1 in the church of Rome: he faid no repentance could ferve without it, and affirmed, that the priest was vefted with the fame power of pardoning, that our faviour himself had. A motion was made in the lower house of convocation, to censure this; but it was fo ill fupported, that it was let fall. Another conceit was taken up, of the invalidity of lay-baptism, on which several books have been writ; nor was the difpute a trifling one, fince, by this notion, the teachers among the diffenters paffing for laymen, this went to the rebaptizing them and their congregations (t). (t) Dodwell gave the rife to this conceit. He was a very learned man, and led a ftrict life; he feemed to hunt after paradoxes in all his writings, and broached not a few: he thought none could be faved, but those who, by the facraments, had a federal right to it; and that these were the feals of the covenant: fo that he left all, who died with out the facraments, to the uncovenanted mercies of God; and to this he added, that none had a right to give the facraments, but those who were commiffioned to it; and these were the apoftles, and after them bifhops and priefts ordained by them: it followed upon this, that facraments administered by others were of no value. He pursued these notions fo far, that he afferted that the fouls of men were naturally mortal, but that the immortalizing virtue was conveyed by baptifm, given by perfons epifcopally ordained. And yet, after all this, which carried the epifcopal function fo high, he did not lay the original of that government on any inftruction or warrant in the fcripture; but thought it was fet up, in the beginning of the fecond century, after the apostles were all dead. He wrote very doubtfully of the The time, in which the canon of the New Teftament was fettled; he thought it was not before the fecond century, and that an extraordinary inspiration was continued in the churches to that very time; to which he ascribed the original of epifcopacy. This ftrange and precarious fyftem was in great credit among us; and the neceffity of the facrament, and the invalidity of ecclefiaftical functions, when performed by perfons, who were not epifcopally ordained, were entertained by many with great applaufe: this made the diffenters pass for no chriftians, and put all thoughts of reconciling them to us far out of view and feveral little books were spread about the nation, to prove the neceffity of re-baptizing them, and that they were in a state of damnation till that was done, but few were, by thefe arguments, prevailed upon to be re-baptized. This ftruck even at the baptifm by midwives in the church of Rome; which was practifed and connived at here in England, till it was objected in the conference, held at Hampton-court, foon after king James the first's acceffion to the crown, and baptifm was not till then limited to perfons in orders. Nothing of 1712. 1712. The earl The bishops thought it necessary to put a stop to this new and extravagant doctrine; fo a declaration was agreed to, first against the irregularity of all baptifm by perfons, who were not in holy orders; but that yet, according to the practice of the primitive church, and the conftant ufage of the church of England, no baptifm (in or with water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft) ought to be reiterated. The archbishop of York at first agreed to this; so it was refolved to publish it, in the name of all the bishops of England; but he was prevailed on to change his mind; and refufed to fign it, pretending that this would encourage irregular baptifm: fo the archbishop of Canterbury, with most of the bishops of his province, refolved to offer it to the convocation. It was agreed to in the upper-house, the bishop of Rochefter only diffenting: but when it was fent to the lower-houfe, they would not fo much as take it into confideration, but laid it afide; thinking that it would encourage thofe, who ftruck at the dignity of the priesthood. This was all that paffed in convocation. On the 26th of April, the earl of Strafford went from of Straf- Utrecht to the Hague, and, in feveral conferences he had ford's con- with the penfionary and other minifters, earnestly preffed ferences at the ftates to come into the queen's measures. This, tothe Hague.gether with the fecret methods, that were used to hinder the ftates of Brabant from fupplying the imperial troops, that were marching into the Netherlands, with bread and forage, did not a little increase the jealoufies of the states, who two days after thought fit to fend a folemn deputation to the earl of Strafford, to know what the queen's measures were? The earl not having yet orders to explain himself, and being under an engagement of fecrecy with the French plenipotentiaries, made no fcruple to declare, in confor mity to a late letter from the queen to the ftates, "That her majefty's intentions were, that her troops fhould act "with the fame vigour against France, as if there were no "negotiation on foot." This declaration the earl repeated the fame evening in another long conference with prince Eugene of Savoy, count Zinzendorf, the States deputies, and the council of state; and on the 21st of April returned to Utrecht. Several other minifters, who went to the Hague, to confer with prince Eugene, returned alío to the this kind was fo much as men- baptized by diffenters; but it was now promoted with much heat. Burnet, Vol. II. 604. place place of congrefs, in order to affift at the general confe- 1712. rence, which was held there the 23d of the fame month. The minifters of the allies having again inquired of those of France, whether they were yet ready to give their answer in writing; and being anfwered in the negative; it was propofed and agreed to, that the general meetings fhould for fome time be fufpended, till the French plenipotentiaries fhould give notice, that they were prepared. In the mean time the confederate ministers held fome intermediate conferences among themfelves, and made frequent journies from Utrecht to the Hague, and from the Hague to Utrecht; not without a well-grounded jealoufy of the intimacy and close correspondence, which appeared to be between the minifters of France and those of Great-Britain; the effects of which were foon after manifefted, to the amazement of all christendom. com. of fecr. About the middle of April the confederate forces began to The allies march into the field, and prince Eugene of Savoy fet out take the from the Hague on the 22d of that month, in order to put field. himself at the head of the army. The duke of Ormond, Cond. of being appointed to command the queen's forces in Flanders, the D. of received his inftructions on the 7th of April, whereby he Ormond. was ordered "to repair with all poffible diligence to the Rep of the Hague, and to acquaint the penfionary, that he had re"ceived her majefty's orders to see him, before he went to 66 put himself at the head of her majesty's troops, and to "exprefs to him her refolution of pushing the war with all "poffible vigour, until the enemy fhould agree to fuch "terms of peace, as might be fafe and honourable for her"felf and her allies; to affure him, that he was prepared to "live in a perfect and good correfpondence with all the "generals of the allies, and particularly with those of the "itates; and to defire the penfionary to inform him, what plan had been agreed upon for the operations of the cam"paign and as foon as he arrived at the frontier, to meet "with prince Eugene, and fuch others of the generals, as fhould be in the fecret, and with them to concert the proper measures for entering upon action." The duke left London on the 9th of April, and in three days arrived at the Hague, where having vifited the penfionary, he gave him, according to his inftructions, all the affurances of carrying on the war with vigour, and acting in confidence with all the allies, and more efpecially the Dutch: which were received with the greatest profeffions of duty and respect to her majefty. He had alfo a conference with the council of VOL. XVII. ftate, I i 1712. 66 ftate, who told him, "That there was no particular refolution taken as to the operations of the campaign, but they left it to their generals, who with their deputies were "to act in concert with the generals of the allies: and that they had given orders to their generals to live in a good" "correfpondence with his grace." The prefident of the week made many excufes for their having given the command of their army to prince Eugene; but however he faid, "That, as to the point of command, his grace and "the prince were now upon an equal foot." About this time the duke received a letter from Mr. Cadogan, who had been fome time before left out of the establishment of lieutenant-generals, defiring his intereft for being employed under him this campaign. The duke readily complied with his request, and foon obtained the queen's leave for his ferving in that poft. The duke refolving to take the field as foon as poffible, left the Hague, and arrived at Ghent the 3d of May; and after a stay there of two or three days, and fecuring the government of the citadel in English hands, went on to Tournay, where he met prince Eugene and the deputies of the ftates. All the English forces, for fome weeks, had been in the field, and lay cantoned along the road between this city and Lifle. And the reafon of drawing them out of their quarters fo early was, that there had been a project formed to take poft at Oily, on the Senfette, which would have fecured the march over the Scheld, and might have given the allies an opportunity of feizing Cambray. Lieutenant-general Cadogan did not in the leaft queftion the fuccefs of it. But, the Dutch making many difficulties and delays in this affair, Villars had prevented the defign, and taken poffeffion at Oify, and of all the paffes on the Senfette. On the 17th of May, prince Eugene and monfieur Vege. lin came to the duke Ormond, and it was agreed between them to pass the Scheld near Bouchain, in order to incamp at Avefne le Sec, and fee whether the confederates could attack the enemy without great difadvantage; or, fhould the enemy be too ftrongly posted, it was propofed to invest Quefnoy, which, being a little place, could not hold out above three weeks at moft after the opening of the trenches in order to thefe motions, the proportion of the two armies to be commanded by the prince and duke being fettled (u), the neceffary directions were given for affembling (u) The duke had under h'm of thofe in the queen's pay, and the following troops, confifting of thofe paid jointly by her ma jefty bling all the troops, paffing the Scarpe, and forming the 1712. armies on the 21ft between Doway and Marchiennes, where prince Eugene and the duke of Ormond defigned to join their respective forces, and there concert fuch further measures, as might be requifite for carrying on the service of the campaign. The duke had, fome days before, received two expreffes from Mr. Secretary St. John, who, in his letter of the 16th of April, told his grace," That he found, by very certain 66 intelligences from Holland, that the Dutch minifters 66 were not without their fears of their new general: that "they began to confider, he was a papift, and a German, at leaft in intereft: that the emperor, his mafter, had no"thing to lofe on the fide of the Netherlands: that a bat"tle won might give ground for infifting on higher terms "than the house of Auftria was now likely to obtain: that a battle loft might fill continue to prolong the war; and that, in either cafe, the expence of blood would fall "to the thare of the queen and ftates: that he was of opi"nion, that these reflections had occafioned private direc❝tions to their generals, to ufe more caution than the prince "would perhaps approve: and that his grace might fee, that this meafure was not very confiftent with the com"pliment of an unlimited command, made to that prince "by Mr. Lathmer, in the name of the ftates." And, on the 25th of April, O. S. (which was before it was known, that France had agreed fo much as to propofe to the king of Spain the alternative of the two monarchies, which was not till the 18th of May) Mr. Secretary St. John began to give the duke of Ormond fome diflant hint of the fcene, which was afterwards to be opened, and told him, "That "the queen inclined to be of opinion, that all the troops, "whether fubjects or foreigners, belonging to her, fhould "be immediately under his grace's command. That there "might have been formerly reafons for uling a different |