitution, this circumstance might be a precedent for the parliament of Great Britain to assume the same power: that the representatives for Scotland would, from their poverty, depend upon those who possessed the means of corruption; and having expressed so little concern for the support of their own constitution, would pay very little regard to that of any other. "What!" said the duke of Hamilton, "shall we in half an hour give up what our forefathers maintained with their lives and fortunes for many ages? Are here none of the descendants of those worthy patriots who defended the liberty of their country against all invaders; who assisted the great king Robert Bruce to restore the constitution, and revenge the falsehood of England and the usurpation of Baliol? Where are the Douglasses and Campbells? Where are the peers, where are the barons, once the bulwark of the nation? Shall we yield up the sovereignty and independency of our country, when we are commanded by those we represent to preserve the same, and assured of their assistance to support us?" The duke of Athol protested against an incorporating union, as contrary to the honour, interest, fundamental laws, and constitution of the kingdom of Scotland, the birthright of the peers, the rights and privileges of the barons and boroughs, and to the claim of right, property, and liberty of the subjects. To this protest nineteen peers and forty-six commoners adhered. The earl-marshal entered a protest, importing, that no person being successor to the crown of England should inherit that of Scotland, without such previous limitations as might secure the honour and sovereignty of the Scottish crown and kingdom, the frequency and power of parliament, the religion, liberty, and trade of the nation, from English or any foreign influence. He was seconded by six-and-forty members. With regard to the third article of the union, stipulating, that both kingdoms should be represented by one and the same parliament, the country party observed that, by assenting to this expedient, they did in effect sink their own constitution, while that of England underwent no alteration: that in all nations there are fundamentals which no power whatever can alter: that the rights and privileges of parliament being one of those fundamentals among the Scots, no parliament, or any other power, could ever legally prohibit the meeting of parliaments, or deprive any of the three estates of its right of sitting or voting in parliament, or give up the rights and privileges of parliament: but that by this treaty the parliament of Scotland was entirely abrogated, its rights and privileges sacrificed, and those of the English parliament substituted in their place. They argued that though the legislative power in parliament was regulated and determined by a majority of voices; yet the giving up the constitution, with the rights and privileges of the nation, was not subject to suffrage, being founded on dominion and property, and therefore could not be legally surrendered without the consent of every person who had a right to elect and be represented in parliament. They affirmed, that the obligation laid on the Scottish members to reside so long in London in attendance on the British parliament, would drain Scotland of all its money, impoverish the members, and subject them to the temptation of being corrupted. Another protest was entered by the marquis of Annandale against an incorporating union, as being odious to the people, subversive of the constitution, sovereignty, and claim of right, and threatening ruin to the church as by law established. Fifty-two members joined in this protestation. Almost every article produced the most inflammatory disputes. The lord Belhaven enumerated the mischiefs which would attend the union in a pathetic speech, that drew tears from the audience, and is at this day looked upon as a prophecy by great part of the Scottish nation. Addresses against the treaty were presented to parliament by the convention of boroughs, the commissioners of the general assembly, the company trading to Africa and the Indies, as well as from several shires, stewartries, boroughs, towns, and parishes, in all the different parts of the kingdom, without distinction of whig or tory, episcopalian or presbyterian. The earl of Buchan for the peers, Lockhart of Camwarth for the barons, sir William Stuart in behalf of the peers, barons, boroughs, the earls of Errol and Marischal for themselves, as high-constable and earl-marshal of the kingdom, protested severally against the treaty of union.
While this opposition raged within doors, the resentment of the people rose to transports of fury and revenge. The more rigid presbyterians, known by the name of Cameronians, chose officers, formed themselves into regiments, provided horses, arms, and ammunition, and marching to Dumfries, burned the articles of union at the Market-cross, justifying their conduct in a public declaration. They made a tender of their attachment to duke Hamilton, from whom they received encouragement in secret. They reconciled themselves to the episcopalians and the cavaliers: they resolved to take the route to Edinburgh, and dissolve the parliament; while the duke of Athol undertook to secure the pass of Stirling with his highlanders, so as to open the communication between the western and northern parts of the kingdom. Seven or eight thousand men were actually ready to appear in arms at the town of Hamilton, and march directly to Edinburgh, under the duke's command, when that nobleman altered his opinion, and despatched private couriers through the whole country, requiring the people to defer their meeting till further directions. The more sanguine cavaliers accused his grace of treachery, but in all likelihood he was actuated by prudential motives. He alleged, in his own excuse, that the nation was not in a condition to carry on such an enterprise, especially as the English had already detached troops to the border, and might in a few days have wafted over a considerable reinforcement from Holland. During this commotion among the Cameronians, the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow were filled with tumults. Sir Patrick Johnston, provost of Edinburgh, who had been one of the commissioners for the union, was besieged in his own house by the populace, and would have been torn in pieces had not the guards dispersed the multitude. The privy-council issued a proclamation against riots, commanding all persons to retire from the streets whenever the drum should beat; ordering the guards to fire upon those who should disobey this command, and indemnifying them from all prosecution for maiming or slaying the lieges. These guards were placed all round the house in which the peers and commons were assembled, and the council received the thanks of the parliament for having thus provided for their safety. Notwithstanding these precautions of the government, the commissioner was constantly saluted with the curses and imprecations of the people as he passed along: his guards were pelted, and some of his attendants wounded with stones as they sat by him in the coach, so that he was obliged to pass through the streets on full gallop.
Against all this national fury the dukes of Queensberry and Argyle, the earls of Montrose, Seafield, and Stair, and the other noblemen attached to the union, acted with equal prudence and resolution. They argued strenuously against the objections that were started in the house. They magnified the advantages that would accrue to the kingdom from the privileges of trading to the English plantations, and being protected in their commerce by a powerful navy; as well as from the exclusion of a popish pretender, who they knew was odious to the nation in general. They found means, partly by their promises, and partly by corruption, to bring over the earls of Roxburgh and Marchmont, with the whole squadron who had hitherto been unpropitious to the court. They disarmed the resentment of the clergy, by promoting an act to be inserted in the union, declaring the presbyterian discipline to be the only government in the church of Scotland, unalterable in all succeeding times, and a fundamental article of the treaty. They soothed the African company with the prospect of being indemnified for the losses they had sustained. They amused individuals with the hope of sharing the rest of the equivalent. They employed emissaries to allay the ferment among the Cameronians, and disunite them from the cavaliers, by canting, praying, and demonstrating the absurdity, sinfulness, and danger of such a coalition. These remonstrances were reinforced by the sum of twenty thousand pounds, which the queen privately lent to the Scottish treasury, and which was now distributed by the ministry in such a manner as might best conduce to the success of the treaty. By these practices they diminished, though they could not silence, the clamour of the people, and obtained a considerable majority in parliament, which out-voted all opposition. Not but that the duke of Queensberry at one time despaired of succeeding, and being in continual apprehension for his life, expressed a desire of adjourning the parliament, until by time and good management he should be able to remove those difficulties that then seemed to be insurmountable. But the lord-treasurer Godolphin, who foresaw that the measure would be entirely lost by delay, and was no judge of the difficulties, insisted upon his proceeding. It was at this period that he remitted the money, and gave directions for having forces ready at a call, both in England and Ireland. At length the Scottish parliament approved and ratified all the articles of the union with some small variation. Then they prepared an act for regulating the election of the sixteen peers and forty-five commoners to represent Scotland in the British parliament. This being touched with the sceptre, the three estates proceeded to elect their representatives. The remaining part of the session was employed in making regulations concerning the coin, in examining the accounts of their African company, and providing for the due application of the equivalent, which was scandalously misapplied. On the twenty-fifth day of March the commissioner adjourned the parliament, after having, in a short speech, taken notice of the honour they had acquired in concluding an affair of such importance to their country. Having thus accomplished the great purpose of the court, he set out for London, in the neighbourhood of which he was met by above forty noblemen in their coaches, and about four hundred gentlemen on horseback. Next day he waited upon the queen at Kensington, from whom he met with a very gracious reception. Perhaps there is not another instance upon record of a ministry's having carried a point of this importance against such a violent torrent of opposition, and contrary to the general sense and inclination of a whole exasperated people. The Scots were persuaded that their trade would be destroyed, their nation oppressed, and their country ruined, in consequence of the union with England, and indeed their opinion was supported by very plausible arguments. The majority of both nations believed that the treaty would produce violent convulsions, or at best prove ineffectual. But we now see it has been attended with none of the calamities that were prognosticated; that it quietly took effect, and fully answered all the purposes for which it was intended. Hence we may learn that many great difficulties are surmounted, because they are not seen by those who direct the execution of any great project; and that many schemes, which theory deems impracticable, will yet succeed in the experiment.
The English parliament assembling on the third day of December, the queen, in her speech to both houses, congratulated them on the glorious successes of her arms. She desired the commons would grant such supplies as might enable her to improve the advantages of this successful campaign. She told them that the treaty of union, as concluded by the commissioners of both kingdoms, was at that time under the consideration of the Scottish parliament; and she recommended despatch in the public affairs, that both friends and enemies might be convinced of the firmness and vigour of their proceedings. The parliament was perfectly well disposed, to comply with all her majesty's requests. Warm debates were presented by both houses. Then they proceeded to the consideration of the supply, and having examined the estimates in less than a week, voted near six millions for the service of the ensuing year. Nevertheless, in examining the accounts some objections arose. They found that the extraordinary supplies for the support of king Charles of Spain, amounted to eight hundred thousand pounds more than the sums provided by parliament. Some members argued that very ill consequences might ensue, if a ministry could thus run the nation in debt, and expect the parliament should pay the money. The courtiers answered, that if anything had been raised without necessity, or ill applied, it was reasonable that those who were in fault should be punished; but as this expense was incurred to improve advantages, at a time when the occasion could not be communicated to parliament, the ministry was rather to be applauded for their zeal, than condemned for their liberality. The question being put, the majority voted that those sums had been expended for the preservation of the duke of Savoy, for the interest of king Charles against the common enemy, and for the safety and honour of the nation. When the speaker presented the money-bills, he told her, that as the glorious victory obtained by the duke of Marlborough at Ramillies, was fought before it could be supposed the armies were in the field, so it was no less surprising that the commons had granted supplies to her majesty, before the enemy could well know that the parliament was sitting. The general was again honoured with the thanks of both houses. The lords in an address besought the queen to settle his honours on his posterity. An act was passed for this purpose; and, in pursuance of another address from the commons, a pension of five thousand pounds out of the post-office was settled upon him and his descendants. The lords and commons having adjourned themselves to the last day of December, the queen closed the year with triumphal processions. As the standards and colours taken at Blenheim had been placed in Westminster-hall, so now those that had been brought from the field of Ramillies were put up in Guildhall, as trophies of that victory. About this time the earls of Kent, Lindsey, and Kingston, were raised to the rank of marquisses. The lords Wharton, Paulet, Godolphin, and Cholmondeley, were created earls. Lord Walden, son and heir-apparent to the earl of Suffolk, obtained the title of earl of Bindon. The lord-keeper Cowper, and sir Thomas Pelham, were ennobled as barons.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The parliament being assembled after their short recess, the earl of Nottingham moved for an address to the queen, desiring her majesty would order the proceedings of the commissioners for the union, as well as those of the Scottish parliament on the said subject, to be laid before them. He was seconded by the duke of Buckingham and the earl of Rochester; and answered by the earl of Godolphin, who told them they needed not doubt but that her majesty would communicate those proceedings, as soon as the Scottish parliament should have discussed the subject of the union. The lords Wharton, Somers, and Halifax observed, that it was for the honour of the nation that the treaty of union should first come ratified from the parliament of Scotland; and that then and not before, it would be a proper time for the lords to take it into consideration. On the twenty-eighth clay of January, the queen in person told both houses that the treaty of union, with some additions and alterations, was ratified by an act of the Scottish parliament: that she had ordered it to be laid before them; and hoped it would meet with their concurrence and approbation. She desired the commons would provide for the payment of the equivalent, in case the treaty should be approved. She observed to both houses, that now they had an opportunity of putting the last hand to a happy union of the two kingdoms; and that she should look upon it as a particular happiness if this great work, which had been so often attempted without success, could be brought to perfection in her reign. When the commons formed themselves into a committee of the whole house, to deliberate on the articles of the union, and the Scottish act of ratification, the tory party, which was very weak in that assembly, began to start some objections. Sir John Packington disapproved of this incorporating union, which he likened to a marriage with a woman against her consent. He said it was a union carried on by corruption and bribery within doors, by force and violence without; that the promoters of it had basely betrayed their trust, in giving up their independent constitution, and he would leave it to the judgment of the house, to consider whether or not men of such principles were fit to be admitted into their house of representatives. He observed that her majesty, by the coronation oath, was obliged to maintain the church of England as by law established; and likewise bound by the same oath to defend the presbyterian kirk of Scotland in one and the same kingdom. Now, said he, after this union is in force, who shall administer this oath to her majesty? It is not the business of the Scots, who are incapable of it, and no well-wishers to the church of England. It is then only the part of the bishops to do it, and can it be supposed that those reverend persons will, or can act a thing so contrary to their own order and institution, as thus to promote the establishment of the presbyterian church government in the united kingdom? He added, that the church of England being established jure divino, and the Scots pretending that the kirk was also jure divino, he could not tell how two nations that clashed in so essential an article could unite; he therefore thought it proper to consult the convocation about this critical point. A motion was made, that the first article of the treaty, which implies a peremptory agreement to an incorporating union, should be postponed; and that the house should proceed to the consideration of the terms of the intended union, contained in the other articles. This proposal being rejected, some tory members quitted the house; and all the articles were examined and approved without further opposition. The whigs were so eager in the prosecution of this point, that they proceeded in a very superficial manner, and with such precipitation as furnished their enemies with a plausible pretence to affirm, that they had not considered the treaty with the coolness and deliberation which an affair of this importance required.
Before the lords began to investigate the articles of the union, they, at the instance of the archbishop of Canterbury, brought in a bill for the security of the church of England, to be inserted as a fundamental and essential part of that treaty. It passed through both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent. On the fifteenth clay of February, the debates concerning the union began in the house of lords, the queen being present, and the bishop of Sarum chairman of the committee. The earls of Rochester, Anglesea, and Nottingham, argued against the union; as did the bishop of Bath and Wells. Lord Haversham, in a premeditated harangue, said the question was, whether two nations independent in their sovereignties, that had their distinct laws and interests, their different forms of worship, church-government, and order, should be united into one kingdom? He supposed it a union made up of so many mismatched pieces, of such jarring incongruous ingredients, that should it ever take effect, it would carry the necessary consequences of a standing power and force to keep them from falling asunder and breaking in pieces every moment. Pie repeated what had been said by lord Bacon, that an unity pieced up by direct admission of contrarieties in the fundamental points of it, is like the toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image, which were made of iron and clay—-they may cleave together, but would never incorporate. He dissented from the union for the sake of the good old English constitution, in which he dreaded some alteration from the additional weight of sixty-one Scottish members, and these too returned by a Scottish privy-council. He took notice, that above one hundred Scottish peers, and as many commoners, were excluded from sitting and voting in parliament, though they had as much right of inheritance to sit there as any English peer had of sitting in the parliament of England. He expressed his apprehension of this precedent; and asked what security any peer of England had for this right and privilege of peerage, which those lords had not. He said, If the bishops would weaken their own cause, so far as to give up the two great points of episcopal ordination and confirmation; if they would approve and ratify the act for securing the presbyterian church-government in Scotland, as the true protestant religion and purity of worship; they must give up that which had been contended for between them and the presbyterians for thirty years, and been defended by the greatest and most learned men in the church of England. He objected to the exempting articles, by which heritable offices and superiorities were reserved. He affirmed that the union was contrary to the sense of the Scottish nation; that the murmurs of the people had been so loud as to fill the whole kingdom; and so bold as to reach even to the doors of the parliament; that the parliament itself had suspended their beloved clause in the act of security for arming the people; that the government had issued a proclamation pardoning all slaughter, bloodshed, and maiming committed upon those who should be found in tumults. From these circumstances he concluded, that the Scottish nation was averse to an incorporating union, which he looked upon as one of the most dangerous experiments to both nations. Lord North and Grey complained of the small and unequal proportion of the land-tax imposed upon Scotland. The earl of Nottingham said it was highly unreasonable that the Scots, who were by the treaty let into all the branches of the English trade, and paid so little towards the expense of the government, should moreover have such a round sum by way of equivalent. The same topics were insisted on by the lords North and Grey, Guernsey, Granville, Stawel, and Abingdon. The earl of Nottingham, after having opposed every article separately, concluded with words to this effect; "As sir John Maynard said to the late king at the revolution, that having buried all his contemporaries in Westminster-hall, he was afraid, if his majesty had not come in that very juncture of time, he might have likewise outlived the very laws; so, if this union do pass, as I have no reason to doubt but it will, I may justly affirm I have outlived all the laws, and the very constitution of England: I, therefore, pray to God to avert the dire effects which may probably ensue from such an incorporating union."
These arguments and objections were answered by the lord-treasurer Godolphin, the earls of Sunderland and Wharton, the lords Townshend, Halifax, and So-mers, the bishops of Oxford, Norwich, and Sarum. They observed that such an important measure could not be effected without some inconveniences; but that these ought to be borne in consideration of the greatness of the advantage: that the chief dangers to which the church was exposed arose from France and popery; and this union would effectually secure it against these evils: that Scotland lay on the weakest side of England, which could not be defended but by an expensive army. Should a war break out between the two nations, and Scotland be conquered, yet even in that case it would be necessary to keep it under with a standing army, which any enterprising prince might model for his ambitious purposes, and joining with the Scots, enslave his English dominion; that any union after a conquest would be compulsive, consequently of short duration; whereas now it was voluntary, it would be lasting; that with regard to ecclesiastical affairs, all heats and animosities might be allayed by soft and gentle management. The cantons of Switzerland, though they professed different religions, were yet united in one general body; and the diet of Germany was composed of princes and states, among whom three different persuasions prevailed; so that two sorts of discipline might very well subsist under one legislature. If there was any danger on either side, it threatened the Scots much more than the English, as five hundred and thirteen members could certainly be too hard for forty-five; and in the house of lords, six-and-twenty bishops would always preponderate against sixteen peers from Scotland. Notwithstanding all the opposition made by the lords of the tory interest, every article was approved by a great majority, though not without a good number of protestations; and a bill of ratification was prepared in the lower house by sir Simon Harcourt, the solicitor-general, in such an artful manner as to prevent all debates. All the articles, as they passed in Scotland, were recited by way of preamble, together with the acts made in both parliaments for the security of the several churches; and, in conclusion, there was one clause by which the whole was ratified and enacted into a law. By this contrivance, those who were desirous of starting new difficulties found themselves disabled from pursuing their design. They could not object to the recital, which was barely matter of fact; and they had not strength sufficient to oppose the general enacting clause. On the other hand, the whigs promoted it with such zeal that it passed by a majority of one hundred and fourteen, before the others had recollected themselves from the surprise which the structure of the bill had occasioned. It made its way through the house of lords with equal despatch; and, when it received the royal sanction, the queen expressed the utmost satisfaction. She said she did not doubt but it would be remembered and spoke of hereafter to the honour of those who had been instrumental in bringing it to such a happy conclusion. She desired that her subjects of both kingdoms should from henceforward behave with all possible respect and kindness towards one another, that so it might appear to all the world they had hearts disposed to become one people.
1707
As the act of union did not take place till the first of May, a great number of traders in both kingdoms resolved to make advantage of this interval. The English proposed to export into Scotland such commodities as entitled them to a drawback, with a view to bring them back after the first of May. The Scots, on the other hand, as their duties were much lower than those in England, intended to import great quantities of wine, brandy, and other merchandise, which they could sell at a greater advantage in England after the union, when there would be a free intercourse between the two nations. Some of the ministers had embarked in this fraudulent design, which alarmed the merchants of England to such a degree, that they presented a remonstrance to the commons. Resolutions were immediately taken in the house against these practices, and a bill was prepared; but the lords apprehending that it in some measure infringed the articles of the union, and that it might give umbrage to the Scottish nation, it was dropped. The frauds had been in a good measure prevented by the previous resolutions of the house; and the first day of May was now at hand; so that the bill was thought unnecessary. On the twenty-fourth day of April the queen prorogued the parliament, after having given them to understand that she would continue by proclamation the lords and commons already assembled, as members in the first British parliament on the part of England, pursuant to the powers vested in her by the acts of parliament of both kingdoms, ratifying the treaty of union. The parliament was accordingly revived by proclamation, and another issued to convoke the first parliament of Great Britain for the twenty-third day of October. The Scots repaired to London, where they were well received by the queen, who bestowed the title of duke on the earls of Roxburgh and Montrose. She likewise granted a commission for a new privy-council in that kingdom, to be in force till the next session of parliament, that the nation might not be disgusted by too sudden an alteration of outward appearances. The first of May was appointed as a day of public thanksgiving; and congratulatory addresses were sent up from all parts of England; but the university of Oxford prepared no compliment; and the Scots were wholly silent on this occasion.
In the course of this session the commons, in an address to the queen, desired she would resettle the islands of St. Christopher's and Nevis in the West Indies, which had been ravaged by the enemy. They likewise resolved, that an humble address should be presented to her majesty, praying she would concert measures for suppressing a body of pirates who had made a settlement on the island of Madagascar, as also for recovering and preserving the ancient possessions, trade, and fishery in Newfoundland. The French refugees likewise delivered a remonstrance to the queen, recapitulating the benefits which the persecuted protestants in France had reaped from the assistance of her royal progenitors, acknowledging their own happiness in living under her gentle government, among a people by whom they had been so kindly entertained when driven from their native country; and imploring her majesty's interposition and good offices in favour of their distressed and persecuted brethren abroad. She graciously received this address, declaring she had always great compassion for the unhappy circumstances of the protestants in France; that she would communicate her thoughts on this subject to her allies; and she expressed her hope that such measures might be taken as should effectually answer the intent of their petition. In the month of May she granted an audience to an ambassador-extraordinary from the czar of Muscovy, who delivered a letter from his master, containing complaints of king Augusts, who had maltreated the Russian troops sent to his assistance, concluded a dishonourable peace with Charles king of Sweden, without the knowledge of his allies, and surrendered count Patkul, the Muscovite minister, as a deserter, to the Swedish monarch, contrary to the law of nations, and even to the practice of barbarians. He therefore desired her Britannic majesty would use her good offices for the enlargement of the count, and the other Russian prisoners detained at Stockholm; and that she would take into her protection the remains of the Russian auxiliaries upon the Rhine, that they might either enter into the service of the allies, or be at liberty to return in safety to their own country. The queen actually interposed in behalf of Patkul; but her intercession proved ineffectual, and that unhappy minister was put to death with all the circumstances of wanton barbarity. As many severe and sarcastic writings had lately appeared in which the whigs and ministry were reviled, and reflections hinted to the prejudice of the queen's person, the government resolved to make examples of the authors and publishers of these licentious productions. Dr. Joseph Browne was twice pilloried for a copy of verses, intituled "The Country Parson's Advice to the Lord-Keeper," and a letter which he afterwards wrote to Mr. Secretary Hailey. William Stevens, rector of Sutton in Surrey, underwent the same sentence, as author of a pamphlet called "A Letter to the Author of the Memorial of the Church of England." Edward Ward was fined and set in the pillory, for having written a burlesque poem on the times, under the title of "Hudibras Redivivus;" and the same punishment was inflicted upon William Pittes, author of a performance, intituled "The Case of the Church of England's Memorial fairly stated."
The lower house of convocation still continued to wrangle with their superiors; and though they joined the upper house in a congratulatory address to the queen on the success of her arms, they resolved to make application to the commons against the union. The queen being apprised of their design, desired the archbishop to prorogue them for three weeks, before the expiration of which the act of union had passed in parliament. The lower house delivered a representation to the bishops, in which they affirmed no such prorogation had ever been ordered during the session of parliament. The bishops found in their records seven or eight precedents of such prorogations, and above thirty instances of the convocation having sat sometimes before, and sometimes after, a session of parliament; nay, sometimes even when the parliament was dissolved. The queen, informed of these proceedings, wrote a letter to the archbishop, intimating that she looked upon the lower house as guilty of an invasion of her royal supremacy; and that if any thing of the same nature should be attempted for the future, she would use such means for punishing offenders as the law warranted. The prolocutor absenting himself from the convocation, the archbishop pronounced sentence of contumacy against him. The lower house, in a protestation, declared this sentence unlawful and altogether null. Nevertheless the prolocutor made a full submission, with which the archbishop was satisfied, and the sentence was repealed. About this period the earl of Sunderland was appointed one of the secretaries of state, in the room of sir Charles Hedges. This change was not effected without great opposition from Harley, who was in his heart an enemy to the duke of Marlborough and all his adherents; and had already, by his secret intrigues, made considerable progress in a scheme for superseding the influence of the duchess.
The French king at this juncture seemed to be entirely abandoned by his former good fortune. He had sustained such a number of successive defeats as had drained his kingdom of people, and his treasury was almost exhausted. He endeavoured to support the credit of his government by issuing mint-bills, in imitation of the bank-notes of England; but, notwithstanding all his precautions, they passed at a discount of three-and-fifty per cent. The lands lay uncultivated; the manufactures could be no longer carried on; and the subjects perished with famine. The allies, on the other hand, seemed to prosper in every quarter. They had become masters of the greatest part of the Netherlands, in consequence of the victory at Ramillies; the army of king Charles was considerably reinforced; a scheme was formed for the conquest of Toulon, by the troops of the emperor and the duke of Savoy, supplied with a large sum of money by queen Anne, and assisted by the combined fleets of England and Holland, under the command of sir Cloudesley Shovel. In a word, France seemed to be reduced to the verge of destruction, from which nothing in all probability could have saved her but the jealousy and misconduct of the confederates. Louis, by virtue of his capitulation with the emperor in Italy, was enabled to send such reinforcements into Spain as turned the fortune of the war in that country; while the distractions in the council of king Charles prevented that unanimity and concurrence without which no success can be expected. The earl of Peterborough declared against an offensive war, on account of the difficulty of finding subsistence in Castile; and advised Charles to trust to the expedition against Toulon. This opinion he sent from Italy, to which he had withdrawn.
Charles, however, was persuaded to penetrate once more to Madrid, and give battle to the enemy wherever they should appear. On the thirteenth day of March the army was assembled at Caudela, to the number of sixteen thousand men; under the auspices of the marquis das Minas, to whom the earl of Galway was second in command. They marched towards Yecla, and undertook the siege of Vilena; but having received intelligence that the duke of Berwick was in the neighbourhood, they advanced on the fourteenth day of April in four columns towards the town of Almanza, where the enemy were drawn up in order of battle, their number being considerably superior to that of the confederates. The battle began about two in the afternoon, and the whole front of each army was fully engaged. The English and Dutch squadrons on the left, sustained by the Portuguese horse of the second line, were overpowered after a gallant resistance. The centre, consisting chiefly of battalions from Great Britain and Holland, obliged the enemy to give way, and drove their first upon their second line; but the Portuguese cavalry on the right being broken at the first charge, the foot betook themselves to flight; so that the English and Dutch troops being left naked on the flanks, were surrounded and attacked on every side. In this dreadful emergency they formed themselves into a square, and retired from the field of battle. By this time the men were quite spent with fatigue, and all their ammunition exhausted: they were ignorant of the country, abandoned by their horse, destitute of provisions, and cut off from all hope of supply. Moved by these dismal considerations, they capitulated and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, to the amount of thirteen battalions. The Portuguese, and part of the English horse, with the infantry that guarded the baggage, retreated to Alcira, where they were joined by the earl of Galway, with about five and twenty hundred dragoons which he had brought from the field of battle. About three thousand men of the allied army were killed upon the spot, and among that number brigadier Killegrew, with many officers of distinction. The earl of Galway, who charged in person at the head of Guiscard's dragoons, received two deep cuts in the face. The marquis das Minas was run through the arm, and saw his concubine, who fought in the habit of an Amazon, killed by his side: the lords Tyrawley, Mark Ker, and colonel Glayton, were wounded: all their artillery, together with an hundred and twenty colours and standards, and about ten thousand men, were taken; so that no victory could be more complete; yet it was not purchased without the loss of two thousand men slain in the action, including some officers of eminence. The duke of Berwick, who commanded the troops of king Philip, acquired a great addition of fame by his conduct and behaviour before and during the engagement; but his authority was superseded by the duke of Orleans, who arrived in the army immediately after the battle. This prince seemed to entertain some private views of his own; for he took no effectual step to improve the victory. He began a private negotiation with the earl of Galway, during which the two armies lay inactive on the banks of the Cinca; and he concluded the campaign with the siege of Lerida, which was surrendered by capitulation on the second day of November: then the troops on both sides went into winter quarters. The earl of Galway and the Marquis das Minas embarked at Barcelona for Lisbon, and general Carpenter remained commander of the English forces quartered in Catalonia, which was now the only part of Spain that remained to king Charles.
The attempt upon Toulon by the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene might have succeeded, if the emperor, notwithstanding the repeated remonstrances of the maritime powers, had not divided his army in Italy, by detaching a considerable body through the ecclesiastical state towards Naples, of which he took possession without any difficulty. Besides, ten thousand recruits destined for the Imperial forces in Italy were detained in Germany, from an apprehension of the king of Sweden, who remained in Saxony, and seemed to be upon very indifferent terms with the emperor. With the assistance of the English and Dutch fleets, the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene passed the Var 149 [See note 2 B, at the end of this Vol.] on the eleventh day of July, at the head of an army of thirty thousand men, and marched directly towards Toulon, whither the artillery and ammunition were conveyed on board of the combined squadrons. The French king was extremely alarmed at this attempt, as five thousand pieces of cannon, vast magazines, and the best part of his fleet, were in the harbour of Toulon, and ran the greatest risk of being entirely taken or destroyed. The whole kingdom of France was filled with consternation when they found their enemies were in the bosom of their country. The monarch resolved to leave no stone unturned for the relief of the place, and his subjects exerted themselves in a very extraordinary manner for its preservation. The nobility of the adjacent provinces armed their servants and tenants, at the head of whom they marched into the city: they coined their plate, and pawned their jewels for money to pay the workmen employed upon the fortifications; and such industry was used, that in a few days the town and harbour, which had been greatly neglected, were put in a good posture of defence. The allies took possession of the eminences that commanded the city, and the ordnance being landed, erected batteries. From these they began to cannonade and bombard the city, while the fleet attacked and reduced two forts at the entrance of the Mole, and co-operated in the siege with their great guns and bomb-ketches. The garrison was numerous, and defended the place with great vigour. They sunk ships in the entrance to the Mole: they kept up a prodigious fire from the ramparts: they made desperate sallies, and even drove the besiegers from one of their posts with great slaughter. The French king, alarmed at this design of his enemies, ordered troops to march towards Toulon from all parts of his dominions. He countermanded the forces that were on their route to improve the victory of Almanza: a great part of the army under Villars on the Bhine was detached to Provence, and the court of Versailles declared, that the duke of Burgundy should march at the head of a strong army to the relief of Toulon. The duke of Savoy being apprized of these preparations, seeing no hope of reducing the place, and being apprehensive that his passage would be intercepted, resolved to abandon his enterprise. The artillery being re-embarked, with the sick and wounded, he decamped in the night, under favour of a terrible bombardment and cannonading from the English fleet, and retreated to his own country without molestation.* Then he undertook the reduction of Susa, the garrison of which surrendered at discretion. By this conquest he not only secured the key to his own dominions, but also opened to himself a free passage into Dauphiné.
* Had the duke of Savoy marched with expedition from the
Var, he would have found Toulon defenceless; but he
lingered in such a manner as gives reason to believe he was
not hearty in the enterprise; and his operations were
retarded by a difference between him and his kinsman prince
Eugene.
Sir Cloudesley Shovel having left a squadron with sir Thomas Dilkes for the Mediterranean service, set sail for England with the rest of the fleet, and was in soundings on the twenty-second day of October. About eight o'clock at night his own ship, the Association, struck upon the rocks of Scilly, and perished with every person on board. This was likewise the fate of the Eagle and the Romney: the Firebrand was dashed in pieces on the rocks; but the captain and four-and-twenty men saved themselves in the boat: the Phoenix was driven on shore: the Royal Anne was saved by the presence of mind and uncommon dexterity of sir George Byng and his officers: the St. George, commanded by lord Dursley, struck upon the rocks, but a wave set her afloat again. The admiral's body being cast ashore, was stripped and buried in the sand; but afterwards discovered and brought into Plymouth, from whence it was conveyed to London, and interred in Westminster-abbey. Sir Cloudesley Shovel was born of mean parentage in the county of Suffolk; but raised himself to the chief command at sea, by his industry, valour, skill, and integrity. On the upper Rhine the allies were unprosperous.150 [See note C, at the end of this Vol.] The prince of Baden was dead, and the German army so inconsiderable, that it could not defend the lines of Buhl against the mareschal de Villars, who broke through this work, esteemed the rampart of Germany, reduced Rastadt, defeated a body of horse, laid the duchy of Wirtemberg under contribution, took Stutgard and Schorndorf; and routed three thousand Germans intrenched at Lorch, under the command of general Janus, who was made prisoner. In all probability, this active officer would have made great progress towards the restoration of the elector of Bavaria, had not he been obliged to stop in the middle of his career, in consequence of his army's being diminished by sending off detachments to Provence. The Imperial army retired towards Hailbron, and the command of it was, at the request of the emperor and allies, assumed by the elector of Hanover, who restored military discipline, and acted with uncommon prudence and circumspection; but he had not force sufficient to undertake any enterprise of importance.
ANNE, 1701—1714
In the month of April, the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague for Leipsic, with a letter from the queen to Charles XII. of Sweden, whose designs were still so mysterious, that the confederates could not help being alarmed at his being in the heart of Germany. The duke was pitched upon as the most proper ambassador, to soothe his vanity and penetrate into his real intention.*
* When the duke arrived in his coach at the quarters of
count Piper, of whom he had demanded an audience, he was
given to understand that the count was busy, and obliged to
wait half an hour before the Swedish minister came down to
receive him. When he appeared at last, the duke alighted
from his coach, put on his hat, passed the count without
saluting him, and went aside to the wall, where having staid
some time, he returned and accosted him with the most polite
address.
He found this original character not simple, but sordid in his appearance and economy, savage in his deportment, ferocious, illiterate, stubborn, implacable, and reserved. The English general assailed him on the side of his vanity, the only part by which he was accessible. "Sire," said he, "I present to your majesty a letter, not from the chancery, but from the heart of the queen my mistress, and written with her own hand. Had not her sex prevented her from taking so long a journey, she would have crossed the sea to see a prince admired by the whole universe. I esteem myself happy in having the honour of assuring your majesty of my regard; and I should think it a great happiness, if my affairs would allow me, to learn under so great a general as your majesty, what I want to know in the art of war." Charles was pleased with this overstrained compliment, which seems to have been calculated for a raw unintelligent barbarian, unacquainted with the characters of mankind. He professed particular veneration for queen Anne, as well as for the person of her ambassador, and declared he would take no steps to the prejudice of the grand alliance. Nevertheless, the sincerity of this declaration has been questioned. The French court is said to have gained over his minister, count Piper, to their interest. Certain it is, he industriously sought occasion to quarrel with the emperor, and treated him with great insolence, until he submitted to all his demands. The treaty being concluded upon the terms he thought proper to impose, he had no longer the least shadow of pretence to continue his disputes with the court of Vienna; and therefore began his march for Poland, which was by this time overrun by the czar of Muscovy.
The duke of Marlborough returning from Saxony, assembled the allied army at Anderlach near Brussels, about the middle of May; and, understanding that the elector of Bavaria and the duke de Vendôme, who commanded the French forces, had quitted their lines, he advanced to Soignies with a design to engage them in the plain of Fleuras. But receiving certain intelligence that the enemy were greatly superior to the allies in number, by the help of drafts from all the garrisons, he retreated towards Brussels, and took post at Mildert; while the French advanced to Gemblours. Both armies lay inactive until the enemy sent off a large detachment towards Provence. Then the duke of Marlborough and general D'Auverquerque resolved to attack them in their fortified camp at Gemblours. But they retreated with such celerity from one post to another, that the confederates could not come up with them until they were safely encamped with their right at Pont-a-Tresin, and their left under the cannon of Lisle, covered with the river Schelde, and secured by intrenchments. The allies chose their camp at Helchin, and foraged under the cannon of Tournay, within a league of the enemy; but nothing could induce them to hazard an engagement; and both armies went into winter quarters in the latter end of October. The duke of Marlborough set out for Franckfort, where he conferred with the electors of Mentz, Hanover, and Palatine, about the operations of the next campaign: then he returned to the Hague, and having concerted the necessary measures with the deputies of the states-general, embarked for England in the beginning of November.
The queen's private favour was now shifted to a new object. The duchess of Marlborough was supplanted by Mrs. Masham, her own kinswoman, whom she had rescued from indigence and obscurity. This favourite succeeded to that ascendancy over the mind of her sovereign which the duchess had formerly possessed. She was more humble, pliable, and obliging than her first patroness, who had played the tyrant, and thwarted the queen in some of her most respected maxims. Her majesty's prepossession in favour of the tories and high-churchmen was no longer insolently condemned and violently opposed. The new confidant conformed to all her prejudices, and encouraged all her designs with assent and approbation. In political intrigues she acted as associate, or rather auxiliary, to Mr. Secretary Harley, who had insinuated himself into the queen's good graces, and determined to sap the credit of the duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin. His aim was to unite the tory interest under his own auspices, and expel the whigs from the advantages they possessed under the government. His chief coadjutor in this scheme was Henry St. John, afterwards lord Bolingbroke, a man of warm imagination and elegant taste, penetrating, eloquent, ambitious, and enterprising, whose talents were rather specious than solid, and whose principles were loose and fluctuating. He was at first contented to act in an inferior capacity, subservient to the designs of the secretary; but, when he understood the full extent of his own parts and influence, he was fired with the ambition of eclipsing his principal, and from the sphere of his minister raised himself to the character of his rival These politicians, with the assistance of sir Simon Har court, a colleague of uncommon ability and credit, exerted their endeavours to rally and reconcile the disunited tories, who were given to understand that the queen could no longer bear the tyranny of the whigs: that she had been always a friend in her heart to the tory and high-church party; and that she would now exhibit manifest proof of her inclination. She accordingly bestowed the bishoprics of Chester and Exeter upon sir William Dawes and Dr. Blackall, who though otherwise of unblemished characters, had openly condemned the revolution.
The people in general began to be sick of the whig ministry, whom they had formerly caressed. To them they imputed the burdens under which they groaned; burdens which they had hitherto been animated to bear by the pomp of triumph and uninterrupted success. At present they were discouraged by the battle of Almanza, the miscarriage of the expedition against Toulon, the loss of sir Cloudesley Shovel, and the fate of four ships of the line, destroyed or taken by a squadron under the command of messieurs Forbin and Du Guai Trouin, two of the most enterprising sea-officers in the French service. No new advantage had been obtained in the Netherlands: France, instead of sinking under the weight of the confederacy, seemed to rise with fresh vigour from every overthrow: the English traders had lately sustained repeated losses for want of proper convoys; the coin of the nation was visibly diminished, and the public credit began to decline. The tories did not fail to inculcate and exaggerate these causes of discontent, and the ministry were too remiss in taking proper steps for the satisfaction of the nation. Instead of soothing, by gentle measures and equal administration, the Scots, who had expressed such aversion to the union, they treated them in such a manner as served to exasperate the spirits of that people. A stop was put to their whole commerce for two months before it was diverted into the new channel. Three months elapsed before the equivalent was remitted to that kingdom, and it was afterwards applied with the most shameful partiality. Seizures of wines and other merchandise imported from thence into England, were made in all the northern parts with an affectation of severity and disdain: so that the generality of the Scottish nation loudly exclaimed against the union and the government. The Jacobites were again in commotion. They held conferences: they maintained a correspondence with the court of St. Germains: a great number of the most rigid whigs entered so far into their measures as to think a revolution was absolutely necessary to preserve the liberties, independence, and commerce of their country: the pretender's birth-day was publicly celebrated in many different parts of the kingdom, and everything seemed to portend an universal revolt. Ireland continued quiet under the administration of the earl of Pembroke, whom the queen had appointed lord-lieutenant of that kingdom. A parliament having met at Dublin in the month of July, presented addresses of congratulation to her majesty on the late union of the two kingdoms. The commons having inspected the public accounts, resolved, that the kingdom had been put to excessive charge, by means of great arrears of rent returned by the late trustees, as due out of the forfeited estates, which returns were false and unjust; and that an humble representation should be laid before her majesty on this subject. They passed another laudable resolution in favour of their own manufactures. They granted the necessary supplies, and having finished several bills for the royal assent, were prorogued on the twenty-ninth day of October.
It was on the twenty-third of the same month that the first parliament of Great Britain assembled at Westminster, when the queen in her speech to both houses palliated the miscarriages in Provence and in Spain: represented the necessity of making further efforts against the common enemy; and exhorted them to be upon their guard against those who endeavoured to sow jealousies in the commonwealth. The commons in their address expressed the continuance of their former zeal and devotion to her majesty's government; but, in the house of lords, the earl of Wharton expatiated upon the scarcity of money, the decay of trade, and the mismanagement of the navy. He was seconded by lord Somers and the leaders of the tory party, who proposed that, previous to every measure, they should consider the state of the nation. The design of Wharton and Somers was to raise the earl of Orford once more to the head of the admiralty; and the tories, who did not perceive their drift, hoped, in the course of the inquiry, to fix the blame of all mismanagement upon the whig ministers. A day being fixed for this examination, the house received a petition from the sheriffs and merchants of London, complaining of great losses by sea for want of cruisers and convoys, and the complaints were proved by witnesses. The report was sent to the lord-admiral, who answered all the articles separately: then the tories moved for an address, in which the blame of the miscarriages might be laid upon the ministry and cabinet-council; but the motion was overruled: the queen was presented with a bare representation of the facts, and desired that she would take the proper measures for preventing such evils for the future. The commons made some progress in an inquiry of the same nature, and brought in a bill for the better securing the trade of the kingdom. They cheerfully granted the supplies for the service of the ensuing year. They prepared another bill for repealing the Scottish act of security, and that about peace and war, which had excited such jealousy in the English nation. They resolved that there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of Great Britain: that the militia of Scotland should be put on the same footing with that of England: that the powers of the justices of the peace should be the same through the whole island: that the lords of justiciary in Scotland should go circuits twice in the year; that the writs for electing Scottish members to serve in the house of commons should be directed, and returns made, in the same manner as practised in England. An act being formed on these resolutions, they brought in a bill for preserving the trade with Portugal: then they considered the state of the war in Spain.
When the queen passed these bills, she recommended an augmentation in the aids and auxiliaries granted to the king of Spain and the duke of Savoy. This intimation produced a debate in the house of lords on the affairs of Spain. The services of the earl of Peterborough were extolled by the earl of Rochester and lord Haver-sham, who levelled some oblique reflections on the earl of Galway. Several lords enlarged upon the necessity of carrying on the war until king Charles should be fully established upon the throne of Spain. The earl of Peterborough said they ought to contribute nine shillings in the pound rather than make peace on any other terms: he declared himself ready to return to Spain, and serve even under the earl of Galway. The earl of Rochester repeated a maxim of the old duke of Schom-berg, that attacking France in the Netherlands was like taking a bull by the horns. He therefore proposed that the allies should stand on the defensive in Flanders, and detach from thence fifteen or twenty thousand men into Catalonia. He was seconded by the earl of Nottingham; but warmly opposed by the duke of Marlborough, who urged that the great towns in Brabant which he had conquered could not be preserved without a considerable number of men; and that if the French should gain any advantage in Flanders from their superiority in point of number, the discontented party in Holland, which was very numerous, and bore with impatience the burden of the war, would not fail crying aloud for peace. Being challenged by Rochester to show how troops could be procured for the service of Italy and Spain, he assured the house that measures had been already concerted with the emperor for forming an army of forty thousand men under the duke of Savoy, for sending powerful succours to king Charles. This declaration finished the debate, which issued in an affectionate address to her majesty. The lords resolved, that no peace could be safe and honourable for her majesty and her allies, if Spain and the Spanish West Indies were suffered to continue in the power of the house of Bourbon. They presented an address, in which they desired she would press the emperor to send powerful succours to Spain under the command of prince Eugene, with all possible expedition, to make good his contract with the duke of Savoy, and strengthen the army on the Rhine, which was now happily put under the conduct of that wise and valiant prince, the elector of Hanover. The commons concurred in this remonstrance, in consequence of which the queen desired the emperor to bestow the command in Spain upon prince Eugene. The court of Vienna, however, did not comply with this request, but sent thither count Staremberg, who, of all the German generals, was next to the prince in military reputation. The commons now proceeded to consider of ways and means, and actually established funds for raising the supply, which amounted to the enormous sum of six millions.
At this period Mr. Harley's character incurred suspicion, from the treachery of William Gregg, an inferior clerk in his office, who was detected in a correspondence with monsieur Chamillard, the French king's minister. When his practices were detected he made an ample confession, and pleading guilty to his indictment at the Old Bailey, was condemned to death for high-treason. At the same time, John Bara and Alexander Valiere were committed to Newgate for corresponding with the enemy; and Claude Baud, secretary to the duke of Savoy's minister, was, at the request of his master, apprehended for traitorous practices against her majesty and her government. A committee of seven lords being appointed to examine these delinquents, made a report to the house, which was communicated to the queen, in an address, importing, that Gregg had discovered secrets of state to the French minister: that Alexander Valiere and John Bara had managed a correspondence with the governors and commissaries of Calais and Boulogn; and, in all probability, discovered to the enemy the stations of the British cruisers, the strength of their convoys, and the times at which the merchant ships proceeded on their voyages; that all the papers in the office of Mr. Secretary Harley had been for a considerable time exposed to the view of the meanest clerks, and that the perusal of all the letters to and from the French prisoners had been chiefly trusted to Gregg, a person of a very suspicious character, and known to be extremely indigent. The queen granted a reprieve to this man, in hope of his making some important discovery, but he really knew nothing of consequence to the nation. He was an indigent Scot, who had been employed as a spy in his own country, and now offered his services to Chamillard, with a view of being rewarded for his treachery; but he was discovered before he had reaped any fruits from his correspondence. As he had no secrets of importance to impart, he was executed at Tyburn, where he delivered a paper to the sheriff, in which he declared Mr Harley entirely ignorant of all his treasonable connexions, notwithstanding some endeavours that were made to engage him in an accusation of that minister.
The queen had refused to admit the earl of Peterborough into her presence until he should have vindicated his conduct, of which king Charles had complained in divers letters. He was eagerly desirous of a parliamentary inquiry. His military proceedings, his negotiations, his disposal of the remittances, were taken into consideration by both houses; but he produced such a number of witnesses and original papers to justify every transaction, that his character triumphed in the inquiry, which was dropped before it produced any resolution in parliament. Then they took cognizance of the state of affairs in Spain, and found there had been a great deficiency in the English troops at the battle of Almanza. This, however, was explained so much to their satisfaction, that they voted an address to the queen, thanking her for having taken measures to restore the affairs in Spain, and provide foreign troops for that service. The bill for rendering the union more complete, met with a vigorous opposition in the house of lords from the court-party, on account of the clause enacting, that, after the first of May, there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of Great Britain. The ministry, finding it was strenuously supported by all the tories and a considerable number of the other faction, would have compromised the difference, by proposing that the privy-council of Scotland should continue to the first day of October. They hinted this expedient, in hope of being able to influence the ensuing elections; but their design being palpable, the motion was overruled, and the bill received the royal assent: a court of exchequer, however, was erected in Scotland upon the model of that in England. The execution of Gregg, and the examination of Valiere and Bara, who had acted as smugglers to the coast of France, under the protection of Harley, to whom they engaged for intelligence, affected the credit of that minister, who was reviled and traduced by the emissaries of the whig party. The duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin, being apprised of his secret practices with Mrs. Masham, wrote to the queen that they could serve her no longer, should Mr. Harley continue in the post of secretary. Being summoned to the cabinet-council, they waited on her in person, and expostulated on the same subject. She endeavoured to appease their resentment with soft persuasion, which had no effect; and when they retired from court, to the astonishment of all the spectators, she repaired in person to the council. There Mr. Secretary Harley began to explain the cause of their meeting, which was some circumstance relating to foreign affairs. The duke of Somerset said, he did not see how they could deliberate on such matters while the general and treasurer were absent: the other members observed a sullen silence; so that the council broke up, and the queen found herself in danger of being abandoned by her ministers. Next day her majesty sent for the duke of Marlborough, and told him that Harley should immediately resign his office, which was conferred upon Mr. Henry Boyle, chancellor of the exchequer; but she deeply resented the deportment of the duke and the earl of Godolphin, from whom she entirely withdrew her confidence. Sir Simon Harcourt, attorney-general, sir Thomas Mansel, comptroller of the household, and Mr. St. John, relinquished their several posts upon the disgrace of Harley.
The kingdom was at this period alarmed with a threatened invasion from France. The court of St. Germain's had sent over one colonel Hook with credentials to Scotland, to learn the situation, number, and ability of the pretender's friends in that country. This minister, by his misconduct, produced a division among the Scottish Jacobites. Being a creature of the duke of Perth, he attached himself wholly to the duke of Athol, and those other zealous partisans who were bent upon receiving the pretender without conditions; and he neglected the duke of Hamilton, the earl-marshal, and other adherents of that house, who adopted the more moderate principles avowed by the earl of Middleton, At his return to France, he made such a favourable report of the disposition and power of the Scottish nation, that Louis resolved to equip an armament, and send over the pretender to that kingdom. His pretence was to establish that prince on the throne of his ancestors; but his real aim was to make a diversion from the Netherlands, and excite a revolt in Great Britain, which should hinder queen Anne from exerting herself against France on the continent. He began to make preparations for this expedition at Dunkirk, where a squadron was assembled under the command of the chevalier de Fourbin; and a body of land forces were embarked with monsieur de Gace, afterwards known by the appellation of the mareschal de Matignon. The pretender, who had assumed the name of the chevalier de St. George, was furnished with services of gold and silver plate, sumptuous tents, rich clothes for his life-guards, splendid liveries, and all sorts of necessaries even to profusion. Louis at parting presented him with a sword studded with valuable diamonds, and repeated what he had formerly said to this adventurer's father: "He hoped he should never see him again." The pope contributed to the expense of this expedition, and accommodated him with divers religious inscriptions, which were wrought upon his colours and standards. Queen Anne being informed of these preparations, and the design of the French monarch, communicated to the commons the advices which she had received from Holland and the Netherlands, touching the destination of the Dunkirk armament; both houses concurred in an address, assuring her they would assist her majesty with their lives and fortunes against the pretended prince of Wales, and all her other enemies. Then they passed a bill, enacting, that the oath of abjuration should be tendered to all persons, and such as refused to take it should be in the condition of convicted recusants. By another, they suspended the habeas-corpus act till October, with relation to persons apprehended by the government on suspicion of treasonable practices. The pretender and his adherents were proclaimed traitors and rebels; and a bill was passed, discharging the clans of Scotland from all vassalage to those chiefs who should take up arms against her majesty.
Transports were hired to bring over ten British battalions from Ostend; a large fleet being equipped with incredible diligence, sailed from Deal towards Dunkirk, under the conduct of sir John Leake, sir George Byng, and lord Dursley. The French imagined that Leake had sailed to Lisbon, and that Britain was unprovided of ships of war; so that they were amazed and confounded when this fleet appeared off Mardyke: a stop was immediately put to the embarkation of their troops; frequent expresses were despatched to Paris; the count de Fourbin represented to the French king the little probability of succeeding in this enterprise, and the danger that would attend the attempt; but he received positive orders to embark the forces, and set sail with the first favourable wind.
The British fleet being forced from their station by severe weather on the fourteenth day of March, the French squadron sailed on the seventeenth from the road of Dunkirk; but the wind shifting, it anchored in Newport-pits till the nineteenth in the evening, when they set sail again with a fair breeze, steering their course to Scotland. Sir George Byng having received advice of their departure, from an Ostend vessel sent out for that purpose by major-general Cadogan, gave chase to the enemy, after having detached a squadron, under admiral Baker, to convoy the troops that were embarked at Ostend for England. On the tenth day of March the queen went to the house of peers, where, in a speech to both houses, she told them that the French fleet had sailed; that sir George Byng was in pursuit of them; and that ten battalions of her troops were expected every day in England. This intimation was followed by two very warm addresses from the lords and commons, in which they repeated their assurances of standing by her against all her enemies. They exhorted her to persevere in supporting the common cause, notwithstanding this petty attempt to disturb her dominions; and levelled some severe insinuations against those who endeavoured to foment jealousies between her majesty and her most faithful servants. Addresses on the same occasion were sent up from different parts of the kingdom; so that the queen seemed to look with contempt upon the designs of the enemy. Several regiments of foot, with some squadrons of cavalry, began their march for Scotland; the earl of Leven, commander-in-chief of the forces in that country, and governor of the castle of Edinburgh, hastened thither to put that fortress in a posture of defence, and to make the proper dispositions to oppose the pretender at his landing. But the vigilance of sir George Byng rendered all these precautions unnecessary. He sailed directly to the Frith of Edinburgh, where he arrived almost as soon as the enemy, who immediately took the advantage of a land breeze, and bore away with all the sail they could carry. The English admiral gave chase; and the Salisbury, one of their ships, was boarded and taken. At night monsieur de Fourbin altered his course, so that next day they were out of reach of the English squadron. The pretender desired they would proceed to the northward, and land him at Inverness, and Fourbin seemed willing to gratify his request; but the wind changing, and blowing in their teeth with great violence, he represented the danger of attempting to prosecute the voyage; and, with the consent of the chevalier de St. George and his general, returned to Dunkirk, after having been tossed about a whole month in very tempestuous weather. In the meantime sir George Byng sailed up to Leith road, where he received the freedom of the city of Edinburgh in a golden box, as a testimony of gratitude for his having delivered them from the dreadful apprehensions under which they laboured.
Certain it is, the pretender could not have chosen a more favourable opportunity for making a descent upon Scotland. The people in general were disaffected to the government on account of the union; the regular troops under Leven did not exceed five-and-twenty hundred men, and even great part of these would in all probability have joined the invader; the castle of Edinburgh was destitute of ammunition, and would in all appearance have surrendered at the first summons; in which case the Jacobites must have been masters of the equivalent money lodged in that fortress: a good number of Dutch ships, loaded with cannon, small arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money, had been driven on shore in the shire of Angus, where they would have been seized by the friends of the pretender, had the French troops been landed; and all the adherents of that house were ready to appear in arms. In England, such a demand was made upon the bank, by those who favoured the invasion, and those who dreaded a revolution, that the public credit seemed to be in danger. The commons resolved, that whoever designedly endeavoured to destroy or lessen the public credit, especially at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an invasion, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and an enemy to her majesty and the kingdom. The lord treasurer signified to the directors of the bank, that her majesty would allow for six months an interest of six per cent, upon their bills, which was double the usual rate; and considerable sums of money were offered to them by this nobleman, as well as by the dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle, and Somerset. The French, Dutch, and Jewish merchants, whose interest was in a peculiar manner connected with the safety of the bank, exerted themselves for its support; and the directors having called in twenty per cent, upon their capital stock, were enabled to answer all the demands of the timorous and disaffected. All the noblemen and persons of distinction in Scotland, suspected of an attachment to the court of St. Germain's, were apprehended, and either imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, or brought up to London to be confined in the Tower or in Newgate. Among these was the duke of Hamilton, who found means to make his peace with the whig ministers; and, in a little time, the other prisoners were admitted to bail. 153 [See note 2 D, at the end of this Vol.]
ANNE, 1701—1714
On the first day of April the parliament was prorogued, and afterwards dissolved by proclamation. Writs were issued out for new elections, together with a proclamation commanding all the peers of North Britain to assemble at Holyrood-house in Edinburgh, on the seventeenth day of June, to elect sixteen peers to represent them in the ensuing British parliament, pursuant to the twenty-second article of the treaty of union. After the dissolution of the parliament, the lords Griffin and Clermont, two sons of the earl of Middleton, and several Scottish and Irish officers who had been taken on board the Salisbury, were brought to London and imprisoned in the Tower or in Newgate. Lord Griffin being attainted by outlawry, for high treason committed in the reign of king William, was brought to the bar of the court of king's bench, and a rule made for his execution; but he was reprieved from month to month, until he died a natural death in prison. The privy-council of Scotland was dissolved; the duke of Queensberry was created a British peer, by the title of baron of Ripon, marquis of Beverley, and duke of Dover; and the office of secretary at war, vacant by the resignation of Henry St. John, was bestowed upon Robert Walpole, a gentleman who had rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, and whose conduct Ave shall have occasion to mention more at large in the sequel. About the same time a proclamation was issued for distributing prizes, in certain proportions, to the different officers and seamen of the royal navy; a regulation that still prevails.
The French king, not at all discouraged by the miscarriage of his projected invasion, resolved to improve the advantages he had gained on the continent during the last campaign, and indeed he made efforts that were altogether incredible, considering the consumptive state of his finances. 154 [See note 2 E, at the end of this Vol.] He assembled a prodigious army in the Netherlands, under the command of the duke of Burgundy, assisted by Vendôme, and accompanied by the duke of Berry and the chevalier de St. George. The elector of Bavaria was destined to the command of the troops on the Rhine, where he was seconded by the duke of Berwick; and the mareschal de Villeroy was sent to conduct the forces in Dauphiné. About the latter end of March, the duke of Marlborough repaired to the Hague, where he was met by prince Eugene: these two celebrated generals conferred with the pensionary Heinsius, and the deputies of the states-general. Then they made an excursion to Hanover, where they prevailed upon the elector to be satisfied with acting upon the defensive in his command on the Rhine, and spare part of his forces, that the confederates might be enabled to make vigorous efforts in the Netherlands. The prince proceeded to Vienna, and the duke immediately returned to Flanders, where he assembled the army towards the latter end of May. On the twenty-fifth day of that month, the duke de Vendôme marched to Soignies, and posted himself within three leagues of the confederates, who were encamped at Billinghen and Halle. The duke of Marlborough having received intelligence that the enemy were on their march by Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Braine-la-Leuwe, concluded their intention was to take post on the banks of the Deule, to hinder the allies from passing that river, and to occupy Louvaine. He, therefore, commanded the army to march all night, and on the third day of June encamped at Terbank, general d'Auverquerque fixing his quarters in the suburbs of Louvaine, while the French advanced no farther than Genap and Braine-la-Leuwe. As they were more numerous than the confederates, and headed by a prince of the blood, the generals of the allies at first expected that they would hazard a battle; but their scheme was to retrieve by stratagem the places they lost in Flanders. The elector of Bavaria had rendered himself extremely popular in the great towns; the count de Bergeyck, who had considerable interest among them, was devoted to the house of Bourbon; the inhabitants of the great cities were naturally inconstant and mutinous, and particularly dissatisfied with the Dutch government. The French generals resolved to profit by these circumstances. A detachment of their troops, under the brigadiers la Faile and Pasteur, surprised the city of Ghent, in which there was no garrison; at the same time the count de la Motte, with a strong body of forces, appeared before Bruges, which was surrendered to him without opposition; then he made a fruitless attempt upon Damme, and marched to the little fort of Plassendhal, which he took by assault. The duke of Marlborough was no sooner apprised of the enemy's having sent a strong detachment towards Tabize, than he marched from Terbank, passed the canal, and encamped at Anderlach. The French crossed the Senne at Halle and Tabize, and the allies resolved to attack them next morning; but the enemy passed the Dender in the night with great expedition; and the duke of Marlborough next day encamped at Asche, where he was joined by prince Eugene, who had marched with a considerable reinforcement of Germans from the Moselle. The enemy understanding that this general was on his march, determined to reduce Oudenarde, the only pass on the Schelde possessed by the confederates; and invested it on the ninth day of July, hoping to subdue it before the allies could be reinforced. The duke of Marlborough was immediately in motion, and made a surprising march from Asche, as far as Herselingen, where he was joined by the reinforcement. Then he took possession of the strong camp at Lessines, which the French had intended to occupy in order to cover the siege of Oudenarde.
Thus disappointed, the French generals altered their resolution, abandoned Oudenarde, and began to pass the Schelde at Gavre. The two generals of the confederates were bent upon bringing them to an engagement. Cadogan was sent with sixteen battalions and eight squadrons to repair the roads, and throw bridges over the Schelde below Oudenarde. The army was in motion about eight o'clock, and marched with such expedition, that by two in the afternoon the horses had reached the bridges over which Cadogan and his detachment were passing. The enemy had posted seven battalions in the village of Heynem, situated on the banks of the Schelde, and the French household troops were drawn up in order of battle on the adjacent plain, opposite to a body of troops under major-general Bantzaw, who were posted behind a rivulet that ran into the river. The duke de Vendôme intended to attack the confederates when one half of their army should have passed the Schelde; but he was thwarted by the duke of Burgundy, who seemed to be perplexed and irresolute. This prince had ordered the troops to halt in their march to Gavre, as if he had not yet formed any resolution; and now he recalled the squadrons from the plain, determined to avoid a battle. Vendôme remonstrated against this conduct, and the dispute continued till three in the afternoon, when the greater part of the allied army had passed the Schelde without opposition. Then the duke of Burgundy declared for an engagement, and Vendôme submitted to his opinion with great reluctance, as the opportunity was now lost, and the army unformed. Major-general Grimaldi was ordered to attack Rantzaw with the horse of the king's household, who, finding the rivulet marshy, refused to charge, and retired to the right. Meanwhile Cadogan attacked the village of Heynem, which he took, with three of the seven battalions by which it was guarded. Bantzaw, passing the rivulet, advanced into the plain and drove before him several squadrons of the enemy. In this attack the electoral prince of Hanover, his late majesty George IL, charged at the head of Bulau's dragoons with great intrepidity. His horse was shot under him, and colonel Laschky killed by his side. Divers French regiments were entirely broken, and a good number of officers and standards fell into the hands of the Hanoverians. The confederates continued still passing the river, but few or none of the infantry were come up till five in the afternoon, when the duke of Argyle arrived with twenty battalions, which immediately sustained a vigorous assault from the enemy. By this time the French were drawn up in order of battle; and the allies being formed as they passed the river, both armies were engaged through the whole extent of their lines about seven in the evening. Europe had not for many years produced two such noble armies: above one hundred general officers appeared in the field, and two hundred and fifty colonels fought at the head of their respective regiments. The number of the French exceeded that of the allies by twelve thousand; but their generals were divided, their forces ill-disposed; and the men dispirited by the uninterrupted success of their adversaries. They seemed from the beginning averse to an engagement, and acted in hurry and trepidation. Nevertheless, the action was maintained until general d'Auverquerque and count Tilly, who commanded on the left of the allies, obliged the right of the enemy to give ground; and the prince of Orange, with count Oxienstern, attacked them in flank with the Dutch infantry. Then they began to give way, and retired in great confusion. The duke de Vendôme, alighting from his horse, rallied the broken battalions, called the officers by name, conjured them to maintain the honour of their country, and animated the men with his voice and example. But notwithstanding all his endeavours, they were forced back among the enclosures in great confusion. Some regiments were cut in pieces; others desired to capitulate; and if the darkness had not interposed, their whole army would have been ruined. The night coming on, so that it became impossible to distinguish friends from enemies, the two generals ordered the troops to cease firing, and the enemy took this opportunity of escaping by the road which leads from Oudenarde to Ghent. The duke de Vendôme seeing the French forces flying in the utmost terror and precipitation, formed a rear-guard of about five-and-twenty squadrons, and as many battalions, with which he secured the retreat. To this precaution the safety of their army was entirely owing; for at day-break the duke of Marlborough sent a large detachment of horse and foot, under the lieutenant-generals Bulau and Lumley, to pursue the fugitives; but the hedges and ditches that skirted the road were lined with the French grenadiers in such a manner, that the cavalry could not form, and they were obliged to desist. The French reached Ghent about eight in the morning, and marching through the city, encamped at Lovendegen on the canal. There they thought proper to cast up intrenchments, upon which they planted their artillery, which they had left at Gavre with their heavy baggage. About three thousand were slain on the field of battle; two thousand deserted; and about seven thousand were taken, including a great number of officers, together with ten pieces of cannon, above an hundred standards and colours, and four thousand horses. The loss of the allies did not amount to two thousand men; nor was one officer of distinction killed on their side during the whole engagement.*
* Among the officers who were engaged in this battle, old
general d'Auverquerque and the duke of Argyle distinguished
themselves by the most extraordinary valour and activity.
After the confederates had rested two days on the field of battle, a detachment was ordered to level the French lines between Ypres and the Lys; another was sent to raise contributions as far as Arras; they ravaged the country, and struck terror even into the city of Paris. While the allies plundered the province of Picardy, a detachment from the French army, under the chevalier de Rozen, made an irruption into Dutch-Flanders, broke through the lines of Bervilet, which had been left unguarded, and made a descent upon the island of Cadsandt, which they laid under contribution.
The generals of the allies now undertook an enterprise, which, in the opinion of the French generals, savoured of rashness and inconsiderate self-sufficiency. This was the siege of Lisle, the strongest town in Flanders, provided with all necessaries, stores of ammunition, and a garrison reinforced with one and twenty battalions of the best troops in France, commanded by mareschal de Boufflers in person. But these were not the principal difficulties which the allies encountered. The enemy had cut off the communication between them and their magazines at Antwerp and Sas-Fan-Ghent; so that they were obliged to bring their convoys from Ostend along a narrow causeway, exposed to the attack of an army more numerous than that with which they sat down before Lisle. On the thirteenth of August it was invested on one side by prince Eugene, and on the other by the prince of Orange-Nassau, stadtholder of Friesland; while the duke of Marlborough encamped at Hel-chin, to cover the siege. The trenches were opened on the twenty-second day of August, and carried on with that vigour and alacrity which is always inspired by victory and success. The dukes of Burgundy and Vendôme being now joined by the duke of Berwick, resolved, if possible, to relieve the place; and made several marches and counter-marches for this purpose. Marlborough being apprized of their intention, inarched out of his lines to give them battle, being reinforced by a considerable body of troops from the siege, including Augustus king of Poland, and the landgrave of Hesse, as volunteers; but the enemy declined an engagement, and the allies returned to their camp, which they fortified with an intrenchment. On the seventh day of September, the besiegers took by assault the counterscarp of Lisle, after an obstinate action, in which they lost a thousand men. The French generals continued to hover about the camp of the confederates, which they actually cannonaded; and the duke of Marlborough again formed his army in order of battle; but their design was only to harass the allies with continual alarms, and interrupt the operations of the siege. They endeavoured to surprise the town of Aeth, by means of a secret correspondence with the inhabitants; but the conspiracy was discovered before it took effect. Then they cut off all communication between the besiegers and the Schelde, the banks of which they fortified with strong intrenchments, and a prodigious number of cannon; so that now all the stores and necessaries were sent to the camp of the confederates from Ostend. On the twenty-first day of September, prince Eugene, who was in the trenches, seeing the troops driven by the enemy from a lodgement they had made on the counterscarp of the tenaille, rallied and led them back to the charge; but being wounded over the left eye with a musket-shot, he was obliged to retire, and for some days the duke of Marlborough sustained the whole command, both in the siege and of the covering army. On the twenty-third the tenaille was stormed, and a lodgement made along the covered way. Mareschal Boufflers having found means to inform the duke de Vendôme that his ammunition was almost expended, this general detached the chevalier de Luxembourg, with a body of horse and dragoons, to supply the place with gunpowder, every man carrying a bag of forty pounds upon the crupper. They were discovered in passing through the camp of the allies, and pursued to the barrier of the town, into which about three hundred were admitted; but a great number were killed by the confederates, or miserably destroyed by the explosion of the powder which they carried.
The next attempt of the French generals was to intercept a convoy from Ostend. The count de la Motte marched from Ghent, with about two and twenty thousand men, to attack this convoy, which was guarded by six thousand of the allies, commanded by major-general Webb. This officer made such an admirable disposition by the wood of Wynendale, and received the enemy with such a close fire, that, after a very warm action that lasted two hours, they retired in the utmost confusion, notwithstanding their great superiority in number, leaving six thousand men killed upon the field of battle; the loss of the allies not exceeding nine hundred and twelve officers and soldiers. This was the most honourable exploit performed during the whole war, and of such consequence to the confederates, that if the convoy had been taken, the siege must have been raised. The duke de Vendôme ordered the dikes between Bruges and Newport to be cut, so as to lay the whole country under water, in hopes of destroying the communication between Ostend and the camp of the confederates; and, after a regular siege, he took colonel Caulfield, and a body of British troops posted in the village of Leffinghen, by whose means the convoys had been forwarded to the duke of Marlborough. On the twenty-second of October, mareschal Boufflers desired to capitulate for the town of Lisle: next day the articles were signed: on the twenty-fifth the allies took possession of the place, and the mareschal retired into the citadel with the remains of his garrison, which, from twelve thousand, was reduced to less than the half of that number. A negotiation was begun for the surrender of the citadel; but Boufflers made such extravagant demands as were rejected with disdain. Hostilities were renewed on the twenty-ninth day of the month; and the earl of Stair was detached to provide corn for the army in the districts of Fumes and Dixmuyde. During these transactions, veldt-mareschal D'Auverquerque died at Roselser, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, after having, in above thirty campaigns, exhibited innumerable proofs of uncommon courage, ability, and moderation. The duke de Vendôme did not despair of obliging the confederates to abandon their enterprise: the French ministers at Rome and Venice publicly declared the allied army was cooped up in such a manner, that it must either raise the siege or be famished. The elector of Bavaria, with a detachment of ten thousand men, marched to Brussels, and attacked the counterscarp with incredible fury; but was repulsed by the garrison, under the command of general Paschal, and retired with precipitation, when he understood that the duke of Marlborough was in motion to relieve the place. This nobleman and prince Eugene no sooner understood the danger to which Brussels was exposed, than they marched with the covering army to the Schelde, which they passed in pontoons without opposition, notwithstanding the formidable works which the French had raised. They now abandoned them with precipitation, to the surprise of the confederates, who had laid their account with the loss of a thousand men in the attack. Having passed the river between Eskenaffe and Hauterive, as well as at other places, they marched to Oudenarde, where they received intelligence that the elector had retreated. Then prince Eugene returned to Lisle, and the duke of Marlborough proceeded to Brussels, where he was received with joy and acclamation. He afterwards took post at Oudenarde, so as to maintain a communication with prince Eugene.
The besiegers having made lodgements and raised batteries on the second counterscarp of the citadel, sent a message to Boufflers, intimating, that if he would surrender before the opening of the batteries, he should have an honourable capitulation; otherwise he and his garrison must be made prisoners of war. He chose to avoid the last part of the alternative: hostages were exchanged on the eighth day of December, and the articles signed on the tenth; when the mareschal and his garrison marched out with the honours of war, and were conducted to Douay. In this great enterprise, spirit and perseverance made amends for want of foresight and skill, which was flagrant on the side of the confederates; yet their success was owing in a great measure to the improvidence and misconduct of the besieged. The French generals never dreamed that the allies would attempt any thing of consequence after the reduction of Lisle, considering the advanced season of the year, and therefore they returned to Paris, after having distributed their army into winter quarters. But their indefatigable antagonists were determined to strike another stroke of importance before their forces should separate. On the twentieth day of December they invested the city of Ghent on all sides; and on the thirtieth, when the batteries were ready to open, the count de la Motte, who commanded the garrison, desired to capitulate. On the third day of January, 1708, he marched out with thirty battalions and sixteen squadrons, which were conducted to Tournay; while the duke of Argyle, with six British battalions, took possession of the town and citadel. Then the enemy abandoned Bruges, Plassendahl, and Leffengen; and the generals of the allies, having settled the plan of winter quarters, repaired to Holland, leaving their forces under the command of count Tilly. The French king was confounded and dismayed at these conquests in the Netherlands. Nor was he easy on the side of Dauphiné: in spite of all the vigilance and activity of Villars, the duke of Savoy made himself master of the important fortresses of Exilles, La Perouse, the valley of St. Martin, and Fenestrells; so that by the end of the campaign he had secured a barrier to his own frontiers, and opened a way into the French provinces, after having made a diversion in favour of king Charles, by obliging the enemy to send a strong detachment from Rousillon to the assistance of Villars.
1708
The campaign in Catalonia was productive of a great event. Count Guido de Staremberg arrived at Barcelona on the last day of April; but the Imperial troops brought from Italy by admiral Leake did not land in time to relieve Tortosa, which the duke of Orleans besieged and took, together with Denia, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war, contrary to the articles of capitulation. These losses, however, were abundantly made up to the allies by the conquest of Sardinia and Minorca. Sir John Leake, having taken on board a handful of troops, under the conduct of the marquis d'Alconzel, set sail for Cagliari, and summoned the viceroy to submit to king Charles. As he did not send an immediate answer, the admiral began to bombard the city, and the inhabitants compelled him to surrender at discretion. The greater part of the garrison enlisted themselves in the service of Charles. The deputies of the states being assembled by the marquis d'Alconzel, acknowledged that prince as their sovereign, and agreed to furnish his army with thirty thousand sacks of corn, which were accordingly transported to Catalonia, where there was a great scarcity of provisions. Major-general Stanhope having planned the conquest of Minorca, and concerted with the admiral the measures necessary to put it in execution, obtained from count Staremberg a few battalions of Spaniards, Italians, and Portuguese; at the head of these he embarked at Barcelona with a fine train of British artillery, accompanied by brigadier Wade and colonel Petit, an engineer of great reputation. They landed on the island about ten miles from St. Philip's fort, on the 26th of August, with about eight hundred marines, which augmented their number to about three thousand. Next day they erected batteries; and general Stanhope ordered a number of arrows to be shot into a place, to which papers were affixed, written in the Spanish and French languages, containing threats, that all the garrison should be sent to the mines if they would not surrender before the batteries were finished. The garrison consisted of a thousand Spaniards, and six hundred French marines, commanded by colonel la Jonquire, who imagined that the number of the besiegers amounted to at least ten thousand, so artfully had they been drawn up in sight of the enemy. The batteries began to play, and in a little time demolished four towers that served as out-works to the fort; then they made a breach in the outward wall, through which brigadier Wade, at the head of the grenadiers, stormed a redoubt, with such extraordinary valour as struck the besieged with consternation. On the second or third day they thought proper to beat a parley, and capitulate, on condition that they should march out with the honours of war: that the Spaniards should be transported to Murcia, and the French to Toulon. These last, however, were detained, by way of reprisal for the garrison of Denia. The Spanish governor was so mortified when he learned the real number of besiegers, that on his arrival at Murcia, he threw himself out of a window in despair, and was killed upon the spot. La Jonquire was confined for life, and all the French officers incurred their master's displeasure. Fort St. Philip being thus reduced, to the amazement of all Europe, and the garrison of Fort Fornelles having surrendered themselves prisoners to the admirals Leake and Whitaker, the inhabitants gladly submitted to the English government, for king Philip had oppressed and deprived them of their privileges: general Stanhope appointed colonel Petit governor of Fort St. Philip, and deputy-governor of the whole island. After this important conquest he returned to the army in Spain, where an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Tortosa, finished the operations of the campaign.
The British fleet not only contributed to the reduction of Minorca, but likewise overawed the pope, who had endeavoured to form a league of the princes in Italy against the emperor. This pontiff had manifested his partiality to the house of Bourbon in such a palpable manner, that his Imperial majesty ordered monsieur de Bonneval to march with the troops that were in Italy, reinforced by those belonging to the duke of Modena, and invade the duchy of Ferrara. He accordingly took possession of Comachio and some other places, pretending they were allodial estates belonging to the duke of Modena, and fiefs of the emperor, to which the holy see had no lawful claim. The viceroy of Naples was forbid to remit any money to Rome; and the council of the kingdom drew up a long memorial, containing the pretensions of his catholic majesty, which struck at the very foundation of the pope's temporal power. His holiness wrote a long remonstrance to the emperor on the injustice of those proceedings, and declared that he would assert his cause though he should lose his life in the contest. He forthwith began to raise an army, and revived a plan of forming a league among the princes and states of Italy for their mutual defence. Sir John Leake had received orders to bombard Civita-Vecchia, in resentment for the pope's having countenanced the pretender's expedition to Great Britain; but as the emperor and duke of Savoy hoped to effect an accommodation with the court of Rome, they prevailed upon the English admiral to suspend hostilities until they should have tried the method of negotiation. The marquis de Prie, a Piedmontese nobleman, was sent as ambassador to Rome; but the pope would not receive him in that quality. Elated with the promises of France, he set the emperor at defiance; and his troops having surprised a body of Imperialists, were so barbarous as to cut them all in pieces. The duke of Savoy having ended the campaign, the troops of the emperor, which had served under that prince, were ordered to march into the papal territories, and drove the forces of his holiness before them, without any regard to number. Bologna capitulated; and Rome began to tremble with the apprehension of being once more sacked by a German army. Then the pope's courage failed; he was glad to admit the marquis de Prie as envoy from the emperor. He consented to disband his new levies; to accommodate the Imperial troops with winter quarters in the papal territories; to grant the investiture of Naples to king Charles; and to allow at all times a passage to the Imperial troops through his dominions. On the Upper Rhine the electors of Bavaria and Hanover were so weak, that they could not undertake any thing of consequence against each other. In Hungary the disputes still continued between the emperor and the malcontents. Poland was at length delivered from the oppression exercised by the king of Sweden, who marched into the Ukraine against the czar of Muscovy, notwithstanding the submission with which that monarch endeavoured to appease his indignation. During the course of this year the English merchants sustained no considerable losses by sea: the cruisers were judiciously stationed, and the trade was regularly supplied with convoys. In the West Indies, commodore Wager destroyed the admiral of the galleons, and took the rear-admiral on the coast of Carthagena. Had the officers of his squadron done their duty, the greatest part of the fleet would have fallen into his hands. At his return to Jamaica, two of his captains were tried by a court-martial and dismissed from the service.
The court of England was about this time not a little disquieted by the consequences of an outrage committed on the person of the count de Matueof, the Muscovite ambassador. He was publicly arrested at the suit of a laceman, and maltreated by the bailiffs, who dragged him to prison, where he continued until he was bailed by the earl of Feversham. Incensed at this insult, he demanded redress of the government, and was seconded in his remonstrances by the ministers of the emperor, the king of Prussia, and several other foreign potentates. The queen expressed uncommon indignation against the authors of this violence, who were immediately apprehended, and orders were given to prosecute them with the utmost severity of the law. Matueof repealed his complaints with great acrimony; and Mr. Secretary Boyle assured him, in the queen's name, that he should have ample satisfaction. Notwithstanding this assurance, he demanded a pass for himself and family; refused the ordinary presents at his departure; and retired to Holland. From thence he transmitted a memorial, with a letter from the czar to the queen, insisting upon her punishing with death all the persons concerned in violating the law of nations upon the person of his ambassador. Such punishment being altogether inconsistent with the laws of England, the queen and her ministry were extremely perplexed, and held several councils to deliberate upon the measures proper to be taken on such an occasion. On the twenty-eighth day of October, prince George of Denmark died of an asthma and dropsy, with which he had been long afflicted. He was a prince of an amiable rather than a shining character, brave, good-natured, modest, and humane, but devoid of great talents and ambition. He had always lived in harmony with the queen, who, during the whole term of their union, and especially in his last illness, approved herself a pattern of conjugal truth and tenderness. At his death the earl of Pembroke was created lord-high-admiral, the earl of Wharton promoted to the government of Ireland, and lord Somers appointed president of the council. Notwithstanding these promotions of the whig noblemen, the duke of Marlborough declined apace in his credit with the queen, who privately consulted and reposed her chief confidence in Mr. Harley, though he had no visible concern in the administration.
The new parliament, in which the whig interest still preponderated, was assembled on the sixteenth day of November, when they were given to understand by a commission under the great seal, that the archbishop of Canterbury, the chancellor, the lord-treasurer, the lord steward, and the master of the horse, were appointed to represent the person of her majesty, whom decency would not permit to appear in the house so soon after the death of her consort. Sir Richard Onslow being chosen speaker of the lower house with the queen's approbation, the chancellor, in a speech to both houses, recommended the vigorous prosecution of the war, telling them her majesty hoped they would enable her to make a considerable augmentation for preserving and improving the advantages which the allies had gained in the Netherlands; that she desired they would prepare such bills as might confirm and render the union effectual; and that if they would propose means for the advancement of trade and manufacture, she would take pleasure in enacting such provisions. Both houses having presented addresses of condolence and congratulation, on the death of prince George, and the success of her majesty's arms during the last campaign, the commons took cognizance of controverted elections, which were decided with shameful partiality for the whig faction. Then they proceeded to consider the different branches of the supply; they approved of an augmentation of ten thousand men, which was judged necessary for the more vigorous prosecution of the war; and they voted above seven millions for the service of the ensuing year. The bank agreed to circulate two millions five hundred thousand pounds in exchequer bills for the government, on condition that the term of their continuance should be prolonged for one-and-twenty years; and that their stock of two millions, two hundred and one thousand, one hundred and seventy-one pounds, should be doubled by a new subscription. The two-thirds subsidy was appropriated for the interest of the money raised by this expedient.
ANNE, 1701—1714
Great debates having arisen about Scottish elections, the house considered the petitions and representations that were delivered, touching the incapacity of the eldest sons of Scottish peers, excluded from sitting in the parliament of Great Britain. Counsel being heard upon the subject, that incapacity was confirmed; and new writs were issued, that new members might be elected for the shires of Aberdeen and Linlithgow, in the room of William lord Haddo, and James lord Johnston. Petitions were likewise presented to the house of lords by some Scottish peers, concerning their right of voting and signing proxies. After warm debates, the house, upon a division, determined that a Scottish lord created a peer of Great Britain should no longer retain his vote in Scotland; and that the noblemen who were in the castle of Edinburgh had a right to sign proxies, after having taken the oaths to the government. The Scottish peers and commoners that sat in the British parliament were divided into two factions. The duke of Queensberry was in great credit with the Queen and the lord-treasurer, by whose interest he was appointed secretary of state for Scotland. His influence in elections was so great, that all offices in that kingdom were bestowed according to his recommendation. He was opposed by the dukes of Hamilton, Montrose, and Roxburgh, who were supported by the earl of Sunderland and lord Somers; so that the whole interest in that country was engrossed by one or other member of the ministry. A bill for a general naturalization of all protestants was brought into the house, and notwithstanding violent opposition from the tories, both among the lords and commons, was enacted into a law. The whigs argued for this bill, as a measure that would encourage industry, improve trade and manufacture, and repair the waste of men which the war had occasioned; but one of their chief motives was to throw an addition of foreigners into the balance against the landed interest. The tories pleaded that a conflux of aliens might prove dangerous to the constitution; that they would retain a fondness for their native countries, and, in times of war, act as spies and enemies; that they would insinuate themselves into places of trust and profit; become members of parliament; and by frequent intermarriages contribute to the extinction of the English race: that they would add to the number of the poor, already so expensive; and share the bread of the labourers and tradesmen of England.
An inquiry being set on foot in both houses concerning the late intended invasion in Scotland, lord Haversham and the other tory members endeavoured to demonstrate, that proper precautions had not been taken for the security of that kingdom, even after the ministry had received undoubted intelligence of the pretender's design; that since the attempt had miscarried, many persons of quality had been apprehended and severely used by the government, on pretended suspicion of high treason; though in all probability the aim of the ministry, in confining those persons, was to remove all possibility of their opposing the court at the ensuing elections for members of parliament. These assertions were supported by many incontested facts and shrewd arguments, notwithstanding which, the majority were so little disposed to find fault, that the inquiry issued in a joint address to the queen, containing resolutions, that timely and effectual care had been taken to disappoint the designs of her majesty's enemies, both at home and abroad. A bill, however, was brought into the house of lords, under the title of "An act for improving the union of the two kingdoms." It related to trials for treason in Scotland, which by this law were regulated according to the manner of proceeding in England, with some small variation. The Scottish members opposed it as an encroachment upon the form of their laws; and they were joined by those who had laid it down as a maxim to oppose all the court measures; nevertheless, the bill passed through both houses, and received the royal assent. Yet, in order to sweeten this unpalatable medicine, the queen consented to an act of grace, by which all treasons were pardoned, except those committed on the high seas; an exception levelled at those who had embarked with the pretender. Major-general Webb, who had been defrauded of his due honour, in a partial representation of the battle of Wynendale, transmitted by Cardonnel, secretary to the duke of Marlborough, was now thanked by the house of commons for the great and eminent services which he had performed in that engagement. This motion was made by the tories; and the whigs did not fail to procure a compliment of the same nature to the duke of Marlborough, even before he returned to England. When the news of Ghent's being taken arrived, the lords and commons congratulated the queen on this last effort of a glorious campaign; and the duke at his arrival was thanked, in the name of the peers, by the lord chancellor. As he was supposed to have brought over proposals of peace, the two houses, in an address, desired the queen would insist on the demolition of Dunkirk, which was a nest of pirates that infested the ocean, and did infinite prejudice to the commerce of England. The queen promised to comply with their request. But she was not a little surprised at the next address they presented, humbly entreating, that she would have such indulgence to the hearty desires of her subjects, as to entertain thoughts of a second marriage. She told them, that the provision she had made for the protestant succession would always be a proof how much she had at heart the future happiness of the kingdom; but the subject of this address was of such a nature, that she was persuaded they did not expect a particular answer.
1709
The laws having been found insufficient to punish capitally the authors of the insult offered to the Muscovite ambassador, a bill was brought into the house of commons for preserving the privileges of ambassadors and other foreign ministers; and passed through both houses, as did another, to prevent the laying of wagers relating to the public, a practice which had been carried to a degree of infatuation; and by which many unwary persons fell a sacrifice to crafty adventurers. On the fourteenth day of March, the commons voted the sum of one hundred and three thousand, two hundred and three pounds, for the relief of the inhabitants of Nevis and St. Christopher's, who had suffered by the late invasion; and on the twenty-first day of April, the parliament was prorogued. The Muscovite ambassador continued to write expostulatory letters to Mr. Secretary Boyle, who at last owned that the laws of the kingdom did not admit of such punishment as he demanded. An information was tried in the court of king's bench for her majesty against Thomas Morton, laceman, and thirteen other persons concerned in the insult, of which they were found guilty; and the special matter of the privileges of ambassadors was to be argued next term before the judges. Meanwhile, the queen, by way of satisfaction to the czar, condescended to make solemn excuses by her ambassador; to repair Matueof's honour by a letter, and indemnify him for all his costs and damages: concessions with which the czar and his ambassador declared themselves well satisfied. The convocation had been summoned, chosen, and returned with a new parliament; but as the old spirit was supposed to prevail in the lower house, the queen, by writ to the archbishop, ordered him. to prorogue it from time to time, until the session of parliament was finished.
Negotiation for Peace ineffectual..... The Allied Army
besieges and takes Tour-nay..... The French are defeated at
Malplaquet..... Mons surrendered..... Campaign in Spain.....
The French King's Proposals of treating rejected by the
States-general..... Account of Dr. Sacheverel..... He is
impeached by the Commons..... His Trial..... Debates upon it
in the House of Lords..... He is silenced for three
Years..... Conferences at Gertruydenburgh..... Pride and
Obstinacy of the Dutch..... Douay besieged and taken by the
Confederates, as well as Bethune, Aire, and St. Venant.....
King Charles obtains a Victory over Philip at Saragossa, and
enters Madrid..... Battle of Villaviciosa..... The Whig
Ministry disgraced..... The Parliament is dissolved.....
Meeting of the New Parliament..... The Duke of Marlborough
insulted and reviled..... Inquiry into the Conduct of the
War in Spain..... Severe Votes in the House of Commons
against those who invited over the poor Palatines.....
Harley stabbed at the Council Board by Guiscard; and
created Earl of Oxford..... Death of the Emperor Joseph.....
Representation by the Commons to the Queen..... Proceedings
in the Convocation..... The Duke of Marlborough continues
to command the Allied Army..... He surprises the French
Lines..... Reduces Bouchain..... The Duke of Argyle commands
the British Troops in Spain..... King Charles elected
Emperor..... Expedition to Canada..... Insolence of the
Jacobites in Scotland..... A Negotiation set on Foot between
the Courts of France and England..... Prior is sent to
Fountainbleau..... Ménager arrives privately in England.....
The French King's Proposals disagreeable to the Allies.....
Violent Debate upon them in the House of Lords..... The Duke
of Hamilton's Title of Duke of Brandon disallowed..... Bill
against occasional Conformity passes..... Duke of
Marlborough dismissed from all his Employments..... Twelve
new Peers created..... Prince Eugene of Savoy arrives in
England..... Walpole expelled the House of Commons.....
Votes against the Duke of Marlborough..... Resolutions
against the Barrier-treaty and the Dutch..... Acts
unfavourable to the Presbyterian Discipline in Scotland.
The French king was by this time reduced to such a state of humiliation by the losses of the last campaign, and a severe winter, which completed the misery of his subjects, that he resolved to sacrifice all the considerations of pride and ambition, as well as the interest of his grandson, to his desire of peace, which was now become so necessary and indispensable. He despatched the president Rouillé privately to Holland, with general proposals of peace, and the offer of a good barrier to the states-general, still entertaining hopes of being able to detach them from the confederacy. This minister conferred in secret with Buys and Vanderdussen, the pensionaries of Amsterdam and Gouda, at Moerdyke, from whence he was permitted to proceed to Woerden, between Leyden and Utrecht. The states immediately communicated his proposals to the courts of Vienna and Great Britain. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough arrived at the Hague in April, and conferred with the grand pensionary Heinsius, Buys, and Vanderdussen, on the subject of the French proposals, which were deemed unsatisfactory. Rouillé immediately despatched a courier to Paris, for further instructions; and the duke of Marlborough returned to England, to make the queen acquainted with the progress of the negotiation. Louis, in order to convince the states of his sincerity, sent the marquis de Torcy, his secretary for foreign affairs, to the Hague, with fresh offers, to which the deputies would make no answer until they knew the sentiments of the queen of Great Britain. The duke of Marlborough crossed the seas a second time accompanied by the lord Townshend, as ambassador-extraordinary and joint plenipotentiary; prince Eugene being likewise at the Hague, the conferences were begun. The French minister declared that his master would consent to the demolition of Dunkirk; that he would abandon the pretender, and dismiss him from his dominions; that he would acknowledge the queen's title and the protestant succession; that he would renounce all pretensions to the Spanish monarchy, and cede the places in the Netherlands which the states-general demanded for their barrier; that he would treat with the emperor on the footing of the treaty concluded at Rys-wick, and even demolish the fortifications of Strasburgh. The ministers of the allies, rendered proud and wanton by success, and seeing their own private interest in the continuation of the war, insisted upon the restitution of the Upper and Lower Alsace to the empire; upon the French monarch's restoring Strasburgh in its present condition; upon his ceding the town and castellany of Lisle, demolishing Dunkirk, New Brisac, Fort-Louis, and Hunningen. In a word, their demands were so insolent, that Louis would not have suffered them to be mentioned in his hearing, had not he been reduced to the last degree of distress. One can hardly read them without feeling a sentiment of compassion for that monarch, who had once given law to Europe, and been so long accustomed to victory and conquest. Notwithstanding the discouraging despatches he had received from the president Rouillé, after his first conferences with the deputies, he could not believe that the Dutch would be so blind to their own interest, as to reject the advantages in commerce, and the barrier which he had offered. He could not conceive that they would choose to bear the burden of excessive taxes in prosecuting a war, the events of which would always be uncertain, rather than enjoy the blessings of peace, security, and advantageous commerce: he flattered himself that the allies would not so far deviate from their purposed aim of establishing a balance of power, as to throw such an enormous weight into the scale of the house of Austria, which cherished all the dangerous ambition and arbitrary principles, without the liberality of sentiment peculiar to the house of Bourbon. In proportion as they rose in their demands, Louis fell in his condescension. His secretary of state, the marquis de Torcy, posted in disguise to Holland, on the faith of a common blank passport. He solicited, he soothed, he supplicated, and made concessions in the name of his sovereign. He found the states were wholly guided by the influence of prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough. He found these generals elated, haughty, overbearing, and implacable. He in private attacked the duke of Marlborough on his weakest side: he offered to that nobleman a large sum of money, provided he would effect a peace on certain conditions. The proposal was rejected. The duke found his enemies in England increasing, and his credit at court in the wane; and he knew that nothing but a continuation of the war, and new victories, could support his influence in England. Torcy was sensible that his country was utterly exhausted, that Louis dreaded nothing so much as the opening of the campaign; and he agreed to those articles upon which they insisted as preliminaries. The French king was confounded at these proposals; he felt the complicated pangs of grief, shame, and indignation. He rejected the preliminaries with disdain. He even deigned to submit his conduct to the judgment of his subjects. His offers were published, together with the demands of the allies. His people interested themselves in the glory of their monarch. They exclaimed against the cruelty and arrogance of his enemies. Though impoverished and half-starved by the war, they resolved to expend their whole substance in his support; and rather to fight his battles without pay, than leave him in the dire necessity of complying with such dishonourable terms. Animated by these sentiments, they made such efforts as amazed the whole world. The preliminaries being rejected by the French king, Rouillé was ordered to quit Holland in four-and-twenty hours; and the generals of the confederates resolved to open the campaign without further hesitation.
Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough proceeded to Flanders, and towards the end of June the allied army encamped in the plain of Lisle, to the number of one hundred and ten thousand fighting men. At the same time, the mareschal Villars, accounted the most fortunate general in France, assembled the French forces in the plain of Lens, where he began to throw up intrenchments. The confederate generals having observed his situation, and perceiving he could not be attacked with any probability of success, resolved to undertake the siege of Tournay, the garrison of which Villars had imprudently weakened. Accordingly, they made a feint upon Ypres, in order to deceive the enemy, and convert all their attention to that side, while they suddenly invested Tournay on the twenty-seventh day of June. Though the garrison did not exceed twelve I weakened battalions, and four squadrons of dragoons, the place was so strong, both by art and nature, and lieutenant de Surville, the governor, possessed such admirable talents, that the siege was protracted contrary to the expectation of the allies, and cost them a great number of men, notwithstanding all the precautions that could be taken for the safety of the troops. As the besiegers proceeded by the method of sap, their miners frequently met with those of the enemy under ground, and fought with bayonet and pistol. The volunteers on both sides presented themselves to these subterraneous combats, in the midst of mines and countermines ready primed for explosion. Sometimes they were kindled by accident, and sometimes sprung by design; so that great numbers of those brave men were stifled below, and whole battalions blown into the air, or buried in the rubbish. On the twenty-eighth day of July, the besiegers having effected a practicable breach, and made the necessary dispositions for a general assault, the enemy offered to capitulate: the town was surrendered upon conditions, and the garrison retired to the citadel. Surville likewise entered into a treaty about giving up the citadel: the articles being sent to the court of Versailles, Louis would not ratify them, except upon condition that there should be a general cessation in the Netherlands till the fifth day of September. Hostilities were renewed on the eighth day of August, and prosecuted with uncommon ardour and animosity. On the thirtieth, Surville desired to capitulate on certain articles, which were rejected by the duke of Marlborough, who gave him to understand that he had no terms to expect, but must surrender at discretion. At length, his provisions being quite exhausted, he was obliged io surrender himself and his garrison prisoners of war, though they were permitted to return to France, on giving their parole that they would not act in the field until a like number of the allies should be released.
The next object that attracted the eyes of the confederates was the city of Mons, which they resolved to besiege with all possible expedition. They passed the Schelde on the third day of September, and detached the prince of Hesse to attack the French lines from the Haisne to the Sombre, which were abandoned at his approach. On the seventh day of September, mareschal de Boufflers arrived in the French camp at Quievrain, content to act in an inferior capacity to Villars, although his superior in point of seniority. The duke of Marlborough having received advice that the French were on their march to attack the advanced body under the prince of Hesse, decamped from Havre in order to support that detachment. On the ninth the allies made a motion to the left, by which the two armies were brought so near each other that a mutual cannonading ensued. The French army, amounting to one hundred and twenty thousand men, were posted behind the woods of La Merte and Tanières, in the neighbourhood of Malplaquet. The confederates, nearly of the same number, encamped with the right near Sart and Bleron, and the left on the edge of the wood of Lanière; the head quarters being at Blaregnies. The enemy, instead of attacking the allies, began to fortify their camp, which was naturally strong, with triple intrenchments. In a word, they were so covered with lines, hedges, intrenchments, cannon and trees laid across, that they seemed to be quite inaccessible. Had the confederates attacked them on the ninth, the battle would not have been so bloody, and the victory would have proved more decisive; for they had not then begun to secure the camp; but Marlborough postponed the engagement until they should be reinforced by eighteen battalions which had been employed in the siege of Tournay; and in the meantime, the French fortified themselves with incredible diligence and despatch. On the eleventh day of September, early in the morning, the confederates, favoured by a thick fog, erected batteries on each wing and in the centre; and about eight o'clock, the weather clearing up, the attack began. Eighty-six battalions on the right, commmanded by general Schuylemburgh, the duke of Argyle, and other generals, and supported by two-and-twenty battalions under count Lottum, attacked the left of the enemy with such vigour, that, notwithstanding their lines and barricadoes, they were in less than an hour driven from their intrenchments into the woods of Sart and Tanières. The prince of Orange and baron Fagel, with six-and-thirty Dutch battalions, advanced against the right of the enemy, posted in the wood of La Merte, and covered with three intrenchments. Here the battle was maintained with the most desperate courage on both sides. The Dutch obliged the French to quit the first intrenchment; but were repulsed from the second with great slaughter. The prince of Orange persisted in his efforts with incredible perseverance and intrepidity, even after two horses had been killed under him, and the greater part of his officers either slain or disabled. The French fought with an obstinacy of courage that bordered on despair, till seeing their lines forced, their left wing and centre giving way, and their general, Villars, dangerously wounded, they made an excellent retreat towards Bavay, under the conduct of Boufflers, and took post between Quesnoy and Valenciennes. The field of battle they abandoned to the confederates, with about forty colours and standards, sixteen pieces of artillery, and a good number of prisoners; but this was the dearest victory the allies had ever purchased. About twenty thousand of their best troops were killed in the engagement; whereas the enemy did not lose half that number, and retired at leisure, perfectly recovered of that apprehension with which they had been for some years inspired and overawed by the successes of their adversaries. On the side of the allies, count Lottum, general Tettau, count Oxienstern, and the marquis of Tullibar-dine, were killed, with many other officers of distinction. Prince Eugene was slightly wounded in the head; lieutenant-general Webb received a shot in the groin. The duke of Argyle, who distinguished himself by extraordinary feats of valour, escaped unhurt; but several musket-balls penetrated through his clothes, his hat, and periwig. In the French army, the chevalier de St. George charged twelve times with the household troops, and in the last was wounded with a sword in the arm. The mareschal de Villars confidently asserted, that if he himself had not been disabled, the confederates would certainly have been defeated.
Considering the situation of the French, the number of their troops, and the manner in which they were fortified, nothing could be more rash and imprudent than the attack, which cost the lives of so many gallant men, and was attended with so little advantage to the conquerors. Perhaps the duke of Marlborough thought a victory was absolutely necessary to support his sinking interest at the court of Great Britain. His intention was to have given battle before the enemy had intrenched themselves; but prince Eugene insisted upon delaying the action until the reinforcement should arrive from Tournay. The extraordinary carnage is imputed to the impetuosity of the prince of Orange, whose aim through this whole war was to raise himself into consideration with the states-general by signal acts of military prowess. The French having retired to Valenciennes, the allies were left at liberty to besiege Mons, which capitulated about the end of October; and both armies were distributed in winter quarters. The campaign on the Rhine produced nothing but one sharp action, between a detachment of the French army commanded by the count de Borgh, and a body of troops under count Merci, who had passed the Rhine in order to penetrate into Franche-compte. The Imperial officer was worsted in this encounter, with the loss of two thousand men; obliged to repass the river, and retire to Fribourg. In Piedmont, velt-mareschal Thaun commanded the confederates in the room of the duke of Savoy, who refused to take the field until some differences, which had arisen between the emperor and him, should be adjusted. Thaun's design was to besiege Briançon; but the duke of Berwick had taken such precautions as frustrated his intention, though part of the troops under the French general were employed in suppressing an insurrection of the Camisars, and other malcontents in the Vivaraz. These were entirely defeated in a pitched battle; and Abraham, one of their leaders, being taken, was broke alive upon the wheel; three-and-twenty were hanged, and the other prisoners sent to the galleys. The pope delayed acknowledging king Charles under various pretences, in hopes that the campaign would prove favourable to the house of Bourbon; till at length the emperor giving him to understand that his army should take up their winter quarters in the ecclesiastical state, his holiness solemnly owned Charles as king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily.
The military operations in Spain and Portugal were unfavourable to the allies. On the seventh of May, the Portuguese and English were defeated at Caya by the Spaniards, under the command of the mareschal de Bay. The castle of Alicant, guarded by two English regiments, had been besieged, and held out during a whole winter. At length the chevalier d'Asfeldt ordered the rock to be undermined, and having lodged two hundred barrels of gunpowder, gave Syburg the governor to understand, that two of his officers might come out and see the condition of the works. This offer being accepted, Asfeldt in person accompanied them to the mine: he told them he could not bear the thoughts of seeing so many brave men perish in the ruins of a place they had so gallantly defended, and allowed them four-and-twenty hours to consider on the resolution they should take. Syburg continued deaf to his remonstrances; and, with an obstinacy that savoured more of stupidity than of valour, determined to stand the explosion. When the sentinels that were posted on the side of the hill gave notice, by a preconcerted signal, that fire was set to the mine, the governor ordered the guard to retire, and walked out to the parade accompanied by several officers. The mine being sprung, the rock opened under their feet, and they falling into the chasm, it instantly closed, and crushed them to death. Notwithstanding this dreadful incident, colonel d'Albon, who succeeded to the command, resolved to defend the place to the last extremity. Sir Edward Whitaker sailed from Barcelona to the relief of the place; but the enemy had erected such works as effectually hindered the troops from landing. Then general Stanhope, who commanded them, capitulated with the Spanish general for the garrison, which marched out with all the honours of war, and was transported to Minorca, where the men were put into quarters of refreshment. On the frontiers of Catalonia, general Starem-berg maintained his ground, and even annoyed the enemy. He passed the Segra, and reduced Balaguer; having left a strong garrison in the place, he repassed the river, and sent his forces into winter quarters. The most remarkable event of this summer was the battle of Poultowa, in which the king of Sweden was entirely defeated by the czar of Muscovy, and obliged to take refuge at Bender, a town of Moldavia, in the Turkish dominions. Augustus immediately marched into Poland against Stanislaus, and renounced his own resignation, as if it had been the effect of compulsion. He formed a project with the kings of Denmark and Prussia to attack the Swedish territories in three different places; but the emperor and maritime powers prevented the execution of this scheme, by entering into a guarantee for preserving the peace of the empire. Nevertheless, the king of Denmark declared war against Sweden, and transported an army over the Sound of Schonen; but they were attacked and defeated by the Swedes, and obliged to re-embark with the utmost precipitation. The war still continued to rage in Hungary, where, however, the revolters were routed in many petty engagements.
Though the events of the summer had been less unfavourable to France than Louis had reason to expect, he saw that peace was as necessary as ever to his kingdom; but he thought he might now treat with some freedom and dignity. His minister, Torcy, maintained a correspondence with Mr. Petkum, resident of the duke of Holstein at the Hague: he proposed to this minister, that the negotiation should be renewed; and demanded passes, by virtue of which the French plenipotentiaries might repair in safety to Holland. In the meantime, the French king withdrew his troops from Spain, on pretence of demonstrating his readiness to oblige the allies in that particular; though this measure was the effect of necessity, which obliged him to recall those troops for the defence of his own dominions. The states-general refused to grant passes to the French ministers; but they allowed Petkum to make a journey to Versailles. In the interim king Philip published a manifesto, protesting against all that should be transacted at the Hague to his prejudice. Far from yielding Spain and the Indies to his competitor, he declared his intention of driving Charles from those places that were now in his possession. He named the duke of Alba and count Bergheyck for his plenipotentiaries, and ordered them to notify their credentials to the maritime powers; but no regard was paid to their intimation. Philip tampered likewise with the duke of Marlborough; and the marquis de Torcy renewed his attempts upon that general; but all his application and address proved ineffectual. Petkum brought back from Versailles a kind of memorial, importing, that those motives which influenced the French before the campaign was opened, no longer subsisted; that the winter season naturally produced a cessation of arms, during which he would treat of a general and reasonable peace, without restricting himself to the form of the preliminaries which the allies had pretended to impose; that, nevertheless, he would still treat on the foundation of those conditions to which he had consented, and send plenipotentiaries to begin the conference with those of the allies on the first day of January. The states-general inveighed against this memorial, as a proof of the French king's insincerity; though he certainly had a right to retract those offers they had formerly rejected. They came to a resolution, that it was absolutely necessary to prosecute the war with rigour; and they wrote pressing letters on the subject to all their allies.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The parliament of Great Britain being assembled on the fifteenth day of November, the queen in her speech told both houses that the enemy had endeavoured, by false appearances and deceitful insinuations of a desire after peace, to create jealousies among the allies: that God Almighty had been pleased to bless the arms of the confederates with a most remarkable victory and other successes, which had laid France open to the impression of the allied arms, and consequently rendered peace more necessary to that kingdom than it was at the beginning of the campaign. She insisted upon the expediency of prosecuting the advantages she had gained, by reducing that exorbitant and oppressive power which had so long threatened the liberties of Europe. The parliament were as eager and compliant as ever.. They presented congratulatory addresses: they thanked the duke of Marlborough for his signal services; while great part of the nation reproached him with having wantonly sacrificed so many thousand lives to his own private interest and reputation. In less than a month the commons granted upwards of six millions for the service of the ensuing year, and established a lottery, with other funds, to answer this enormous supply. On the thirteenth day of December, Mr. Dolben, son to the late archbishop of York, complained to the house of two sermons preached and published by Dr. Henry Sacheverel, rector of St. Saviour's in Southwark, as containing positions contrary to revolution principles, to the present government, and the protestant succession. Sacheverel was a clergyman of narrow intellects, and an overheated imagination. He had acquired some popularity among those who had distinguished themselves by the name of high-churchmen, and took all occasions to vent his animosity against the dissenters. At the summer assizes at Derby, he had held forth in that strain before the judges; on the fifth day of November, in Saint Paul's church, he, in a violent declamation, defended the doctrine of non-resistance; inveighed against the toleration and dissenters; declared the church was dangerously attacked by her enemies, and slightly defended by her false friends: he sounded the trumpet for the church, and exhorted the people to put on the whole armour of God. Sir Samuel Garrard, the lord mayor, countenanced this harangue, which was published under his protection, extolled by the tories, and circulated all over the nation. The complaint of Mr. Dolben against Sacheverel, was seconded in the house of commons by sir Peter King and other members. The most violent paragraphs were read: the sermons were voted scandalous and seditious libels. Sacheverel, being brought to the bar of the house, acknowledged himself the author of both, and mentioned the encouragement he had received from the lord mayor to print that which was entitled, "The Perils of False Brethren." Sir Samuel, who was a member, denied he had ever given him such encouragement. The doctor being ordered to withdraw, the house resolved he should be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors; and Mr. Dolben was ordered to impeach him at the bar of the house of lords, in the name of all the commons of England. A committee was appointed to draw up articles, and Sacheverel was taken into custody. At the same time, in order to demonstrate their own principles, they resolved that the reverend Mr. Benjamin Hoadly, rector of St. Peter-le-Poor, for having often justified the principles on which her majesty and the nation proceeded in the late happy revolution, had justly merited the favour and recommendation of the house; and they presented an address to the queen, beseeching her to bestow some dignity in the church on Mr. Hoadly, for his eminent service both to the church and state. The queen returned a civil answer, though she paid no regard to their recommendation. Hoadly was a clergyman of sound understanding, unblemished character, and uncommon moderation, who, in a sermon preached before the lord mayor of London, had demonstrated the lawfulness of resisting wicked and cruel governors, and vindicated the late revolution. By avowing such doctrines, he incurred the resentment of the high churchmen, who accused him of having preached up rebellion. Many books were written against the maxims he professed. These he answered; and, in the course of the controversy, acquitted himself with superior temper, judgment, and solidity of argument. He as well as Bishop Burnet and several other prelates, had been treated with great virulence in Sacheverel's sermon, and the-lord treasurer was scurrilously abused under the name of Volpone. The doctor being impeached at the bar of the upper house, petitioned that he might be admitted to bail; but this indulgence was refused, and the commons seemed bent upon prosecuting him with such severity as gave disgust to men of moderate principles. Meanwhile the tories were not idle. They boldly affirmed that the whigs had formed a design to pull down the church, and that this prosecution was intended to try their strength before they could proceed openly to the execution of their project. These assertions were supported, and even credited by great part of the clergy, who did not fail to alarm and inflame their hearers; while emissaries were employed to raise a ferment among the populace, already prepared with discontent, arising from a scarcity which prevailed in almost every country of Europe. The ministers magnified the dangers to which the church was exposed, from dissenters, whigs, and lukewarm prelates. These they represented as the authors of a ruinous war, which in a little time would produce universal famine; and as the immediate encouragers of those Palatine refugees who had been brought over, to the number of six thousand, and maintained by voluntary contributions, until they could be conveniently transported into Ireland and the plantations of America. The charity bestowed upon those unhappy strangers exasperated the poor of England, who felt severely the effects of the dearth, and helped to fill up the measure of popular discontent. The articles against Dr. Sacheverel being exhibited, his person was committed to the deputy-usher of the black rod, but afterwards the lords admitted him to bail. Then he drew up an answer to the charge, in which he denied some articles, and others he endeavoured to justify or extenuate. The commons having sent up a replication, declaring they were ready to prove the charge, the lords appointed the twenty-seventh day of February for the trial in Westminster-hall.
The eyes of the whole kingdom were turned upon this extraordinary trial. It lasted three weeks, during which all other business was suspended; and the queen herself was every day present, though in quality of a private spectator. The managers for the commons were sir Joseph Jekyl, Mr. Eyre, solicitor-general, sir Peter King, recorder of the city of London, lieutenant-general Stanhope, sir Thomas Parker, and Mr. Robert Walpole, treasurer of the navy. The doctor was defended by sir Simon Harcourt and Mr. Phipps, and assisted by Dr. Atterbury, Dr. Smallridge, and Dr. Friend. A vast multitude attended him every day to and from Westminster-hall, striving to kiss his hand, and praying for his deliverance, as if he had been a martyr and confessor. The queen's sedan was beset by the populace, exclaiming, "God bless your majesty and the church. We hope your majesty is for Dr. Sacheverel." They compelled all persons to lift their hats to the doctor as he passed in his coach to the temple, where he lodged; and among these some members of parliament, who were abused and insulted. They destroyed several meeting houses; plundered the dwelling houses of eminent dissenters; and threatened to pull down those of the lord chancellor, the earl of Wharton, and the bishop of Sarum. They even proposed to attack the bank, so that the directors were obliged to send to Whitehall for assistance. The horse and foot guards were immediately sent to disperse the rioters, who fled at their approach. Next day the guards were doubled at Whitehall, and the train bands of Westminster continued in arms during the whole trial. The commons entreated the queen, in an address, to take effectual measures for suppressing the present tumults, set on foot and fomented by papists, nonjurors, and other enemies to her title and government. She expressed a deep sense of their care and concern, as well as a just resentment at these tumultuous and violent proceedings. She published a proclamation for suppressing the tumults; and several persons being apprehended, were afterwards tried for high-treason. Two of them were convicted and sentenced to die, but neither suffered. The commons presented another address of thanks to her majesty for her gracious answer to their first remonstrance. They took this occasion to declare, that the prosecution of the commons against Dr. Henry Sacheverel proceeded only from the indispensable obligation they lay under to vindicate the late happy revolution, the glory of their royal deliverer, her own title and administration, the present established and protestant succession, together with the toleration and the quiet of the government. When the doctor's counsel had finished his defence, he himself recited a speech, wherein he solemnly justified his intentions towards the queen and her government, and spoke in the most respectful terms of the revolution and the protestant succession. He maintained the doctrine of "non-resistance" in all cases whatsoever, as a maxim of the church in which he was educated, and by many pathetical expressions endeavoured to excite the compassion of the audience. He was surrounded by the queen's chaplains, who encouraged and extolled him as the champion of the church; and he was privately favoured by the queen herself, who could not but relish a doctrine so well calculated for the support of regal authority.
On the tenth day of March, the lords being adjourned to their own house, the earl of Nottingham proposed the following question:—"Whether, in prosecutions by impeachments for high crimes and misdemeanors, by writing or speaking, the particular words supposed to be criminal are necessary to be expressly specified in such impeachments?" The judges being consulted, were unanimously of opinion, that, according to law, the grounds of an indictment or impeachment ought to be expressly mentioned in both. One of the lords having suggested that the judges had delivered their opinions according to the rules of Westminster-hall, and not according to the usage of parliament, the house resolved, that in impeachments they should proceed according to the laws of the land, and the law and usage of parliament. On the sixteenth day of the month, the queen being in the house incognita, they proceeded to consider whether or not the commons had made good the articles exhibited against Dr. Sacheverel. The earl of Wharton observed, that the doctor's speech was a full confutation and condemnation of his sermon: that all he had advanced about non-resistance and unlimited obedience was false and ridiculous: that the doctrine of passive obedience, as urged by the doctor, was not reconcileable to the practice of churchmen: that if the revolution was not lawful, many in that house, and vast numbers without, were guilty of blood, murder, rapine, and injustice; and that the queen herself was no lawful sovereign, since the best title she had to the crown was her parliamentary title, founded upon the revolution. He was answered by the lord Haversham in a long speech. Lord Ferrers said, if the doctor was guilty of some foolish unguarded expressions, he ought to have been tried at common law. The earl of Scarborough observed, the revolution was a nice point, and above the law; he moved that they should adjourn the debate, and take time to consider before they gave judgment. Dr. Hooper, bishop of Bath and Wells, allowed the necessity and legality of resistance in some extraordinary cases; but was of opinion, that this maxim ought to be concealed from the knowledge of the people, who are naturally too apt to resist; that the revolution was not to be boasted of, or made a precedent; but that a mantle ought to be thrown over it, and it should be called a vacancy or abdication. He said the original compact were dangerous words, not to be mentioned without great caution; that those who examined the revolution too nicely were no friends to it; and that there seemed to be a necessity for preaching up non-resistance and passive obedience at that time, when resistance was justified. The duke of Argyle affirmed, that the clergy in all ages had delivered up the rights and privileges of the people, preaching up the king's power, in order to govern him the more easily; and therefore they ought not to be suffered to meddle with politics. The earl of Anglesea owned the doctor had preached nonsense; but said, that was no crime. The duke of Leeds distinguished between resistance and revolution; for had not the last succeeded, it would have certainly been rebellion, since he knew of no other but hereditary right. The bishop of Salisbury justified resistance from the book of Maccabees; he mentioned the conduct of queen Elizabeth, who assisted the Scots, the French, and the states-general, in resisting their different sovereigns, and was supported in this practice both by her parliaments and her convocations. He observed that king Charles I. had assisted the citizens of Rochelle in their rebellion; that Manwayring incurred a severe censure from the parliament, for having broached the doctrine of the divine right of kings; and that though this became a favourite maxim after the restoration, yet its warmest asserters were the first who pleaded for resistance when they thought themselves oppressed. The archbishop of York, the duke of Buckingham, and other leaders of the tory interest, declared that they never read such a piece of madness and nonsense as Sacheverel's sermon; but they did not think him guilty of a misdemeanor. Next day, Dr. Wake, bishop of Lincoln, accused Sacheverel of having made a strange and false representation of the design for a comprehension, which had been set on foot by archbishop Sancroft, and promoted by the most eminent divines of the church of England. He was of opinion that some step should be taken for putting a stop to such preaching, as, if not timely corrected, it might kindle heats and animosities that would endanger both church and state. Dr. Trimnel, bishop of Norwich, expatiated on the insolence of Sacheverel, who had arraigned archbishop Grindal, one of the eminent reformers, as a perfidious prelate, for having favoured and tolerated the discipline of Geneva. He enlarged upon the good effects of the toleration. He took notice of Sacheverel's presumption in publishing inflammatory prayers, declaring himself under persecution, while he was prosecuted for offending against the law, by those who in common justice ought to be thought the fairest accusers, and before their lordships, who were justly acknowledged to be the most impartial judges. In discussing the fourth article, the bishop of Salisbury spoke with great vehemence against Sacheverel, who, by inveighing against the revolution, toleration, and union, seemed to arraign and attack the queen herself; since her majesty had so great a share in the first, had often declared she would maintain the second, and that she looked upon the third as the most glorious event of her reign. He affirmed that nothing could be more plain than the doctor's reflecting upon her majesty's ministers; and that he had so well marked out a noble peer there present, by an ugly and scurrilous epithet which he would not repeat, that it was not possible to mistake his meaning. Some of the younger peers could not help laughing at this undesigned sarcasm upon the lord-treasurer, whom Sacheverel had reviled under the name of Volpone; they exclaimed, "Name him, name him;" and in all probability the zealous bishop, who was remarkable for absence of mind and unguarded expressions, would have gratified their request, had not the chancellor, interposing, declared that no peer Was obliged to say more than he should think proper.
After obstinate disputes, and much virulent altercation, Sacheverel was found guilty by a majority of seventeen voices; and four-and-thirty peers entered a protest against this decision. He was prohibited from preaching for the term of three years: his two sermons were ordered to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman, in presence of the lord mayor and the two sheriffs of London and Middlesex. The lords likewise voted that the executioner should commit to the same fire the famous decree passed in the convocation of the university of Oxford, asserting the absolute authority and indefeasible right of princes. A like sentence was denounced by the commons upon a book intituled, "Collections of Passages referred to by Dr. Sacheverel, in his Answer to the Articles of Impeachment." These he had selected from impious books lately published, and they were read by his counsel, as proofs that the church was in danger. The lenity of the sentence passed upon Sacheverel, which was in a great measure owing to the dread of popular resentment, his friends considered as a victory obtained over a whig faction, and they celebrated their triumph with bonfires and illuminations.
1710
On the fifth day of April, the queen ordered the parliament to be prorogued, after having, in her speech to both houses, expressed her concern for the necessary occasion which had taken up great part of their time towards the latter end of the session. She declared that no prince could have a more true and tender concern for the welfare and prosperity of the church than she had, and should always have; and she said it was very injurious to take a pretence from wicked and malicious libels, to insinuate that the church was in danger by her administration.
The French king, seeing the misery of his people daily increase, and all his resources fail, humbled himself again before the allies, and by the means of Petkum, who still corresponded with his ministers, implored the states-general that the negotiation might be resumed. In order to facilitate their consent, he despatched a new project of pacification, in which he promised to renounce his grandson, and to comply with all their other demands, provided the electors of Cologn and Bavaria should be re-established in their estates and dignities. These overtures being rejected, another plan was offered, and communicated to the plenipotentiaries of the emperor and queen of Great Britain. Then Petkum wrote a letter to the marquis de Torcy, intimating, that the allies required his most christian majesty should declare, in plain and expressive terms, that he consented to all the preliminaries, except the thirty-seventh article, which stipulated a cessation of arms, in case the Spanish monarchy should be delivered to king Charles in the space of two months. He said the allies would send passports to the French ministers, to treat of an equivalent for that article. Louis was even forced to swallow this bitter draught. He signified his consent, and appointed the mareschal D'Uxelles and the abbé Polignac his plenipotentiaries. They were not suffered, however, to enter Holland, but were met by the deputies Buys and Vanderdussen, at Gertruydenburgh. Meanwhile, the states desired the queen of England to send over the duke of Marlborough to assist them with his advice in these conferences. The two houses of parliament seconded their request in a joint address to her majesty, who told them she had already given directions for his departure; and said she was glad to find they concurred with her in a just sense of the duke's eminent services. Both the letter and the addresses were procured by the interest of Marlborough, to let the queen see how much that nobleman was considered both at home and abroad. But she was already wholly alienated from him in her heart, and these expedients served only to increase her disgust.
The French ministers were subjected to every species of mortification. They were in a manner confined to a small fortified town, and all their conduct narrowly watched. Their accommodation was mean: their letters were opened; and they were daily insulted by injurious libels. The Dutch deputies would hear of no relaxation, and no expedient for removing the difficulties that retarded the negotiation. In vain the plenipotentiaries declared, that the French king could not with decency, or the least regard to his honour, wage war against his own grandson: the deputies insisted upon his effecting the cession of Spain and the Indies to the house of Austria; and submitting to every other article specified in the preliminaries. Nay, they even reserved to them selves a power of making ulterior demands after the preliminaries should be adjusted. Louis proposed that some small provision should be made for the duke of Anjou, which might induce him to relinquish Spain the more easily. He mentioned the kingdom of Arragon; and this hint being disagreeable to the allies, he demanded Naples and Sicily. When they urged that Naples was already in possession of the house of Austria, he restricted the provision to Sicily and Sardinia. He offered to deliver up four cautionary towns in Flanders, as a security for Philip's evacuating Spain; and even promised to supply the confederates with a monthly sum of money, to defray the expense of expelling that prince from his dominions, should he refuse to resign them with a good grace. The substance of all the conferences was communicated to lord Townshend, and count Kinzendorf, the Imperial plenipotentiary; but the conduct of the deputies was regulated by the pensionary Heinsius, who was firmly attached to prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough, more averse than ever to a pacification. The negotiation lasted from the nineteenth day of March to the twenty-fifth of July, during which term the conferences were several times interrupted, and a great many despatches and new proposals arrived from Versailles. At length the plenipotentiaries returned to France, after having sent a letter to the pensionary, in which they declared that the proposals made by the deputies were unjust and impracticable; and complained of the unworthy treatment to which they had been exposed. Louis resolved to hazard another campaign, not without hope that there might be some lucky incident in the events of war, and that the approaching revolution in the English ministry, of which he was well apprized, would be productive of a more reasonable pacification. The states-general resolved, that the enemy had departed from the foundation on which the negotiation had begun, and studied pretences to evade the execution of the capital points, the restitution of Spain and the Indies: and, in short, that France had no other view than to sow and create jealousy and disunion among the allies. Lord Townshend, in a memorial, assured them that the queen entirely approved their resolution, and all the steps they had taken in the course of the negotiation; and that she was firmly resolved to prosecute the war with all possible vigour, until the enemy should accept such terms of peace as might secure the tranquillity of the christian world.
The conferences did not retard the operation of the campaign. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague on the fifteenth day of March for Tournay, in order to assemble the forces which were quartered on the Maese, in Flanders, and Brabant. On the twentieth of April, they suddenly advanced to Pont-a-Vendin, in order to attack the lines upon which the French had been at work all the winter, hoping by these to cover Douay and other frontier towns, which were threatened by the confederates. The troops left for the defence of the lines retired without opposition. The allies having laid bridges over the scarp, the duke of Marlborough with his division passed the river and encamped at Vitri. Prince Eugene remained on the other side and invested Douay, the enemy retiring towards Cambray. Mareschal Villars still commanded the French army, which was extremely numerous and well appointed, considering the distress of that kingdom. Indeed, the number was augmented by that distress; for many thousands saved themselves from dying of hunger, by carrying arms in the service. The mareschal having assembled all his forces, passed the Schelde, and encamped at Boucham, declaring that he would give battle to the confederates: an alteration was immediately made in the disposition of the allies, and proper precautions taken for his reception. He advanced in order of battle; but having viewed the situation of the confederates, he marched back to the heights of St. Lawrence, where he fixed his camp. His aim was, by continual alarms, to interrupt the siege of Douay, which was vigorously defended by a numerous garrison, under the command of monsieur Albergotti, who made a number of successful sallies, in which the besiegers lost a great number of men. They were likewise repulsed in several assaults; but still proceeded with unremitted vigour until the besieged, being reduced to the last extremity, were obliged to capitulate on the twenty-sixth of June, fifty days after the trenches had been opened. The generals finding it impracticable to attack the enemy, who were posted within strong lines from Arras towards Miramont, resolved to besiege Bethune, which was invested on the fifteenth day of July, and surrendered on the twenty-ninth of August. Villars marched out of his intrenchments with a view to raise the siege; but he did not think proper to hazard an engagement: some warm skirmishes, however, happened between the foragers of the two armies. After the reduction of Bethune, the allies besieged at one time the towns of Aire and St. Venant, which were taken without much difficulty. Then the armies broke up, and marched into winter quarters.
The campaign on the Rhine was productive of no military event; nor was anything of consequence transacted in Piedmont. The duke of Savoy being indisposed and out of humour, the command of the forces still continued vested in count Thaun, who endeavoured to pass the Alps, and penetrated into Dauphiné; but the duke of Berwick had cast up intrenchments in the mountains, and taken such precautions to guard them, as baffled all the attempts of the Imperial general. Spain was much more fruitful of military incidents. The horse and dragoons in the army of king Charles, headed by general Stanhope, attacked the whole cavalry of the enemy at Almennara. Stanhope charged in person, and with his own hand slew general Amessaga, who commanded the guards of Philip. The Spanish horse were entirely routed, together with nine battalions that escaped by favour of the darkness; and the main body of the army retired with precipitation to Lerida. General Starem-berg pursued them to Saragossa, where he found them drawn up in order of battle; and an engagement ensuing on the ninth day of August, the enemy were totally defeated: five thousand of their men were killed, seven thousand taken, together with all their artillery, and a great number of colours and standards. King Charles entered Saragossa in triumph, while Philip with the wreck of his army retreated to Madrid. Having sent his queen and son to Vittoria, he retired to Valladolid, in order to collect his scattered forces so as to form another army. The good fortune of Charles was of short duration. Stanhope proposed that he should immediately secure Pampeluna, the only pass by which the French king could send troops to Spain; but this salutary scheme was rejected. King Charles proceeded to Madrid, which was deserted by all the grandees; and he had the mortification to see that the Castilians were universally attached to his competitor.
While his forces continued cantoned in the neighbourhood of Toleda, the king of France, at the request of Philip, sent the duke de Vendôme to take the command of the Spanish army, which was at the same time reinforced by detachments of French troops. Vendôme's reputation was so high, and his person so beloved by the soldiery, that his presence was almost equivalent to an army. A great number of volunteers immediately assembled to signalize themselves under the eye of this renowned general. The Castilians were inspired with fresh courage, and made surprising efforts in favour of their sovereign; so that in less than three months after his defeat at Saragossa, he was in a condition to go in quest of his rival. Charles, on the other hand, was totally neglected by the courts of Vienna and Great Britain, which took no steps to supply his wants, or enable him to prosecute the advantages he had gained. In the beginning of November his army marched back to Saragossa, and was cantoned in the neighbourhood of Cifuentes, where Staremberg established his head-quarters. General Stanhope, with the British forces, was quartered in the little town of Brihuega, where, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, he found himself suddenly surrounded by the whole Spanish army. As the place was not tenable, and he had very little ammunition, he was obliged, after a short but vigorous resistance, to capitulate and surrender himself and all his forces prisoners of war, to the amount of two thousand men, including three lieutenant-generals, one major-general, one brigadier, with all the colonels and officers of the respective regiments. He was greatly censured for having allowed himself to be surprised; for if he had placed a guard upon the neighbouring hills, according to the advice of general Carpenter, he might have received notice of the enemy's approach in time enough to retire to Cifuentes. Thither he had detached his aide-camp with an account of his situation on the appearance of the Spanish army; and Staremberg immediately assembled his forces. About eleven in the forenoon, they began to march towards Brihuega; but the roads were so bad that night overtook them before they, reached the heights in the neighbourhood of that place. Staremberg is said to have loitered away his time unnecessarily, from motives of envy to the English general, who had surrendered before his arrival. The troops lay all night on their arms near Villaviciosa, and on the twenty-ninth were attacked by the enemy, who doubled their number. Staremberg's left wing was utterly defeated, all the infantry that composed it having been either cut in pieces or taken; but the victors instead of following up the blow began to plunder the baggage; and Staremberg with his right wing fought their left with surprising valour and perseverance till night. Then they retired in disorder, leaving him master of the field of battle and of all their artillery. Six thousand of the enemy were killed on the spot; but the allies had suffered so severely that the general could not maintain his ground. He ordered the cannon to be nailed up, and marched to Saragossa, from whence he retired to Catalonia. Thither he was pursued by the duke de Vendôme, who reduced Belaguer, in which he had left a garrison, and compelled him to take shelter under the walls of Barcelona. At this period the duke de Noailles invested Gironne, which he reduced notwithstanding the severity of the weather; so that Philip, from a fugitive, became in three months absolute master of the whole Spanish monarchy, except the province of Catalonia, and even that lay open to his incursions. Nothing of consequence was achieved on the side of Portugal, from whence the earl of Galway returned to England by the queen's permission. The operations of the British fleet, during this summer, were so inconsiderable as scarce to deserve notice. Sir John Norris commanded in the Mediterranean, and with a view to support the Camisars, who were in arms in the Cevennois, sailed to Port Cette, within a league of Marseilles, and at the distance of fifteen from the insurgents. The place surrendered, without opposition, to about seven hundred men that landed under the command of major-general Suissan, a native of Languedoc. He likewise made himself master of the town and castle of Eyde; but the duke de Noailles advancing with a body of forces to join the duke de Roquelaire, who commanded in those parts, the English abandoned their conquests, and re-embarked with precipitation. After the battle of Poultowa the czar of Muscovy reduced all Livonia; but he and king Augustus agreed to a neutrality for Pomerania. The king of Sweden continued at Bender, and the grand seignor interested himself so much in favour of that prince, as to declare war against the emperor of Russia. Hostilities were carried on between the Swedish and Danish fleets with various success. The malcontents in Hungary sustained repeated losses during the summer; but they were encouraged to maintain the war by the rupture between the Ottoman Porte and Russia. They were flattered with hopes of auxiliaries from the Turks; and expected engineers and money from the French monarch.
ANNE, 1701—1714
In England, the effects of those intrigues which had been formed against the whig ministers began to appear. The trial of Sacheverel had excited a popular spirit of aversion to those who favoured the dissenters. From all parts of the kingdom addresses were presented to the queen, censuring all resistance as a rebellious doctrine, founded upon anti-monarchial and republican principles. At the same time counter-addresses were procured by the whigs, extolling the revolution and magnifying the conduct of the present parliament. The queen began to express her attachment to the tories, by mortifying the duke of Marlborough. Upon the death of the earl of Essex, she wrote to the general desiring that the regiment which had been commanded by that nobleman should be given to Mr. Hill, brother to Mrs. Masham, who had supplanted the duchess of Marlborough in the queen's friendship, and was, in effect, the source of this political revolution. The duke represented to her majesty in person, the prejudice that would redound to the service from the promotion of such a young officer over the heads of a great many brave men, who had exhibited repeated proofs of valour and capacity. He expostulated with his sovereign on this extraordinary mark of partial regard to the brother of Mrs. Masham, which he could not help considering as a declaration against himself and his family, who had so much cause to complain of that lady's malice and ingratitude. To this remonstrance the queen made no other reply, but that he would do well to consult his friends. The earl of Godolphin enforced his friend's arguments, though without effect; and the duke retired in disgust to Windsor. The queen appeared at council without taking the least notice of his absence, which did not fail to alarm the whole whig faction. Several noblemen ventured to speak to her majesty on the subject, and explain the bad consequences of disobliging a man who had done such eminent services to the nation. She told them his services were still fresh in her memory; and that she retained all her former kindness for his person. Hearing, however, that a popular clamour was raised, and that the house of commons intended to pass some votes that would be disagreeable to her and her new counsellors, she ordered the earl of Godolphin to write to the duke to dispose of the regiment as he should think proper, and return to town immediately. Before he received this intimation, he had sent a letter to the queen desiring she would permit him to retire from business. In answer to this petition, she assured him his suspicions were groundless, and insisted upon his coming to council. The duchess demanded an audience of her majesty, on pretence of vindicating her own character from some aspersions. She hoped to work upon the queen's tenderness, and retrieve the influence she had lost. She protested, argued, wept, and supplicated; but the queen was too well pleased with her own deliverance from the tyranny of the other's friendship, to incur such slavery for the future. All the humiliation of the duchess served only to render herself the more contemptible. The queen heard her without exhibiting the least sign of emotion, and all she would vouchsafe, was a repetition of these words—"You desired no answer, and you shall have none;" alluding to an expression in a letter she had received from the duchess. As an additional mortification to the ministry, the office of lord chamberlain was transferred from the duke of Kent to the duke of Shrewsbury, who had lately voted with the tories, and maintained an intimacy of correspondence with Mr. Harley. The interest of the duke of Marlborough was not even sufficient to prevent the dismissal of his own son-in-law, the earl of Sunderland, from the post of secretary of state, in which he was succeeded by lord Dartmouth.
The queen was generally applauded for thus asserting her just prerogative, and setting herself free from an arbitrary cabal, by which she had been so long kept in dependence. The duke of Beaufort went to court on this occasion, and told her majesty he was extremely glad that he could now salute her queen in reality. The whole whig party were justly alarmed at these alterations. The directors of the bank represented to her majesty the prejudice that would undoubtedly accrue to public credit from a change of the ministry. The emperor and the states-general interposed in this domestic revolution. Their ministers at London presented memorials, explaining in what manner foreign affairs would be influenced by an alteration in the British ministry. The queen assured them, that, whatever changes might be made, the duke of Marlborough should be continued in his employments. In the month of August the earl of Godolphin was divested of his office, and the treasury put in commission, subjected to the direction of Harley, appointed chancellor of the exchequer and under-treasurer. The earl of Rochester was declared president of the council in the room of lord Somers; the staff of lord steward being taken from the duke of Devonshire, was given to the duke of Buckingham; and Mr. Boyle was removed from the secretary's office to make way for Mr. Henry St. John. The lord chancellor having resigned the great seal, it was first put in commission, and afterwards given to sir Simon Harcourt. The earl of Wharton surrendered his commission of lord-lieutenant of Ireland, which the queen conferred on the duke of Ormond. The earl of Orford withdrew himself from the board of admiralty; and Mr. George Granville was appointed secretary of war in the room of Mr. Eobert Walpole. The command of the forces in Portugal was bestowed upon the earl of Portmore; the duke of Hamilton was appointed lord-lieutenant of the county palatine of Lancaster. In a word, there was not one whig left in any office of state, except the duke of Marlborough, who would have renounced his command, had not he been earnestly dissuaded by his particular friends from taking such a step as might have been prejudicial to the interests of the nation. That the triumph of the tories might be complete, the queen dissolved the whig parliament, after such precautions were taken as could not fail to influence the new election in favour of the other party.
To this end nothing so effectually contributed as did the trial of Sacheverel, who was used as an instrument and tool to wind and turn the passions of the vulgar. Having been presented to a benefice in North Wales, he went in procession to that country with all the pomp and magnificence of a sovereign prince. He was sumptuously entertained by the university of Oxford, and different noblemen, who, while they worshipped him as the idol of their faction, could not help despising the object of their adoration. He was received in several towns by the magistrates of the corporation in their formalities, and often attended by a body of a thousand horse. At Bridgenorth he was met by Mr. Creswell, at the head of four thousand horse, and the like number of persons on foot, wearing white knots edged with gold, and three leaves of gilt laurel in their hats. The hedges were for two miles dressed with garlands of flowers, and lined with people; and the steeples covered with streamers, flags, and colours. Nothing was heard but the cry of "The church and Dr. Sacheverel." The clergy were actuated by a spirit of enthusiasm, which seemed to spread like a contagion through all ranks and degrees of people, and had such an effect upon the elections for the new parliament, that very few were returned as members but such as had distinguished themselves by their zeal against the whig administration. Now the queen had the pleasure to see all the offices of state, the lieutenancy of London, the management of corporations, and the direction of both houses of parliament, in the hands of the tories. When these met on the twenty-fifth day of November, Mr. Bromley was chosen speaker without opposition. The queen, in her speech, recommended the prosecution of the war with vigour, especially in Spain. She declared herself resolved to support the church of England; to preserve the British constitution according to the union; to maintain the indulgence by law allowed to scrupulous consciences; and to employ none but such as were heartily attached to the protestant succession in the house of Hanover. The lords, in their address, promised to concur in all reasonable measures towards procuring an honourable peace. The commons were more warm and hearty in their assurances, exhorting her majesty to discountenance all such principles and measures as had lately threatened her royal crown and dignity—measures which, whenever they might prevail, would prove fatal to the whole constitution, both in church and state. After this declaration they proceeded to consider the estimates, and cheerfully granted the supplies for the ensuing year, part of which was raised by two lotteries. In the house of peers, the earl of Scarborough moved that the thanks of the house should be returned to the duke of Marlborough; but the duke of Argyle made some objections to* the motion, and the general's friends, dreading the consequence of putting the question, postponed the consideration of this proposal until the duke should return from the continent. The earl of Peterborough was appointed ambassador-extraordinary to the Imperial court; the earl of Rivers was sent in the same quality to Hanover; Mr. Richard Hill was nominated envoy-extraordinary to the United Provinces, as well as to the council of state appointed for the government of the Spanish Netherlands, in the room of lieutenant-general Cadogan. Meredith, Macartney, and Honey wood, were deprived of their regiments, because in their cups they had drank confusion to the enemies of the duke of Marlborough.
This nobleman arrived in England towards the latter end of December. He conferred about half an hour in private with the queen, and next morning assisted at a committee of the privy-council. Her majesty give him to understand that he needed not expect the thanks of the parliament as formerly; and told him she hoped he would live well with her ministers. He expressed no resentment at the alterations which had been made; but resolved to acquiesce in the queen's pleasure, and retain the command of the army on her own terms. On the second day of January, the queen sent a message to both houses, intimating that there had been an action in Spain to the disadvantage of king Charles; that the damage having fallen particularly on the English forces, she had given directions for sending and procuring troops to repair their loss, and hoped the parliament would approve her conduct. Both houses seized this opportunity of venting their spleen against the old ministry. The history of England is disgraced by the violent conduct of two turbulent factions, which, in their turn, engrossed the administration and legislative power. The parliamentary strain was quite altered. One can hardly conceive how resolutions so widely different could be taken on the same subject, with any shadow of reason and decorum. Marlborough, who but a few months before had been so highly extolled and caressed by the representatives of the people, was now become the object of parliamentary hatred and censure, though no sensible alteration had happened in his conduct or success. That hero, who had retrieved the glory of the British arms, won so many battles, subdued such a number of towns and districts, humbled the pride and checked the ambition of France, secured the liberty of Europe, and, as it were, chained victory to his chariot wheels, was in a few weeks dwindled into an object of contempt and derision. He was ridiculed in public libels, and reviled in private conversation. Instances were every where repeated of his fraud, warice, and extortion; his insolence, cruelty, ambition, and misconduct; even his courage was called in question; and this consummate general was represented as the lowest of mankind. So unstable is the popularity of every character that fluctuates between two opposite tides of faction.
The lords, in their answer to the queen's message, declared, that as the misfortune in Spain might have been occasioned by some preceding mismanagement, they would use their utmost endeavours to discover it, so as to prevent the like for the future. They set on foot an inquiry concerning the affairs of Spain; and the earl of Peterborough being examined before the committee, imputed all the miscarriages in the course of that war to the earl of Galway and general Stanhope. Notwithstanding the defence of Galway, which was clear and convincing, the house resolved, that the earl of Peterborough had given a faithful and honourable account of the councils of war in Valencia: that the earl of Galway, lord Tyrawley, and general Stanhope, in advising an offensive war, had been the unhappy occasion of the battle of Almanza, the source of our misfortunes in Spain, and one great cause of the disappointment of the expedition to Toulon, concerted with her majesty. They voted that the prosecution of an offensive war in Spain was approved and directed by the ministers, who were therefore justly blameable, as having contributed to all our misfortunes in Spain, and to the disappointment of the expedition against Toulon; that the earl of Peterborough, during his command in Spain, had performed many great and eminent services; and if his opinion had been followed, it might have prevented the misfortunes that ensued. Then the duke of Buckingham moved, that the thanks of the house should be given to the earl for his remarkable and eminent services; and these he actually received from the mouth of the lord-keeper Harcourt, who took this opportunity to drop some oblique reflections upon the mercenary disposition of the duke of Marlborough. The house, proceeding in the inquiry, passed another vote, importing, that the late ministry had been negligent in managing the Spanish war, to the great prejudice of the nation. Finding that the Portuguese troops were posted on the right of the English at the battle of Almanza, they re solved, that the earl of Galway, in yielding this point, had acted contrary to the honour of the imperial crown of Great Britain. These resolutions they included in an address to the queen, who had been present during the debates, which were extremely violent; and to every separate vote was attached a severe protest. These were not the proceedings of candour and national justice, but the ebullitions of party zeal and rancorous animosity.
While the lords were employed in this inquiry, the commons examined certain abuses which had crept into the management of the navy; and some censures were passed upon certain persons concerned in contracts for victualling the seamen. The inhabitants of St. Olave's and other parishes presented a petition, complaining that a great number of Palatines, inhabiting one house, might produce among them a contagious distemper; and in time become a charge to the public, as they were destitute of all visible means of subsistence. This petition had been procured by the tories, that the house of commons might have another handle for attacking the late ministry. A committee was appointed to inquire upon what invitation or encouragement those Palatines had come to England. The papers relating to this affair being laid before them by the queen's order, and perused, the house resolved, that the inviting and bringing over the poor Palatines of all religions, at the public expense, was an extravagant and unreasonable charge to the kingdom, and a scandalous misapplication of the public money, tending to the increase and oppression of the poor, and of dangerous consequence to the constitution in church and state; and that whoever advised their being brought over was an enemy to the queen and kingdom. Animated by the heat of this inquiry, they passed the bill to repeal the act for a general naturalization of all protestants; but this was rejected in the house of lords. Another bill was enacted into a law, importing, that no person should be deemed qualified for representing a county in parliament, unless he possessed an estate of six hundred pounds a-year; and restricting the qualification of burgess to half that sum. The design of this bill was to exclude trading people from the house of commons, and to lodge the legislative power with the land-holders. A third act passed, permitting the importation of French wine in neutral bottoms: a bill against which the whigs loudly exclaimed, as a national evil, and a scandalous compliment to the enemy.
A violent party in the house of commons began to look upon Harley as a lukewarm tory, because he would not enter precipitately into all their factious measures; they even began to suspect his principles, when his credit was re-established by a very singular accident. Guiscard, the French partisan, of whom mention hath already been made, thought himself very ill rewarded for his services, with a precarious pension of four hundred pounds, which he enjoyed from the queen's bounty. He had been renounced by St. John, the former companion of his pleasures; he had in vain endeavoured to obtain an audience of the queen, with a view to demand more considerable appointments. Harley was his enemy, and all access to her majesty was denied. Enraged at these disappointments, he attempted to make his peace with the court of France, and offered his services, in a letter to one Moreau, a banker in Paris. This packet, which he endeavoured to transmit by the way of Portugal, was intercepted, and a warrant issued out to apprehend him for high-treason. When the messenger disarmed him in St. James's Park, he exhibited marks of guilty confusion and despair, and begged that he would kill him directly. Being conveyed to the cockpit, in a sort of frenzy, he perceived a penknife lying upon a table, and took it up without being perceived by the attendants. A committee of council was immediately summoned, and Guiscard brought before them to be examined. Finding that his correspondence with Moreau was discovered, he desired to speak in private with secretary St. John, whom in all probability he had resolved to assassinate. His request being refused, he said, "That's hard! not one word!" St. John being out of his reach, he stepped up to Mr. Harley, and exclaiming, "Have at thee, then!" stabbed him in the breast with the penknife which he had concealed. The instrument broke upon the bone, without penetrating into the cavity; nevertheless he repeated the blow with such force that the chancellor of the exchequer fell to the ground. Secretary St. John, seeing him fall, cried out, "The villain has killed Mr. Harley!" and drew his sword. Several other members followed his example, and wounded Guiscard in several places. Yet he made a desperate defence, until he was overpowered by the messengers and servants, and conveyed from the council-chamber, which he had filled with terror, tumult, and confusion. His wounds, though dangerous, were not mortal; but he died of a gangrene occasioned by the bruises he had sustained. This attempt upon the life of Harley, by a person who wanted to establish a traitorous correspondence with France, extinguished the suspicions of those who began to doubt that minister's integrity. The two houses of parliament, in an address to the queen, declared their belief that Mr. Harley's fidelity to her majesty, and zeal for her service, had drawn upon him the hatred of all the abettors of popery and faction. They besought her majesty to take all possible care of her sacred person; and, for that purpose, to give directions for causing papists to be removed from the cities of London and Westminster. A proclamation was published, ordering the laws to be strictly put in execution against papists. When Harley appeared in the house of commons after his recovery, he was congratulated upon it by the speaker, in a florid and fulsome premeditated speech. An act was passed, decreeing, that an attempt upon the life of a privy-counsellor should be felony without benefit of clergy. The earl of Rochester dying, Harley became sole minister, was created baron of Wigmore, and raised to the rank of earl by the noble and ancient title of Oxford and Mortimer: to crown his prosperity, he was appointed lord-treasurer, and vested with the supreme administration of affairs.
The commons empowered certain persons to examine all the grants made by king William, and report the value of them, as well as the considerations upon which they were made. Upon their report a bill was formed and passed that house; but the lords rejected it at the first reading. Their next step was to examine the public accounts, with a view to fix an imputation on the earl of Godolphin. They voted that above five-and-thirty millions of the money granted by parliament remained unaccounted for. This sum, however, included some accounts in the reigns of king Charles and king William. One half of the whole was charged to Mr. Bridges, the pay-master, who had actually accounted for all the money he had received, except about three millions, though these accounts had not passed through the auditor's office. The commons afterwards proceeded to inquire into the debts of the navy, that exceeded five millions, which, with many other debts, were thrown into one stock, amounting to nine millions four hundred and seventy-one thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds. A fund was formed for paying an interest or annuity of six per cent, until the principal should be discharged; and with this was granted a monopoly of a projected trade in the South Sea, vested in the proprietors of navy-bills, debentures, and other public securities, which were incorporated for this purpose. Such was the origin of the South Sea Company, founded upon a chimerical supposition that the English would be permitted to trade upon the coast of Peru in the West Indies. Perhaps the new ministry hoped to obtain this permission, as an equivalent for their abandoning the interest of king Charles, with respect to his pretensions upon Spain. By this time the emperor Joseph had died of the small-pox without male issue; so that his brother's immediate aim was to succeed him on the Imperial throne. This event was, on the twentieth day of April, communicated by a message from the queen to both houses. She told them that the states-general had concurred with her in a resolution to support the house of Austria; and that they had already taken such measures as would secure the election of Charles as head of the empire.
The house of commons, in order to demonstrate their attachment to the church, in consequence of an address from the lower house of convocation, and a quickening message from the queen, passed a bill for building fifty new churches in the suburbs of London and Westminster, and appropriated for this purpose the duty upon coals, which had been granted for the building of St. Paul's, now finished. This imposition was continued until it should raise the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand pounds. At the close of the session, the commons presented a remonstrance or representation to the queen, in which they told her that they had not only raised the necessary supplies, but also discharged the heavy debts of which the nation had so long and justly complained. They said that, in tracing the causes of this debt, they had discovered fraud, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public money; that they who of late years had the management of the treasury, were guilty of a notorious breach of trust and injustice to the nation, in allowing above thirty millions to remain unaccounted for; a purposed omission that looked like a design to conceal embezzlements. They begged her majesty would give immediate directions for compelling the several imprest accountants speedily to pass their accounts. They expressed their hope that such of the accountants as had neglected their duty in prosecuting their accounts, ought no longer to be intrusted with the public money. They affirmed, that from all these evil practices and worse designs of some persons, who had, by false professions of love to their country, insinuated themselves into her royal favour, irreparable mischief would have accrued to the public, had not her majesty, in her great wisdom, seasonably discovered the fatal tendency of such measures, and removed from the administration those who had so ill answered her majesty's favourable opinion, and in so many instances grossly abused the trust reposed in them. They observed, that her people could with greater patience have suffered the manifold injuries done to themselves, by the frauds and depredations of such evil ministers, had not the same men proceeded to treat her sacred person with undutifulness and disregard. This representation being circulated through the kingdom, produced the desired effect of inflaming the minds of the people against the late ministry. Such expedients were become necessary for the execution of Oxford's project, which was to put a speedy end to a war that had already subjected the people to grievous oppression, and even accumulated heavy burden s to be transmitted to their posterity. The nation was inspired by extravagant ideas of glory and conquest, even to a rage of war-making; so that the new ministers, in order to dispel those dangerous chimeras, were obliged to take measures for exciting their indignation and contempt against those persons whom they had formerly idolized as their heroes and patriots. On the twelfth day of June, the queen, having given the royal assent to several public and private bills, made an affectionate speech to both houses. She thanked the commons, in the warmest expressions, for having complied with all her desires; for having baffled the expectations of her enemies in finding supplies for the service of the ensuing year; in having granted greater sums than were ever given to any prince in one session; and in having settled funds for the payment of the public debts, so that the credit of the nation was restored. She expressed her earnest concern for the succession of the house of Hanover; and her fixed resolution to support and encourage the church of England as by law established. Then the parliament was prorogued.
Of the convocation which was assembled with the new parliament, the lower house chose Dr. Atterbury their prolocutor. He was an enterprising ecclesiastic, of extensive learning, acute talents, violently attached to tory principles, and intimately connected with the prime minister Oxford; so that he directed all the proceedings in the lower house of convocation in concert with that minister. The queen, in a letter to the archbishop, signified her hope that the consultations of the clergy might be of use to repress the attempts of loose and profane persons. She sent a license under the broad seal, empowering them to sit and do business in as ample a manner as ever had been granted since the reformation. They were ordered to lay before the queen an account of the excessive growth of infidelity and heresy, as well as of other abuses, that necessary measures might be taken for a reformation. The bishops were purposely slighted and overlooked, because they had lived in harmony with the late ministers. A committee being appointed to draw up a representation of the present state of the church and religion, Atterbury undertook the task, and composed a remonstrance that contained the most keen and severe strictures upon the administration, as it had been exercised since the time of the revolution. Another was penned by the bishops in more moderate terms; and several regulations were made, but in none of these did the two houses agree. They concurred, however, in censuring some tenets favouring Arianism, broached and supported by Mr. Whiston, mathematical professor in Cambridge. He had been expelled the university, and wrote a vindication of himself, dedicated to the convocation. The archbishop doubted whether this assembly could proceed against a man for heresy: the judges were consulted, and the majority of them gave in their opinion that the convocation had a jurisdiction. Four of them professed the contrary sentiment, which they maintained from the statutes made at the reformation. The queen, in a letter to the bishops, said, that as there was now no doubt of their jurisdiction, she expected that they would proceed in the matter before them. Fresh scruples arising, they determined to examine the book, without proceeding against the author, and this was censured accordingly. An extract of the sentence was sent to the queen; but she did not signify her pleasure on this subject, and the affair remained in suspense. Whiston published a work in four volumes, justifying his doctrine, and maintaining that the apostolical constitutions were not only canonical, but also preferable in point of authority to the epistles and the gospels.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The new ministry had not yet determined to supersede the duke of Marlborough in the command of the army. This was a step which could not be taken without giving umbrage to the Dutch and other allies. He therefore set out for Holland in the month of February, after the queen had assured him that he might depend upon the punctual payment of the forces. Having conferred with the deputies of the states about the operations of the campaign, he, about the middle of April, assembled the army at Orchies, between Lisle and Douay; while mareschal de Villars drew together the French troops in the neighbourhood of Cambray and Arras. Louis had by this time depopulated as well as impoverished his kingdom; yet his subjects still flocked to his standard with surprising spirit and attachment. Under the pressure of extreme misery they uttered not one complaint of their sovereign; but imputed all their calamities to the pride and obstinacy of the allies. Exclusive of all the other impositions that were laid upon that people, they consented to pay the tenth penny of their whole substance; but all their efforts of loyalty and affection to their prince would have been ineffectual, had not the merchants of the kingdom, by the permission of Philip, undertaken repeated voyages to the South Sea, from whence they brought home immense treasures; while the allies took no steps for intercepting these supplies, though nothing could have been more easy for the English than to deprive the enemy of this great resource, and convert it to their own advantage. Had a squadron of ships been annually employed for this purpose, the subjects of France and Spain must have been literally starved, and Louis obliged to submit to such terms as the confederates might have thought proper to impose. Villars had found means to assemble a very numerous army, with which he encamped behind the river Sanset, in such an advantageous post as could not be attacked with any prospect of success. Meanwhile the duke of Marlborough passed the Scarpe, and formed his camp between Douay and Bouchain, where he was joined by prince Eugene on the twenty-third day of May. This general, however, did not long remain in the Netherlands. Understanding that detachments had been made from the army of Villars to the Rhine, and that the elector of Bavaria intended to act in the empire, the prince, by order from the court of Vienna, marched towards the upper Rhine with the Imperial and Palatine troops, to secure Germany. The Duke of Marlborough repassing the Scarpe, encamped in the plains of Lens, from whence he advanced towards Aire, as if he had intended to attack the French lines in that quarter. These lines beginning at Bouchain on the Schelde, were continued along the Sanset and the Scarpe to Arras, and thence along the Upper Scarpe to Canché. They were defended by redoubts and other works in such a manner, that Villars judged they were impregnable, and called them the Ne plus ultra of Marlborough.
This nobleman advancing within two leagues of the French lines, ordered a great number of fascines to be made, declaring he would attack them the next morning; so that Villars drew all his forces on that side, in full expectations of an engagement. The duke, on the supposition that the passage of the Sanset by Arleux would be left unguarded, had ordered the generals Cadogan and Hompesch to assemble twenty battalions and seventeen squadrons from Douay and the neighbouring garrisons, to march to Arleux, where they should endeavour to pass the Sanset. Brigadier Sutton was detached with the artillery and pontoons, to lay bridges over the canal near Groulezen and over the Scarpe at Vitry, while the duke with the whole confederate army began his march for the same place about nine in the evening. He proceeded with such expedition, that by five in the morning he passed the river at Vitry. There he received intelligence that Hompesch had taken possession of the passes on the Sanset and Schelde without opposition, the enemy having withdrawn their detachments from that side just as he had imagined. He himself, with his vanguard of fifty squadrons, hastened his march towards Arleux, and before eight of the clock arrived at Bacá-Bachuel, where in two hours he was joined by the heads of the columns into which he hadj divided his infantry. Villars being certified of his intention, about two in the morning decamped with his whole army, and putting himself at the head of the king's household troops, marched all night with such expedition, that about eleven in the forenoon he was in sight of the duke of Marlborough, who had by this time joined count Hompesch. The French general immediately retreated to the main body of his army, which had advanced to the high road between Arras and Cambray, while the allies encamped upon the Schelde, between Oisy and Estrun, after a march of ten leagues without halting, scarce to be paralleled in history. By this plan, so happily executed, the duke of Marlborough fairly outwitted Villars, and, without the loss of one man, entered the lines which he had pronounced impregnable. This stroke of the English general was extolled as a masterpiece of military skill, while Villars was exposed to the ridicule even of his own officers. The field-deputies of the states-general proposed that he should give battle to the enemy, who passed the Schelde at Crevecoeur in order to cover Bouchain; but the duke would not hazard an engagement, considering how much the army was fatigued by the long march; and that any misfortune, while they continued within the French lines, might be fatal. His intention was to besiege Bouchain; an enterprise that was deemed impracticable, inasmuch as the place was situated in a morass, strongly fortified, and defended by a numerous garrison, in the neighbourhood of an army superior in number to that of the allies. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, and the dissuasions of his own friends, he resolved to undertake the siege; and, in the meantime, despatched brigadier Sutton to England with an account of his having passed the French lines; which was not at all agreeable to his enemies. They had prognosticated that nothing would be done during this campaign, and began to insinuate that the duke could strike no stroke of importance without the assistance of prince Eugene. They now endeavoured to lessen the glory of his success; and even taxed him with having removed his camp from a convenient situation to a place where the troops were in danger of starving. Nothing could be more provoking than this scandalous malevolence to a great man who had done so much honour to his country, and was then actually exposing his life in her service.
On the tenth day of August Bouchain was invested, and the duke of Marlborough exerted himself to the utmost extent of his vigilance and capacity, well knowing the difficulties of the undertaking, and how much his reputation would depend upon his success. Villars had taken every precaution that his skill and experience could suggest, to baffle the endeavours of the English general. He had reinforced the garrison to the number of six thousand chosen men, commanded by officers of known courage and ability. He made some efforts to raise the siege; but they were rendered ineffectual by the consummate prudence and activity of the duke of Marlborough. Then he laid a scheme for surprising Douay, which likewise miscarried. If we consider that the English general, in the execution of his plan, was obliged to form lines, erect regular forts, raise batteries, throw bridges over a river, make a causeway through a deep morass, provide for the security of convoys against a numerous army on the one side, and the garrisons of Condé and Valenciennes on the other, we must allow this was the boldest enterprise of the whole war; that it required all the fortitude, skill, and resolution of a great general, and all the valour and intrepidity of the confederate troops, who had scarce ever exhibited such amazing proofs of courage upon any other occasion as they now displayed at the siege of Bouchain. In twenty days after the trenches were opened, the garrison were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war; and this conquest was the last military exploit performed by the duke of Marlborough: the breaches of Bouchain were no sooner repaired than the opposite armies began to separate, and the allied forces were quartered in the frontier towns, that they might be at hand to take the field early in the spring. They were now in possession of the Maese, almost as far as the Sambre; of the Schelde from Tournay; and of the Lys as far as it is navigable. They had reduced Spanish Guelderland, Limburg, Brabant, Flanders, and the greatest part of Hainault; they were masters of the Scarpe; and by the conquest of Bouchain, they had opened to themselves a way into the very bowels of France. All these acquisitions were owing to the valour and conduct of the duke of Marlborough, who now returned to the Hague, and arrived in England about the middle of November.
The queen had conferred the command of her forces in Spain upon the duke of Argyle, who was recalled from the service in Flanders for that purpose. He had long been at variance with the duke of Marlborough; a circumstance which recommended him the more strongly to the ministry. He landed at Barcelona on the twenty-ninth of May, and found the British troops in the utmost distress for want of subsistence. The treasurer had promised to supply him liberally; the commons had granted one million five hundred thousand pounds for that service. All their hopes of success were fixed on the campaign in that kingdom; and indeed the army commanded by the duke de Vendôme was in such a wretched condition, that if Staremberg had been properly supported by the allies, he might have obtained signal advantages. The duke of Argyle, having waited in vain for the promised remittances, was obliged, to borrow money on his own credit, before the British troops could take the field. At length Staremberg advanced towards the enemy, who attacked him at the pass of Prato del Key, where they were repulsed with considerable damage. After this action the duke of Argyle was seized with a violent fever, and conveyed back to Barcelona. Vendôme invested the castle of Cardona, which was vigorously defended till the end of December, when a detachment being sent to the relief of the place, defeated the besiegers, killed two thousand on the spot, and took all their artillery, ammunition, and baggage. Staremberg was unable to follow the blow; the duke of Argyle wrote pressing letters to the ministry, and loudly complained that he was altogether unsupported; but all his remonstrances were ineffectual: no remittances arrived; and he returned to England without having been able to attempt any thing of importance. In September, king Charles, leaving his queen at Barcelona, set sail for Italy, and at Milan had an interview with the duke of Savoy, where all disputes were compromised. That prince had forced his way into Savoy and penetrated as far as the Rhine; but he suddenly halted in the middle of his career, and after a short campaign repassed the mountains. Prince Eugene, at the head of the German forces, protected the electors at Frankfort from the designs of the enemy, and Charles was unanimously chosen emperor; the electors of Cologn and Bavaria having been excluded from voting, because they lay under the ban of the empire. The war between the Ottoman Porte and the Muscovites was of short duration. The czar advanced so far into Moldavia, that he was cut off from all supplies, and altogether in the power of his enemy. In this emergency, he found means to corrupt the grand vizier in private, while in public he proposed articles of peace that were accepted. The king of Sweden, who was in the Turkish army, charged the vizier with treachery, and that minister was actually disgraced. The grand seignor threatened to renew the war; but he was appeased by the czar's surrendering Azoph.
The English ministry had conceived great expectations from an expedition against Quebec and Placentia, in North America, planned by colonel Nicholson, who had taken possession of Nova Scotia, and garrisoned Porte Royal, to which he gave the name of Anapolis. He had brought four Indian chiefs to England, and represented the advantages that would redound to the nation in point of commerce, should the French be expelled from North America. The ministers relished the proposal. A body of five thousand men was embarked in transports, under the command of brigadier Hill, brother to Mrs. Masham; and they sailed from Plymouth in the beginning of May, with a strong squadron of ships commanded by sir Hovenden Walker. At Boston in New England, they were joined by two regiments of provincials; and about four thousand men, consisting of American planters, Palatines, and Indians, rendezvoused at Albany, in order to march by land into Canada, while the fleet sailed up the river of that name. On the twenty-first day of August they were exposed to a violent storm, and driven among rocks, where eight transports perished, with about eight hundred men. The admiral immediately sailed back to Spanish-river bay, where it was determined, in a council of war, that as the fleet and forces were victualled for ten weeks only, and they could not depend upon a supply of provisions from New England, they should return home without making any further attempt. Such was the issue of this paltry expedition, intrusted to the direction of an officer without talents and experience.
In the Irish parliament held during the summer, the duke of Ormond and the majority of the peers supported the tory interest, while the commons expressed the warmest attachment to revolution principles. The two houses made strenuous representations, and passed severe resolutions against each other. After the session, sir Constantine Phipps, the chancellor, and general Ingoldsby, were appointed justices in the absence of the duke of Ormond, who returned to England in the month of November. In Scotland the Jacobites made no scruple of professing their principles and attachments to the pretender. The duchess of Gordon presented the faculty of advocates with a silver medal, representing the chevalier de St. George; and on the reverse the British islands, with the motto "Redditte." After some debate, it was voted, by a majority of sixty-three voices against twelve, that the duchess should be thanked for this token of her regard. This task was performed by Dundas of Arnistoun, who thanked her grace for having presented them with a medal of their sovereign lord the king; hoping, and being confident, that her grace would very soon have an opportunity to compliment the faculty with a second medal, struck upon the restoration of the king and royal family, upon the finishing rebellion, usurping tyranny, and whiggery. An account of this transaction being laid before the queen, the lord-advocate was ordered to inquire into the particulars. Then the faculty were so intimidated that they disowned Dundas, and Home his accomplice. They pretended that the affair of the medal had been transacted by a party at an occasional meeting, and not by general consent; and, by a solemn act, they declared their attachment to the queen and the protestant succession. The court was satisfied with this atonement; but the resident from Hanover having presented a memorial to the queen, desiring that Dundas and his associates might be prosecuted, the government removed sir David Dalrymple from his office of lord-advocate, on pretence of his having been too remiss in prosecuting those delinquents; and no further inquiry was made into the affair.
For some time the negotiation for peace had been carried on between the court of France and the new ministers, who had a double aim in this measure; namely, to mortify the whigs and the Dutch, whom they detested, and to free their country from a ruinous war, which had all the appearance of becoming habitual to the constitution. They foresaw the risk they would run by entering into such measures, should ever the opposite faction regain the ascendency; they knew the whigs would employ all their art and influence, which was very powerful, in obstructing the peace, and in raising o popular clamour against the treaty. But their motives for treating were such as prompted them to undervalue all those difficulties and dangers. They hoped to obtain such advantages in point of commerce for the subject? of Great Britain, as would silence all detraction. They did not doubt of being able to maintain the superiority which they had acquired in parliament; and perhaps some of them cherished views in favour of the pretender, whose succession to the crown would have effectually established their dominion over the opposite party. The earl of Jersey, who acted in concert with Oxford, sent a private message to the court of France, importing the queen's desire of peace, representing the impossibility of a private negotiation, as the ministry was obliged to act with the utmost circumspection, and desiring that Louis would propose to the Dutch a renewal of the conferences, in which case the English plenipotentiaries should have such instructions that it would be impossible for the states-general to prevent the conclusion of the treaty. This intimation was delivered by one Gualtier, an obscure priest, who acted as chaplain to count Gallas the Imperial ambassador, and had been employed as a spy by the French ministry, since the commencement of hostilities. His connexion with lord Jersey was by means of that nobleman's lady, who professed the Roman catholic religion. His message was extremely agreeable to the court of Versailles. He returned to London with a letter of compliment from the marquis de Torcy to the earl of Jersey, in which that minister assured him of his master's sincere inclination for peace, though he was averse to a renewal of the conferences with the states-general. Gualtier wrote a letter to Versailles, desiring, in the name of the English ministry, that his most christain majesty would communicate to them his proposals for a general peace, which they would communicate to the states-general, that they might negotiate in concert with their allies. A general answer being made to this intimation, Gualtier made a second journey to Versailles, and brought over a memorial, which was immediately transmitted to Holland. In the meantime, the pensionary endeavoured to renew the conferences in Holland. Petkum wrote to the French ministry, that if his majesty would resume the negotiation, in concert with the queen of Great Britain, he should certainly have reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the Dutch deputies. This proposal Louis declined, at the desire of the English ministers.
The states-general having perused the memorial, assured queen Anne that they were ready to join with her in contributing to the conclusion of a durable peace; but they expressed a desire that the French king would communicate a more particular plan for securing the interest of the allied powers, and for settling the repose of Europe. Gualtier was once more sent to Versailles, accompanied by Mr. Prior, who had resided in France as secretary to the embassies of the earls of Portland and Jersey. This gentleman had acquired some reputation by his poetical talents; was a man of uncommon ability, and insinuating address, and perfectly devoted to the tory interest. He was empowered to communicate the preliminary demands of the English; to receive the answer of the French king; and demand whether or not king Philip had transmitted a power of treating to his grandfather. He arrived incognito at Fontainbleau, and presented the queen's memorial, in which she demanded a barrier for the Dutch in the Netherlands, and another on the Rhine for the empire; a security for the Dutch commerce, and a general satisfaction to all her allies. She required that the strong places taken from the duke of Savoy should be restored; and that he should possess such towns and districts in Italy as had been ceded to him in treaties between him and his allies: that Louis should acknowledge queen Anne and the protestant succession; demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk; and agree to a new treaty of commerce; that Gibraltar and Port Mahon should be yielded to the crown of England; that the negro trade in America, at that time carried on by the French, should be ceded to the English, together with some towns on that continent, where the slaves might be refreshed. She expected security that her subjects trading to Spain should enjoy all advantages granted by that crown to the most favoured nation; that she should be put in possession of Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay, either by way of restitution or cession; and that both nations should continue to enjoy whatever territories they might be possessed of in North America at the ratification of the treaties. She likewise insisted upon a security that the crowns of France and Spain should never be united on the same head. Her majesty no longer insisted upon Philip's being expelled from the throne of Spain by the arms of his own grandfather. She now perceived that the exorbitant power of the house of Austria would be as dangerous to the liberty of Europe as ever that of the family of Bourbon had been, in the zenith of its glory. She might have remembered the excessive power, the insolence, the ambition of Charles V. and Philip II. who had enslaved so many countries, and embroiled all Europe. She was sincerely desirous of peace, from motives of humanity and compassion to her subjects and fellow-creatures; she was eagerly bent upon procuring such advantages to her people as would enable them to discharge the heavy load of debt under which they laboured, and recompense them in some measure for the blood and treasure they had so lavishly expended in the prosecution of the war. These were the sentiments of a christian princess; of an amiable and pious sovereign, who bore a share in the grievances of her subjects, and looked upon them with the eyes of maternal affection. She thought she had the better title to insist upon those advantages, as they had been already granted to her subjects in a private treaty with king Charles.
As Prior's powers were limited in such a manner that he could not negotiate, Mr. Ménager, deputy from the city of Rouen to the board of trade, accompanied the English minister to London, with full powers to settle the preliminaries of the treaty. On his arrival in London, the queen immediately commissioned the duke of Shrewsbury, the earls of Jersey, Dartmouth, Oxford, and Mr. St. John, to treat with him; and the conferences were immediately begun. After long and various disputes, they agreed upon certain preliminary articles, which, on the eighth day of October, were signed by the French minister, and by the two secretaries of state, in consequence of a written order from her majesty. Then Ménager was privately introduced to the queen at Windsor. She told him she was averse to war; that she would exert all her power to conclude a speedy peace; that she should be glad to live upon good terms with the king of France, to whom she was so nearly allied in blood; she expressed her hope that there would be a closer union after the peace between them, and between their subjects, cemented by a perfect correspondence and friendship. The earl of Strafford, who had been lately recalled from the Hague where he resided as ambassador, was now sent back to Holland, with orders to communicate to the pensionary the proposals of peace which France had made; to signify the queen's approbation of them, and propose a place where the plenipotentiaries should assemble. The English ministers now engaged in an intimate correspondence with the court of Versailles; and mareschal Tallard being released from his confinement at Nottingham, was allowed to return to his own country on his parole. After the departure of Ménager, the preliminaries were communicated to count Gallas the emperor's minister, who, in order to inflame the minds of the people, caused them to be translated, and inserted in one of the daily papers. This step was so much resented by the queen, that she sent a message desiring he would come no more to court; but that he might leave the kingdom as soon as he should think proper. He took the hint, and retired accordingly; but the queen gave the emperor to understand, that any other minister he should appoint would be admitted by her without hesitation.
The states of Holland, alarmed at the preliminaries, sent over Buys, as envoy-extraordinary, to intercede with the queen that she would alter her resolutions: but she continued steady to her purpose; and the earl of Strafford demanded the immediate concurrence of the states, declaring, in the queen's name, that she would look upon any delay, on their part, as a refusal to comply with her propositions. Intimidated by this declaration, they agreed to open the general conferences at Utrecht on the first day of January. They granted passports to the French ministers; while the queen appointed Robinson, bishop of Bristol, and the earl of Strafford, her plenipotentiaries at the congress. Charles, the new emperor, being at Milan, when he received a copy of the preliminaries, wrote circular letters to the electors and the princes of the empire, exhorting them to persist in their engagements to the grand alliance. He likewise desired the states-general to join councils with him in persuading the queen of England to reject the proposals of France, and prosecute the war; or at least to negotiate on the foundation of the first preliminaries, which had been signed by the marquis de Torcy. He wrote a letter to the same purpose to the queen of Great Britain, who received it with the most mortifying indifference. No wonder that he should zealously contend for the continuance of a war, the expense of which she and the Dutch had hitherto almost wholly defrayed. The new preliminaries were severely attacked by the whigs, who ridiculed and reviled the ministry in word and writing. Pamphlets, libels, and lampoons, were today published by one faction, and to-morrow answered by the other. They contained all the insinuations of malice and contempt, all the bitterness of reproach, and all the rancour of recrimination. In the midst of this contention, the queen despatched the earl of Rivers to Hanover, with an assurance to the elector that his succession to the crown should be effectually ascertained in the treaty. The earl brought back an answer in writing; but, at the same time, his electoral highness ordered baron de Bothmar, his envoy in England, to present a memorial to the queen, representing the pernicious consequences of Philip's remaining in possession of Spain and the West Indies. This remonstrance the baron published, by way of appeal to the people, and the whigs extolled it with the highest encomiums; but the queen and her ministers resented this step as an officious and inflammatory interposition.
The proposals of peace made by the French king were disagreeable even to some individuals of the tory party; and certain peers, who had hitherto adhered to that interest, agreed with the whigs to make a remonstrance against the preliminary articles. The court being apprised of their intention, prorogued the parliament till the seventh day of December, in expectation of the Scottish peers, who would cast the balance in favour of the ministry. In her speech, at the opening of the session, she told them that notwithstanding the arts of those who delighted in war, the place and time were appointed for a congress; and that the states-general had expressed their entire confidence in her conduct. She declared her chief concern should be to secure the succession of the crown in the house of Hanover; to procure all the advantages to the nation which a tender and affectionate sovereign could procure for a dutiful and loyal people; and to obtain satisfaction for all her allies. She observed, that the most effectual way to procure an advantageous peace, would be to make preparations for carrying on war with vigour. She recommended unanimity, and prayed God would direct their consultations. In the house of lords, the earl of Nottingham, who had now associated himself with the whigs, inveighed against the preliminaries as captious and insufficient, and offered a clause to be inserted in the address of thanks, representing to her majesty that, in the opinion of the house, no peace could be safe or honourable to Great Britain or Europe, if Spain and the West Indies should be allotted to any branch of the house of Bourbon. A violent debate ensued, in the course of which the earl of Anglesea represented the necessity of easing the nation of the burdens incurred by an expensive war. He affirmed that a good peace might have been procured immediately after the battle of Ramillies, if it had not been prevented by some persons who prolonged the war for their own private interest. This insinuation was levelled at the duke of Marlborough, who made a long speech in his own vindication. He bowed to the place where the queen sat incognito; and appealed to her, whether, while he had the honour to serve her majesty as a general and plenipotentiary, he had not constantly informed her and her council of all the proposals of peace which had been made; and had not desired instructions for his conduct on that subject. He declared, upon his conscience, and in presence of the Supreme Being, before whom he expected soon to appear, that he was ever desirous of a safe, honourable, and lasting peace; and that he was always very far from entertaining any design of prolonging the war for his own private advantage, as his enemies had most falsely insinuated. At last the question being put, whether the earl of Nottingham's advice should be part of the address; it was carried in the affirmative by a small majority. The address was accordingly presented, and the queen, in her answer, said she should be very sorry any one could think she would not do her utmost to recover Spain and the West Indies from the house of Bourbon. Against this advice, however, several peers protested, because there was no precedent for inserting a clause of advice in an address of thanks; and because they looked upon it as an invasion of the royal prerogative. In the address of the commons there was no such article; and, therefore, the answer they received was warm and cordial.
The duke of Hamilton claiming a seat in the house of peers, as duke of Brandon, a title he had lately received, was opposed by the anti-courtiers, who pretended to foresee great danger to the constitution from admitting into the house a greater number of Scottish peers than the act of union allowed. Counsel was heard upon the validity of his patent. They observed that no objection could be made to the queen's prerogative in conferring honours; and that all the subjects of the united kingdom were equally capable of receiving honour. The house of lords had already decided the matter, in admitting the duke of Queensberry upon his being created duke of Dover. The debate was managed with great ability on both sides; the Scottish peers united in defence of the duke's claim; and the court exerted its whole strength to support the patent. Nevertheless, the question being put, whether Scottish peers, created peers of Great Britain since the union, had a right to sit in that house; it was carried in the negative by a majority of five voices; though not without a protest signed by the lords in the opposition. The Scottish peers were so incensed at this decision, that they drew up a representation to the queen, complaining of it as an infringement of the union, and a mark of disgrace put upon the whole peerage of Scotland. The bill against occasional conformity was revived by the earl of Nottingham, in more moderate terms than those that had been formerly rejected; and it passed both houses by the connivance of the whigs, upon the earl's promise, that if they would consent to this measure, he would bring over many friends to join them in matters of greater consequence. On the twenty-second day of December, the queen, being indisposed, granted a commission to the lord-keeper and some other peers to give the royal assent to this bill, and another for the land-tax. The duke of Devonshire obtained leave to bring in a bill for giving precedence over all peers to the electoral prince of Hanover, as the duke of Cambridge. An address was presented to the queen, desiring she would give instructions to her plenipotentiaries to consult with the ministers of the allies in Holland before the opening of the congress, that they might concert the necessary measures for proceeding with unanimity, the better to obtain the great ends proposed by her majesty.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The commissioners for examining the public accounts having discovered that the duke of Marlborough had received an annual present of five or six thousand pounds from the contractors of bread to the army, the queen declared in council that she thought fit to dismiss him from all his employments, that the matter might be impartially examined. This declaration was imparted to him in a letter under her own hand, in which she took occasion to complain of the treatment she had received. She probably alluded to the insolence of his duchess; the subjection in which she had been kept by the late ministry; and the pains lately taken by the whigs to depreciate her conduct, and thwart her measures with respect to the peace. The duke wrote an answer to her majesty, vindicating himself from the charge which had been brought against his character; and his two daughters, the countess of Sunderland and the lady Railton, resigned their places of ladies in the bed-chamber. The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority in the house of lords, persuaded the queen to take a measure which nothing but necessity could justify. She created twelve peers at once, 173 [See note 2 F, at the end of this Vol.] and on the second of January they were introduced into the upper house without opposition. The lord-keeper delivered to the house a message from the queen, desiring they would adjourn to the fourteenth day of the month. The anti-courtiers alleged, that the queen could not send a message to any one house to adjourn, but ought to have directed it to both houses. This objection produced a debate, which was terminated in favour of the court by the weight of the twelve new peers.
At this period prince Eugene arrived in England with a letter to the queen from the emperor, and instructions to propose a new scheme for prosecuting the war. His errand was far from being agreeable to the ministry; and they suspected that his real aim was to manage intrigues among the discontented party who opposed the peace. Nevertheless, he was treated with that respect which was due to his quality and eminent talents. The ministers, the nobility, and officers of distinction, visited him at his arrival. He was admitted to an audience of the queen, who received him with great complacency. Having perused the letter which he delivered, she expressed her concern that her health did not permit her to speak with his highness as often as she could wish; but that she had ordered the treasurer and secretary St. John to receive his proposals, and confer with him as frequently as he should think proper. He expressed extraordinary respect for the duke of Marlborough, notwithstanding his disgrace. The lord-treasurer, while he entertained him at dinner, declared that he looked upon that day as the happiest in the whole course of his life, since he had the honour to see in his house the greatest captain of the age. The prince is said to have replied, "If I am, it is owing to your lordship." Alluding to the disgrace of Marlborough, whom the earl's intrigues had deprived of all military command. When bishop Burnet conversed with him about the scandalous libels that were every day published against the duke, and in particular mentioned one paragraph, in which the author allowed he had been once fortunate, the prince observed, it was the greatest commendation that could be bestowed upon him, as it implied that all his other successes were owing to his courage and conduct. While the nobility of both parties vied with each other in demonstrations of respect for this noble stranger; while he was adored by the whigs, and admired by the people, who gazed at him in crowds when he appeared in public; even in the midst of all these caresses, party riots were excited to insult his person, and some scandalous reflections upon his mother were inserted in one of the public papers. The queen treated him with distinguished marks of regard; and, on her birth-day, presented him with a sword worth five thousand pounds. Nevertheless, she looked upon him as a patron and friend of that turbulent faction to which she owed so much disquiet. She knew he had been pressed to come over by the whig noblemen, who hoped his presence would inflame the people to some desperate attempt upon the new ministry; she was not ignorant that he held private conferences with the duke of Marlborough, the earl of Sunderland, the lord Somers, Halifax, and all the chiefs of that party; and that he entered into a close connexion with the baron de Bothmar, the Hanoverian envoy, who had been very active in fomenting the disturbances of the people.
Her majesty, who had been for some time afflicted with the gout, sent a message to both houses on the seventeenth day of January, signifying that the plenipotentiaries were arrived at Utrecht; and that she was employed in making preparations for an early campaign; she hoped, therefore, that the commons would proceed in giving the necessary despatch to the supplies. The lord-treasurer, in order to demonstrate his attachment to the protestant succession, brought in a bill which had been proposed by the duke of Devonshire, giving precedence to the whole electoral family, as children and nephews of the crown; and, when it was passed into an act, he sent it over to Hanover by Mr. Thomas Harley. The sixteen peers for Scotland were prevailed upon, by promise of satisfaction, to resume their seats in the upper house, from which they had absented themselves since the decision against the patent of the duke of Hamilton; but whatever pecuniary recompence they might have obtained from the court, on which they were meanly dependent, they received no satisfaction from the parliament. The commons, finding Mr. Walpole very troublesome in their house, by his talents, activity, and zealous attachment to the whig interest, found means to discover some clandestine practices in which he was concerned as secretary at war, with regard to the forage-contract in Scotland. The contractors, rather than admit into their partnership a person whom he had recommended for that purpose, chose to present his friend with five hundred pounds. Their bill was addressed to Mr. Walpole, who endorsed it, and his friend touched the money. 174 [See note 2 G, at the end of this Vol.] This transaction was interpreted into a bribe. Mr. Walpole was voted guilty of corruption, imprisoned in the Tower, and expelled the house. Being afterwards re-chosen by the same borough of Lynn-Begis, which he had before represented, a petition was lodged against him, and the commons voted him incapable of being elected a member to serve in the present parliament.
Their next attack was upon the duke of Marlborough, who was found to have received a yearly sum from sir Solomon Medina, a Jew, concerned in the contract for furnishing the army with bread; to have been gratified by the queen with ten thousand pounds a-year to defray the expenses of intelligence; and to have pocketed a deduction of two and a half per cent, from the pay of the foreign troops maintained by England. It was alleged, in his justification, that the present from the Jew was a customary perquisite, which had always been enjoyed by the general of the Dutch army; that the deduction of two and a half per cent, was granted to him by an express warrant from her majesty; that all the articles of the charge joined together did not exceed thirty thousand pounds, a sum much inferior to that which had been allowed to king William for contingencies; that the money was expended in procuring intelligence, which was so exact that the duke was never surprised; that none of his parties were ever intercepted or cut off; and all the designs were by these means so well concerted, that he never once miscarried. Notwithstanding these representations, the majority voted that his practices had been unwarrantable and illegal; and that the deduction was to be accounted for as public money. These resolutions were communicated to the queen, who ordered the attorney-general to prosecute the duke for the money he had deducted by virtue of her own warrant. Such practices were certainly mean and mercenary, and greatly tarnished the glory which the duke had acquired by his military talents, and other shining qualities.
The commons now directed the stream of their resentment against the Dutch, who had certainly exerted all their endeavours to overwhelm the new ministry, and retard the negotiations for peace. They maintained an intimate correspondence with the whigs of England. They diffused the most invidious reports against Oxford and secretary St. John. Buys, their envoy at London, acted the part of an incendiary, in suggesting violent measures to the malcontents, and caballing against the government. The ministers, by way of reprisal, influenced the house of commons to pass some acrimonious resolutions against the states-general. They alleged that the states had been deficient in their proportion of troops, both in Spain and in the Netherlands, during the whole course of the war; and that the queen had paid above three millions of crowns in subsidies, above what she was obliged to advance by her engagements. They attacked the barrier-treaty, which had been concluded with the states by lord Townshend after the conferences at Gertruydenburgh. By this agreement, England guaranteed a barrier in the Netherlands to the Dutch; and the states bound themselves to maintain, with their whole force, the queen's title and the protestant succession. The tories affirmed that England was disgraced by engaging any other state to defend a succession which the nation might see cause to alter; that, by this treaty, the states were authorized to interpose in British councils; that, being possessed of all those strong towns, they might exclude the English from trading to them, and interfere with the manufactures of Great Britain. The house of commons voted, that in the barrier-treaty there were several articles destructive to the trade and interest of Great Britain, and therefore highly dishonourable to her majesty; that the lord viscount Townshend was not authorized to conclude several articles in that treaty; that he and all those who had advised its being ratified were enemies to the queen and kingdom. All their votes were digested into a long representation presented to the queen, in which they averred that England, during the war, had been overcharged nineteen millions; a circumstance that implied mismanagement or fraud in the old ministry. The states, alarmed at these resolutions, wrote a respectful letter to the queen, representing the necessity of a barrier for the mutual security of England and the United Provinces. They afterwards drew up a large memorial in vindication of their proceedings during the war; and it was published in one of the English papers. The commons immediately voted it a false, scandalous, and malicious libel, reflecting upon the resolutions of the house; and the printer and publisher were taken into custody, as guilty of a breach of privilege.
They now repealed the naturalization act. They passed a bill granting a toleration to the episcopal clergy in Scotland, without paying the least regard to a representation from the general assembly to the queen, declaring that the act for securing the presbyterian government was an essential and fundamental condition of the treaty of union. The house, notwithstanding this remonstrance, proceeded with the bill, and inserted a clause prohibiting civil magistrates from executing the sentences of the kirk-judicatories. The episcopal, as well as the presbyterian clergy, were required to take the oaths of abjuration, that they might be upon an equal footing in case of disobedience; for the commons well knew that this condition would be rejected by both from very different motives. In order to exasperate the presbyterians with further provocations, another act was passed for discontinuing the courts of judicature during the Christmas holidays, which had never been kept by persons of that persuasion. When this bill was read for the third time, sir David Dalrymple said, "Since the house is resolved to make no toleration on the body of this bill, I acquiesce; and only desire it may be intituled, A bill for establishing jacobitism and immorality." The chagrin of the Scottish presbyterians was completed by a third bill, restoring the right of patronage, which had been taken away when the discipline of the kirk was last established. Prince Eugene having presented a memorial to the queen touching the conduct of the emperor during the war, and containing a proposal with relation to the affairs of Spain, the queen communicated the scheme to the house of commons, who treated it with the most contemptuous neglect. The prince, finding all his efforts ineffectual, retired to the continent, as much displeased with the ministry, as he had reason to be satisfied with the people of England. The commons having settled the funds for the supplies of the year, amounting to six millions, the treasurer formed the plan of a bill appointing commissioners to examine the value and consideration of all the grants made since the revolution. His design was to make a general resumption; but, as the interest of so many noblemen was concerned, the bill met with a very warm opposition; notwithstanding which it would have certainly passed, had not the duke of Buckingham and the earl of Strafford absented themselves from the house during the debate.
The Conferences opened at Utrecht..... The Queen's Measures
obstructed by the Allies..... Death of the Dauphin and his
Son..... The Queen demands Philip's Renunciation of the
Crown of France..... The Duke of Ormond takes the Command of
the British Forces in Flanders..... He is restricted from
acting against the Enemy..... Debate in the House of Lords
on this Subject..... A loyal Address of the Commons.....
Philip promises to renounce the Crown of France..... The
Queen communicates the Plan of the Peace in a Speech to both
Houses of Parliament..... Exceptions taken to some of the
Articles in the House of Lords..... A motion for a Guaranty
of the Protestant Succession by the Allies rejected in the
House of Commons..... The Duke of Ormond declares to Prince
Eugene, that he can no longer cover the siege of
Quesnoy..... Irruption into France by General
Grovestein..... The Foreign Troops in British pay refuse to
march with the Duke of Ormond, who proclaims a Cessation of
Arms, and seizes Ghent and Bruges..... The Allies defeated
at Denain..... Progress of the Conferences at Utrecht.....
The Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun are killed in a
Duel..... The Duke of Marlborough retires to the
Continent..... The States-general sign the Barrier-
treaty..... The other Allies become more tractable..... The
Peace with France signed at Utrecht..... Both Houses of
Parliament congratulate the Queen on the Peace.....
Substance of the Treaty with France..... Objections to the
Treaty of Commerce..... Debates in the House of Lords on the
Malt-tax for Scotland..... The Scottish Lords move for a
Bill to dissolve the Union..... Address of the Commons about
Dunkirk..... Violence of Parties in England..... Proceedings
of the Parliament of Ireland..... New Parliament in
England..... Writers employed by both Parties..... Treaty of
Rastadt between the Emperor and France—Principal Articles
in the Treaty between Great Britain and Spain..... Meeting
of the Parliament..... The House of Lords takes Cognizance
of a Libel against the Scots..... Mr. Steel expelled the
House of Commons..... Precautions by the Whigs for the
Security of the Protestant Succession..... Debates in the
House of Lords concerning the Pretender and the
Catalans..... They Address the Queen to set a Price on the
Head of the Pretender..... A Writ demanded for the Electoral
Prince of Hanover, as Duke of Cambridge..... Death of the
Princess Sophia..... Bill to prevent the growth of
Schism..... Another against all who should list, or be
enlisted, in a Foreign Service..... The Parliament
prorogued..... The Treasurer disgraced..... Precautions
taken for securing the Peace of the Kingdom..... Death and
Character of Queen Anne.
In the month of January the conferences for peace began at Utrecht. The earl of Jersey would have been appointed the plenipotentiary for England, but he dying after the correspondence with the court of France was established, the queen conferred that charge upon Robinson, bishop of Bristol, lord privy-seal, and the earl of Strafford. The chief of the Dutch deputies named for the congress, were Buys and Vanderdussen; the French king granted his powers to the mareschal D'Uxelles, the abbot (afterwards cardinal) de Polignac, and Menager, who had been in England. The ministers of the emperor and Savoy likewise assisted at the conferences, to which the empire and the other allies likewise sent their plenipotentiaries, though not without reluctance. As all these powers, except France, entertained sentiments very different from those of her Britannic majesty, the conferences seemed calculated rather to retard than accelerate a pacification. The queen of England had foreseen and provided against these difficulties. Her great end was to free her subjects from the miseries attending an unprofitable war, and to restore peace to Europe; and this aim she was resolved to accomplish in spite of all opposition. She had also determined to procure reasonable terms of accommodation for her allies, without, however, continuing to lavish the blood and treasure of her people in supporting their extravagant demands. The emperor obstinately insisted upon his claim to the whole Spanish monarchy, refusing to give up the least tittle of his pretensions; and the Dutch adhered to the old preliminaries which Louis had formerly rejected. The queen saw that the liberties of Europe would be exposed to much greater danger from an actual union of the Imperial and Spanish crowns in one head of the house of Austria, than from a bare possibility of Spain's being united with France in one branch of the house of Bourbon. She knew by experience the difficulty of dethroning Philip, rooted as he was in the affections of a brave and loyal people; and that a prosecution of this design would serve no purpose but to protract the war, and augment the grievances of the British nation. She was well acquainted with the distresses of the French, which she considered as pledges of their monarch's sincerity. She sought not the total ruin of that people, already reduced to the brink of despair. The dictates of true policy dissuaded her from contributing to her further conquest in that kingdom, which would have proved the source of contention among the allies, depressed the house of Bourbon below the standard of importance which the balance of Europe required it should maintain, and aggrandize the states-general at the expense of Great Britain. As she had borne the chief burden of the war, she had a right to take the lead, and dictate a plan of pacification; at least, she had a right to consult the welfare of her own kingdom, in delivering, by a separate peace, her subjects from those enormous loads which they could no longer sustain; and she was well enough aware of her own consequence, to think she could not obtain advantageous conditions.
Such were the sentiments of the queen; and her ministers seem to have acted on the same principles, though perhaps party motives may have helped to influence their conduct. The allies concurred in opposing with all their might any treaty which could not gratify their different views of avarice, interest, and ambition. They practised a thousand little artifices to intimidate the queen, to excite a jealousy of Louis, to blacken the characters of her ministers, to raise and keep up a dangerous ferment among the people, by which her life and government were endangered. She could not fail to resent these efforts, which greatly perplexed her measures, and obstructed her design. Her ministers were sensible of the dangerous predicament in which they stood. The queen's health was much impaired; and the successor countenanced the opposite faction. In case of their sovereign's death, they had nothing to expect but prosecution and ruin for obeying her commands; they they saw no hope of safety, except in renouncing their principles, and submitting to their adversaries; or else in taking such measures as would hasten the pacification, that the troubles of the kingdom might be appeased, and the people be satisfied with their conduct, before death should deprive them of their sovereign's protection. With this view they advised her to set on foot a private negotiation with Louis, to stipulate certain advantages for her own subjects in a concerted plan of peace; to enter into such mutual confidence with that monarch, as would anticipate all clandestine transactions to her prejudice, and in some measure enable her to prescribe terms for her allies. The plan was judiciously formed; but executed with too much precipitation. The stipulated advantages were not such as she had a right to demand and insist upon; and without all doubt better might have been obtained, had not the obstinacy of the allies abroad, and the violent conduct of the whig faction at home, obliged the ministers to relax in some material points, and hasten the conclusion of the treaty.
The articles being privately regulated between the two courts of London and Versailles, the English plenipotentiaries at Utrecht were furnished with general powers and instructions, being ignorant of the agreement which the queen had made with the French monarch touching the kingdom of Spain, which was indeed the basis of the treaty. This secret plan of negotiation, however, had well nigh been destroyed by some unforeseen events that were doubly afflicting to Louis. The dauphin died of the small-pox in the course of the preceding year, and his title had been conferred upon his son the duke of Burgundy, who now expired on the last day of February, six days after the death of his wife, Mary Adelaide of Savoy. The parents were soon followed to the grave by their eldest offspring the duke of Bretagne, in the sixth year of his age; so that of the duke of Burgundy's children, none remained alive but the duke of Anjou, the late French king, who was at that time a sickly infant. Such a series of calamities could not fail of being extremely shocking to Louis in his old age; but they were still more alarming to the queen of England, who saw that nothing but the precarious life of an unhealthy child divided the two monarchies of France and Spain, the union of which she resolved by all possible means to prevent. She therefore sent the abbé Gualtier to Paris, with a memorial representing the danger to which the liberty of Europe would be exposed, should Philip ascend the throne of France; and demanding that his title should be transferred to his brother the duke of Berry, in consequence of his pure, simple, and voluntary renunciation.
Meanwhile the French plenipotentiaries at Utrecht were prevailed upon to deliver their proposals in writing, under the name of specific offers, which the allies received with indignation. They were treated in England with universal scorn. Lord Halifax, in the house of peers, termed them trifling, arrogant, and injurious to her majesty and her allies. An address was presented to the queen, in which they expressed their resentment against the insolence of France, and promised to assist her with all their power in prosecuting the war until a safe and honourable peace should be obtained. The plenipotentiaries of the allies were not less extravagant in their specific demands, than the French had been arrogant in their offers. In a word, the ministers seemed to have been assembled at Utrecht rather to start new difficulties, and widen the breach, than to heal animosities and concert a plan of pacification. They amused one another with fruitless conferences, while the queen of Great Britain endeavoured to engage the states-general in her measures, that they might treat with France upon moderate terms, and give law to the rest of the allies. She departed from some of her own pretensions, in order to gratify them with the possession of some towns in Flanders She consented to their being admitted into a participation of some advantages in commerce; and ordered the English ministers at the congress to tell them, that she would take her measures according to the return they should make on this occasion. Finding them still obstinately attached to their first chimerical preliminaries, she gave them to understand that all her offers for adjusting the differences were founded upon the express condition, that they should come into her measures, and co-operate with her openly and sincerely; but they had made such bad returns to all her condescension towards them, that she looked upon herself as released from all engagements. The ministers of the allies had insisted upon a written answer to their specific demands; and this the French plenipotentiaries declined, until they should receive fresh instructions from their master. Such was the pretence for suspending the conferences; but the real bar to a final agreement between England and France, was the delay of Philip's renunciation, which at length however arrived, and produced a cessation of arms.
ANNE, 1701—1714
In the meantime the duke of Ormond, who was now invested with the supreme command of the British forces, received a particular order that he should not hazard an engagement. Louis had already undertaken for the compliance of his grandson. Reflecting on his own great age, he was shocked at the prospect of leaving his kingdom involved in a pernicious war during a minority; and determined to procure a peace at all events. The queen, knowing his motives, could not help believing his protestations, and resolved to avoid a battle, the issue of which might have considerably altered the situation of affairs, and consequently retarded the conclusion of the treaty. Preparations had been made for an early campaign. In the beginning of March the earl of Albemarle, having assembled a body of thirty-six battalions, marched towards Arras, which he reduced to a heap of ashes by a most terrible cannonading and bombardment. In May the duke of Ormond conferred with the deputies of the states-general at the Hague, and assured them that he had orders to act vigorously in the prosecution of the war. He joined prince Eugene at Tournay; and on the twenty-sixth day of May, the allied army passing the Schelde, encamped at Haspre and Solemnes. The Imperial general proposed that they should attack the French army under Villars; but by this time the duke was restrained from hazarding a siege or battle; a circumstance well known to the French commander, who therefore abated of his usual vigilance. It could not be long concealed from prince Eugene and the deputies, who forthwith despatched an express to their principals on this subject, and afterwards presented a long memorial to the duke, representing the injury which the grand alliance would sustain from his obedience of such an order. He seemed to be extremely uneasy at his situation; and in a letter to secretary St. John, expressed a desire that the queen would permit him to return to England.
Prince Eugene, notwithstanding the queen's order, which Ormond had not yet formally declared, invested the town of Quesnoy, and the duke furnished towards this enterprise seven battalions and nine squadrons of the foreign troops maintained by Great Britain. The Dutch deputies at Utrecht expostulating with the bishop of Bristol upon the duke's refusing to act against the enemy, that prelate told them that he had lately received an express, with a letter from her majesty, in which she complained, that, as the states-general had not properly answered her advances, they ought not to be surprised if she thought herself at liberty to enter into separate measures in order to obtain a peace for her own conveniency. When they remonstrated against such conduct as contradictory to all the alliances subsisting between the queen and the states-general, the bishop declared his instructions further imported, that considering the conduct of the states towards her majesty, she thought herself disengaged from all alliances and engagements with their high mightinesses. The states and the ministers of the allies were instantly in commotion. Private measures were concerted with the elector of Hanover, the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and some other princes of the empire, concerning the troops belonging to those powers in the pay of Great Britain. The states-general wrote a long letter to the queen, and ordered their envoy at London to deliver it into her own hand. Count Zinzendorf, the emperor's plenipotentiary, despatched expresses to his master, to prince Eugene, and to the Imperial ambassador at London. The queen held a council at Kensington upon the subject of the letter; and a fresh order was sent to the duke of Ormond, directing him to concur with the general of the allies in a siege.
On the twenty-eighth day of May, lord Halifax, in the house of peers, descanted upon the ill consequences of the duke's refusing to co-operate with prince Eugene, and moved for an address, desiring her majesty would order the general to act offensively in concert with her allies. The treasurer observed, it was prudent to avoid a battle on the eve of a peace, especially considering they had to do with an enemy so apt to break his word. The earl of Wharton replied, this was a strong reason for keeping no measures with such an enemy. When Oxford declared that the duke of Ormond had received orders to join the allies in a siege, the duke of Marlborough affirmed it was impossible to carry on a siege without either hazarding a battle, in case the enemy should attempt to relieve the place, or shamefully abandoning the enterprise. The duke of Argyle having declared his opinion, that since the time of Julius Caesar there had not been a greater captain than prince Eugene of Savoy, observed, that, considering the different interests of the house of Austria and of Great Britain, it might not consist with prudence to trust him with the management of the war, because a battle won or lost might entirely break off a negociation of peace, which in all probability was near being concluded. He added, that two years before, the confederates might have taken Arras and Cambray, instead of amusing themselves with the insignificant conquests of Aire, Bethune, and St. Venant. The duke of Devonshire said he was, by proximity of blood, more concerned than any other in the reputation of the duke of Ormond; and therefore could not help expressing his surprise, that any one would dare to make a nobleman of the first rank, and so distinguished a character, the instrument of such proceedings. Earl Paulet answered, that nobody could doubt the duke of Ormond's courage; but he was not like a certain general, who led troops to the slaughter to cause a great number of officers to be knocked on the head, that he might fill his pockets by disposing of their commissions. The duke of Marlborough was so deeply affected by this reflection, that though he suppressed his resentment in the house, he took the first opportunity to send lord Mohun to the earl with a message, importing, that he should be glad to come to an explanation with his lordship about some expressions he had used in that clay's debate; and desiring his company to take the air in the country. The earl understood his meaning; but could not conceal his emotion from the observation of his lady, by whose means the affair was communicated to the earl of Dartmouth, secretary of state. Two sentinels were immediately placed at his lordship's gate: the queen, by the canal of lord Dartmouth, desired the duke of Marlborough would proceed no farther in the quarrel; and he assured her he would punctually obey her majesty's commands. The earl of Oxford assured the house, that a separate peace was never intended; that such a peace would be so base, so knavish, and so villanous, that every one who served the queen knew they must answer it with their heads to the nation; but that it would appear to be a safe and glorious peace, much more to the honour and interest of the nation, than the first preliminaries insisted upon by the allies. The question being put for adjourning, was, after a long debate, carried in the affirmative; but twenty lords entered a protest. The earl of Strafford, who had returned from Holland, proposed that they should examine the negotiations of the Hague and Gertruyden-burgh, before they considered that of Utrecht. He observed, that in the former negotiations the French ministers had conferred only with the pensionary, who communicated no more of it to the ministers of the allies than what was judged proper to let them know; so that the Dutch were absolute masters of the secret. He asserted that the states-general had consented to give Naples and Sicily to king Philip; a circumstance which proved that the recovery of the whole Spanish monarchy was looked upon as impracticable. He concluded with a motion for an address to her majesty, desiring that the papers relating to the negotiations of the Hague and Gertruydenburgh should be laid before the house. This was carried without a division.
In the house of commons Mr. Pulteney moved for an address, acquainting her majesty that her faithful commons were justly alarmed at the intelligence received from abroad, that her general in Flanders had declined acting offensively against France in concurrence with her allies; and beseeching her majesty that he might receive speedy instructions to prosecute the war with the utmost vigour. This motion was rejected by a great majority. A certain member having insinuated that the present negotiation had been carried on in a clandestine and treacherous manner, Mr. secretary St. John said, he hoped it would not be accounted treachery to act for the good and advantage of Great Britain; that he gloried in the small share he had in the transaction; and whatever censure he might undergo for it, the bare satisfaction of acting in that view would be a sufficient recompence and comfort to him during the whole course of his life. The house resolved, that the commons had an entire confidence in her majesty's promise, to communicate to her parliament the terms of the peace before it should be concluded; and that they would support her against all such persons, either at home or abroad, as should endeavour to obstruct the pacification. The queen thanked them heartily for this resolution, as being dutiful to her, honest to their country, and very seasonable at a time when so many artifices were used to obstruct a good peace, or to force one disadantageous to Britain. They likewise presented an address, desiring they might have an account of the negotiations and transactions at the Hague and Gertruydenburgh, and know who were then employed as her majesty's plenipotentiaries.
The ministry, foreseeing that Philip would not willingly resign his hopes of succeeding to the crown of France, proposed an alternative, that, in case of his preferring his expectation of the crown of France to the present possession of Spain, this kingdom, with the Indies, should be forthwith ceded to the duke of Savoy; that Philip, in the meantime, should possess the duke's hereditary dominions, and the kingdom of Sicily, together with Montserrat and Mantua; all which territories should be annexed to France at Philip's succession to that crown, except Sicily, which should revert to the house of Austria. Louis seemed to relish this expedient, which, however, was rejected by Philip, who chose to make the renunciation rather than quit the throne upon which he was established. The queen demanded that the renunciation should be ratified in the most solemn manner by the states of France; but she afterwards waived this demand, in consideration of its being registered in the different parliaments. Such forms are but slender securities against the power, ambition, and interest of princes. The marquis de Torcy frankly owned, that Philip's renunciation was of itself void, as being contrary to the fundamental laws and constitution of the French monarchy; but it was found necessary for the satisfaction of the English people. Every material article being now adjusted between the two courts, particularly those relating to the king of Spain, the commerce of Great Britain, and the delivery of Dunkirk, a suspension of arms prevailed in the Netherlands, and the duke of Ormond acted in concert with mareschal de Villars.
On the sixth day of June, the queen going to the house of peers communicated the plan of peace to her parliament, according to the promise she had made. After having premised that the making peace and war was the undoubted prerogative of the crown, and hinted at the difficulties which had arisen both from the nature of the affair, and numberless obstructions contrived by the enemies of peace, she proceeded to enumerate the chief articles to which both crowns had agreed, without, however, concluding the treaty. She told them she had secured the protestant succession, which France had acknowledged in the strongest terms; and that the pretender would be removed from the French dominions; that the duke of Anjou should renounce for himself and his descendants all claim to the crown of France; so that the two monarchies would be for ever divided. She observed, that the nature of this proposal was such as would execute itself; that it would be the interest of Spain to support the renunciation; and in France, the persons entitled to the succession of that crown upon the death of the dauphin, were powerful enough to vindicate their own right. She gave them to understand that a treaty of commerce between England and France had been begun, though not yet adjusted; but provision was made, that England should enjoy the same privileges that France granted to the most favoured nation; that the French king had agreed to make an absolute cession of the island of St. Christopher's, which had hitherto been divided between the two nations, that he had also consented to restore the whole bay and straits of Hudson; to deliver the island of Newfoundland, with Placentia; to cede Annapolis, with the rest of Arcadia or Nova Scotia; to demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk; to leave England in possession of Gibraltar, Port-Mahon, and the whole island of Minorca; to let the trade of Spain in the West Indies be settled as it was in the reign of his late catholic majesty; she signified that she had obtained for her subjects the assiento, or contract, for furnishing the Spanish West Indies with negroes for the term of thirty years, in the same manner as it had been enjoyed by the French. With respect to the allies, they declared, that France offered to make the Rhine the barrier of the empire; to yield Brisac, Fort Kehl, and Landau, and raze all the fortresses both on the other side of the Rhine, and in the islands of that river; that the protestant interest in Germany would be re-settled on the footing of the treaty of Westphalia; that the Spanish Netherlands, the kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia, the duchy of Milan, and the places belonging to Spain on the coast of Tuscany, might be yielded to his Imperial majesty; but the disposition of Sicily was not yet determined; that the demands of the states-general with relation to commerce, and the barrier in the Low Countries, would be granted with a few exceptions, which might be compensated by other expedients; that no great progress had yet been made upon the pretensions of Portugal; but that those of Prussia would be admitted by France without much difficulty; that the difference between the barrier demanded by the duke of Savoy in the year one thousand seven hundred and nine, and that which France now offered, was very inconsiderable; that the elector palatine should maintain his present rank among the electors; and that France would acknowledge the electoral dignity in the house of Hanover. Such, were the conditions which the queen hoped would make some amends to her subjects, for the great and unequal burden they had borne during the whole course of the war. She concluded with saying, she made no doubt but they were fully persuaded that nothing would be neglected on her part, in the progress of this negotiation, to bring the peace to a happy and speedy issue; and she expressed her dependence upon the entire confidence and cheerful concurrence of her parliament. An address of thanks and approbation was immediately voted, drawn up, and presented to the queen by the commons in a body. When the house of lords took the speech into consideration, the duke of Marlborough asserted, that the measures pursued for a year past were directly contrary to her majesty's engagements with the allies; that they sullied the triumphs and glories of her reign, and would render the English name odious to all nations. The earl of Strafford said, that some of the allies would not have shown such backwardness to a peace, had they not been persuaded and encouraged to carry on the war by a member of that illustrious assembly, who maintained a secret correspondence with them, and fed them with hopes that they would be supported by a strong party in England. In answer to this insinuation against Marlborough, lord Cowper observed, that it could never be suggested as a crime in the meanest subject, much less in any member of that august assembly, to hold correspondence with the allies of the nation; stich allies especially whose interest her majesty had declared to be inseparable from her own, in her speech at the opening of the session; whereas it would be a hard matter to justify and reconcile either with our laws, or with laws of honour and justice, the conduct of some persons in treating clandestinely with the common enemy without the participation of the allies. This was a frivolous argument. A correspondence with any persons whatsoever becomes criminal, when it tends to foment the divisions of one's country, and arm the people against their sovereign. If England had it not in her power, without infringing the laws of justice and honour, to withdraw herself from a confederacy which she could no longer support, and treat for peace on her own bottom, then was she not an associate but a slave to the alliance. The earl of Godolphin affirmed, that the trade to Spain was such a trifle as deserved no consideration; and that it would continually diminish until it should be entirely engrossed by the French merchants. Notwithstanding these remonstrances against the plan of peace, the majority agreed to an address, in which they thanked the queen for her extraordinary condescension in communicating those conditions to her parliament; and expressed an entire satisfaction with her conduct. A motion was made for a clause in the address, desiring her majesty would take such measures in concert with her allies, as might induce them to join with her in a mutual guarantee. A debate ensued: the question was put, and the clause rejected. Several noblemen entered a protest, which was expunged from the journals of the house by the decision of the majority.
In the house of commons, a complaint was exhibited against bishop Fleetwood, who, in a preface to four sermons which he had published, took occasion to extol the last ministry at the expense of the present administration. This piece was voted malicious and factious, tending to create discord and sedition amongst her majesty's subjects, and condemned to be burned by the hands of the common hangman. They presented an address to the queen, assuring her of the just sense they had of the indignity offered to her, by printing and publishing a letter from the states-general to her majesty; and desiring she would so far resent such insults, as to give no answer for the future to any letters or memorials that should be thus ushered into the world as inflammatory appeals to the public. Mr. Hampden moved for an address to her majesty, that she would give particular instructions to her plenipotentiaries, that in the conclusion of the treaty of peace, the several powers in alliance with her majesty might be guarantees for the protestant succession in the illustrious house of Hanover. The question being put, was carried in the negative. Then the house resolved, that they had such confidence in the repeated declarations her majesty had made of her concern for assuring to these kingdoms the protestant succession, as by law established, that they could never doubt of her taking the proper measures for the security thereof; that the house would support her against faction at home and her enemies abroad; and did humbly beseech her, that she would be pleased to discountenance all those who should endeavour to raise jealousies between her majesty and her subjects, especially by misrepresenting her good intentions for the welfare of her people. The queen was extremely pleased with this resolution. When it was presented, she told them that they had shown themselves honest asserters of the monarchy, zealous defenders of the constitution, and real friends to the protestant succession. She thought she had very little reason to countenance a compliment of supererogation to a prince who had caballed with the enemies of her administration. On the twenty-first day of June the queen closed the session with a speech, expressing her satisfaction at the addresses and supplies she had received; she observed, that should the treaty be broke off, their burdens would be at least continued, if not increased; that Britain would lose the present opportunity of improving her own commerce, and establishing a real balance of power in Europe; and that though some of the allies might be gainers by a continuance of the war, the rest would suffer in the common calamity. Notwithstanding the ferment of the people, which was now risen to a very dangerous pitch, addresses approving the queen's conduct, were presented by the city of London and all the corporations in the kingdom that espoused the tory interest. At this juncture the nation was so wholly possessed by the spirit of party, that no appearance of neutrality or moderation remained.
During these transactions the trenches were opened before Quesnoy, and the siege carried on with uncommon vigour under cover of the forces commanded by the duke of Ormond. This nobleman, however, having received a copy of the articles signed by the marquis de Torcy, and fresh instructions from the queen, signified to the prince Eugene and the Dutch deputies, that the French king had agreed to several articles demanded by the queen, as the foundation of an armistice; and among others to put the English troops in immediate possession of Dunkirk; that he could therefore no longer cover the siege of Quesnoy, as he was obliged by his instructions to march with the British troops, and those in the queen's pay, and declare a suspension of arms as soon as he should be possessed of Dunkirk. He expressed his hope that they would readily acquiesce in these instructions, seeing their concurrence would act as the most powerful motive to induce the queen to take all possible care of their interests at the congress; and he endeavoured to demonstrate that Dunkirk, as a cautionary town, was a place of greater consequence to the allies than Quesnoy. The deputies desired he would delay his march for five days, that they might have time to consult their principals, and he granted three days without hesitation. Prince Eugene observed, that his marching off with the British troops, and the foreigners in the queen's pay, would leave the allies at the mercy of the enemy; but he hoped these last would not obey the duke's order. He and the deputies had already tampered with their commanding officers, who absolutely refused to obey the duke of Ormond, alleging, that they could not separate from the confederacy without express directions from their masters, to whom they had despatched couriers. An extraordinary assembly of states was immediately summoned to meet at the Hague. The ministers of the allies were invited to the conferences. At length the princes, whose troops were in the pay of Britain, assured them that they would maintain them under the command of Prince Eugene for one month at their own expense, and afterwards sustain half the charge, provided the other half should be defrayed by the emperor and states-general.
The bishop of Bristol imparted to the other plenipotentiaries at Utrecht the concessions which France would make to the allies; and proposed a suspension of arms for two months, that they might treat in a friendly manner, and adjust the demands of all the confederates. To this proposal they made no other answer but that they had no instructions on the subject. Count Zinzendorf, the first Imperial plenipotentiary, presented a memorial to the states-general, explaining the danger that would result to the common cause from a cessation of arms; and exhorting them to persevere in their generous and vigorous resolutions. He proposed a renewal of the alliance for recovering the Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria, and a certain plan for prosecuting the war with redoubled ardour. Prince Eugene, in order to dazzle the confederates with some bold enterprise, detached major-general Grovestein with fifteen hundred cavalry to penetrate into the heart of France. This officer, about the middle of June, advanced into Champaigne, passed the Noire, the Maese, the Moselle, and the Saar, and retired to Traerbach with a rich booty and a great number of hostages, after having extorted contributions as far as the gates of Metz, ravaged the country, and reduced a great number of villages and towns to ashes. The consternation produced by this irruption reached the city of Paris; the king of France did not think himself safe at Versailles with his ordinary guards; all the troops in the neighbourhood of the capital were assembled about the palace. Villars sent a detachment after Grovestein, as soon as he understood his destination; but the other had gained a day's march of the French troops, which had the mortification to follow him so close, that they found the flames still burning in the villages he had destroyed. By way of retaliation, major-general Pasteur, a French partisan, made an excursion beyond Bergen-op-zoom, and ravaged the island of Tortola belonging to Zealand.
The earl of Strafford having returned to Holland, proposed a cessation of arms to the states-general, by whom it was rejected. Then he proceeded to the army of the duke of Ormond, where he arrived in a few days after the reduction of Quesnoy, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war on the fourth day of July. The officers of the foreign troops had a second time refused to obey a written order of the duke; and such a spirit of animosity began to prevail between the English and allies, that it was absolutely necessary to effect a speedy separation. Prince Eugene resolved to undertake the siege of Landresy: a design is said to have been formed by the German generals, to confine the duke on pretence of the arrears that were due to them, and to disarm the British troops lest they should join the French army. In the meantime, a literary correspondence was maintained between the English general and the mareschal de Villars. France having consented to deliver up Dunkirk, a body of troops was transported from England under the command of brigadier Hill, who took possession of the place on the seventh day of July; the French garrison retired to Winoxberg. On the sixteenth of the same month prince Eugene marched from his camp at Haspre, and was followed by all the auxiliaries in the British pay, except a few battalions of the troops of Holstein-Gottorp, and Walef's regiment of dragoons, belonging to the state of Liege.
Landresy was immediately invested; while the duke of Ormond, with the English forces, removed from Chateau-Cambresis, and encamped at wensne-le-Secq, proclaimed by sound of trumpet a cessation of arms for two months. On the same day the like armistice was declared in the French army. The Dutch were so exasperated at the secession of the English troops, that the governors would not allow the earl of Strafford to enter Bouchain, nor the British army to pass through Douay, though in that town they had left a great quantity of stores, together with their general hospital. Prince Eugene and the Dutch deputies, understanding that the duke of Ormond had begun his march towards Ghent, began to be in pain for that city, and sent count Nassau Woodenburgh to him with a written apology, condemning and disavowing the conduct and commandants of Bouchain and Douay; but, notwithstanding these excuses, the English troops afterwards met with the same treatment at Tournay, Oudenarde, and Lisle: insults which were resented by the whole British nation. The duke, however, pursued his march, and took possession of Ghent and Bruges for the queen of England; then he reinforced the garrison of Dunkirk, which he likewise supplied with artillery and ammunition. His conduct was no less agreeable to his sovereign, than mortifying to the Dutch, who never dreamed of leaving Ghent and Bruges in the hands of the English, and were now fairly outwitted and anticipated by the motions and expedition of the British general.
The loss of the British forces was soon severely felt in the allied army. Villars attacked a separate body of their troops, encamped at Denain, under the command of the earl of Albemarle. Their intrenchments were forced, and seventeen battalions either killed or taken. The earl himself and all the surviving officers were made prisoners. Five hundred waggons loaded with bread, twelve pieces of brass cannon, a large quantity of ammunition and provisions, a great number of horses, and considerable booty fell into the hands of the enemy. This advantage they gained in sight of prince Eugene, who advanced on the other side of the Schelde to sustain Albemarle; but the bridge over that river was broke down by accident, so that he was prevented from lending the least assistance. Villars immediately invested Marchiennes, where the principal stores of the allies were lodged. The place was surrendered on the last day of July; and the garrison, consisting of five thousand men, were conducted prisoners to Valenciennes. He afterwards undertook the siege of Douay; an enterprise, in consequence of which prince Eugene abandoned his design on Landresy, and marched towards the French in order to hazard an engagement. The states, however, would not run the risk; and the prince had the mortification to see Douay reduced by the enemy. He could not even prevent their retaking Quesnoy and Bouchain, of which places they were in possession before the tenth day of October. The allies enjoyed no other compensation for their great losses, but the conquest of Fort Knocque, which was surprised by one of their partisans.
The British ministers at the congress continued to press the Dutch and other allies to join in the armistice; but they were deaf to the proposal, and concerted measures for a vigorous prosecution of the war. Then the earl of Strafford insisted upon their admitting to the congress the plenipotentiaries of king Philip; but he found them equally averse to this expedient. In the beginning of August, secretary St. John, now created lord viscount Bolingbroke, was sent to the court of Versailles incognito, to remove all obstructions to the treaty between England and France. He was accompanied by Mr. Prior and the Abbé Gualtier, treated with the most distinguished marks of respect, caressed by the French king and the marquis de Torcy, with whom he adjusted the principal interests of the duke of Savoy and the elector of Bavaria. He settled the time and manner of the renunciation, and agreed to a suspension of arms by sea and land for four months between the crowns of France and England; this was accordingly proclaimed at Paris and London. The negotiation being finished in a few days, Bolingbroke returned to England, and Prior remained as resident at the court of France. The states-general breathed nothing but war; the pensionary Heinsius pronounced an oration in their assembly, representing the impossibility of concluding a peace without losing the fruits of all the blood and treasure they had expended. The conferences at Utrecht were interrupted by a quarrel between the domestics of Ménager and those of the count de Rechteren, one of the Dutch plenipotentiaries. The populace insulted the earl of Strafford and the marquis del Borgo, minister of Savoy, whose master was reported to have agreed to the armistice. These obstructions being removed, the conferences were renewed, and the British plenipotentiaries exerted all their rhetoric, both in public and private, to engage the allies! in the queen's measures. At length the duke of Savoy was prevailed upon to acquiesce in the offers of France. Mr. Thomas Harley had been sent ambassador to Hanover, with a view to persuade the elector that it would be for his interest to co-operate with her majesty; but that prince's resolution was already taken. "Whenever it shall please God," said he, "to call me to the throne of Britain, I hope to act as becomes me for the advantage of my people; in the meantime, speak to me as to a German prince, and a prince of the empire." Nor was she more successful in her endeavours to bring over the king of Prussia to her sentiments. In the meantime, lord Lexington was appointed ambassador to Madrid, where king Philip solemnly swore to observe the renunciation, which was approved and confirmed by the Cortez. The like renunciation to the crown of Spain was afterwards made by the princes of France; and Philip was declared incapable of succeeding to the crown of that realm. The court of Portugal held out against the remonstrances of England, until the Marquis de Bay invaded that kingdom at the head of twenty thousand men, and undertook the siege of Campo-Major, and they found they had no longer any hope of being assisted by her Britannic majesty. The Portuguese minister at Utrecht signed the suspension of arms on the seventh day of November, and excused this step to the allies as the pure effect of necessity. The English troops in Spain were ordered to separate from the army of count Starem-berg, and march to the neighbourhood of Barcelona, where they were embarked on board an English squadron commanded by sir John Jennings, and transported to Minorca.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The campaign being at an end in the Netherlands, the duke of Ormond returned to England, where the party disputes were become more violent than ever. The whigs affected to celebrate the anniversary of the late king's birth-day, in London, with extraordinary rejoicings. Mobs were hired by both factions; and the whole city was filled with riot and uproar. A ridiculous scheme was contrived to frighten the lord-treasurer with some squibs in a band-box, which the ministers magnified into a conspiracy. The duke of Hamilton having been appointed ambassador-extraordinary to the court of France, the whigs were alarmed on the supposition that this nobleman favoured the pretender. Some dispute arising between the duke and lord Mohun, on the subject of a lawsuit, furnished a pretence for a quarrel. Mohun, who had been twice tried for murder, and was counted a mean tool, as well as the hector of the whig party, sent a message by general Macartney to the duke, challenging him to single combat. The principals met by appointment in Hyde Park, attended by Macartney and colonel Hamilton. They fought with such fury, that Mohun was killed upon the spot, and the duke expired before he could be conveyed to his own house. Macartney disappeared, and escaped in disguise to the continent. Colonel Hamilton declared upon oath before the privy-council, that when the principals engaged, he and Macartney followed their example; that Macartney was immediately disarmed; but the colonel seeing the duke fall upon his antagonist, threw away the swords, and ran to lift him up; that while he was employed in raising the duke, Macartney, having taken up one of the swords, stabbed his grace over Hamilton's shoulder and retired immediately. A proclamation was issued, promising a reward of five hundred pounds to those who should apprehend or discover Macartney, and the duchess of Hamilton offered three hundred pounds for the same purpose. The tories exclaimed against this event as a party-duel; they treated Macartney as a cowardly assassin; and affirmed that the whigs had posted others of the same stamp all round Hyde Park, to murder the duke of Hamilton, in case he had triumphed over his antagonist, and escaped the treachery of Macartney. The whigs, on the other hand, affirmed that it was altogether a private quarrel; that Macartney was entirely innocent of the perfidy laid to his charge; that he afterwards submitted to a fair trial, at which colonel Hamilton prevaricated in giving his evidence, and was contradicted by the testimony of divers persons who saw the combat at a distance. The duke of Marlborough, hearing himself accused as the author of those party mischiefs, and seeing his enemies grow every day more and more implacable, thought proper to retire to the continent, where he was followed by his duchess. His friend Godolphin had died in September, with the general character of an able, cool, dispassionate minister, who had rendered himself necessary to four successive sovereigns, and managed the finances with equal skill and integrity. The duke of Shrewsbury was nominated ambassador to France in the room of the duke of Hamilton; the duke d'Aumont arrived at London in the same quality from the court of Versailles; and about the same time the queen granted an audience to the marquis de Monte-leone, whom Philip had appointed one of his plenipotentiaries at the congress.
In vain had the British ministers in Holland endeavoured to overcome the obstinacy of the states-general, by alternate threats, promises, and arguments. In vain did they represent that the confederacy against France could be no longer supported with any prospect of success; that the queen's aim had been to procure reasonable terms for her allies; but that their opposition to her measures prevented her from obtaining such conditions as she would have a right to demand in their favour, were they unanimous in their consultations. In November, the earl of Strafford presented a new plan of peace, in which the queen promised to insist upon France's ceding to the states the city of Tournay, and some other places which they could not expect to possess should she conclude a separate treaty. They now began to waiver in their councils. The first transports of their resentment having subsided, they plainly perceived that the continuation of the war would entail upon them a burden which they could not bear, especially since the duke of Savoy and the king of Portugal had deserted the alliance; besides, they were staggered by the affair of the new barrier, so much more advantageous than that which France had proposed in the beginning of the conferences. They were influenced by another motive, namely, the apprehension of new mischiefs to the empire from the king of Sweden, whose affairs seemed to take a favourable turn at the Ottoman Porte, through the intercession of the French monarch. The czar and king Augustus had penetrated into Pomerania; the king of Denmark had taken Staden, reduced Bremen, and laid Hamburgh under contribution; but count Steenbock, the Swedish general, defeated the Danish army in Mecklenburg, ravaged Holstein with great barbarity, and reduced the town of Altena to ashes. The grand seignor threatened to declare war against the czar, on pretence that he had not performed some essential articles of the late peace; but his real motive was an inclination to support the king of Sweden. This disposition, however, was defeated by a powerful party at the Porte, who were averse to war. Charles, who still remained at Bender, was desired to return to his own kingdom, and given to understand that the sultan would procure him a safe passage. He treated the person who brought this intimation with the most outrageous insolence, rejected the proposal, fortified his house, and resolved to defend himself to the last extremity. Being attacked by a considerable body of Turkish forces, he and his attendants fought with the most frantic valour. They slew some hundreds of the assailants; but at last the Turks set fire to the house, so that he was obliged to surrender himself and his followers, who were generally sold for slaves. He himself was conveyed under a strong guard to Adrianople. Meanwhile the czar landed with an army in Finland, which he totally reduced. Steenbock maintained himself in Tonningen until all his supplies were cut off; and then he was obliged to deliver himself and his troops prisoners of war. But this reverse was not foreseen when the Dutch dreaded a rupture between the Porte and the Muscovites, and were given to understand that the Turks would revive the troubles in Hungary. In that case, they knew the emperor would recall great part of his troops from the Netherlands, where the burden of the war must lie upon their shoulders. After various consultations in their different assemblies, they came into the queen's measures, and signed the barrier-treaty.
Then the plenipotentiaries of the four associated circles presented a remonstrance to the British ministers at Utrecht, imploring the queen's interposition in their favour, that they might not be left in the miserable condition to which they had been reduced by former treaties. They were given to understand, that if they should not obtain what they desired, they themselves would be justly blamed as the authors of their own disappointment; that they had been deficient in furnishing their proportion of troops and other necessaries, and left the whole burden of the war to fall upon the queen and the states in the Netherlands; that when a cessation was judged necessary, they had deserted her majesty to follow the chimerical projects of prince Eugene; that while she prosecuted the war with the utmost vigour, they had acted with coldness and indifference; but when she inclined to peace they began to exert themselves in prosecuting hostilities with uncommon eagerness; that, nevertheless, she would not abandon their interests, but endeavour to procure for them as good conditions as their preposterous conduct would allow her to demand. Even the emperor's plenipotentiaries began to talk in more moderate terms. Zinzendorf declared that his master was very well disposed to promote a general peace, and no longer insisted on a cession of the Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria. Philip's ministers, together with those of Bavaria and Cologn, were admitted to the congress; and now the plenipotentiaries of Britain acted as mediators for the rest of the allies.
1713
The pacification between France and England was retarded, however, by some unforeseen difficulties that arose in adjusting the commerce and the limits of the countries possessed by both nations in North America. A long dispute ensued; and the duke of Shrewsbury and Prior held many conferences with the French ministry; at length it was compromised, though not much to the advantage of Great Britain; and the English plenipotentiaries received an order to sign a separate treaty. They declared to the ministers of the other powers, that they and some other plenipotentiaries were ready to sign their respective treaties on the eleventh day of April. Count Zinzendorf endeavoured to postpone this transaction until he should be furnished with fresh instructions from Vienna; and even threatened that if the states should sign the peace contrary to his desire, the emperor would immediately withdraw his troops from the Netherlands. The ministers of Great Britain agreed with those of France, that his Imperial majesty should have time to consider whither he would or would not accept the proposals; but this time was extended no farther than the first day of June; nor would they agree to a cessation of arms during that interval. Meanwhile the peace with France was signed in different treaties by the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Savoy, Prussia, Portugal, and the states-general. On the fourteenth day of the month, the British plenipotentiaries delivered to count Zinzendorf, in writing, "Offers and demands of the French king for making peace with the house of Austria and the empire." The count and the ministers of the German princes exclaimed against the insolence of France, which had not even bestowed the title of emperor on Joseph; but wanted to impose terms upon them with relation to the electors of Cologn and Bavaria.
The treaties of peace and commerce between England and France being ratified by the queen of England, the parliament was assembled on the ninth day of April. The queen told them the treaty was signed, and that in a few days the ratifications would be exchanged. She said, what she had done for the protestant succession, and the perfect friendship subsisting between her and the house of Hanover, would convince those who wished well to both, and desired the quiet and safety of their country, how vain all attempts were to divide them. She left it entirely to the house of commons to determine what force might be necessary for the security of trade by sea, and for guards and garrisons. "Make yourselves safe," said she, "and I shall be satisfied. Next to the protection of the Divine Providence, I depend upon the loyalty and affection of my people. I want no other guarantee." She recommended to their protection those brave men who had exposed their lives in the service of their country, and could not be employed in time of peace. She desired they would concert proper measures for easing the foreign trade of the kingdom, for improving and encouraging manufactures and the fishery, and for employing the hands of idle people. She expressed her displeasure at the scandalous and seditious libels which had been lately published.
She exhorted them to consider of new laws to prevent this licentiousness, as well as for putting a stop to the impious practice of duelling. She conjured them to use their utmost endeavours to calm the minds of men at home, that the arts of peace might be cultivated; and that groundless jealousies, contrived by a faction, and fomented by party rage, might not effect that which their foreign enemies could not accomplish. This was the language of a pious, candid, and benevolent sovereign, who loved her subjects with a truly parental affection. The parliament considered her in that light. Each house presented her with a warm address of thanks and congratulation, expressing, in particular, their inviolable attachment to the protestant succession in the illustrious house of Hanover. The ratifications of the treaty being exchanged, the peace was proclaimed on the fifth of May, with the usual ceremonies, to the inexpressible joy of the nation in general. It was about this period that the chevalier de St. George conveyed a printed remonstrance to the ministers at Utrecht, solemnly protesting against all that might be stipulated to his prejudice. The commons, in a second address, had besought her majesty to communicate to the house in due time the treaties of peace and commerce with France; and now they were produced by Mr. Benson, chancellor of the exchequer.
By the treaty of peace the French king obliged himself to abandon the pretender, and acknowledge the queen's title and the protestant succession; to raze the fortifications of Dunkirk within a limited time, on condition of receiving an equivalent; to cede Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, and St. Christopher's to England; but the French were left in possession of Cape Breton, and at liberty to dry their fish in Newfoundland. By the treaty of commerce a free trade was established, according to the tariff of the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-four, except in some commodities that were subjected to new regulations in the year sixteen hundred and ninety-nine. It was agreed that no other duties should be imposed on the productions of France imported into England than those that were laid on the same commodities from other countries; and that commissaries should meet at London to adjust all matters relating to commerce; as for the tariff with Spain, it was not yet finished. It was stipulated, that the emperor should possess the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the Spanish Netherlands; that the duke of Savoy should enjoy Sicily, with the title of king; that the same title, with the island of Sardinia, should be allotted to the elector of Bavaria, as an indemnification for his losses; that the states-general should restore Lisle and its dependencies; that Namur, Charleroy, Luxembourg, Ypres, and Newport, should be added to the other places they already possessed in Flanders; and that the king of Prussia should have Upper Gueldre, in lieu of Orange and the other states belonging to that family in Franche Compté. The king of Portugal was satisfied; and the first day of June was fixed as the period of time granted to the emperor for consideration.
A day being appointed by the commons to deliberate upon the treaty of commerce, very just and weighty objections were made to the eighth and ninth articles, importing, that Great Britain and France should mutually enjoy all the privileges in trading with each other that either granted to the most favoured nation; and that no higher customs should be exacted from the commodities of France, than those that were drawn from the same productions of any other people. The balance of trade having long inclined to the side of France, severe duties had been laid on all the productions and manufactures of that kingdom, so as almost to amount to a total prohibition. Some members observed, that by the treaty between England and Portugal, the duties charged upon the wines of that country were lower than those laid upon the wines of France; that should they now be reduced to an equality, the difference of freight was so great, that the French wines would be found much cheaper than those of Portugal; and, as they were more agreeable to the taste of the nation in general, there would be no market for the Portuguese wines in England; that should this be the case, the English would lose their trade with Portugal, the most advantageous of any traffic which they now carried on; for it consumed a great quantity of their manufactures, and returned a yearly sum of six hundred thousand pounds in gold. Mr. Nathaniel Gould, formerly governor of the bank, affirmed, that as France had since the revolution encouraged woollen manufactures, and prepared at home several commodities which formerly they drew from England; so the English had learned to make silk stuffs, paper, and all manner of toys, formerly imported from France; by which means an infinite number of artificers were employed, and a vast sum annually saved to the nation; but these people would now be reduced to beggary, and that money lost again to the kingdom, should French commodities of the same kind be imported under ordinary duties, because labour was much cheaper in France than in England, consequently the British manufactures would be undersold and ruined. He urged, that the ruin of the silk manufacture would be attended with another disadvantage. Great quantities of woollen cloths were vended in Italy and Turkey, in consequence of the raw silk which the English merchants bought up in those countries; and, should the silk manufacture at home be lost, those markets for British commodities would fail of course. Others alleged, that if the articles of commerce had been settled before the English troops separated from those of the confederates, the French king would not have presumed to insist upon such terms, but have been glad to comply with more moderate conditions. Sir William Wyndham reflected on the late ministry, for having neglected to make an advantageous peace when it was in their power. He said that Portugal would always have occasion for the woollen manufactures and the corn of England, and be obliged to buy them at all events. After a violent debate, the house resolved, by a great majority, that a bill should be brought in to make good the eighth and ninth articles of the treaty of commerce with France. Against these articles, however, the Portuguese minister presented a memorial, declaring, that should the duties on French wines be lowered to the same level with those that were laid on the wines of Portugal, his master would renew the prohibition of the woollen manufactures and other products of Great Britain. Indeed, all the trading part of the nation exclaimed against the treaty of commerce, which seems to have been concluded in a hurry, before the ministers fully understood the nature of the subject. This precipitation was owing to the fears that their endeavours after peace would miscarry, from the intrigues of the whig faction, and the obstinate opposition of the confederates.
The commons having granted an aid of two shillings in the pound, proceeded to renew the duty on malt for another year, and extended this tax to the whole island, notwithstanding the warm remonstrances of the Scottish members, who represented it as a burden which their country could not bear. They insisted upon an express article of the union, stipulating, that no duty should be laid on the malt in Scotland during the war which they affirmed was not yet finished, inasmuch as the peace with Spain had not been proclaimed. During the adjournment of the parliament, on account of the Whit-sun-holidays, the Scots of both houses, laying aside all party distinctions, met and deliberated on this subject. They deputed the duke of Argyle, the earl of Mar, Mr. Lockhart, and Mr. Cockburn, to lay their grievances before the queen. They represented that their countrymen bore with great impatience the violation of some articles of the union; and that the imposition of such an insupportable burden as the malt-tax would in all probability prompt them to declare the union dissolved. The queen, alarmed at this remonstrance, answered, that she wished they might not have cause to repent of such a precipitate resolution; but she would endeavour to make all things easy. On the first day of June, the earl of Findlater, in the house of peers, represented that the Scottish nation was aggrieved in many instances: that they were deprived of a privy-council, and subjected to the English laws in cases of treason: that their nobles were rendered incapable of being created British peers; and that now they were oppressed with the insupportable burden of a malt-tax, when they had reason to expect they should reap the benefit of peace: he therefore moved, that leave might be given to bring in a bill for dissolving the union, and securing the protestant succession to the house of Hanover. Lord North and Grey affirmed, that the complaints of the Scots were groundless; that the dissolution of the union was impracticable; and he made some sarcastic reflections on the poverty of that nation. He was answered by the earl of Eglinton, who admitted the Scots were poor, and therefore unable to pay the malt-tax. The earl of Hay, among other pertinent remarks upon the union, observed, that when the treaty was made, the Scots took it for granted that the parliament of Great Britain would never load them with any imposition that they had reason to believe grievous. The earl of Peterborough compared the union to a marriage. He said that though England, who must be supposed the husband, might in some instances prove unkind to the lady, she ought not immediately to sue for a divorce, the rather because she had very much mended her fortune by the match. Hay replied, that marriage was an ordinance of God, and the union no more than a political expedient. The other affirmed, that the contract could not have been more solemn, unless, like the ten commandments, it had come from heaven: he inveighed against the Scots, as a people that would never be satisfied; that would have all the advantages resulting from the union, but would pay nothing by their good will, although they had received more money from England than the amount of all their estates. To these animadversions the duke of Argyle made a very warm reply. "I have been reflected on by some people," said he, "as if I was disgusted, and had changed sides; but I despise their persons, as much as I undervalue their judgment." He urged, that the malt-tax in Scotland was like taxing land by the acre throughout England, because land was worth five pounds an acre in the neighbourhood of London, and would not fetch so many shillings in the remote countries. In like manner, the English malt was valued at four times the price of that which was made in Scotland; therefore, the tax in this country must be levied by a regiment of dragoons. He owned he had a great share in making the union, with a view to secure the protestant succession; but he was now satisfied this end might be answered as effectually if the union was dissolved; and, if this step should not be taken, he did not expect long to have either property left in Scotland, or liberty in England. All the whig members voted for the dissolution of that treaty which they had so eagerly promoted; while the tories strenuously supported the measure against which they had once argued with such vehemence. In the course of the debate, the lord-treasurer observed, that although the malt-tax were imposed, it might be afterwards remitted by the crown. The earl of Sunderland expressed surprise at hearing that noble lord broach a doctrine which tended to establish a despotic dispensing power and arbitrary government. Oxford replied, his family had never been famous, as some others had been, for promoting and advising arbitrary measures. Sunderland, considering this expression as a sarcasm levelled at the memory of his father, took occasion to vindicate his conduct, adding, that in those days the other lord's family was hardly known. Much violent altercation was discharged At length the motion for the bill was rejected by a small majority, and the malt-bill afterwards passed with great difficulty.
Another bill being brought into the house of commons for rendering the treaty of commerce effectual, such a number of petitions were delivered against it, and so many solid arguments advanced by the merchants who were examined on the subject, that even a great number of tory members were convinced of the bad consequences it would produce to trade, and voted against the ministry on this occasion; so that the bill was rejected by a majority of nine voices. At the same time, however, the house agreed to an address thanking her majesty for the great care she had taken of the security and honour of her kingdoms in the treaty of peace; as also for having laid so good a foundation for the interest of her people in trade. They likewise besought her to appoint commissioners to treat with those of France, for adjusting such matters as should be necessary to be settled on the subject of commerce, that the treaty might be explained and perfected for the good and welfare of her people. The queen interpreted this address into a full approbation of the treaties of peace and commerce, and thanked them accordingly in the warmest terms of satisfaction and acknowledgment. The commons afterwards desired to know what equivalent should be given for the demolition of Dunkirk; and she gave them to understand that this was already in the hands of his most christian majesty: then they besought her that she would not evacuate the towns of Flanders that were in her possession, until those who were entitled to the sovereignty of the Spanish Netherlands should agree to such articles for regulating trade as might place the subjects of Great Britain upon an equal footing with those of any other nation. The queen made a favourable answer to all their remonstrances. Such were the steps taken by the parliament during this session with relation to the famous treaty of Utrecht, against which the whigs exclaimed so violently, that many well-meaning people believed it would be attended with the immediate ruin of the kingdom; yet under the shadow of this very treaty, Great Britain enjoyed a long term of peace and tranquillity. Bishop Burnet was heated with an enthusiastic terror of the house of Bourbon. He declared to the queen in private, that any treaty by which Spain and the West Indies were left in the hands of king Philip, must in a little time deliver all Europe into the hands of France: that, if any such peace was made, the queen was betrayed, and the people ruined: that in less than three years she would be murdered, and the fires would blaze again in Smithfield. This prelate lived to see his prognostic disappointed; therefore he might have suppressed this anecdote of his own conduct.
On the twenty-fifth day of June the queen signified, in a message to the house of commons, that her civil list was burdened with some debts incurred by several articles of extraordinary expense; and that she hoped they would empower her to raise such a sum of money upon the funds for that provision as would be sufficient to discharge the incumbrances, which amounted to five hundred thousand pounds. A bill was immediately prepared for raising this sum on the civil list revenue, and passed through both houses with some difficulty. Both lords and commons addressed the queen concerning the chevalier de St. George, who had repaired to Lorraine. They desired she would press the duke of that name, and all the princes and states in amity with her, to exclude from their dominions the pretender to the imperial crown of Great Britain. A public thanksgiving for the peace was appointed and celebrated with great solemnity; and on the sixteenth day of July the queen closed the session with a speech which was not at all agreeable to the violent whigs, because it did not contain one word about the pretender and the protestant succession. From these omissions, they concluded that the dictates of natural affection had biassed her in favour of the chevalier de St. George. Whatever sentiments of tenderness and compassion she might feel for that unfortunate exile, the acknowledged son of her own father, it does not appear that she ever entertained a thought of altering the succession as by law established. The term of Sacheverel's suspension being expired, extraordinary rejoicings were made upon the occasion. He was desired to preach before the house of commons, who thanked him for his sermon; and the queen promoted him to the rich benefice of St. Andrew's, Holborn. On the other hand the duke d'Aumont, ambassador from France, was insulted by the populace. Scurrilous ballads were published against him both in the English and French languages. He received divers anonymous letters, containing threats of setting fire to his house, which was accordingly burned to the ground, though whether by accident or design he could not well determine. The magistracy of Dunkirk, having sent a deputation with an address to the queen, humbly imploring her majesty to spare the port and harbour of that town, and representing that they might be useful to her own subjects, the memorial was printed and dispersed, and the arguments it contained were answered and refuted by Addison, Steele, and Maynwaring. Commissioners were sent to see the fortifications of Dunkirk demolished. They were accordingly razed to the ground; the harbour was filled up; and the duke d'Aumont returned to Paris in the month of November. The queen, by her remonstrances to the court of Versailles, had procured the enlargement of one hundred and thirty-six protestants from the galleys: understanding afterwards that as many more were detained on the same account, she made such application to the French ministry that they too were released. Then she appointed general Ross her envoy-extraordinary to the king of France.
The duke of Shrewsbury being nominated lord-lieutenant of Ireland, assembled the parliament of that kingdom on the twenty-fifth day of November, and found the two houses still at variance, on the opposite principles of whig and tory. Allan Broderick being chosen speaker of the commons, they ordered a bill to be brought in to attaint the pretender and all his adherents. They prosecuted Edward Lloyd for publishing a book entitled, "Memoirs of the chevalier de St. George;" and they agreed upon an address to the queen, to remove from the chancellorship sir Constantine Phipps, who had countenanced the tories of that kingdom. The lords, however, resolved that chancellor Phipps had, in his several stations, acquitted himself with honour and integrity. The two houses of convocation presented an address to the same purpose. They likewise complained of Mr. Molesworth for having insulted them, by saying, when they appeared in the castle of Dublin, "They that have turned the world upside down are come hither also:" and he was removed from the privy-council. The duke of Shrewsbury received orders to prorogue this parliament, which was divided against itself, and portended nothing but domestic broils. Then he obtained leave to return to England, leaving chancellor Phipps, with the archbishop of Armagh and Tuam, justices of the kingdom.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The parliament of England had been dissolved; and the elections were managed in such a manner as to retain the legislative power in the hands of the tories; but the meeting of the new parliament was delayed by repeated prorogations to the tenth day of December; a delay partly owing to the queen's indisposition; and partly to the contests among her ministers. Oxford and Bolingbroke were competitors for power, and rivals in reputation for ability. The treasurer's parts were deemed the more solid; the secretary's more shining; but both ministers were aspiring and ambitious. The first was bent upon maintaining the first rank in the administration, which he had possessed since the revolution in the ministry; the other disdained to act as a subaltern to the man whom he thought he excelled in genius, and equalled in importance. They began to form separate cabals, and adopt different principles. Bolingbroke insinuated himself into the confidence of lady Masham, to whom Oxford had given some cause of disgust. By this communication he gained ground in the good opinion of his sovereign, while the treasurer lost it in the same proportion. Thus she who had been the author of his elevation, was now used as the instrument of his disgrace. The queen was sensibly affected with these dissensions, which she interposed her advice and authority, by turns, to appease; but their mutual animosity continued to rankle under an exterior accommodation. The interest of Bolingbroke was powerfully supported by sir Simon Harcourt, the chancellor, sir William Wyndham, and Mr. Secretary Bromley. Oxford perceived his own influence was on the wane, and began to think of retirement. Meanwhile the earl of Peterborough was appointed ambassador to the king of Sicily, and set out for Turin. The queen retired to Windsor, where she was seized with a very dangerous inflammatory fever. The hopes of the Jacobites visibly rose; the public funds immediately fell; a great run was made upon the bank, the directors of which were overwhelmed with consternation, which was not a little increased by the reports of an armament equipped in the ports of France. They sent one of their members to represent to the treasurer the danger that threatened the public credit. The queen being made acquainted with these occurrences, signed a letter to sir Samuel Stancer, lord-mayor of London, declaring, that now she was recovered of her late indisposition, she would return to the place of her usual residence, and open the parliament on the sixteenth day of February. This intimation she sent to her loving subjects of the city of London, to the intent that all of them, in their several stations, might discountenance those malicious rumours, spread by evil-minded persons, to the prejudice of credit, and the eminent hazard of the public peace and tranquillity. The queen's recovery, together with certain intelligence that the armament was a phantom, and the pretender still in Lorraine, helped to assuage the ferment of the nation, which had been industriously raised by party-writings. Mr. Richard Steele published a performance, intituled, "The Crisis," in defence of the revolution and the protestant establishment, and enlarging upon the danger of a popish successor. On the other hand, the hereditary right to the crown of England was asserted in a large volume, supposed to be written with a view to pave the way for the pretender's accession. One Bedford was apprehended, tried, convicted, and severely punished, as the publisher of this treatise.
While England was harrassed by these intestine commotions, the emperor, rejecting the terms of peace proposed by France, resolved to maintain the war at his own expense, with the assistance of the empire. His forces on the Rhine commanded by prince Eugene, were so much out-numbered by the French under Villars, that they could not prevent the enemy from reducing the two important fortresses of Landau and Fribourg. His imperial majesty hoped that the death of Queen Anne, or that of Louis XIV. would produce an alteration in Europe that might be favourable to his interest; and he depended on the conduct and fortune of prince Eugene for some lucky event in war. But finding himself disappointed in all these expectations, and absolutely unable to support the expense of another campaign, he hearkened to overtures of peace that were made by the electors of Cologn and Palatine; and conferences were opened at the castle of Al-Rastadt, between prince Eugene and mareschal de Villars, on the twenty-sixth day of November. In the beginning of February these ministers separated, without seeming to have come to any conclusion; but all the articles being settled between the two courts of Vienna and Versailles, they met again in the latter end of the month: the treaty was signed on the third day of March, and orders were sent to the governors and commanders on both sides to desist from all hostilities. By this treaty, the French king yielded to the emperor old Brisac, with all its dependencies, Fribourg, the forts in the Brisgau and Black Forest, together with Fort Khel. He engaged to demolish the fortifications opposite to Huningen, the fort of Sellingen, and all between that and Fort Louis. The town and fortress of Landau were ceded to the king of France, who acknowledged the elector of Hanover. The electors of Bavaria and Cologn were restored to all their dignities and dominions. The emperor was put in immediate possession of the Spanish Netherlands; and the king of Prussia was permitted to retain the high quarters of Guelders. Finally, the contracting parties agreed that a congress should be opened on the first of May, at Baden in Switzerland, for terminating all differences; and prince Eugene and mareschal de Villars were appointed their first plenipotentiaries.
The ratifications of the treaty between Great Britain and Spain being exchanged, the peace was proclaimed on the first day of March, in London; and the articles were not disagreeable to the English nation. The kingdoms of France and Spain were separated for ever. Philip acknowledged the protestant succession, and renounced the pretender. He agreed to a renewal of the treaty of navigation and commerce concluded in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty seven. He granted an exclusive privilege to the English for furnishing the Spanish West Indies with negroes, according to the assiento contract.*
* The assiento contract stipulated that from the first day
of May, 1713, to the first of May, 1743, the company should
transport into the West Indies one hundred forty-four
thousand negroes, at the rate of four thousand eight hundred
negroes a year; and pay for each negro thirty-three pieces
of eight and one third, in full for all royal duties.
He ceded Gibraltar to England, as well as the island of Minorca, on condition that the Spanish inhabitants should enjoy their estates and religion. He obliged himself to grant a full pardon to the Catalans, with the possession of all their estates, honours, and privileges, and to yield the kingdom of Sicily to the duke of Savoy. The new parliament was opened by commission in February, and sir Thomas Hanmer was chosen speaker of the house of commons. On the second day of March, the queen being carried in a sedan to the house of lords, signified to both houses that she had obtained an honourable and advantageous peace for her own people, and for the greatest part of her allies; and she hoped her interposition might prove effectual to complete the settlement of Europe. She observed, that some persons had been so malicious as to insinuate that the protestant succession, in the house of Hanover, was in danger under her government; but that those who endeavoured to distract the minds of men with imaginary dangers, could only mean to disturb the public tranquillity. She said, that after all she had done to secure the religion and liberties of her people, she could not mention such proceedings without some degree of warmth; and she hoped her parliament would agree with her, that attempts to weaken her authority, or to render the possession of the crown uneasy to her, could never be proper means to strengthen the protestant succession. Affectionate addresses were presented by the lords, the commons, and the convocation; but the ill-humour of party still subsisted, and was daily inflamed by new pamphlets and papers. Steele, supported by Addison and Halifax, appeared in the front of those who drew their pens in defence of whig principles; and Swift was the champion of the ministry.
The earl of Wharton complained in the house of lords of a libel, intitled, "The public spirit of the whigs set forth in their generous encouragement of the author of the Crisis." It was a sarcastic performance, imputed to lord Bolingbroke and Swift, interspersed with severe reflections upon the union, the Scottish nation, and the Duke of Argyle in particular. The lord-treasurer disclaimed all knowledge of the author, and readily concurred in an order for taking into custody John Mor-phew the publisher, as well as John Barber, printer of the gazette, from whose house the copies were brought to Morphew. The earl of Wharton said it highly concerned the honour of that august assembly, to find out the villain who was author of that false and scandalous libel, that justice might be done to the Scottish nation. He moved, that Barber and his servants might be examined; but next clay the earl of Mar, one of the secretaries of state, declared, that, in pursuance to her majesty's command, he had directed John Barber to be prosecuted. Notwithstanding this interposition, which was calculated to screen the offenders, the lords presented an address, beseeching her majesty to issue out her royal proclamation, promising a reward to any person who should discover the author of the libel, which they conceived to be false, malicious, and factious, highly dishonourable and scandalous to her majesty's subjects of Scotland, most injurious to her majesty, and tending to the ruin of the constitution. In compliance with their request, a reward of three hundred pounds was offered; but the offender remained safe from all detection.
The commons having granted the supplies, ordered a bill to be brought in for securing the freedom of parliaments, by limiting the number of officers in the house of commons, and it passed through both houses with little difficulty. In March, a complaint was made of several scandalous papers, lately published under the name of Richard Steele, esquire, a member of the house. Sir William Wyndham observed, that some of that author's writings contained insolent injurious reflections on the queen herself, and were dictated by the spirit of rebellion. Steele was ordered to attend in his place; some paragraphs of his works were read; and he answered them with an affected air of self-confidence and unconcern. A day being appointed for his trial, he acknowledged the writings, and entered into a more circumstantial defence. He was assisted by Mr. Addison, general Stanhope, and Mr. Walpole; and attacked by sir William Wyndham, Mr. Foley, and the attorney-general. Whatever could be urged in his favour was but little regarded by the majority, which voted, that two pamphlets, entitled, "The Englishman, and the Crisis," written by Richard Steele, esquire, were scandalous and seditious libels; and that he should be expelled the house of commons.
The lords taking into consideration the state of the nation, resolved upon addresses to the queen, desiring they might know what steps had been taken for removing the pretender from the dominions of the duke of Lorraine; that she would impart to them a detail of the negotiations for peace, a recital of the instances which had been made in favour of the Catalans, and an account of the monies granted by parliament since the year one thousand seven hundred and ten, to carry on the war in Spain and Portugal. They afterwards agreed to other addresses, beseeching her majesty to lay before them the debts and state of the navy, the particular writs of Noli Prosequi granted since her accession to the throne, and a list of such persons as, notwithstanding sentence of outlawry or attainder, had obtained licenses to return into Great Britain, or other of her majesty's dominions, since the revolution. Having voted an application to the queen in behalf of the distressed Catalans, the house adjourned itself to the last day of March. As the minds of men had been artfully irritated by false reports of a design undertaken by France in behalf of the pretender, the ambassador of that crown at the Hague disowned it in a public paper, by command of his most christian majesty. The suspicions of many people, however, had been too deeply planted, by the arts and insinuations of the whig leaders, to be eradicated by this or any other declaration; and what served to rivet their apprehensions, was a total removal of the whigs from all the employments, civil and military, which they had hitherto retained. These were now bestowed upon professed tories, some of whom were attached at bottom to the supposed heir of blood. At a time when the queen's views were maliciously misrepresented; when the wheels of her government were actually impeded, and her servants threatened with proscription by a powerful, turbulent, and implacable faction; no wonder that she discharged the partisans of that faction from her service, and filled their places with those who were distinguished by a warm affection to the house of Stuart, and by a submissive respect for the regal authority. Those were steps which her own sagacity must have suggested; and which her ministers would naturally advise, as necessary for their own preservation. The whigs were all in commotion, either apprehending or affecting to apprehend that a design was formed to secure the pretender's succession to the throne of Great Britain.
1714.
Their chiefs held secret consultations with baron Schutz, the resident from Hanover. They communicated their observations to the elector; they received his instructions; they maintained a correspondence with the duke of Marlborough; and they concerted measures for opposing all efforts that might be made against the protestant succession upon the death of the queen, whose health was by this time so much impaired, that every week was believed to be the last of her life. This conduct of the whigs was resolute, active, and would have been laudable, had their zeal been confined within the bounds of truth and moderation; but they, moreover, employed all their arts to excite and encourage the fears and jealousies of the people.
The house of peers resounded with debates upon the Catalans, the pretender, and the danger that threatened the protestant succession. With respect to the Catalans, they represented, that Great Britain had prevailed upon them to declare for the house of Austria, with promise of support; and that these engagements ought to have been made good. Lord Bolingbroke declared that the queen had used all her endeavours in their behalf; and that the engagements with them subsisted no longer than king Charles resided in Spain. They agreed, however, to an address, acknowledging her majesty's endeavours in favour of the Catalans, and requesting she would continue her interposition in their behalf. With respect to the pretender, the whig lords expressed such a spirit of persecution and rancorous hate, as would have disgraced the members of any, even the lowest assembly of christians. Not contented with hunting him from one country to another, they seemed eagerly bent upon extirpating him from the face of the earth, as if they had thought it was a crime in him to be born. The earl of Sunderland declared, from the information of the minister of Lorraine, that, notwithstanding the application of both houses to her majesty during the last session, concerning the pretender's being removed from Lorraine, no instances had yet been made to the duke for that purpose. Lord Bolingbroke affirmed that he himself had made those instances, in the queen's name, to that very minister before his departure from England. The earl of Wharton proposed a question: "Whether the protestant succession was in danger under the present administration?" A warm debate ensued, in which the archbishop of York and the earl of Anglesea joined in the opposition to the ministry. The earl pretended to be convinced and converted by the arguments used in the course of the debate. He owned he had given his assent to the cessation of arms, for which he took shame to himself, asking pardon of God, his country, and his conscience. He affirmed, that the honour of his sovereign, and the good of his country, were the rules of his actions; but that, without respect of persons, should he find himself imposed upon, he durst pursue an evil minister from the queen's closet to the Tower, and from the Tower to the scaffold. This conversion, however, was much more owing to a full persuasion that a ministry divided against itself could not long subsist, and that the protestant succession was firmly secured. He therefore resolved to make a merit of withdrawing himself from the interests of a tottering administration, in whose ruin he might be involved. The duke of Argyle charged the ministers with mal-administration, both within those walls and without: he offered to prove that the lord-treasurer had yearly remitted a sum of money to the Highland clans of Scotland, who were known to be entirely devoted to the pretender. He affirmed that the new-modelling of the army, the practice of disbanding some regiments out of their turn, and removing a great number of officers, on account of their affection to the house of Hanover, were clear indications of the ministry's designs: that it was a disgrace to the nation to see men, who had never looked an enemy in the face, advanced to the posts of several brave officers, who, after they had often exposed their lives for their country, were now starving in prison for debt, on account of their pay being detained. The treasurer, laying his hand upon his breast, said he had on so many occasions given such signal proofs of affection to the protestant succession, that he was sure no member of that august assembly did call it in question. He owned he had remitted, for two or three years past, between three and four thousand pounds to the Highland clans; and he hoped the house would give him an opportunity to clear his conduct in that particular: with respect to the reformed officers, he declared he had given orders for their being immediately paid. The protestant succession was voted out of danger by a small majority.
Lord Halifax proposed an address to the queen, that she would renew her instances for the speedy removing the pretender out of Lorraine; and that she would, in conjunction with the states-general, enter into a guarantee of the protestant succession in the house of Hanover. The earl of Wharton moved, that in the address her majesty should be desired to issue a proclamation, promising a reward to any person who should apprehend the pretender dead or alive. He was seconded by the duke of Bolton, and the house agreed that an address should be presented. When it was reported by the committee, lord North and Grey expatiated upon the barbarity of setting a price on any one's head: he proved it was an encouragement to murder and assassination; contrary to the precepts of Christianity; repugnant to the law of nature and nations; inconsistent with the dignity of such an august assembly, and with the honour of a nation famed for lenity and mercy. He was supported by lord Trevor, who moved that the reward should be promised for apprehending and bringing the pretender to justice, in case he should land or attempt to land in Great Britain or Ireland. The cruelty of the first clause was zealously supported and vindicated by the lords Cowper and Halifax; but by this time the earl of Anglesea and some others, who had abandoned the ministry, were brought back to their former principles by promise of profitable employments, and the mitigation was adopted by a majority of ten voices. To this address, which was delivered by the chancellor and the whig lords only, the queen replied in these words: "My lords, it would be a real strengthening to the succession in the house of Hanover, as well as a support to my government, that an end were put to those groundless fears and jealousies which have been so industriously promoted. I do not at this time see any occasion for such a proclamation. Whenever I judge it to be necessary, I shall give my orders for having it issued. As to the other particulars of this address, I will give proper directions therein." She was likewise importuned, by another address, to issue out a proclamation against all Jesuits, popish priests, and bishops, as well as against all such as were outlawed for adhering to the late king James and the pretender. The house resolved that no person, not included in the articles of Limerick, and who had borne arms in France and Spain, should be capable of any employment, civil or military: and that no person, a natural born subject of her majesty, should be capable of sustaining the character of a public minister from any foreign potentate. These resolutions were aimed at sir Patrick Lawless, an Irish papist, who had come to England with a credential letter from king Philip, but now thought proper to quit the kingdom.
Then the lords in the opposition made an attack upon the treasurer, concerning the money he had remitted to the Highlanders; but Oxford silenced his opposers, by asserting, that in so doing he had followed the example of king William, who, after he had reduced that people, thought fit to allow yearly pensions to the heads of clans, in order to keep them quiet. His conduct was approved by the house; and lord North and Grey moved that a day might be appointed for considering the state of the nation, with regard to the treaties of peace and commerce. The motion was seconded by the earl of Clarendon, and the thirteenth day of April fixed for this purpose. In the meantime, baron Schutz demanded of the chancellor a writ for the electoral prince of Hanover, to sit in the house of peers as duke of Cambridge, intimating that his design was to reside in England. The writ was granted with reluctance; but the prince's design of coming to England was so disagreeable to the queen, that she signified her disapprobation of such a step in a letter to the princess Sophia. She observed, that such a method of proceeding would be dangerous to the succession itself, which was not secure any other way, than as the prince who was in actual possession of the throne maintained her authority and prerogative: she said a great many people in England were seditiously disposed; so she left her highness to judge what tumults they might be able to raise, should they have a pretext to begin a commotion; she, therefore, persuaded herself that her aunt would not consent to any thing which might disturb the repose of her and her subjects. At the same time she wrote a letter to the electoral prince, complaining that he had formed such a resolution without first knowing her sentiments on the subject; and telling him plainly that nothing could be more dangerous to the tranquillity of her dominions, to the right of succession in the Hanoverian line, or more disagreeable to her, than such conduct at this juncture. A third letter was written to the elector, his father; and the treasurer took this opportunity to assure that prince of his inviolable attachment to the family of Hanover.
The whig lords were dissatisfied with the queen's answer to their address concerning the pretender, and they moved for another address on the same subject, which was resolved upon, but never presented. They took into consideration the treaties of peace and commerce, to which many exceptions were taken; and much sarcasm was expended on both sides of the dispute; but at length the majority carried the question in favour of an address, acknowledging her majesty's goodness in delivering them, by a safe, honourable, and advantageous peace with France, from the burden of a consuming land war, unequally carried on, and become at last impracticable. The house of commons concurred in this address, after having voted that the protestant succession was out of danger; but these resolutions were not taken without violent opposition, in which general Stanhope, Mr. Lechmere, and Mr. Walpole, chiefly distinguished themselves. The letters which the queen had written to the electoral house of Hanover were printed and published in England, with a view to inform the friends of that family of the reasons which prevented the duke of Cambridge from executing his design of residing in Great Britain. The queen considered this step as a personal insult, as well as an attempt to prejudice her in the opinion of her subjects: she therefore ordered the publisher to be taken into custody. At this period the princess Sophia died, in the eighty-fourth year of her age; and her death was intimated to the queen by baron Bothmar, who arrived in England with the character of envoy-extraordinary from the elector of Hanover. This princess was the fourth and youngest daughter of Frederick, elector Palatine, king of Bohemia, and Elizabeth daughter of king James I. of England. She enjoyed from nature an excellent capacity, which was finely cultivated; and was in all respects one of the most accomplished princesses of the age in which she lived. At her death the court of England appeared in mourning; and the elector of Brunswick was prayed for by name in the liturgy of the church of England. On the twelfth day of May, sir William Wyndham made a motion for a bill to prevent the growth of schism, and for the further security of the church of England as by law established. The design of it was to prohibit dissenters from teaching in schools and academies. It was accordingly prepared, and eagerly opposed in each house as a species of persecution. Nevertheless, it made its way through both, and received the royal assent; but the queen dying before it took place, this law was rendered ineffectual.
Her majesty's constitution was now quite broken; one fit of sickness succeeded another; what completed the ruin of her health was the anxiety of her mind, occasioned partly by the discontents which had been raised and fomented by the enemies of her government; and partly by the dissensions among her ministers, which were now become intolerable. The council chamber was turned into a scene of obstinate dispute and bitter altercation. Even in the queen's presence the treasurer and secretary did not restrain from mutual obliquy and reproach. Oxford advised moderate measures, and is said to have made advances towards a reconciliation with the leaders of the whig party. As he foresaw it would soon be their turn to domineer, such precautions were necessary for his own safety. Bolingbroke affected to set the whigs at defiance; he professed a warm zeal for the church; he soothed the queen's inclinations with the most assiduous attention. He and his coadjutrix insinuated, that the treasurer was biassed in favour of the dissenters, and even that he acted as a spy for the house of Hanover. In the midst of these disputes and commotions the Jacobites were not idle. They flattered themselves that the queen in secret favoured the pretensions of her brother; and they depended upon Bolingbroke's attachment to the same interest. They believed the same sentiments were cherished by the nation in general. They held private assemblies both in Great Britain and in Ireland. They concerted measures for turning the dissensions of the kingdom to the advantage of their cause. They even proceeded so far as to enlist men for the service of the pretender. Some of these practices were discovered by the earl of Wharton, who did not fail to sound the alarm. A proclamation was immediately published, promising a reward of five thousand pounds for apprehending the pretender, whenever he should land or attempt to land in Great Britain. The commons voted an address of thanks for the proclamation; and assured her majesty, that they would cheerfully aid and assist her, by granting the sum of a hundred thousand pounds, as a further reward to any who should perform so great a service to her majesty and her kingdom. The lords likewise presented an address on the same subject. Lord Bolingbroke proposed a bill, decreeing the penalties of high treason against those who should list or be enlisted in the pretender's service. The motion was approved, and the penalty extended to all those who should list or be enlisted in the service of any foreign prince or state, without a license under the sign manual of her majesty, her heirs, or successors.
ANNE, 1701—1714
On the second day of July, the lords took into consideration the treaty of commerce with Spain; and a great number of merchants being examined at the bar of tha house, declared that unless the explanation of the third, fifth, and eighth articles, as made at Madrid after the treaty was signed, were rescinded, they could not carry on their commerce without losing five and twenty per cent. After a long debate, the house resolved to address the queen for all the papers relating to the negotiation of the treaty of commerce with Spain, with the names of the persons who advised her majesty to that treaty. To this address she replied, that understanding the three explanatory articles of the treaty were not detrimental to the trade of her subjects, she had consented to their being ratified with the treaty. The earl of Wharton represented, that if so little regard was shown to the addresses of that august assembly to the sovereign, they had no business in that house. He moved for a remonstrance, to lay before her majesty the insuperable difficulties that attended the Spanish trade on the footing of the late treaty; and the house agreed to his motion. Another member moved, that the house should insist on her majesty's naming the person who advised her to ratify the three explanatory articles. This was a blow aimed at Arthur Moore, a member of the lower house, whom lord Bolingbroke had consulted on the subject of the treaty. He was screened by the majority in parliament; but a general court of the South Sea company resolved, upon a complaint exhibited by captain Johnson, that Arthur Moore, while a director, was privy to and encouraged the design of carrying on a clandestine trade, to the prejudice of the corporation, contrary to his oath, and in breach of the trust reposed in him; that therefore, he should be declared incapable of being a director of, or having any employment in, this company. The queen had reserved to herself the quarter-part of the assiento contract, which she now gave up to the company, and received the thanks of the upper house; but she would not discover the names of those who advised her to ratify the explanatory articles. On the ninth day of July, she thought proper to put an end to the session with a speech on the usual subjects. After having assured them that her chief concern was to preserve the protestant religion, the liberty of her subjects, and to secure the tranquillity of her kingdom, she concluded in these words—"But I must tell you plainly, that these desirable ends can never be obtained, unless you bring the same dispositions on your parts; unless all groundless jealousies, which create and foment divisions among you, be laid aside; and, unless you show the same regard for my just prerogative, and for the honour of my government, as I have always expressed for the rights of my people."
After the peace had thus received the sanction of the parliament, the ministers, being no longer restrained by the tie of common danger, gave a loose to their mutual animosity. Oxford wrote a letter to the queen containing a detail of the public transactions; in the course of which he endeavoured to justify his own conduct, and expose the turbulent and ambitious spirit of his rival. On the other hand, Bolingbroke charged the treasurer with having invited the duke of Marlborough to return from his voluntary exile, and maintained a private correspondence with the house of Hanover. The duke of Shrewsbury likewise complained of his having presumed to send orders to him in Ireland, without the privity of her majesty and the council. In all probability his greatest crime was his having given umbrage to the favourite, lady Masham. Certain it is, on the twenty-seventh day of July, a very acrimonious dialogue passed between that lady, the chancellor, and Oxford, in the queen's presence. The treasurer affirmed he had been wronged and abused by lies and misrepresentations, but he threatened vengeance, declaring that he would leave some people as low as he had found them when they first attracted his notice. In the meantime he was removed from his employment; and Bolingbroke seemed to triumph in the victory he had obtained. He laid his account with being admitted as chief minister into the administration of affairs; and is said to have formed a design of a coalition with the duke of Marlborough, who at this very time embarked at Ostend for England. Probably, Oxford had tried to play the same game, but met with a repulse from the duke, on account of the implacable resentment which the duchess had conceived against that minister.
Whatever schemes might have been formed, the fall of the treasurer was so sudden, that no plan was established for supplying the vacancy occasioned by his disgrace. The confusion that incessantly ensued at court, and the fatigue of attending a long cabinet-council on this event, had such an effect upon the queen's spirits and constitution, that she declared she should not outlive it, and was immediately seized with a lethargic disorder. Notwithstanding all the medicines which the physicians could prescribe, the distemper gained ground so fast, that next day, which was the thirtieth of July, they despaired of her life. Then the committee of the council assembled at the Cockpit adjourned to Kensington. The dukes of Somerset and Argyle, informed of the desperate situation in which she lay, repaired to the palace; and, without being summoned, entered the council-chamber. The members were surprised at their appearance; but the duke of Shrewsbury thanked them for their readiness to give their assistance at such a critical juncture, and desired they would take their places. The physicians having declared that the queen was still sensible, the council unanimously agreed to recommend the duke of Shrewsbury as the fittest person to fill the place of lord-treasurer. When this opinion was intimated to the queen, she said they could not have recommended a person she liked better than the duke of Shrewsbury. She delivered to him the white staff, bidding him use it for the good of her people. He would have returned the lord-chamberlain's staff, but she desired he would keep them both; so that he was at one time possessed of the three greatest posts in the kingdom, under the titles of lord-treasurer, lord-chamberlain, and lord-lieutenant of Ireland. No nobleman in England better deserved such distinguishing marks of his sovereign's favour. He was modest, liberal, disinterested, and a warm friend to his country. Bolingbroke's ambition was defeated by the vigour which the dukes of Somerset and Argyle exerted on this occasion. They proposed that all privy-counsellors in or about London should be invited to attend, without distinction of party. The motion was approved; and lord Somers, with many other whig members, repaired to Kensington. The council being thus reinforced, began to provide for the security of the kingdom. Orders were immediately despatched to four regiments of horse and dragoons quartered in remote counties, to march up to the neighbourhood of London and Westminster. Seven of the ten British battalions in the Netherlands were directed to embark at Ostend for England with all possible expedition; an embargo was laid upon all shipping; and directions given for equipping all the ships of war that could be soonest in a condition for service. They sent a letter to the elector of Brunswick, signifying that the physicians had despaired of the queen's life; informing him of the measures they had taken; and desiring he would, with all convenient speed, repair to Holland, where he should be attended by a British squadron to convey him to England, in case of her majesty's decease. At the same time they despatched instructions to the earl of Strafford, to desire the states-general would be ready to perform the guarantee of the protestant succession. The heralds-at-arms were kept in waiting with a troop of horse guards, to proclaim the new king as soon as the throne should become vacant. Precautions were taken to secure the sea-ports; to overawe the Jacobites in Scotland; and the command of the fleet was bestowed upon the earl of Berkeley.
The queen continued to doze in a lethargic insensibility, with very short intervals, till the first day of August in the morning, when she expired in the fiftieth year of her age, and in the thirteenth of her reign. Anne Stuart, queen of Great Britain, was in her person of the middle size, well proportioned. Her hair was of the dark brown colour, her complexion ruddy; her features were regular, her countenance was rather round than oval, and her aspect more comely than majestic. Her voice was clear and melodious, and her presence engaging. Her capacity was naturally good, but not much cultivated by learning; nor did she exhibit any marks of extraordinary genius or personal ambition. She was certainly deficient in that vigour of mind by which a prince ought to preserve his independence, and avoid the snares and fetters of sycophants and favourites; but whatever her weakness in this particular might have been, the virtues of her heart were never called in question. She was a pattern of conjugal affection and fidelity, a tender mother, a warm friend, an indulgent mistress, a munificent patron, a mild and merciful princess, during whose reign no subject's blood was shed for treason. She was zealously attached to the church of England from conviction rather than from prepossession, unaffectedly pious, just, charitable, and compassionate. She felt a mother's fondness for her people, by whom she was universally beloved with a warmth of affection which even the prejudice of party could not abate. In a word, if she was not the greatest, she was certainly one of the best and most unblemished sovereigns that ever sat upon the throne of England, and well deserved the expressive, though simple epithet, of "The good queen Anne."
107 (return)
[ Note P, p. 107. In their hours of debauch, they drank to
the health of Sorrel, meaning the horse that fell with the king; and,
under the appellation of the little gentleman in velvet, toasted the
mole that raised the hill over which the horse had stumbled. As the
beast had formerly belonged to sir John Fenwick, they insinuated
that William's fate was a judgment upon him for his cruelty to that
gentleman; and a Latin epigram was written on the occasion.]
108 (return)
[ Note Q, p. 107. Doctor Binkes, in a sermon preached
before the convocation, on the thirtieth day of January, drew a parallel
between the sufferings of Christ and those of king Charles, to which
last he gave the preference, in point of right, character, and station.]
109 (return)
[ Note R, p. 107. During this short session, the queen
gave her assent to an act for laying a duty upon land; to another
for encouraging the Greenland trade; to a third for making good the
deficiencies and the public credit; to a fourth for continuing the
imprisonment of Counter, and other conspirators against king William; to
a fifth for the relief of protestant purchasers of the forfeited estates
of Ireland; to a sixth, enlarging the time for taking the oath of
abjuration; to a seventh, obliging the Jews to maintain and provide for
their protestant children.]
112 (return)
[ Note S, p. 112. When one of his lieutenants expressed
his sorrow for the loss of the admiral's leg, "I am sorry for it too
(replied the gallant Benbow), but I had rather have lost them both than
have seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation. But, do you
hear? If another shot should take me off, behave like brave men, and
fight it out." When Du Casse arrived at Carthagena, he wrote a letter to
Benbow to this effect:
"Sir, I had little hope on Monday last but to have supped in your
cabin; but it pleased God to order it otherwise. I am thankful for it.
As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up; for, by
God they deserve it.—Yours, "Du Casse."]
114 (return)
[ Note T p. 114. While this bill was depending, Daniel
De Foe published a pamphlet, intituled, "The Shortest Way with the
Dissenters; or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church." The
piece was a severe satire on the violence of the church party. The
commons ordered it to be burned by the hands of the common hangman, and
the author to be prosecuted. He was accordingly committed to Newgate,
tried, condemned to pay a fine of two hundred pounds, and stand in the
pillory.]
115 (return)
[ Note U, p. 115. These were John Granville, created baron
Granville of Potheridge, in the county of Devon; Heneage Finch, baron
of Guernsey, in the county of Southampton; sir John Leveson Gower, baron
Gower of Sittenham, in Yorkshire; and Francis Seymour Conway, youngest
son of sir Edward Seymour, made baron Conway of Bagley, in the county
of Warwick. At the same time, however, John Harvey, of the opposite
faction, was created baron of Ickworth, in the county of Suffolk;
and the marquis of Normanby was honoured with the title of duke of
Buckinghamshire.]
117 (return)
[ Note X, p. 117. Though the queen refused to pass the act
of security, the royal assent was granted to an act of limitation on the
successor, in which it was declared, that no king or queen of Scotland
should have power to make war or peace without consent of parliament.
Another law was enacted, allowing French wines and other liquors to be
imported in neutral bottoms. Without this expedient, it was alleged that
the revenue would have been insufficient to maintain the government. An
act passed in favour of the company trading to Africa and the Indies;
another for a commission concerning the public accounts; a third for
punishing slanderous speeches and writings. The commission for treating
of a union with England was vacated, with a prohibition to grant any
other commission for that purpose without consent of parliament; and no
supply having been provided before the adjournment, the army and expense
of government were maintained upon credit.]
118 (return)
[ Note Y, p. 117. The marquis of Athol, and the marquis of
Douglas, though this last was a minor, were created dukes. Lord Tarbat
was invested with the title of earl of Cromarty; the viscount Stair and
Roseberry were promoted to the same dignity; lord Boyle was created
earl of Glasgow; James Stuart of Bute, earl of Bute; Charles Hope
of Hopetoun, earl of Hopetoun; John Crawford of Kilbirnie, viscount
Garnock; and sir James Primrose of Carrington, viscount Primrose.]
119 (return)
[ Note Z, p.118. They had, besides the bills already
mentioned, passed an act for an additional excise on beer, ale, and
other liquors; another encouraging the importation of iron and staves;
a third for preventing popish priests from coming into the kingdom;
a fourth securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of
imprisonment beyond seas; and a fifth for naturalizing all protestant
strangers.]
136 (return)
[ Note K, p. 136 Voltaire, upon what authority we know not,
tells us, that during the capitulation the German and Catalonian troops
found means to climb over the ramparts into the city, and began
to commit the most barbarous excesses. The viceroy complained to
Peterborough that his soldiers had taken an unfair advantage of the
treaty, and were actually employed in burning, plundering, murdering,
and violating the inhabitants. The earl replied, "They must then be
the troops of the prince of Hesse: allow me to enter the city with my
English forces; I will save it from ruin, oblige the Germans to retire,
and march back again to our present situation." The viceroy trusted his
honour, and forthwith admitted the earl with his troops. He soon drove
out the Germans and Catalonians, after having obliged them to quit the
plunder they had taken; and by accident he rescued the duchess of Popoli
from the hands of two brutal soldiers, and delivered her to her husband.
Having thus appeased the tumult, and dispelled the horrors of the
citizens, he returned to his former station, leaving the inhabitants of
Barcelona amazed at such an instance of magnanimity and moderation in
a people whom they had been taught to consider as the most savage
barbarians.]
139 (return)
[ Note 2 A, p. 139. The English commissioners were, Thomas
lord archbishop of Canterbury; William Cowper, lord-keeper of the
great seal; John lord archbishop of York; Sidney lord Godolphin,
lord-high-treasurer of England; Thomas earl of Pembroke and Montgomery,
president of the council; John duke of Newcastle, keeper of the
privy-seal; William duke of Devonshire, steward of the household;
Charles duke of Somerset, master of the horse; Charles duke of Bolton,
Charles earl of Sunderland, Evelyn earl of Kingston, Charles earl of
Carlisle, Edward earl of Orford, charles viscount Townshend, Thomas lord
Wharton, Ralph lord Grey, John lord Powlet, John lord Somers, Charles
lord Halifax, William Cavendish marquis of Harrington, John Manners
marquis of Grandby; sir Charles Hedges and Robert Harley, principal
secretaries of state; John Smith; Henry Boyle, chancellor of the
exchequer; sir John Holt, chief justice of the Queen's Bench; sir
Thomas Trevor, chief justice of the Common Pleas; sir Edward Northey,
attorney-general; sir Simon Harcourt, solicitor-general; sir John Cook;
and Stephen Waller, doctor of laws.—The Scottish commissioners were,
James earl of Seafield, lord-chancellor of Scotland; James duke of
Queensberry, lord-privy-seal; John earl of Mar, and Hugh earl of Loudon,
principal secretaries of state; John earl of Sutherland, John earl of
Morton, David earl of Wemys, David earl of Leven, John earl of Stair,
Archibald earl of Eoseberry, David earl of Glasgow, lord Archibald
Campbell, Thomas viscount Duplin, lord William Eoss, sir Hugh Dalrymple,
president of the session; Adam Cockbum of Ormistoun, lord-justice-clerk;
sir Eobert Dundas, of Arnistoun, Eobert Stuart of Tillieultrie, lords
of the session; Mr. Francis Montgomery, one of the commissioners of
the treasury; sir David Dalrymple, one of her majesty's solicitors; sir
Alexander Ogilvie, receiver-general; sir Patrick Johnston, provost of
Edinburgh; sir James Smollet of Bonhill; George Lock-hart of Carwath;
William Morrison of Petgongrange; Alexander Grant; William Seton of
Pitmidden, John Clerk of Pennycook, Hugh Montgomery, Daniel Stuart, and
Daniel Campbell.]
149 (return)
[ Note 2 B, p. 149 This passage was effected to the
astonishment of the French, who thought the works they had raised on
that river were impregnable. The honour of the enterprise was in a
great measure owing to the gallantry of sir John Norris and the English
seamen. That brave officer, embarking in boats with six hundred sailors
and marines, entered the river, and were rowed within musket shot of the
enemy's works, where they made such a vigorous and unexpected attack,
that the French were immediately driven from that part of their
in-trenchments; then sir John landed with his men, clambered over the
works that were deemed inaccessible, and attacking the defendants sword
in hand, compelled them to fly with the utmost precipitation. This
detachment was sustained by sir Cloudesly Shovel in person. The duke of
Savoy, taking advantage of the enemy's consternation, passed the river
almost without opposition.]
150 (return)
[ Note 2C, p. 149. In the month of May, three ships of the
line, namely, the Royal Oak, of seventy-six guns, commanded by commodore
baron Wyldo; the Grafton, of seventy guns, captain Edward Acton; and
the Hampton-Court, of seventy guns, captain George Clements, sailed as
convoy to the West India and Portugal fleet of merchant-ships, amounting
to five-and-forty sail. They fell in with the Dunkirk squadron,
consisting of ten ships of war, one frigate, and four privateers, under
the command of M. de Forbin. A furious action immediately ensued,
and notwithstanding the vast disproportion in point of number, was
maintained by the English commodore with great gallantry, until captain
Acton was killed, captain Clements mortally wounded, and the Grafton and
Hampton-Court were taken, after having sunk the Salisbury, at that time
in the hands of the French; then the commodore, having eleven feet water
in his hold, disengaged himself from the enemy, by whom he had been
surrounded, and ran his ship aground near Dungenness; but she afterwards
floated, and he brought her safe into the Downs. In the meantime,
the French frigate and privateers made prize of twenty-one
English merchant-ships of great value, which, with the Grafton and
Hampton-Court, Forbin conveyed in triumph to Dunkirk. In July, the same
active officer took fifteen ships belonging to the Eussian company, off
the coast of Lapland; in September, he joined another squadron fitted
out at Brest, under the command of the celebrated M. du Guai Tronin,
and these attacked, off the Lizard, the convoy of the Portugal fleet,
consisting of the Cumberland, captain Richard Edwards, of eighty guns;
the Devonshire, of eighty; the Royal Oak, of seventy-six; the Chester
and Ruby, of fifty guns each. Though the French squadron did not fall
short of twelve sail of the line, the English captains maintained the
action for many hours with surprising valour. At length the Devonshire
was obliged to yield to superior numbers; the Cumberland blew up; the
Chester and Ruby were taken; the Royal Oak fought her way through the
midst of her enemies, and arrived safe in the harbour of Kinsale; and
the Lisbon fleet saved themselves, by making the best of their way
during the engagement. Since the battle off Malaga, the French king had
never dared to keep the sea with a large fleet, but carried on a kind of
piratical war of this sort, in order to distress the trade of
England. He was the more encouraged to pursue these measures, by
the correspondence which his ministers carried on with some wretches
belonging to the admiralty, and other officers, who basely betrayed
their country in transmitting to France such intelligence concerning the
convoys appointed for the protection of commerce, as enabled the enemy
to attack them at advantage. In the course of this year the French
fishery, stages, ships, and vessels in Newfoundland were taken, burned,
and destroyed, by captain John Underdown, of the Falkland.]
153 (return)
[ Note 2 D, p. 153. Three Camisars, or protestants,
from the Cevennois, having made their escape, and repaired to London,
acquired about this time the appellation of French prophets, from their
enthusiastic gesticulations, effusions, and convulsions; and even formed
a sect of their countrymen. The French refugees, scandalized at their
behaviour, and authorized by the bishop of London, as superior of the
French congregations, resolved to inquire into the mission of these
pretended prophets, whose names were Elias Marion, John Cavalier,
and Durand Rage. They were declared impostors and counterfeits.
Notwithstanding this decision, which was confirmed by the bishops, they
continued their assemblies in Soho, under the countenance of sir Richard
Bulkeley and John Lacy. They reviled the ministers of the established
church; they denounced judgments against the city of London, and the
whole British nation; and published their predictions, composed of
unintelligible jargon. Then they were prosecuted at the expense of the
French churches, as disturbers of the public peace, and false prophets.
They were sentenced to pay a fine of twenty marks each, and stand twice
on a scaffold, with papers on their breasts, denoting their offence; a
sentence which was executed accordingly at Charing-Cross, and the Royal
Exchange.
In the course of this year, Mr. Stanhope, who was resident from the
queen at the court of Charles, concluded a treaty of commerce with
this monarch, which would have proved extremely advantageous to Great
Britain, had he been firmly established on the throne of Spain. It was
stipulated that the English merchants should enjoy the privilege of
importing all kinds of merchandise from the coast of Barbary into the
maritime places of Spain, without paying any higher duty than if that
merchandise had been the produce of Great Britain; and that even these
duties should not be paid till six months after the merchandise should
be landed and sold, and merchants giving security for the customs. It
was agreed that the whole commerce of the Spanish West Indies should be
carried on by a joint company of Spanish and British merchants; and in
the interim, as the greater part of that country was in the hands of
Philip, his competitor consented that the British subjects should
trade freely in all the ports of the West Indies with ten ships of five
hundred tons each, under such convoy as her Britannic majesty should
think fit to appoint.]
154 (return)
[ Note 2 E, p. 154. Before the opening of the campaign, a
very daring enterprise was formed by one colonel Queintern, a partisan
in the Imperial army. This man laid a scheme for carrying off the
dauphin of France from the court of Versailles. He selected thirty men
of approved valour for this undertaking. He procured passes for
them, and they rendezvoused in the neighbourhood of Paris. On the
twenty-fourth day of March, in the evening, he and his accomplices
stopped a coach and six, with the king's liveries, and arrested the
person who was in it, on the supposition of his being a prince of the
blood. It was, however, M. de Barringhen, the king's first equerry.
This officer they mounted on a spare horse, and set out for the Low
Countries; but, being little acquainted with the roads, they did not
reach Chantilly till next morning, when they heard the tocsin, or
alarm-bell, and thence concluded that detachments were sent out
in pursuit of them. Nevertheless, they proceeded boldly, and would
certainly have carried the point, had not Queintern halted three
hours for the refreshment of his prisoner, who complained of his being
indisposed. He likewise procured a chaise, and ordered the back of it to
be lowered for his convenience. These acts of humanity retarded him
so much, that he was overtaken by a detachment of horse at Ham, within
three hours' ride of a place of safety. Finding himself surrounded, he
thought proper to surrender, and M. de Berringhen treated him with
great generosity, for the civilities he had experienced at his hands.
He carried him back to Versailles, and lodged him in his own apartments.
Madame de Berringhen made him a considerable present; and the king
ordered him and his companions to be discharged, on account of the
courage and humanity they had displayed.]
173 (return)
[ Note 2 F, p. 173. Lord Compton and lord Bruce, sons of
the earls of Northampton and Aylesbury, were called up by writ to the
house of peers. The other ten were these: lord Duplin of the kingdom of
Scotland, created baron Hay of Bed warden, in the county of Hereford;
lord viscount Windsor of Ireland, made baron Mountjoy, in the Isle of
Wight; Henry Paget, son of lord Paget, created baron Burton, in the
county of Stafford; sir Thomas Mansel, baron Mansel of Margam, in
the county of Glamorgan; sir Thomas Willoughby, baron Middleton, of
Mittleton, in the county of Warwick; sir Thomas Trevor, baron Trevor of
Bronham, in the county of Bedford; George Granville, baron Lansdown of
Bidde-ford, in the county of Devon; Samuel Masham, baron Masham of Oats,
in the county of Essex; Thomas Foley, baron Foley of Kidderminster,
in the county of Worcester; and Allen Bathurst, baron Bathurst of
Bathels-den, in the county of Bedford. On the first day of their being
introduced, when the question was put about adjourning, the earl of
Wharton asked one of them, "Whether they voted by their foreman?"]
174 (return)
[ Note 2 G, p. 174. The commissioners appointed for taking,
stating, and examining the public accounts, having made their report
touching the conduct of Mr. Walpole, the house, after a long debate,
came to the following resolutions: 1. That Robert Walpole, esq., a
member of this house, in receiving the sum of five hundred guineas, and
in taking a note for five hundred more, on account of two contracts for
forage of her majesty's troops, quartered in North Britain, made by him
when secretary at war, pursuant to a power granted to him by the late
lord-treasurer, is guilty of a high breach of trust and notorious
corruption. 2. That the said Robert Walpole, esq., be, for the said
offence, committed prisoner to the Tower of London, during the pleasure
of this house; and that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant accordingly.
3. That the said Robert Walpole, esq., be, for the said offence, also
expelled the house, and that the report of the commissioners of public
accounts be taken into further consideration this day se'nnight. It
appeared from the depositions of witnesses, that the public had been
defrauded considerably by these contracts. Very severe speech was made
in the house, and next day published, reflecting upon Mr. Walpole, as
guilty of the worst kind of corruption; and sir Peter King declared in
the house, that he deserved hanging as well as he deserved imprisonment
and expulsion.]
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