1711. The feven preliminaries were no fooner made public, thart they were feverely animadverted upon in several pamphlets, Buys fent to and defended in others; and being communicated to the England by ftates-general by the earl of Strafford, who arrived at the the states, who come at laft to a conference. Hague on the 10th of October, extremely alarmed the states, as not being a fufficient foundation, upon which a negotiation might be hazarded: they dreaded the fatal confequences of opening the general conferences, before the articles offered by France were explained, and especially, before they knew at all what they were to truft to for their own barrier, and for their commerce. These confiderations made them, for fome time, decline granting the paffports to the French plenipotentiaries; and, in order to prevail with the queen to have fome regard to her allies, and particularly in the two great articles of their barrier and commerce, they fent over monfieur Buys, as envoy extraordinary, to intercede with her to alter her refolutions; and they made the same representations to the earl of Strafford, but all to no purpofe (r). For as Mr. St. John declared, in his letter to that earl, of the 9th of October," Certain it is, that her ma jefty has fo far determined upon her measures, that those "will deceive themselves, who may imagine by delay or "other artifices to break them." And again, November the 2d, to the fame earl, "The queen will not finally con"cert a plan for the profecution of the war with the states, "until they join with her in agreeing to open the confer"ences of peace." And the earl acquaints Mr. St. John, November the 15th, "That he had now told them, her "majesty's order to him was to declare, that fhe would "look upon any delay as a refufal to comply with her "pofitions." In these circumftances the Dutch at laft complied to grant the paffports, and agreed to open the general conferences at the time fixed by the queen, January pro (r) Buys, before he left the Hague, had boafted, that the queen could not withstand his eloquent remonftrances one moment. He was mistaken; for the queen told him with her mouth, that he would have peace; and that she infifted the Dutch fhould immediately cease to oppofe the opening of the conferences. Torcy's Mem. Vol. II. the the 1ft, 1711-12; and, pursuant to this refolution of the 1711. ftates, upon the preffing inftances of the queen, paffports for the French plenipotentiaries were fent to Buys, and delivered to Mr. St. John; and Utrecht was agreed upon to be the place for the general conferences: at which the bishop of Bristol, lord privy-feal, and the earl of Strafford, were appointed plenipotentiaries, whofe inftructions were fettled and figned on the 23d of December, 1711. By these inftructions the plenipotentiaries were ordered, "That, "if it fhould be thought proper to begin by the difpofition "of the Spanish monarchy, they were to infift, that the "fecurity and reasonable fatisfaction the allies expected, and "which his most chriftian majesty had promised, could not "be obtained, if Spain and the Weft-Indies be allotted to 66 any branch of the house of Bourbon." So that hitherto the queen thought fit to declare in all public acts, that Spain and the Weft-Indies ought by no means to be left in the poffeffion of the house of Bourbon, although in the special preliminaries, figned by the earl of Dartmouth and Mr. St. John, on the 27th of September preceding, the king of France did exprefsly promise to make good the fixth article for himself and for the king of Spain, pursuant to the powers, which were then in his hands. tors, and to Upon the receipt of the preliminaries figned by monfieur The empeMefnager, which count Gallas tranfmitted to the new em- ror's letters peror at Milan, his imperial majefty wrote a circular letter to the elec to the electors, and other princes of the empire, exhorting the ftates. them to perfift in the engagements of the grand alliance; Nov. 7. and, at the fame time, he wrote another letter to the ftates N. S. to the fame effect, but with this additional defire," That "they would join counfels with him to induce the queen "of Great-Britain to reject thofe propofitions, and to con<tinue the war; or, if a negotiation with the enemy could "not be avoided, that it might be on condition, that the "preceding preliminaries, propofed most of them by the "enemy himself, might remain fixed, and without altera❝tion: and that she would not truft the immortal glory "fhe had gained, and the certain welfare of her people, to "the infidelity of the French promifes." Before this letter reached the Hague, count de Goes, the imperial plenipotentiary there, prefented a memorial to the ftates, about the current report, ". That the queen of Great-Britain had ac"cepted the feven articles propofed by France, judging "them fufficient for proceeding to a general congrefs of "peace; and preffed their high mightinefles to confent "thereto, *4 1711. "thereto, and to grant their paffports for the ambaffadors "of France. Wherefore he thought it his duty to ask of "their high mightineffes, Whether this report were true? "And in cafe it was, to defire them not to come to any re"folution, but in conjunction with his imperial majesty, "or his minifters, conformable to the fixth article of the "grand alliance." The ftates returned a civil answer, both to this memorial, and to the emperor's reprefentations; but the letter, which the emperor wrote at the same time to the queen of Great-Britain, and which was delivered by monfieur Hoffman, did not meet with the like favourable return. Many libels Many mercenary pens were fet on work, to justify the against the proceedings of the new ministry, and to defame the allies, allies. more particularly the Dutch. This was done with much art, but with no regard to truth, in a pamphlet, intitled, The conduct of the allies, and of the late ministry:' to which very full anfwers were written, detecting the thread of falfhood that ran through the work (s). It was now faid, England was fo exhausted, that it was impoffible to carry on the war: and when king Charles was chofen em (s) On the 23d of October, being the first day of the term, fourteen bookfellers, printers, or publishers, who had been lately taken up and committed to the cuftody of ftate-meflengers, by warrants from Mr. fecretary St. John, for printing and publifhing pamphlets, libels, and ballads, fome of which were indeed fevere invectives against the miniftry, and others represented as fuch, appeared at the bar of the court of queen's-bench, where Mr. Nicholas Lechmere, council for Mr. Darby and Mr. Hurt, two of the printers, pleaded with great zeal against the feverity of committing people, without telling them their crimes ;' urging, That at this rate the office of a fecretary of ftate would become a Spanish inquifition.' But, at the request of the attorney-general, all the faid perfons were continued on their recognizances till the laft day of term. Mr. Darby and Mr. Hurt were profecuted on account of a tranflation of a memorable paffage in Tacitus about Cecilius Baffus's deceiving the emperor Nero, with the promise of an immenfe but imaginary treafure, which was inferted in a paper called the Obfervator, and was defigned as a reflection on the South - Sea project. Others were profecuted on more criminal accounts, viz. for publishing feditious ballads, called, A Welcome to the Modal, Credit restored, Mat's Peace, &c. Notwithstanding these profecutions, the pens of both parties were ftill bufy; the one in exploding, and the other in vindcating the prefent negotiations of peace. peror peror, it was alfo faid, he would be too great and too dan- Our court denied this; and fent earl Rivers to Hanover, to affure the elector, that the queen would take especial care to have the fucceffion to the crown fecured to his family, by the treaty that was to be opened. This made little impreffion on that elector: for he faw clearly, that if Spain and the Weft-Indies were left to king Philip, the French would foon become the fuperior power to all the rest of Europe; that France would keep Spain in fubjection, and, by the wealth they would fetch from the Indies, they would give law to all about them, and fet what king they pleafed on the throne of England. Earl Rivers ftaid a few days there, and brought an answer from the elector in writing; yet the elector apprehended, not without reason, that it might be ftifled: therefore his minifter, the baron de The electo Bothmar, who came over with the duke of Marlborough on the 18th of November, was ordered to deliver to Mr. St. John a long memorial, reprefenting the neceffity of pre- Nov. 20. ferving a perfect union between the allies, while the peace fhould be treating; of their giving each other a mutual guaranty upon what should therein be concluded; as also the pernicious confequences, if Spain and the Indies were left to the duke of Anjou.' (t) This memorial, a few days (t) It concludes thus: there is ground to hope, that, by remaining firmly united, the allies may and of her allies, with fo many peace of Hano ver's me morial. O. S. 1711. days after it was delivered, was published in the Daily Courant of December the 5th, and received with great applause by all the well-wishers to the proteftant fucceffion, who highly commended the elector of Hanover for his feafonable interpofition in an affair, which fo nearly concerned him. But, on the other hand, as it directly condemned the present scheme of peace, it gave no fmall offence to the miniftry, whofe agents openly exclaimed against it, fuggefting, that it was very impolite in his electoral highness, at this juncture, to intermeddle in the affairs of Great-Britain, and feem to efpoufe a party. Others pretended, that this memorial had more the air of an original in English, than of a translation from the French; and fo concluded, it was contrived in London by the leading men of the whigparty in concert with baron Bothmar, who was perfuaded to prefent it but this was altogether groundlefs; for the memorial was drawn up in form at Hanover, by monfieur Robethon, according to the elector's orders and directions. Nay, fome were fo bold, as in a printed letter from a fup⚫ pofed whig gentleman in the country, to a friend in town,' to queftion the genuineness of that memorial, and to laugh at it as a barefaced impofture; with other fcandalous reflections on his electoral highness, and his envoy. As for the British minifters, they had no manner of regard to that representation; nor would the queen perhaps ever have seen it, had it not been fhewn to her in print by the duke of Somerfet, before it was laid before her by the secretary of state; which could not be agreeable either to her, or to Mr. St. John, who expoftulated with the baron de Bothmar about publishing his memorial. 6 The parlia The parliament having been prorogued to the 27th of ment pro- November, a council was held on the 26th at St. James's, rogued to the 7th of whether it fhould be further prorogued, or only adjourned December. for a few days; and it was at laft carried for a prorogation Burnet. till the 7th of December. It feems the Dutch, before they Hift. of Eur. gave their confent to the opening of a congrefs, were defirous to fee first how the parliament was inclined; but the earl of Strafford, perceiving their defign, told them plainly, that, till they agreed to treat, the feffion would not be peace glorious to him, to the king to Spain, of imposing one upon Great-Britain, and of making the validity of the election of the head of the empire depend on his approbation. opened, |