A

REPRESENTATIONO F

Matters of Fa&Concerning the

LATE WARSHEWING

The Juft Rcafons for engaging in it, andthe ill Confequence that attends Great- Britainby the late INGLORIOUS PEACE.

WITHi Parallel between the Two Laft Miniftries

;Plainly proving who were the beft Frie.ids to theirCountry. With fcrr.^ Remarks on the late Peace-Makers.

uhlijHA with a Dejign to inform thofe Peoplethat are made to think this a Lafting and S^tPEACE.

L N D My

inted for John Baker at the Black Boy in

Pater-nofter Row, 171 j.

/tctf/t'/it&t

(J)

Friends andCountrymen,

SEveral of you have feen with your ownown Eyes, and the reft have, no doubt,

been told by. their Fathers, to what a

miferable condition this Nation was re-

duc'd in the Reign of the late K. James. AProtefiant had nothing which he could call his

own j his Eftate, his Religion, and his Life,

were all in continual danger. Every thing

was tranfa&ed here, as Rome and France dire-

cted : Popery was publickly countenanc'd byAuthority ; and if things had not taken an

unexpected turn, would foon have been efta-

blifh'd by Law, None were prefefr'd then but

fuch as were in the Popijb and French Intereft; :

All others of any confideration were openly

difcourag'd and abus'd. The like Advanceswere made towards Slavery, that neceflary Com-panion of Popery. Several of undoubted Pro-

bity, were turned out of their Freeholds, andothers illegally imprifon d, tho' guilty of noFault, but Handing up bravely in defence ofthe Laws and Religion of their Country. Infhort, all that was dear to us, was juft goingto the Bigotry of a Popijh Prince; and wecould fcarce even hope to efcape : When it

pleas'd God of his infinite Mercy to pluck us,

as a Firebrand out of the Fire ; to raife up a

A z mighty

(4>mighty Deliverer for us, and to refcue us

from the very Brink of Deftru&ion by the

Hands of the late K. William of ever glori-

ous Memory, The French , who have been n

in all Agesfuch true Friends to England, thought

themfelves fecure of reducing this Nation to

the Condition they defir'd to fee it in ; but

finding themfelves difappointed by this fur-

prifing Turn , ufed their utmoft Efforts to I

bring us back to Slavery, and to reftore that

unhappy Prince, on whom all their Hopes

depended ; and therefore to fecure our felves,

and prevent a Relapfe into a worfe State than

we were in before, it was neceflary to de-

clare War againft France : And it was then

purely for our own fakes that the Dutch and

other Allies came into the fame Meafures

with us. Without their AfTiftance , in all

human Probability, we miift have quickly

been overpower'd by France, and confequent -

ly in a worfe condition than ever : So that

our Allies, we fee, have not deferved to be

treated as they have been by fome of this

Nation. Ever fince the Beginning of this

War, notwithftanding we were at Peace with

France for fome time, the French King has

been conflantly endeavouring to difturb the

Quiet of thefe Kingdoms, by attempting to

reinftate K. James whilft alive, and fince his

Death, to impofe his Pretended Son upon us.

And no doubt, he ftill bears us the- fame good

and will fulfil his Promife to K. James

[ 53of being a Father to the Pretender, as foon as

he has it in his Power to be fo. So that, to

find out the Caufe of our Enmity with France,

or the Motives of our entring into an Alli-

ance with the Emperor, the Dutch, &c. 'tis

neceflary to look farther back than the Year

1 701. It pleafed God in this War to blefs us

with fuch Succefs, that France was content

to breathe for a while, and fuffer us to en-

joy our Liberties unmolefted : So that the

fame K. William who refcued us from Slavery,

was likewife the glorious Inftrument of fecu-

ring us againft it for the future. And yet

how is this our great Deliverer, ridicul'd and a-

bufed by fome Men ? Inftead of returning

Thanks for this ftrange and unexpected E-

fcape, they curfe and revile their Preferver,

and never mention his Name without fome

Mark of Contempt : Nay, they do not feru-

pie to condemn the Revolution, and impute

all our Misfortunes to that. And what then

can we think of fuch Men, but that they are

in an Intereft contrary to that of their

Country, and defire to lee it again in the

fame deplorable Circumftances, as it was in at

the time of K. James ? Elfe why do they

vilifie the Revolution > Why do they decry

the Memory of K. William, and thofe other

Glorious Perfons by whofe undaunted Courageand firm Refolution that Great Work wasaccomplifhed ? Why muft we be told that the

Dutch and our other Allies are now becomeour

[«]our mod dangerous Enemies, and that their

Welfare is inconfiftent with that of this

Nation ? And why on the other hand, muft

we be fo induftrioufly taught, that the French

are our bell: Friends, that 'tis our Interefl

to fide v/ith 'em, and that thofe who fo long

kept us at variance , were the word Ene-

mies of England ? Why? I fay, but for this

plain reafon, that the French King may have

it in his power to impofe a Prince upon us,

worfe than his Pretended Father: For cer-

tainly none but Juch9 as have either loft or

fold their Senfes , can think that the Yrench

King will negled to bring over the Pretender,

as foon as he has it in his power. To truft

to his Promifes, without farther Security, is

downright Madnefs or worfe : As her Late

Majefty told the Parliament in her Speech of

the zyth of Oftoher 170^. We have learnt

("faith file ) by our own Experience, that no

Veace with France will lafl longer than the

firft Opportunity of dividing the Allies, and

attaekingfome of them with Advantage. Andtherefore no Engagements on the Part of

the Yrench King ought to be rely'd on anylonger than we can force him to makethem good. As foon as the Power is want-

ing on our Part, he will look upon himfelf as

difcharged on his, and then we fhall be o-

bliged to accept of the Pretender ; and whatmuft be the Confequence of that, her Maje-

fty likewife told us in her Speech to her

Par-

[7]Parliament, April i, 1708. All (fays (he)

that is dear to you, will be irrecoverably loft, if

ever the Dejigns of a Popifti Pretender, bred

up in the Principles of the moft Arbitrary Go-

vernmant jbould take place.

If the Pretender comes over, 'tis plain that

this Nation mud be inevitably ruin'd ; and'tis as plain that the French King will only

flay till he has only Power to bring him :

His regard for his Promifes is but too well

known j nor will he ever keep them againft

his Interefr, Thofe therefore that reflect up-

on K. William, and declare they are forry heever came hither, plainly intimate at whatthey aim : And Thofe who take all Opportu-nities of making a Breach between Us andour Allies, need not tell us what they intend ;

efpecially when at the fame time they repre-

fent the French King as the bed Friend to

England, a Prince fit to be trufled with Power,„

and from whom we can apprehend no Dan-ger.

We come in the next place to reprefent ourReafons for entring into the lafe War in con-

junction with the Allies.

Firft, Wh-:t were the Motives of our entring

into the late War, and what Succefs we had rea-

fon to expeti at the beginning of it.

Second-

[«]

Secondly, What Succefs we have met with,

and whether the Advantages we have gained by

it, are fuch as we might juftly have expelled

Jhould have followedfrom fuch Succefs.

This done, you will eafily judge who are in

the Intereft or England.

In the Year 1701, immediately upon the

Death of the King of Spain, the French Kingcontrary to hbfolemn Oaths and Renunciations,

'

feized on the whole Spanifb Monarchy, placed

his Grandfon Philip on the Throne, and wasrefolved to fupport him in it by Force. Thiswas inconfiftent with the Liberties of Europe,

and therefore in purfuance of the GrandAlliancemade in 1689, a New Alliance was entred into,

iti order to dethrone the Duke of Anjou, andto reftore Spain to King Charles of Auftria,

the rightful Heir of that Crown. And it wasthen agreed in the moft folemn manner be-

twixt all the Powers engaged in that Alliance,

that no Peace fliould be made till the whole

Spanifh Monarchy was obtained for K- Charles :

That they would never fuffer any Part of it to

remain in the pofleflionof the Houfe of Bour-

lon : and that none of them would content to

a Separate Treaty with France. So that the

recovering the whole Monarchy of Spain out

the Hands of the Duke of Anjou, was then, it

feems, thought abfolutely neceffary for fecu-

ring the Liberties of Europe.

Thefe

[9]

Thefe were the Sentiments of the Allies*

But England thought her felf more immedi-

ately concern'd, and did not then fancy it to

be her Intereft to put it in the Power of the

French King to prefcribe Laws to Europe.

Every one was then thoroughly fatisfy'd that

the giving Spain to the Duke of Anjou wouldbe in Effed giving it to the King of France :

And therefore we were apprehenfive, and not

without good reafon, that by this means our

Trade would be entirely ruin tl, whilft France

would be fo much encreas'd in Power, as to

be able to impofe the Pretender upon us, and

no one then doubted, but that he would as foon

as he was able. Nor would his bare Wordhave been taken at that time in matters of

the leaft Confequence, much lefs in thofe of

the greateft, and by fuch who have had letter

Security.

To prevent a greater Evil, a leffer wasthought neceilary ; and accordingly a Warwas declared againft France, not to oblige our

Allies, or upon flight and frivolous Reafons,

as fome fince would endeavour to perfwade us :

No lefs than the Security of our Trade, our

Eftates, our Laws, our Religion and our Li-

berties, as well as the Liberties of all Europe,

were the Motives of our fntrlog into it.

B Our

[io]Our Choice was plain ; nor did we long doubt

which to choofe, either War on one hand, or

inevitable Beggary and Slavery on the o-

ther.

That thefe were our Sentiments at the Be-

ginning of this War, and that they have been

ever fince the fame, will appear from the fol-

lowing Pafiages. t

The Declaration of War againft France

and Spain the qtb of May 1702, runs

thus

:

Hereas King William of Glorious

Memory, in purfuance to the repea-

ted Advice of the Parliament, enter'd into

Solemn Treaties of Alliance with the Empe-ror, th$ States General, &c. for preferving

the Liberty and Balance of Europe, and for

reducing the Exorbitant Power of France ;

which Treaties are grounded upon the un-

juft Ufurpations and Encroachments of the

French King, who had taken, an$ ftill keeps

polleflion of a great part of the Spanijh

Dominions, exercifing an Abfolute Authority

over all that Monarchy ; having feized Mi-lan and the Spanijh Low Countries by his

Armies, and made himfelf Mafter of Cadiz,

of the Entrance into the Mediterranean, and

of the Ports in the Spanijh Weft-Indies, byhis Fleets^ every where defigning to invade

'the

I ll Jthe Liberties of Europe, and to obflrud the

Freedom of Navigation and Commerce : It

being provided by the Third and Fourth Ar-

ticles of the foremention d Alliance, that if

in the fpa.e of Two Months, which are fome

time fince expir'd, the Injuries complain'd of

were not remedy?

d, the Parties concerned

fliould mutually afljft each other with their

whole Strength: And whereas inftead of giv-

ing the Satisfa&ion that ought juftly to be

expe&ed, the French King has not only pro-

ceeded to farther Violence, but has added

thereunto a great Affront and Indignity to

us and our Kingdoms, in taking upon him to

declare the pretended Prince of VVales Kingof England, Scotland and Ireland, and has ai-

fo influenced Spain to concur in the fame Af-

front and Indignity, as well as in other Op-preffions : We find our felves obligd for main-

taining the Publick Faith, for vindicating the

Honour of our Grown, and to prevent the

Mifchiefs which all Europe is threatned with,

to declare War againft France and Spain.^

Her late Majefty in her Speech of the Ninthof November 1703, tells the Houfe of Com-mons of an Alliance Hie had made with the

King of Portugal for recovering the Monar-chy of Spain from the Houfe of Bourbon, andreftoring it to the Houfe of Auftria, and calls

it a Treaty of the highefi importance imaginable.

Bi In

In her Speech of the zyth of Oflober 1705'.

She fays, that nothing can be more Evident

than that if the French King continues Ma-fter of the Spanijh Monarchy, the Ballance ofVomer in Europe is utterly deftroyed, and Hewill be able in a fhort time to engrofs the

trade and the Wealth of the World.

In that of the zyth of November', in the

fame Year, She recommends to the Houfe *

of Commons, to confider of the fpeedielt wayto reflore the Monarchy of Spain to the

Houfe of Auflria. In that of the 6th of No*vember 1707, After She had given the Par-

liament an Account of the Succefles of that J

Year , She tells them , that it will be

mw more eafy for the Allies^ to enable the

King of Spain to recover his Affairs in that

Kingdom, and to reduce the whole Spanijh, Mo-narchy to his Obedience ; and She particular-

ly commends to them the timely fupport of *

the King of Spain, and making good the trea-

ty with Portugal.

When the Lords and Commons in Decem-

ber 1707, Addrefled the Queen, humbly to

defire Her to make no Peace tyll the wholeMonarchy of Spain was in the Houfe of

Aufiria ; She anfwered them, that fhe was

fully of their Opinion^ that no Peace could be

Honourable and Safe for Us till the Entire]

Monarchy

L *3 J

Monarchy of Spain was reflored to the Houfe of

Auftria.

In her Meflage to the Houfe of Lords the

17th of January 171 1, She declared, that HerPlenipotentiaries were then at Utrecht concerting

the mofl proper ways ofprocuring ajufl Satisfaction

to all in Alliance with Her, according to their fe-

deral Treaties,, particularly with relation to Spain

and the Weft-Indies.

And the reafon of the neceflity of recovering

Spain, She gives us in her Speech of the Third

of Detember 1706. That fuch a Ballance of

Power might he eflablijhed in Europe* that it

Jhould no longer be at the pleafure of one Prince to

diflurb the Repofe and endanger the Liberties of

this part of the World.

And to fliew you that the cafe is not at all

altered fince the Death of the late Emperor,

Her late Majejly exprefly declares in her Speechof the zotk of April 1712, That fhe would ufe

her utmofl Endeavours to get the King of Spain

made Emperor.

Thofe therefore who aflert that the cafe is

altered, and that fince the Death of the Empe-ror, to maintain the Ballance of Europe, it wasproper to give Spain to the Duke of Anjou,

plainly contradict her Majejly ; and the abfur-

dity and falffcood of the Affertion will foon ap-

pear

I 14 >

pear if confider'd. For however plaufible a rea-

fon this may feem againft giving Spain to the

Emperor, yet it certainly can be no reafon at

all for giving it to the Duke of Anjou. TheEmperor was before on our Side, and is but fo

now ; and therefore if the fuffering Spain to re-

main in the Pofleifion of the Houfe of Bourbony

would before have been deftru&ive of the Li-

berties of Europe, it muft be equally fo ftill :

If therefore this Aflertion proves any thing, 'tis

only this ; That to preferve the Ballance of

Europe, 'twas proper fince the Death of the

Emperor, that the Monarchy of Spain fliould be

in the hands of fome Third Perfon, and nei-

ther in tbePoffeffion of King Charles, nor the

Duke of Anjou. But it will prove nothing at

all, if we confider the great diftance of Aujlria

from Spain, and confequently how impoflible

it is that the Emperor, though King of Spain

likewife, fliould be able to difturb the Liberties

of Europe, fuppofing he fliould defire to do fo :

No one, I dare fay, ever thought either that

He would, or could. But there was a time,

when it was thought proper Cant, to ferve

fome Mens purpofes ; who having fold England

before (and as They, I fuppofe, thought, at

too dear a rate, confidering They fold it to fo

gooda Friend^) web confcientioufly for giving

Spain into the Bargain.

I were endlefs to reckon up all the Addreffes

of the Lords and Commons both before and lince

the

( «5 )

the death of the Emperor, in which they de-clare their opinion, that it was necefiary torecover Spain out of the hands of the Dukeof Anjou. But they all run into the fameftram that no Peace could be fafe for Englandunlefs the whole Spanifh Monarchy was put in-to the pofjefwn of King Charles.

If you will pleafe to look into a * Pamphletentitled a Letter to a Member of the October-Club, Jhewing, that to yield Spain to the Dukeof Anjou by a Peace, would be the Ruin ofGreat Britain, You will find it there plain-ly proved, that the giving up of Spain tothe Duke of Anjou would be of worfe Con-fequence, and letfen the Treafure of it morethan the War, by the yearly Sum of OneMillion. That we ihould thereby lofe Em-pleyment and Subfiftence for one Million ofPerfons, or a Seventh part of our wholePeople. And laftly, that we ihould lofethree fourths of the Annual and total Valueof all our Lands. I have not room here tolet down his Arguments at length, but as:hey have never been yet anfwered by any>ne i fo 'tis highly to be prefumed, thathey are unanfwerable.

When I look back to the beginning of

the

Printed in the Year 17 1 1

,

the laft War, and take a view of our Affairs

at that time, I wonder our Courage did

not faint, at the very profpecl: of the Event.

Nothing certainly but ahfolute Neceffity, and

the Apprehenfion of our inevitable Ruin (if

the French continued Matters of Spain) could

have fupported us under fuch improbability

of Succefs. France without the Atfiftance of

any one, was look'd upon as a Match for

all .Europe : Befides his Forces were at that

time freih and fiufhed with the hopes of

Succefs ; and as an Addition to her Strength,

the whole Spani/h Monarchy was entirely at

her difpofal : The Dukes of Savoy, and

Mantua ; the Electors of Bavaria and Go-|

logn, and the Hungarian Malecontents, were

of her Side ; by which means her Power

was very much encreafed, and the Emperor's

exceedingly leffened ; He being at that time

diftreffed on all parts. The United Provinces

were open to an Invafion from France, and

the Spanijb Netherlands, and England were

weakned by the former War, but more fo

by her inteftine Diviftons. And yet even at

this Juncture (when it would have been

prefumptuous to have hoped for the SuccefTes'

we have fince had) we could not have con-

fented to a Peace with France, upon any

worfe Terms than an entire Refiitution of

the Monarchy of Spain. So that thofe who

tells us, that the Terms which we have got

are much better than we could have expeded

C '7]ed at firft, and fuch as wc fliould have

been then glad to have accepted of ; not

only tell us a downright Faifhood, but whatis nothing to the purpofe. For if after fo

many and fo great Victories, we could ob-

tain no better Terms than at firfh when wehad fuch little likelihood of Succefs ; I en-

tirely agree with fome People, that all our

Money has been [pent in vain, and that

fome Body or Other muft be very much in

Fault. Whether or no the Cafe be really fo,

and if it be, who are to be blamed, Youyourfelves will eafily guefs, when I have

fliewn you in the fecond place

What has leen our Succefs during the War^

and what the Confequence of it.

And now having taken a view of our hopes

at the beginning of the War, our Succeffes

will appear almoft incredible : The Dukeof Mantua was ruined ; The Duke of Savoy

brought over to our Side ; The Empire wasrefcued by the Battle of Blenheim; The Re*bellion in Hungary extinguifhed ; The Ele&ors

of Bavaria and Cologn were driven out of all

their Dominions ; Great part of Spain, and

almoft all the Spanifb Netherlands were reco-

vered from the Houfe of Bourlon ; and the

French having been defeated in aimofi every

Battle that they fought, were at length grownfo difpinted, that they durft not engage us

C up-

upon any Terms. Mod of their Frontier

Towns fortifyed with fo much coft, and fo

long held Impregnable, were in a Few Years

wrefted from them. So that the French Kingafter having been defeated in all his ambitious

Projects, was Himfelf almoft reduced to the

unnappy Choice, of either lofing France^ or

yielding up Spain to the Emperor. So manyArmies beaten ! So many Succefsful Sieges !

Such vaft Countries recovered ! That even

Thole who were the molt Sanguine could not

have expected half fo much. And we juflly

concluded that France would be obliged to Sub-

mit to fuch Terms, as that it ihould not be

any more in Her power to difturb the Liber-

ties oi Europe. No one could believe that the

Representatives of the Britijh Nation £ To ufe

her late Majefty's words to them in her Speech

November the \%th, 1708.) would ever en-

dure to think to lofe the Fruits of all our paji

Endeavours, and the great Advantages we have

gained* b) fubmitting at lafl to an Inglorious

and Infecure Peace.

Such were our Expectations : Let us nowfee how they have been anfwered.

After the Battle of Rarnellies, the French be-

gan to be pretty much humbled, and were

willing to depart from fome of their Petenti-

tions, but they \vere flill too haughty to be

Treated with. Afterwards, in 1709, Negoti-

ations

[•9]ations were let on foot at Gertruydenlurg ; But

thefe were likewife foon broke off j not as

fome People woi}ld malicioufly infinuate, be-

Caufe the Duke of Marlborough was for prolong-

ing the War : But becaufe it was plainly found

put at laft, that the French were not in earned,

but that they only amufed us with falfe Appearan-

ces and deceitful Infinuattons of their defiie ofPeace, in hopes that from thence Means might he

found to create fome Vivijions and Jectloufies among

the Allies, as her Majejiy told the Parliament

in her Speech of the 15th of November 1709,and therefore the War was renewed with

more vigour than ever ; and our Succefs (till

the fame, till the "Year 171 1. What follow-

ed after that, I fhall ihew you immediately,

but beg leave firft, juft to mention fome fewCalumnies that have beep thrown upon the

Duke and the late M——y, that you may fee

how little there was in them.*

In the firft place we were told that Theyhad Cheated the Publick ; whereas upon the

ftridefl Enquiry that could be made, not onePenny could be laid to their Charge.

Next, They were railed at for confenting

to the Barrier Treaty, which was reprefente^

as very pernicious to England • and thofe wht>

made it, were by our late Good Houfe of

Commons voted Enemies and Betrayers of their

Country. 'Twere eafy to prove the Advan.

C z tag-

[>o]tage of this Treaty, and it has been already fuf-

ficiently done : But I fhall not enter upon the

Argument, becaufe the Peace-Makers, for fo

I may call them, have juflify'd it, by makingthe iame themfelves, with but very few Al-

terations, and thofe all to the Disadvantage

of England.

But the loudeft Clamour that was madeagainit them, was for putting the Nation to

fo much unneceflary Charge, and thereby

reducing it to fuch a ftate of Poverty, that it

was impofJible to carry on the War one Yearlonger. This' was the general Outcry in the

beginning of 171 1, and yet thefe fame Good

Patriots who railed this Clamour againft the

fate M—-j (that the Truth of what Theyhad afperfecl might plainly appear.) Votedmore Money in that and the next Year, than

had been ever given iri' two Years before :

Whether the Succefs of thofe two Years,

were proportionable to the Expence of them,

'Will appear from the following Scheme,

Raifedfor the Service

ofthe War.

L r Gravenbroech , Venloe^

Inijoz. 3,qoo,ooo. \Fort St. Michael, Ru~

\remond\ and Steven

-

waertyWere taken from

'the French this Year,

In

[»]

Raifedfor the Service

of the War.

/#

^ In this Year, Bon ,

In 1703,3,694, 136. >Huy, Liege, and X/w-J &*rg& were taken."! In this Year, the

Duke of Marthroughmarch'd from the

Maefe to the Danuhey

in 30 Days, forced

the French and Bava-

rian Camp at Schellen-

herg, took Donawert,

tftewhurg and Rain,

gained a compieat Vi-

ctory over the French

and Bavarian Troopsat Blenheim, took the

General Prifoner, re-

duced all Bavaria, and

afterwards took Lan-

dau.

In 1704,3, 828, 886.

S The French would/not ftir out of their

In 1705. 4, 670,486. ^Lines, but at length

I they were forced, and

\ Leeve and SandvelietJ were taken.

Raisd

( 22 )

Raifedfor the Service of

the Wary

I

| In this Year, the

1 French were entirely

'defeated at Ramellies,

and BruJJels, Mecklin,

In 1706. 5,077, 757. >Alorfi, Ghent, Bruges,

Antwerp, Dendermond,

Oftend, Menln and Aethwere taken.

This Year nothing

could be done in Flan-

ders, becaufe all washazarded upon the Af-

In 1707. s> S4°y 1 67* > hit of Thoulon, whichif it had prov'd fuccefs-

fill, had put an End to

the War at once.

In this Year, the

French were beaten at

Audenarde, Ghent and* Bruges, ( which had^

In 1708. ?, 926, 849. 1 beenfurprizdby them)were retaken, and wetook Lijle, VlaJfendaUy

and Leffinghen.

Raisd

(*3 )

Rais'dfor the Service of

the War.

I

-^ We took the flrong

/Town of Tournay, de-

In 1709. 6, 457, 830.J feated the Enemy at

^B/aregtties, and after-

ward took Moms*

p In this Year wereIn 1 7 10. 6, 384, a6o.p-taken Doway, Bethune,

J St. Venant) and Aire.

So you lee, Gentlemen, that in thefe Years

you had fomething for your Money.

In the Year 171 1, notwithstanding the Po-

verty of the Nation, there was raifed for the

Service of the War,L. 6", 609, Z95, but the

Face of things was fo changed every where, bythe Alterations that had been made in England,

the Trench were fo encouraged, and the Allies

fo difpirited, that little could be done that Year:However, we having flill the fame General, the

Wench gained no Ground ; nay, fo indefatigable

was the Duke of Marlorough, that tho' he wasflraitned on every Side, yet he pafled the

French Lines, and cook the Town of Bouchain.

But

[*4]

But things began now to decline apace.

In the Beginning of the Year 171 2, the Dukeof Marlborough was turned out, and the Duke of—</was put into his Place : AfTurance wasgiven to the Allies, that we would carry on the

War in Concert with them, with as great Vi-

gour as ever. Accordingly, L. 6, 656, 967.

a greater Sum than was ever before raifed,

was given for the Service of that Campaign.The Allies depending upon thefe AfTurances,

undertook the Siege of Landrecy; and we in

particular, promis'd to aflift in that Siege : But

the French coming to raife it, and giving the

Allies the faired Opportunity imaginable to fall

upon them with Advantage ; it was impoffible

to keep on the Mask any longer, and therefore

the Duke of —.din a Council of War de-

clared publickly, that he had exprefs Orders

not to fight the French. This ftraqgely fur-

prized the Allies, obliged them to raife the

Siege of Landrecy^ and was the Occafion of all

the Lofles that they fuffered in the remaining

Part of that unfortunrte 'Campaign. And this

was all that we did with that immenfe Sum of

Money that was levy'd upon this poor Nationfor the Service or that extraordinary Tear. Anyone would have thought by our Proceedings,

that we had been fecure of a good Peace tor

ourfelves, and that we had only betray'd our

Allies.

This

L *5 J

This therefore comes in the next Place to be

confident

In September 171 1, M. Mefnager> and another

French Gentleman, came over hither fromFrance^ and on the 27/^ of the faid Month,figned on the Part of France fome preliminary

Articles for effe&ing a General Peace ; whichwere afterwards communicated to the Mini-

fters of the Allies refiding here. Thefe being

very extraordinary ones, and becoming a Con-queror, rather than the Conquered, were long

kept fecret ; till at lejig:h, the Emperor's Mi-nifter fuffer'd a Copy to be taken, which wasafterwards inferted in the Courant : And they

by this Means became Co publick, that I need

not here be at the Trouble of reciting them.

But fo angry was the M y at their being rhus

publifhed, that the Emperor's Minifter was im-

mediately fent away from our Court with all

the Marks of Difgrace.

After this, it was agreed by all the Allies, or

rather, they were forced into an Agreement, to

enter into Negotiations of Peace with France ;

Utrecht was the Place of Congrefsvand accord-

ingly, on the z$th of Jan. 17U, the nrft

Conference was opened there, and foon after at

another Conference, France, after a long Dif-

pute> gave in her Propofals in Writing for a

D General

General Peace, the Tenor of which was as fol-

lows ;

That the French King would'acknowledge Queen

Anne, and the Smceffion, as foon as the Peace

was figned.

That he would caufe Dunkirk to be demolifh-

ed^ provided he might have an Equivalent.

that St, Chriftophers, and Hudfon's Bayfhould heyielded up to Great-Britain, and New-foundland, except the Fort of Placentia, andtheRight of catching and drying Fijh as before the

War.

That a Treaty of Commerce fbould be made,

either before or after the Peace, as France and

England couldagree.

Thefe were the Offers in Regard to Great-

Britain.

Ihe vStates were ly thefe Propofals to have a-

lout half the Towns for a Barrier, that they hadbefore taken, and were already in their PojfejJion y

the reft were demanded to be given up.

To the Emperor he offers Naples, Sardinia,

and the Duichy ofMihn, provided He will de-

lift from all Pretentions to the other part of the

5pamlli Monarchy ,• provided he will give up

Lan-

Landau, and feveral other Towns that he hadtaken, and ctlfo refiore to the Electors of Bava-

ria and Cologn, all that that they had loft

during the War. And as a Security that France

and Spain jhall never he united under the fameKing, the King of France promifes on his part,

that He will for himfelf and his Heirs, folemnly

renounce . all Right and Title to Spain • and._

that the King of Spain on his part, fhall do

the fame by France.

From thefe Propofals, one would think the

French King had been all along Vi&orious;

and that the Allies were forced to accept of

fuch Terms, as He in his Mercy would be

pleafed to grant them. As foon as thefe

haughty Propofitions were laid before die

Parliament of Great Britain ; the Houfe of

Lords voted them Trifling, Arrogant, and In-

jurious to Her Majefly, and her Allies ; and* unanimoufly refolved upon the following Ad^

drefs :

\ We your Majefly's mod dutiful, &c. Beg€leave to reprefent to your Majefty, the juft

cIndignation of this Houfe, at the Diflionoura-

• ble Treatment of your Majefty by France ; inc having propofed to acknowledge your Ma-1jelly's Title to thefe Realms, no fooner

c than when the Peace Dial! be Signed ; and' we cannot forbear expretfing our utmofl: Re-

-' fentment at the Terms of Peace offered to

D % your

on4 your Majefly, by the Plenipotentiaries of4

France. And we do with the greateft Zeal4and Affe&ion, aiTure your Majeity, that this

4Hoiife will itand by your Majefty with our

4Lives and Fortunes, in carrying on the War,

4

in Conjunction with your Allies, till a Safecand Honourable Peace can be obtained for

4your Majefty and your Allies. ' And yet

foon after this a Cejfation of Arms for four

Months was declared betwixt France and Great

Britain : But even then, no one could believe,

that we fliould confent to a Separate Peace.

Thegz— had aflured the Lords, in herMeflageto them on the jyth of Jan. 17-1-T, publickly

declared in that Houfe, that no Separate Peace

was in Agitation ; and that thofe who had anyfuch defign, were the worft of Trajtors, andEnemies to their Country*

But what is true at one time, will not,it

feems, be fo always. Unforefeen Accidentsmay alter the Nature of things ; and accord-

ingly it has been fince thought proper to con-

elude a Peace with France, exslufive of the Em-peror, and Empire ; nay, and the Dutch too,

fince they did not Sign till fome time after-

wards,

The

[ *9 ]

The Terms of Peace are in affe& as follows :

That the French King fhaU demolifh Dunkirk,

asfcon as he has an Equivalent : But what that

Equivalent is^ is no wherefpecifyd in the Articles.

He acknowledges the Queen, WffoProteftant

SucceiTion ; andpromises upon his Word and Ho-nour, never to Affift the Pretender.

He confents to refloreSt. Chriftopher's, Hud-fons Bay, and Newfoundland, and even the

Town of Placenta,feven Months after the Treaty ;

hut referves to Himfelf the Right of catching and

drying Fifh, on thefaid Ijland 0/ Newfoundland,

as he had before the War.

He likewife referves to himfelf the Idand called

Cape Breton, ancl all others in the Mouth of the

River of St. Lawrence, and in the Gulph of the

fame Name; with Liberty to Fortify any Place

or Places thereih, as he fball think fit.

The Dutch are to have ahout half the Towns

that were before taken hy them, and were then in

their Pojfejfion ; tioe Reft, and amongfl them Lifle,

are to be given to the French.

The Emperor may^ if he pleafes, have Naples/

and the Dutchy of Milan, provided he will lay n$

claim to the -I(lands of Sardinia and Sicily.

(3°'(one of which is to be given to the Eleftor of Ba*

varia, and the other to the Duke of Savoy, as

a Reward for their great Services,) And provi-

ded he will give up $11 ?retentions to the otfyer

parts of the Spanifti Monarchy ; and reflore ta

the Electors of Bavaria and Cologn, all that

they lofl by the War ; and befides, give them fe-

veral new Privileges, too long to be here men-

tioned; And provided he will likewife, give up

Landau, anaIfeveral other Places.

I fhall only jufl; remark, that by yielding

Cape Breton to the French, and by allowing

them the Liberty of Fiihing and drying their

Fifh upon a great Part of the Ifland of New-foundland, our Newfoundland Trade, which iqi-

ployed a great number of our Ships, and is of

the higheft Importance to us, will be almofl

totally ruined. This perhaps might be *3ne

reafon, amongft others of the fame fort, whyour Minifler in Spain, at that time, offer'd the

King of Spain the refufa! of any of our Ships

that were in the Mediterranian, or thereabouts.

And now I fhall; leave you to compare thefe

Forms with the Propofalsof France before men-tioned, and proceed to the Treaty of Com-merce.

'Twas owned indeed, fome time fince, evenby thofe that were not concerned in makingthis Incomparable Peace, that we had not indeed

fuch

(3' )

fuch great Advantages in the Articles of Peace:,

as we might have expe&ed : But then they

told us in Anfwer, that Towns and Ports in

foreigo^Gountries, would not have been of

much Service to us ; and that it would coft us

more Charge to maintain them, than they

would be really worth to us- But that wehad obtained fuch an Extraordinary treaty of

Commerce, as Efficiently made up all Defici-

encies in the Treaty of Peace ; and that it wasfor the Sake of this Extraordinary Treaty of

Commerce, that we departed from fome of our

Pretentions, which we ihould otherwife have

infilled on in the Treaty of Peace.

And truly, as foon as this Treaty of Com-merce concluded betwixt France and England,

and figned by our good Plenipotentiaries, cameto be laid before the Parliament, (as it wasneceflary it ftiouid, becaufe before it took Place,

feveral of our Laws were to be repealed) it pro-

ved a very extraordinary one indeed ; fo extra-

ordinary, that if a Bill had palled to make it

good, England muft have been infallibly rui-

ned.

It was agreed by the z$th and 29th Articles^

That within z Months after, a Law fhouldbe paf-

fedin England, to take fo much of the Cufloms

and Duties laid upon Goods brought from France

into England, that no more Cufloms and Duties

bepaid forfuch Goods, than what are payable for

Goods

CooAs and Merchandizes of the like Nature im-

ported hither from any Countries of Europe ; and

after the Repeal of all Laws made in Great-Bri-

tain for t he Prohibition of French Goods, the

French King wouldgra cioujly condefcend, that the

Subjetts of Great Britain fhouldpay no more Du-

ties forfuch Goohs and Merchandizes of Great- Bri-

tain, which they fhould from henceforth import into

France, than veere fettled by the Tariff of 1664,except 4 Commodities, viz. all woollen Manufa-dure:

sSugar

, falted Fifh^ and the Produft of

Whales. The Confederation of thefe, and feveral

other Matters to be referred to Commijfwners ap-

pointed by both Parties ; and in the mean Time,

and until they can agree\ the Duties on thefe 4Commodities to fiandas it is agreed in a feparate

Inflrument annexed, to thefe Articles, and figned

likewife by thefame Plenipotentiaries.

Now by that Inflrument it is agreed, That

the Prodult of Whales exported out of this King-

dom into France, (hall pay according to the Tariff

of 1 699.

That woollen Manufactures fhall be likewife

fubjeft to the Duties fettled by the faid Tariff

of 1699.

That to facilitate their Trade (as the Exprefl*

fion is) we fhall have Liberty to import them, but

at Three Ports in France.

That

[33]

That Salt YiftiJh.aB he imported into France

only by $ Torts\ and in Barrels only : So that

all but Barrel Fifh are prohibited, and thefe too

pay all Duties and Cuftoms laid on them before

the Tariff of 1664, and befides 40 Livres (or

3 /. 11 s. 3 d.Jlerling) for every Laft, a Mea-sure confifting of 12 Barrels.

That Sugar fhall likewise pay the Duties ap-

pointedby the TarifFof 1 699.

That the Practice oj Farming Tobacco Jhall

hereafter be forbidden, and the Britifh Meachants

be at Liberty to fell it to any Buyer that they

can get.

Nor is it to be looked upon only as a ca-

fual Word, fiace 'tis twice together in this

Article, and likewife the Word is made Ufe of

in the \oth Article of the Treaty, where 'tis

agreed, that the Duties of Tobacco imported

from England^ fhall hereafter be reduced to the

fame Rate as other Countries pay. And this

Word is not made ufe of in any other Part of

the Treaty, and I dare fay never was in anyother Treaty before.

But the great Gravity of our wife Plenipoten-

tiaries could not, I fuppofe, condefcend to take

Notice of fuch fmall Trifles as thefe.

E By

r 34]By the nth Article, the Impofition of £0

Sols laid on the Britifh Ships in France for every

Ton fli all ceafe : But there has been a Dutyfor fome Years of 20 Sols per Ton befides, laid

on every Britijh Ship, which not being taken

Notice of, mult therefore remain ftill.

Fbr your better underftanding thefe Articles,

I fliall beg Leave to lay before you the Tariffs

of 1 664, and 1669, and likewife a Scheme of

Trade laid before the Lords Commiifioners for

a Treaty of Commerce with France in 1674,and figned by Fourteen of the mod confiderable

of our Englijh Merchants, fliewing the Ballance

betwixt France and England in Point of Tradein one Year.

By the Tariff of 1664.England was to pay in Fr. Money

Whalebone cut and pre-

paid the C. 11.

Whale Fins 300 lib, .

Tray ne Oil 5x0 lib.

Cloth. 25 tils, pay as

Cloths. 40 00Serges, 13,14 15 tils. io 00Fifh faked, 12 Barrels

the Laft

Sugar refin'd in Loaforotherwiie, and Sugarcandy whire or

brown, per xoo lb.

z 10

3 003 00

7 00

.15 10

1669 .Sterl. Mo. at

Fr. Money 4s. <5d, Fr. Cr.

11. 9 oo20 00

! 7 10

55 1©11 ©o

47 10

-22 10

II, 00 *3 61 10 00—— o ix 00

. 426- o 16 6

3 ii 3

1 13 9

Note, The above Proportion, fuch as it is5-for

our Fifh, excludes the Newfoundland Fifli, Con-ger, Ling, and all Fifh not in Barrels.

By

f35]By the aforementioned Scheme* calculated in

1674, the Ballance appears to be thus,

Woollen and Silk Manufa-fadfrires exported to

France, valued at

Lead, Tin, Allom, Calves-

Skins and Leather, va-

lued at

Total 1710x1

Linnen and Silk ManufaO#ures imported into/ «

England from FranceX ' **

valued at JFrench Wine 137500 00 00Brandy, Paper, Kid-skins. &c. 1 9 1400 00 00

Total 1 136*50 04 00

I7I01I 0(5 oS

Dedud out of this the

Account of what wasexported from England

into France, viz.

The Ballance which mud be

paid by Englandm Mony, /

and confequentjy is l0/> 965128 17 04much loft by that Trade,^is,

E % Befides

miBeftdes Toys, Fans, Jeffamine, Gloves, Laces,

Points, &c. to a very great Value, of which noEftimate was taken.

By the Reprefentation made to King William

by the CommiHioners of Trade, in December

1697, it appeared, that the Ballance that the

French got by us in Money in our Trade with

them, amounted to about a Million per Annum.

We gained by our Trade with Portugal, as

appears from feveral Accounts, and as every

Merchant will allow, to about a Million per

Annum.

This we receiv'd in Money yearly, and befides

had the Advantage of exporting a great Part of

our wollen Mannfa&u'res.

The Duties laid upon thefe and the other

4 Commodities, by the Tariffof 1669, amoun-ted to a Prohibition.

But tho* all the Duties were taken off the

woollen Manufadures, yet France is of late fo

improved in that, that fhe would take none of

us ; efpecially fince the King of Spain too is

fetting up a woollen Manufactory in that

Country, and gives it all the Encouragementimaginable, as appears from the Articles from

Madridy

[37 3Madrid, m our Gazette of May the 9^ 1714,and which we took no Care to prevent.

The French in 1699, took of our wollen

Manufacture in one Year, but to the Value of

L. 27000, a very inconfiderate Sum, and in lefs

than 3 Years afterwards, their Skill in that Ma-nufacture foincreafed, that weexpprted thither,

tho" in Time of Peace, but to the Value of

L, 158006 08. A meer Triffle : And as

they have been improving ever fince, and as

they will have the Advantage of Buying Spa-

nijk Wooll much cheaper than we, and as they

will, no Doubt, endeavour to encourage the

new Manufactory in Spain, they will now have

no Occafion for any of that Manufacture from

us.

So that it appears plainly, that if the Bill

had pafs'd for eftabliftiing the Treaty of Com-merce, England would have loft above a Mil-

lion a Year in her Trade with Portugal, fwhich

would have been by this means entirely dc-

ftroy'd,) another Million a Year by trading with

France, and the Vent of all our woollen Manu-factures, upon which the Riches of the Nationdepend : She would befides, have loft the

greateft Part of her Silk Trade, by being able

to buy Silks at a much cheaper Rate fromFrance ; by which Means, Thousands of Fami-lies would have been reduced to Beggary ; thus

in a very little Time, Frwce would have been

very

( 1*>very much enriched, and Britain inevitably

ruin'd.

All thefe, and many more Misfortunes that

muft necefiarily haveenfud if the Bill had pafs'd,

were fully reprefented to the Houfe of Com-mons, by Petitions from all Parts : But fo manyof the Members of that Houfe, preferred the

drinking of French Wine before any Confidera-

tion whatfoever, and the gratifying their ownPalates before the Good of the Nation, that there

was a great Majority for the Bill both the firfl

and fecond Reading , and it was thrown out

upon the third by a Majority but of nine Voices,

and it had certainly pafscl then, but that Sir

71 H. and feveral others were afraid of lofing

their next Elections if they did not vote againft

it, which plainly appears, by their declaring

in the Houfe, that they were not againft the

Bill it felf, but only defird that it might bere-

ferv'd for the Confideration of the next Parlia^

ment, and by their promoting an humble Ad-drefs to her Majefty but two or three Daysafterwards, to thank her for what had been done

in the Treaty of Commerce with France^ in

which there was fo good a Foundation laid for

the Intereft of our Nation and Trade.

F I N I &