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1711.

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new faces among us: but even that lord, who fits on the "woolpack [meaning the lord treasurer] may well remem

ber, that, in the late reign, four lords were impeached "for having made a partition-treaty." The earl of Angletey, (who, with the duke of Ormond, was juft come into the house, having that morning travelled above thirty miles in their return from Ireland) reprefented "the necef"fity of eafing the nation of the burden of this expenfive "war, and faid, they ought to leave it to her majefty's "wifdom to conclude a peace, when fhe thought it con"venient for the good of her subjects :" adding, "that we "might have enjoyed that bleffing foon after the battle of "Ramillies, if the fame had not been put off by fome per"fons, whofe intereft it was to prolong the war." The duke of Marlborough, who could not but perceive that this fuggeftion was levelled against him, made a long and pathetic fpeech, wherein, among other things, he faid,

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he thought himself happy, in having an opportunity given "him of vindicating himself on fo material a point, which "his enemies had fo loudly, and fo unjustly, laid to his "charge, before a perfon [meaning the queen, and mak"ing a bow towards the place where her majefty was] who "knowing the integrity of his heart, and the uprightness "of his conduct, would not fail doing him juftice. That "he referred himself to the queen, whether, whilst he had "the honour to ferve her majefty, as general and plenipo"tentiary, he had not conftantly informed her, and her "council, of all the propofals of peace, that had been "made; and had not defired inftructions for his conduct on "that fubje&? That he could declare with a safe confcience, "in the prefence of her majefty, of that illuftrious affembly, and of that fupreme being, who is infinitely above all the powers upon earth, and before whom, according "to the ordinary courfe of nature, he muft foon appear, "to give an account of his actions, that he ever was de"firous of a fafe, honourable, and lafting peace; and that "he was always very far from any defign of prolonging the war for his own private advantage, as his enemies had moft falfely infinuated. That his advanced age, and the "many fatigues he had undergone, made him carneftly "with for retirement and repofe, to think of eternity the "remainder of his days; the rather, because he had not "the leaft motive to defire the continuance of the war, having been fo generously rewarded, and had honours and riches heaped upon him, far beyond his defert and "expectation,

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"expectation, both by her majefty and her parliaments. 1711. "That he thought himself bound to this public acknowledgment to her majesty and his country, that he should always be ready to ferve them, if he could but crawl a"long, to obtain an honourable and lafting peace: but "that, at the fame time, he must take the liberty to de"clare, that he could, by no means, give into the mea"fures, that had lately been taken to enter into a nego"tiation of peace with France, upon the foot of the seven "preliminary articles; for, he was of the fame opinion "with the rest of the allies, that the safety and liberties of "Europe would be in imminent danger, if Spain and the "Weft-Indies were left to the houfe of Bourbon; which, "with all humility, and as he thought himself in duty "bound, he had declared to her majefty, whom he had the ❝ honour to wait on, after his return from Holland: and, "therefore, he was for inferting in the addrefs the clause "offered by the earl of Nottingham." This fpeech, delivered with a moft hearty concern, had the greater weight, as it was fupported by the lord Cowper, the bishop of Sarum, the lord Halifax, and fome other peers. other hand, the lord North and Grey and fome other officious courtiers faid, that, fince peace and war belonged, as prerogatives to the crown, it was not proper to offer vice in those matters, until it was asked: but this was rejected with indignation, fince it was a conftant practice, in all feffions of parliament, to offer advices; no prerogative could be above advice; this was the end fpecified in the writ, by which a parliament was fummoned; nor was the motion for a delay received. The eyes of all Europe were upon the present feffion; and this was a poft-night: so it was fit they fhould come to a prefent refolution, in a matter of fuch importance. This debate (in which the dukes of Shrewsbury and Buckingham were observed to fay little or nothing) having lafted till near seven in the evening, the queftion was put, whether the earl of Nottingham's advice The claufe fhould be part of the addrefs? and the previous question be-is agreed to by the lords, ing firft put, it was carried by the fingle vote of that earl; but the main queftion was carried by fixty-two against fiftyfour: fo this point was gained, though by a small majority. It was expected that the court-party would the next day have the majority, by means of the proxies which eight Scots peers had fent to the duke of Hamilton and the earl of Mar. Wherefore, when the addrefs of the lords was reported to the houfe, by the committee appointed to prepare

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1711. it, the court tried to get the whole matter to be contested over again, pretending, that the debate was not now, upon the matter, debated the day before, but only whether they fhould agree to the draught, prepared by the committee: but that part of it, which contained the advice, was conceived in the very words, in which the vote had paffed; and it was a standing rule, that what was once voted, could never again be brought into question, during that feffion. This was fo facred a rule, that many of those, who voted with the court the day before, expreffed their indignation against it, as fubverting the very constitution of parliaments, if things might be thus voted and unvoted again, from day to day yet even upon this a divifion was called for, but, the majority appearing fo evidently against the motion, it was yielded, without counting the house. Three days after, the lords waited on the queen with their address, which was as follows:

The lords address. Pr. H. L.

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WE your majefty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the

lords fpiritual and temporal in parliament affembled, "do, with hearts full of gratitude and loyalty to your fa"cred majefty, beg leave to return your majefty our most "humble and hearty thanks and acknowledgments for your

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majesty's most tender and affectionate care for all your "people, expreffed in your majefty's most gracious speech "from the throne, and for imparting to us your majefty's "defires of ending this prefent war, by a peace advantage"ous to your fubjects, and juft and honourable for your majesty and all your allies; as alfo for your majesty's "expreffing fo particular a regard for the intereft of the "ftates-general, as infeparable from your own; and that your majefty is graciously pleased to affure us, it is your chief concern, that the proteftant religion, and the laws and liberties of thefe nations, may be continued to your "people, by fecuring the fucceffion to the crown, as it is "limited by parliament to the houfe of Hanover; and that

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your majefty is pleased to fhew so just a resolution to pro"cure a fatisfaction for all the allies, being by treaties in"titled to have their several interefts fecured at a peace, and <to unite with them in the ftricteft engagements, in order "to render the peace fecure and lafting. And we do beg "leave to reprefent it to your majefty, as the humble opi"nion and advice of this house, that no peace can be safe "or honourable to Great-Britain or Europe, if Spain and

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"the Weft-Indies are to be allotted to any part of the 1711. "house of Bourbon."

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To which the queen returned this answer:

My lords,

"I take the thanks you give me kindly. I fhould be very forry any one could think I would not do my utmost to recover Spain and the Weft-Indies from the houfe of ❝ Bourbon (x)."

The lords returned her thanks for this answer: for they understood, by the doing her utmost, was meant the coninui ng the war. The court was much troubled to see the houfe of lords fo backward, and both fides ftudied to fortify themselves, by bringing up their friends or by getting their proxies.

The house of commons were more complaifant than that The fame of the lords, for a claufe being offered to be inferted in claufe rejected by the their addrefs of thanks, importing, "that the houfe did not commons. doubt, but care would be taken, that Spain and the Pr. H. C. "Weft-Indies fhould not be left in the hands of any branch "of the houfe of Bourbon, which might indanger the "fafety of her majefty's perfon and government, the pro"teftant fucceffion in the houfe of Hanover, and the liber"ties of Europe;" after a long debate, this claufe was rejected by a majority of two hundred and thirty-two voices against one hundred and fix; and fo the commons, in their addrefs, not only expreffed their fatisfaction in what her majesty had been pleased to declare of the just and honourable peace, which fhe had in view; but, at the fame time, affured her, that they would use their utmost endeavours to disappoint, as well the arts and defigns of thofe, who, for private views, might delight in war, as the hopes the enemies might have vainly entertained of re'ceiving advantage from any divifion among them.' The queen returned for anfwer, that this very dutiful address

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1711.

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Pr. H. L.

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Dec, 20.

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was what the expected from the zeal and loyalty of fuck an houfe of commons: that she returned them her hearty thanks for the confidence they had in her; and entirely relied upon their affurances: and that they might depend upon her affection and care for their interefts.'

While things paffed smoothly in the house of commons, the proceedings in the houfe of peers made a great noife, and kept the contending parties in fufpence. The duke of Hamilton, one of the fixteen peers for Scotland, having, been created a peer of Great-Britain, by the title of duke of Brandon, notwithstanding a caveat entered against his patent, and now claiming a place in that quality in the house of peers, many lords, who apprehended no small danger to the conftitution, from the admitting into their houfe a greater number of Scots peers, than were agreed to by the act of union, refolved to oppofe his claim. When that affair was brought into the house, it was espoused by the court with great zeal, and the queen came to hear the debates. Lawyers were heard for the patent: it was said, the queen's prerogative in conferring honours was clear. All the fubjects of the united kingdom had likewise a capacity of receiving honour. The commons of Scotland had it unqueftionably; and it feemed a ftrange affertion, that the peers of that nation fhould be the only perfons incapable of receiving honour. By the act of union the peers of Scotland were, by virtue of that treaty, to have a reprefentation of fixteen for their whole body: these words, by virtue of that treaty, feemed to infinuate, that, by creation or fucceffion, they might be made capable. And in the debate, that followed in the houfe, the Scots lords, who had been of the treaty of union, affirmed, that these words were put in on that defign. And, upon this, they appealed to the English lords. This was denied by none of them. It was alfo urged, that the houfe of lords had already judged the matter, when they not only received the duke of Queenfberry upon his being created duke of Dover, but had so far affirmed his being a peer of Great-Britain, that upon that account they had denied him the right of voting in the election of the fixteen peers of Scotland. But, in oppofition to all this, it was replied, that the prerogative could not operate, when it was barred by an act of parliament: the act of union had made all the peers of Scotland peers of Great Britain, as to all intents, except the voting in the houfe of lords, or fitting in judgment on a peer: and, as to their voting, that was vefted in their reprefentatives, by

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