powers; which count Bergheyck did in a letter to the duke 1709. of Marlborough, dated from Mons, Aug. 21, with a copy of their inftructions; and they fent another, at the fame time, to the deputy of the ftates; which were accordingly tranfmitted to their principals. But no answer was thought fit, either by England or Holland, to be returned to them, And to admit plenipotentiaries from him now, would undo all that had been hitherto agreed on; and, inftead of feeking for an expedient for the 37th article of the preliminaries, the whole of them would have been deftroyed, and the treaty muft have been begun intirely a new. In count Bergheyck's letter there was alfo broad intimations, how grateful king Philip would be, if, by means of the duke of Marlborough's good offices, his juft and reafonable defires might be complied with; and there was nothing he would not do to content England in general, or that might be to his fatisfaction in particular. Torcy was likewife faid to write very unneceffarily, and with great officiousness, two or three very civil letters to the duke, till he found his civilities were loft upon him. Petkum, after a stay at Paris of about ten days, and feveral fruitless interviews with the marquis de Torcy, returned to the Hague, on the 7th of December, without having been able to make the least progress in the business he went upon, or bringing fo much as the pretence of an expedient along with him; but, instead of that, he brought the fenfe of the French court, in a paper drawn up by Torcy, and importing in subftance, "That it would be impoffible for the king of France "to execute the 37th article of the preliminaries, even "though his majefty could refolve to fign it. That the "other articles were propofed by the allies fix months «fince, in order to prevent, by a fufpenfion of arms, the events of the campaign, which might change the difpo"fitions towards peace: and that reafon now ceafing, be"cause the winter-feafon naturally produced a ceflation of "arms, without any agreement in writing; that there"fore, without farther mention of the preliminaries, the "three winter months might be spent in treating and con❝cluding a peace. That, though the form of the preli"minaries were fuppreffed, yet the king of France would "preferve the fubftance, and treat on the foundation of the "conditions, to which he had confented, for the fatisfac"tion of the emperor, England, and Holland, and their allies, though he had declared that thofe conditions VOL. XVIL "should "fhould be void, if they were not accepted during the negotiation at the Hague. That his majefty was ready "to resume the negotiations on the fame foot, and send "his plenipotentiaries to fuch a place as fhould be agreed on, to begin the conferences with those of the allies, on the first day of January. And, if this propofal "were accepted, the fieur Petkum might forthwith return, "for fettling the paffes, and other formalities, for the place "and manner of meeting (f)." The ftates-general, hav 6 (f) Dr. Hare, in his fourth letter to a tory member,' p. 19, obferves, that this anfwer was fhort even of their expectations, who hoped least from it; for this overthrew all the preliminaries at once, while the king pretended to agree to all but one; and by promifing to keep the fubftance of them, while they deftroy the form, they effectually defeat all that had been done, and recover to themselves an intire liberty to difpute all points afresh, and to lay hold of all the occafions, which that would give them, to create • divifions and jealoufies between the ftates and their allies; which is plainly the point they have all along aim⚫ed at; which though they have been fo terribly disappointed in, they are unwilling to give over, in hopes their conftancy and firmness to the common caufe would in time be wearied out, and yield to the importunate follicitations with which they tempted them. great Though to prevent a new campaign might be a reafon for haftening the preliminaries, it was not the only or chief defign of them. Whenever a treaty fhould commence, the allies had declared long 'before, in answer to the elector of Bavaria's letters at the end of the Ramilles campaign, they would not enter on it, till • fome fundamental points were • first fettled, the neceffity of which they were convinced of by the dear-bought experience of former treaties: and the fame experience has taught the allies, that no treaty with • France can be effectual, if the • fundamental articles are not • executed as well as agreed on, before the general treaty is concluded; which fecurity the marquis would intirely take away, by deferring the exe'cution till after ratification. Thus the two great ends of a preliminary treaty, which are to agree on fome fundamental points, and fecure the exe'cution of them, are by this anfwer intirely destroyed; and the allies are not only where they were before that treaty was begun, but are really the worfe for it; it being of greater advantage to the French to • know beforehand what are the ⚫ particular demands, which the emperor and maritime powers infift on for themselves, and in behalf of the allies. As for folving all now by two words, ing confidered both the answer and the report of their deputies, came to the unanimous refolution, "That the fieur 66 Petkum, who, at the defire, and, upon the repeated in"ftances of France, was permitted, with the confent and knowledge of the high allies, to go for France, to see if "any expedient could be found out, for removing the dif*ficulties about the 37th article of the preliminaries, was, "contrary to all expectation, returned, not only without "bringing any fuch expedient with him, but with an an"fwer, in which France intirely receded from the founda❝tions agreed to with common confent, and with a pro"pofal to enter into a formal negotiation of peace, with"out fettling and adjusting any thing beforehand; a pro"pofal in all times adjudged dangerous, and contrary to "the declaration made on the part of France, That all "the preliminary articles fhould remain firm, as they were fettled, only with fuch alterations in the terms of the ex"ecution, which the course of time had rendered neceffary, "except only the 37th article.' That from this way of "proceeding, nothing could be expected, but that the ene"my was not fincerely. difpofed to agree to a fafe peace; " and that little regard was to be had to the affurances of "their good intentions, feeing the effects agreed fo little "with their profeffions; but rather, that all was concerted "and defigned to fow, if poffible, diftrufts and jealousies "between the allies and that ftate, while the French were refolved to continue the war. That therefore it was ab"folutely neceffary, that the allies in general, and every 66 one of them in particular, fhould, in an extraordinary manner, exert themselves, and make early preparations "for profecuting with vigour, in the next campaign, the "advantages obtained in the laft. That a letter to that "purpose should be written to the emperor and diet of the "empire at Ratisbon; the confederated circles, the electors 1709. 1709. Palatines some to England. " and princes of the empire, the queen of Great-Britain, "and the duke of Savoy. And that their imperial and "Britannic majesties should be defired, that prince Eugene "of Savoy, and the prince and duke of Marlborough, "might come to the Hague very early in the fpring, be"fore the end of February, to concert the neceffary mea"fures for the campaign." The queen of Great-Britain not only returned a favourable anfwer to the letter of the statesgeneral, but refolved also to exhort all the allies to a vigorous profecution of the war; and, in particular, wrote a very preffing letter to the general diet of the empire. About the time Petkum returned to the Hague, the French king wrote to king Philip, to acquaint him with what had paffed, and to affure him, that, though he was obliged to recall his troops, he need not be alarmed at it, for that he would never abandon him; and that he had ordered twelve regiments, that were then in Spain, to join the Spaniards, in cafe king Charles fhould make an irruption into Arragon. And a little after monfieur Ibbeville was fent to Madrid; that both his journey and bufinefs were made so great a fecret, that it was not for fome time known whither he was gone: and when he came to Madrid, where he arrived on the 26th of December, his inftructions were to communicate his business to nobody but the king himself. He did not make a long ftay, nor was he in appearance well received; but no judgment could be made from thence what his errand was; there was no way to distinguish be tween what was real and what disguife. But to judge from other fteps, it is most reasonable to think his business was to learn the ftate in which king Philip's affairs were, and to give him his leffon, how he should manage in so nice a juncture; with afsurances, that in fpite of all appearances to the contrary, which the neceffity of his affairs might oblige the French king to make, he would never de fert him, much lefs agree with the allies, upon any terms, to turn his arms against him. But this journey was made a great mystery of, to make the allies believe, that the bufinefs of it was to perfuade king Philip to retire out of Spain, fince it would be impoffible for the French king to support him any longer. About the beginning of May happened an extraordinary event, which raifed much difcourfe and argument in EngJand, namely, the coming over of great numbers of Palatines, Swabians, and other Germans, most of them Lutherans, being driven from their habitations, either by the op preffive ; preffive exactions of the French, or the defolation of their 1709. native country, occafioned by the calamities of the war: fo that, by the middle of June, they were increased to fix thoufand five hundred and twenty men, women, and children among whom were schoolmafters, husbandmen, vine-dreffers, herdsmen, wheel-wrights, fmiths, weavers, carpenters, masons, bakers, coopers, brewers, and other handi-, crafts-men. It was never certainly known upon what motives, and with what views, these people were brought over; but it is certain, that, being come into Holland, with defign to go for the English Plantations in America, upon an invitation of fome of their countrymen, who were reported' to be there in a thriving condition, they were furnished with fhipping to come over to England by Mr. d'Ayrelles, the British fecretary at the Hague, by direction from those in the adminiftration. Being deftitute of all neceflaries, they muft inevitably have perifhed, had not the queen firft ordered a daily allowance to be diftributed to them, and, at the fame time, a fufficient number of tents to be delivered out of the Tower, for their incamping on Black-Heath near Greenwich, and in a large field near Camberwell; and afterwards, upon the petition of the juftices of the peace for the county of Middlefex, granted a brief for the collection of charity-money within that county; which brief was fhortly after made to extend through the whole kingdom of Great-Britain; and, at the fame time, were appointed fe-* veral persons, in the most eminent ftations, to be trustees and commiffioners, for receiving and disposing of the monies fo collected. The kind reception and entertainment which thefe diftreffed fugitives found here, having been reported abroad, encouraged many other Germans to leave their defolate habitations, and to follow their countrymen, infomuch that their numbers increased fo faft, that the fecretary at the Hague was directed to put a stop to their coming over. a confiderable number of German Roman catholics had come along with the proteftants, fuch of them as did not voluntarily change their religion, were, at the queen's expence, fent back to Holland, where the ordered a fum of money to be distributed to them, towards the charges of their journey home. As for the Palatines, who ftaid behind in GreatBritain, fome were entertained in private families, fome fent to Ireland, and others to Carolina, and the greatest part to New-York, under the direction of commiffary Du Pré, who failed with them for that country about the beginning As |