1709. turned with all poffible hafte. He promised prince Eugene, that the king of France's final answer fhould be fent, by the fourth of June; but fpoke of their affairs as a man in despair: he said, he did not know but he might find king Phillip at Paris, before he got thither, and faid all that was poffible, to affure them of the fincerity of the king of France, and to divert them from the thoughts of openning the campaign; but at the fame time king Philip was getting his fon, the prince of Afturius, to be acknowledged, by all the towns and bodies of Spain, as the heir of that monarchy. Rouillé, who had opened the first scene of this negotiation, was to continue at the Hague fome time longer, in order to fufpend the unravelling of the plot as long as poffible. The They are re- whole artifice of France was at length difcovered, and it apjected by the French. peared very vifibly, that the French had no other design in all this negotiation, but to try if they could beget an ill understanding among the allies, or, by their feeming great conceffions for the fecurity of the States, to provoke the people of Holland against their magiftrates, if they fhould carry on the war, when they had fuch fafe and honourable offers made them; and they reckoned, that if a fufpenfion of arms could mands on either fide fhall not in- 33, 34, The negotiation fhall 35. Upon the ratification of thefe articles the French king fhall evacuate Namur, Mons, Charleroy, Luxemburg, Condé, Tournay, Maubeuge, Newport, Tournes, and Ypres, and raze the fortifications of Dunkirk. 36. The French to execute what has been ftipulated, with refped to the other allies, within two months after the conclufion of the treaty. 37. And if he executes all that is abovementioned, and the whole monarchy of Spain fhall be delivered up to Charles III. as is ftipulated within the limited time, then the ceffation of arms fhall continue till the ratification of the peace. 38. All this fhall ferve as the foundation and basis of the enfuing treaties of peace. 39. The ratification of the preliminary articles to be performed by the French king, the queen of Great-Britain, and the ftates, before the 15th of June, and by the emperor by the ift of July, and what is ftipulated in favour of each of the allies refpectively, to be fet down as foon as they have fettled the prelimi naries. 40. The congrefs to begin the 20th of June at the Hague, and, to prevent difputes about the ceremonial, no ambaffador fhall take upon him his character till the day of the figning of the peace. Lamberti, Vol. V. be 66 be once obtained upon any other terms than the restoring of 1709. Spain, they should then get out of the war, and the allies would be left to try, how they could conquer Spain. Torcy was, however, punctual to his promife given to prince Eugene; for, on the 4th of June, the prince, being at Bruffels, received a letter from the marquis, importing, "that his moft chriftian majefty, having examined the project of peace concluded at the Hague, found it impoffible for him "to accept it; and therefore had fent orders to the prefi"dent de Rouillé to notify the fame to the potentates en"gaged in the war; and that it was to be hoped, that more "favourable terms would prefent for the establishing of a peace fo neceflary for all Europe, and confequently fo "much defired by every body." The meffenger, who brought this letter to prince Eugene, arrived the next morning at the Hague, where people were in the height of expectation of the French king's ratification of the preliminaries; but, to their great disappointment, Rouillé having the fame day had a conference at the penfionary's, with the imperial and British plenipotentiaries, and the deputies of the ftates, he acquainted them, that the most christian king could not ratify fome articles agreed to in the conference held with monfieur de Torcy, and concluded the 28th paft. He excepted to the articles relating to the emperor and the duke of Savoy; but chiefly on that of not beginning the fufpenfion of arms, till the Spanish monarch fhould be reftored, which, he faid, was not in his own power to execute (q). (q) Rouillé faid, that the French king in particular excepted against the tenth, eleventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirty-feventh. That as to the tenth his most chriftian majefty agreed to the fame, as far as it concerned the poffeffion of Alfatia, according to the literal fenfe of the treaty of Munster; but infifted, that Landau fhould be restored to him; and, as an equivalent, offered Old Brifac; both which places were yielded up to France by that treaty. That the moft chriftian king could not confent to the demolishing Hunningen, Thefe New Brifac, and Fort Lewis, but nexed 1709. Thefe difficulties ftarted by the French king having been communicated by Rouillé, count Zinzendorf, the duke of Marlborough, the lord Townfhend, and the penfionary Heinfius, immediately held a conference among themselves, in which it was refolved, "that no alteration ought to be "admitted in the preliminary articles, especially in those excepted against by France, which were the most effen"tial.' And it was agreed at the fame time to fignify to Rouillé, to depart in four and twenty hours. The 6th of June. N. S. in the morning, Rouillé made a wifit to the duke of Marlborough, and propofed another conference, which was held that night; but nothing material was tranfacted in it, except that the allies declared to Rouillé, "that "they would not recede from any of the articles agreed to; "and that, if his mafter did not think fit to comply there"with, the allies would not think themfelves bound by the "articles, or reftrain their pretenfions to the contents there"of, after the 15th of that month, the time allowed by the "articles." The French minifter faid, he had no orders to make any further declaration; whereupon he received a fecond intimation to depart the Hague immediately. The fame evening, Mr. Walpole, fecretary to the British plenipotentiaries, returned to the Hague with the queen of Great Britain's ratification of the preliminaries. On the 8th, the penfionary reported Rouillé's declaration to the affembly of the ftates; upon which they confidered," that the articles "were concerted with the marquis de Torcy and monfieur "de Rouillé, put into writing with their affent, and by the marquis de Torcy himself carried to the king of France, "in order to be figned and ratified; that they were actually "figned on the part of the emperor, Great Britain, and “Holland, and had been ratified by her Britannic majefty; "and that nothing fhort of thefe preliminaries could obtain "and fecure the general peace, and prevent a dangerous, "expenfive, and lingering war in Spain" whereupon the neceflary refolutions for the continuance of the war were taken with equal firmnefs of wisdom. The fame night Rouillé being preffed to declare if he had any fecret orders tending to peace, made answer, nexed thereto, should not be confirmed to the ele&tors palatine; and that the interefts of the electors of Cologne and Bavaria fhould be fettled in the preliminaries; and, in the laft place, that his most chriftian majefty excepted also against the feven and thirtieth article, whereby two months only were allowed for the delivering up of the Spanish monarchy, which term he would have enlarged, but confented to recall his own troops from Spain within that time. That That if the allies would content themselves with the fifth <article of the preliminaries in relation to Spain, without infifting on the others relating to the delivering up of the Spanish monarchy, he thought the king his mafter "would be induced to depart from the other exceptions about Alfatia, the duke of Savoy, &c." But the recovery of the Spanish monarchy from the house of Bourbon, being the chief end of the war, and the only means to reftore and preferve the ballance of Europe, the minifters of the allies did not think fit to depart from any one of the articles to fecure the evacuation of Spain; and fo, the fame evening, a paffport was fent Rouillé, for his fafe return home. On the 9th of June he fet out from the Hague, to embark at Rotterdam for Antwerp, from whence he continued his journey to Paris. The fame morning, all the minifters of the allies being defired to meet in a congress, monfieur Van Effen, prefident of the fecret affairs, and the penfionary, communicated to them the refolution of the States-General, gave them a full account of all the fteps that had been made in the negotiations, particularly fince the French king had refufed to agree to the preliminaries; and defired them to acquaint their principals with thefe unfair proceedings of France, and exhort them to join their beft efforts against an enemy, who could never be brought to reafon but by force. Count Zinzendorf took this opportunity to tell the deputies of the ftates, "That the empire, "the emperor, and king Charles III. would doubtless`ex"prefs their fatisfaction for the great firmness and con66 ftancy, which their high mightineffes had manifefted in the course of these negotiations." The duke of Marlborough gave the fame affurances on the part of the queen of Great-Britain; as did alfo the reft of the minifters, on the part of their respective masters; and all fignified to the penfionary, how much the allies were obliged to him, and fatisfied with the prudence and wifdom he had expreffed in the negotiations, which, contrary to the expectation of the enemy, would prove a new cement to the grand alliance, and an argument to convince the allies, that the war was to be profecuted till France was reduced to the neceffity of fubmitting to any terms that the allies fhould prescribe. Thus thefe negotiations came foon to an end, without producing any ill effect among the allies; and it now plainly appeared, that the eafinefs with which the French minifters yielded to the preliminaries, was only an artifice to flacken the zeal of the confederates in advancing the campaign, as L 4 the 1709. 1709. the leaft effect it would have. But in that their hopes failed them; for there was no time loft in preparing to take the field (s). The states of Holland and West-Frizeland having met on the 13th of June, N. S. ratified the preliminary articles, without regard to that king's refusal to fign them; after which, the affembly unanimously refolved to carry on the war with the utmost vigour. But, while the generality of people of Great-Britain, Holland, and Germany, expreffed their refentment against the infincerity of France, that court made a politic ufe of the very preliminary articles, which were made public in several languages by the allies. For, in order to raise among his people an indignation against thofe exorbitant demands, and encourage them to bear, with less impatience, the burden and calamities of war, the French king caufed circular letters to be fent to all the gcvernors of his provinces, the archbishop of Paris, and other prelates of France, wherein he infifted upon the unreasonableness of the allies, in requiring his affiftance to dethrone his grandfon (t). (s) Burnet obferves on this occafion, France had fo perfidioufly broke all their treaties, during this king's reign, that it was a piece of inexcufable folly to expect any other from them. In the peace of the Pyrantes, where the interest of France was not fo deeply engaged, to preferve Portugal from falling under the yoke of Caftile, as it was now to preferve Spain in the hands of a grandson, after the king had fworn to give no affiftance to Fortugal; yet, under the pretence of breaking fome bodies, he fuffered them to be ente:tained by the Portuguefe ambaffador, and fent Schomberg to command that army; pretending he could not hinder one, that was - a German by birth, to go and ferve where he pleafed under thefe pretences, he had broke his faith, where the confideration was not fo frong as in the prefent cafe. Thus it was vifible no : The faith that king could give was to be relied on; and that unless Spain was reftored, all would prove a fatal delufion. Befides, it came afterwards to be known, that the places in Brabant and Hainault, commanded by the elector of Bavaria, would not have been evacuated by him, unlefs he had orders for it from the king of Spain, under whom he governed in them; and that was not to be expected. Burnet, vol. II. 529.. (t) These letters were as follow: Coufin, The hopes of an approaching peace were fo generally spread in my kingdom, that, out of regard to the loyalty my people have expreffed during the whole courfe of my reign, I think myfelf obliged to give them the comfort of acquainting them with the reafons which still hinder |