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339 had refolved to remove all coldness, that might be between 1710. them; and the event juftified their conjecture.

The uncertainty, whether the duke of Marlborough The duke would be continued in his command in Flanders, caft, in acquiefces in the prefent the mean time, a fresh damp on the public credit. It was counfels. therefore the general wish and expectation of the most wealthy and fubftantial citizens, that, in order to remove that doubt, the duke fhould receive the thanks, if not of both, at least of either of the two houfes of parliament. But the duke's friends in the house of peers, having already failed in one motion for it, were unwilling to attempt it a fecond time; especially, as they found the majority of the house inclined to pafs that compliment on the earl of Peterborough. And, as for his friends in the house of commons, they found their number too small to venture to attempt it at all. For this the duke had been prepared by the queen, who, upon his coming over, told him, he was not to expect the thanks of the two houfes as formerly. She added, that the expected he fhould live well with her minifters, but did not think fit to say any thing of the reasons fhe had for making thofe changes in the miniftry (m). However, the duke fhewed no refentments for all the ill ufage he met with; and, having been much pressed by the ftates and the other allies to continue in the command of the army, he told the bishop of Salisbury, he refolved, upon that account, to be patient, and to fubmit to every thing, in order to the carrying on the war; and, finding the queen's prepoffeffion against his duchess was not to be overcome, he carried a furrender of all her places to the queen. She was groom of the ftole, had the robes and the privy-purse; in all which she had ferved with great ceconomy and fidelity to the queen, and juftice to those who dalt with the crown. The duchefs of Somerfet had the two first places, and Mrs. Mafham the laft.

The queen's birth-day, Feb. 6, was this year folemnized with extraordinary magnificence; but it was obferved, that the duke of Marlborough did not appear at the festival,

(m) The duke, instead of having the thanks of either house, had the mortification to fee a fcurrilous letter published, fuppofed to be fent to the mayor of St. Alban's, and containing,

what the author called, Rea-
• fons why a certain great gene-
ral had not the thanks of ei-
ther of the two houfes of par.
liament, &c.'

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having

1710. having, with the queen's leave, fet out four days before for Blenheim-Houfe, with the marquis de Pafchal, governor of Bruffels, lately come from Flanders, and monfieur de Seiffan, on whom the queen afterwerds conferred a noble gratuity for his gallant, though unsuccessful, attempt the laft fummer, against Port de Cette, in order to affift the Cevennois.

Conduct in

lords. Burnet.

Pr. H. C.

During the fhort recefs of the parliament, the news Spain cen- came of the ill fuccefs in Spain; and, this giving an handle fured by the to examine into that part of the conduct of the late ministry, the queen was advised to lay hold of it; and therefore, Pr. H. L. without staying till she heard from her own ministers or her allies, as was usual, fhe laid the matter before the parliament, as the public news brought it from Paris, which was afterwards found to be falfe in many particulars. On the 2d of January, Mr. fecretary St. John delivered to the commons a meffage from the queen, acquainting them, "That there had been an action in Spain, very much to

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the disadvantage of king Charles's affairs, which hav❝ing fallen, particularly on the English forces, the queen "had immediately given directions for fending and pro"curing troops to repair this lofs, not doubting but the "parliament would approve thereof." The like meffage was fent to the lords (n); and both houfes returned their thanks for it; the commons affuring her at the fame time, "That they were perfectly fatisfied in her great care; intirely depended upon her wifdom; and would effec"tually fupport her majefty in her measures for retrieving "the lofs in Spain.' And the lords obferving, " That as this misfortune might have been occafioned by fome preceeding mifmanagement, they would use their utmost "endeavours to discover it, fo as to prevent the like for "the future." And they immediately entered into an inquiry concerning the affairs of Spain. They began it with an addrefs to the queen, to delay, for fome days, the earl of Peterborough's journey to Vienna, that they might make ufe of fuch lights and informations, as he was able to give them concerning thofe affairs. This was readily granted, and the earl, in answer to five questions proposed

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(n) Bishop Burnet fays, that, in her meffage, the queen faid, fhe hoped they would approve of the orders fhe had given. This (fays he) was a mean ex

preffion from the fovereign, not
ufed in former meffages, and
feemed below the dignity of the
crown.
II. 558.

to

to him in a committee of the whole houfe, gave a long recital of the affairs of Spain, loading the earl of Galway with all the miscarriages in that war (o). And, in particular, he faid, that in a council of war in Valencia, in the middle of January 1706-7, the earl of Galway had preffed the pufhing an offenfive war for that year; and that the lord Tyrawley and Stanhope had concurred with him in that: whereas he himself was for laying on a defenfive war for that year in Spain: he faid, this refolution was carried by thofe three, against the king of Spain's own mind; and he imputed all the misfortunes that followed in Spain, to this refolution fo taken. Stanhope had given an account of the debates in that council to the queen; and the earl of Sunderland, in answer to his letter, had wrote by the queen's order, that the approved of their preffing for an offenfive war; and they were ordered to perfift in that. The earl of Sunderland faid, in that letter, that the queen took notice, that they three (meaning the earl of Galway, lord Tyrawley, and Stanhope) were the only perfons that were for acting offenfively and that little regard was to be had to the earl of Peterborough's oppofition. Upon the strength of this letter, the earl of Peterborough affirmed, that the whole council of war was against an offenfive war he laid the blame, not only of the battle of Almanza, and all that followed in Spain, upon those refolutions, but likewife the miscarriage of the defign on Toulon; for he told them of a great defign, he had concerted with the duke of Savoy, and of the ufe that might have been made of some of the troops in Spain, if a defenfive war had been agreed to there. The earl of Galway and the lord Tyrawley were fent for; and they were afked an account of that council at Valencia: they faid, there were many councils held there about that time; and that both the Portuguefe ambassador and general, and the envoy of the ftates, agreed with them in their opinions, for an offenfive war; and they named fome Spaniards, that were of the fame mind: they also said, that all along, even to the battle of Almanza, in all their refolutions, the majority of the council of war voted for

(0) This recital contained the facts and paffages, publifhed fome years before by Dr. Friend (who attended the earl into Spain) in his account of the earl of Peterborough's conduct. When

1710.

he gave it in writing, he called
it the recapitulation of his an-
fwers to the five queflions pro-
pofed to him by the lords, of
which the reader has feen great
part in the notes of Vol. XVI.

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1710. every thing that was done, and that they were directed to perfift in their opinions, by letters wrote to them, in the queen's name, by the fecretaries of ftate: that as to the words, in the earl of Sunderland's letter, that spoke of them, as the only perfons that were of that opinion; these were understood by them, as belonging only to the queen's fubjects, and that they related more immediately to the earl of Peterborough, who oppofed that refolution, but not to the rest of the council of war; for the majority of them was of their mind (p).

* See Vol.

XVI.

As the lord Galway faid, his memory might have failed him in fome important particulars, he defired that he might be allowed to give in writing what he had delivered by word of mouth; which being granted, he gave in two papers; the one related to his own conduct from his first setting out for Portugal, till the time he was recalled; the other was an answer to the recital given in writing alfo by the earl of Peterborough, with other papers (q).

After feveral debates (at which the queen was prefent) the house of lords was fo difpofed, that the majority believed every thing faid by the earl of Peterborough, and it was carried, That he had given a very faithful, juft, and honourable account of the councils of war in Valencia, and

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terms to king Charles about it: that, as for the earl of Peterborough's projects in Italy, the lefs attention Mr. Stanhope gave to them, the bet· ter. That he fent him a let6 ter for the earl Rivers, which he defired Mr. Stanhope to deliver him, if the earl took upon him the command of the army by the lord Galway's giving it up, which however he hoped he would not do *. In which laft cafe Mr. Stanhope was defired to burn that letter: concluding, that the lord-treasurer had fettled the • remittances of the army, &c.' Pr. H. L. II. 320.

(q) The reader has likewise feen great part of the lord Galway's two papers. Vol. XVI.

that

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that the earl of Galway, lord Tyrawley, and general Stan- 1710. hope, infisting in a conference held at Valencia, fome time in January 1706-7, in the prefence of the king of Spain; and the queen's name being used in maintenance of their opinions for an offenfive war, contrary to the king of Spain's opinion, and that of all the general officers and public minifters, except the marquis das Minas; and the opinion of the earl of Galway, lord Tyrawley, and general Stanhope being pursued in the operations of the following campaign, was the unhappy occafion of the battle of Almanza, and one great cause of our misfortunes in Spain, and of the difappointment of the duke of Savby's expedition before Toulon, concerted with her majesty.'

cenfured.

From this cenfure on the earl of Galway, the debate was The late carried to that which was chiefly aimed at, to put a cenfure ministry on the ministry here. So it was moved, that an address Burnet, fhould be made to the queen, to free thofe, who were un- Pr. H. L. der an oath of fecrecy, from that tie, that a full account might be laid before the house of all their confultations: the queen granted this readily; and came to the house, which was understood to be on defign to favour that, which was aimed at. Upon this the duke of Marlborough, the earls of Godolphin and Sunderland, and the lord Cowper fhewed, that, confidering the force fent over to Spain under the lord Rivers, they thought an offenfive war was advisable; that the expence of that war was fo great, and the profpect was fo promifing, that they could not but think an offenfive war neceffary; and that to advise a defenfive one, would have made them liable to a just cenfure, as defigning to protract the war. The defign on Toulon was no way intermixed with the affairs of Spain; the earl of Peterborough fancied he was in that fecret, and had indeed proposed the bringing over fome troops from Spain on that defign, and had offered a scheme to the duke of Savoy, in which that was mentioned, and had fent that over to England. But though the duke of Savoy fuffered that lord to amufe himfelf with his own project, which he had concerted for the attempt on Toulon ; that duke had declared he would not undertake it, if it was not managed with the utmost secrecy, which was facredly kept, and communicated only to thofe, to whom it must be trusted for the execution of it. troops from Spain were to be employed in that fervice, nor did it miscarry for want of men. Thefe lords further faid,

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