Chapter V: Part 5

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The captain of Clanronald, "who is one of the prettiest handsome youths I have seen," came in and brought all the chief of his friends, and made his submission and took the oath with the greatest frankness imaginable, as did also all his friends; he has gone to his uncle, the Laird of McLeod, to settle his affairs and to get up some money; he then resolves to wait on the King and Queen, and if he overtake the King at London, he will beg his favour that he may attend him into Flanders. If the King be gone, ere he reach London, he resolves to follow him, and to be wholly governed by the King's pleasure; only he prays he may be so disposed of as to better his education. It will be an act of great charity to "breed" him. I have sent to McNeil of Bara (a remote island) who I doubt not will come in as the rest; so all the work is now done but the settlement of a civil jurisdiction.

THE TREASONS ACT (1696).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm._ Vol. vii., pp. 6, 7.

Whereas nothing is more just and reasonable than that persons prosecuted for High Treason, and Misprision of Treason, whereby the Liberties, Lives, Honour, Estates, Blood, and Posterity of the Subject may be lost and destroyed, should be justly and equally tried and that persons accused as offenders therein should not be debarred of all just and equal means for defence of their innocencies in such cases; in order thereunto and for the better regulation of trials of persons prosecuted for High Treason and Misprision of such Treason, Be it enacted That ... all and every person or persons whatsoever that shall be accused and indicted for High Treason ... shall have a true copy of the whole indictment, but not the names of the witnesses, delivered unto them or any of them five days at the least before he or they shall be tried for the same, whereby to enable them, or any of them, respectively to advise with Counsel thereupon to plead and make their defence.... And that every person so accused and indicted, arraigned, or tried for Treason ... shall be ... admitted to make his and their full defence by Counsel learned in the Law and to make any proof that he or they can produce by lawful witness or witnesses who shall then be upon oath for his or their just defence in that behalf; and in case any person or persons so accused or indicted shall desire Counsel, the Court before whom such person or persons shall be tried, or some judge of that Court ... is hereby authorized and required immediately upon his or their request to assign to such person or persons such and so many Counsel, not exceeding two ... and such Counsel shall have free access at all seasonable hours.

And be it enacted That ... no person ... shall be indicted, tried, or attainted of High Treason ... but by and upon the oaths and testimony of two lawful witnesses, either both of them to the same overt act, or one of them to one and another of them to another overt act of the same Treason, unless the party indicted ... shall willingly, without violence and in open Court, confess the same, or shall stand mute, or refuse to plead.

And be it further enacted That if two or more distinct Treasons of diverse heads or kinds shall be alleged in one bill of indictment, one witness produced to prove one of the said Treasons, and another witness produced to prove another of the said Treasons, shall not be deemed or taken to be two witnesses to the same Treason.

And ... be it further enacted ... That ... no person or persons whatsoever shall be indicted, tried, or prosecuted for ... Treason ... unless the same indictment be found by a Grand Jury within three years next after the Treason or offence was done and committed.

And ... all and every person or persons who shall be accused, indicted or tried for Treason ... shall have copies of the panel of jurors who are to try them duly ... delivered unto them ... two days at the least before he or they shall be tried; and all persons so accused and indicted for Treason ... shall have the like Process of the Court, where they shall be tried, to compel their witnesses to appear for them at any such Trial or Trials.

And be it further enacted. That no evidence shall be admitted or given of any overt act that is not expressly laid in the indictment against any person.

And be it further enacted That upon the Trial of any Peer or Peeress either for Treason or Misprision all the Peers who have a right to sit and vote in Parliament shall be duly summoned twenty days at the least before every such Trial; and that every Peer so summoned and appearing at such Trial shall vote in the Trial.

THE COLONIAL POST (1699).

+Source.+--_Calendar of Treasury Papers_, 1697-1701-02, pp. 289-290.

Report of Sir R. Cotton, Knt., and Sir Tho. Frankland, postmasters, addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, on the memorials of Thomas Neale and Andrew Hamilton, Esqrs., stating that the latter had established a regular post to pass weekly from Boston to "New York in New England," and from New York to Newcastle in Pennsylvania, that the profits had every year increased so as to defray all charges except his salary; that the Attorney and Solicitor-General were of opinion the King could settle the rates for letters carried beyond sea &c.; advising the appointment of an officer to take charge of all the letters directed to the plantations, and send them in sealed bags, to be delivered to the deputy-postmaster in the first port where the ship should arrive, the master receiving a penny for each letter under his care, and upon such officers being established, a public notice should be given that no other person presume to make any collection of letters for those parts; they were of opinion that the rate for inland letters proposed by Mr. Hamilton was too high, "it having been found by experience in the office here, that the easy and cheap corresponding doth encourage people to write letters, and that this revenue was but little in proportion to what it now is till the postage of letters was reduced from six pence to three pence;" it would require £1,200 further charge than that already expended, to enlarge the post through Virginia and Maryland, etc. Dated 27 April, 1699.

Accompanied by:--

"A calculation what charge will carry the post from Newcastle in Pennsylvania to James' City in Virginia about 400 miles."

The memorial of Thomas Neale, Esq.:

Also another memorial from him, showing that he had deputed Andrew Hamilton, Esq., to erect post offices, who had at the said Thomas Neale's charge, settled them 700 miles in length on the continent of America, the accounts for which were then laid before their Lordships; also that the deputy-post-master had come over to afford information, and proposed the method contained in the enclosed memorial to support the post.

The said memorial of Andrew Hamilton, setting out the good effects of the Post Office, and suggesting various improvements:

He states:--"The method at present used to get letters transported to America is this: the masters bound thither, put up bags in coffee houses, wherein the letters are put, and for which one penny per letter is usually paid, and two pence if it exceed a single letter. This is liable to several abuses. First, any one under pretence that he wants to have his letters up again, may come to those bags and take out other men's letters, and thereby discover the secrets of the merchants; and 'tis in their power entirely to withdraw 'em. 2^ndly Several masters, upon their arrival, often keep up letters till they have disposed of their loading and are ready to sail again, and then drop them to the great hurt of those concerned, which inconveniences would be prevented, if letters were delivered from the Post Office in mails, and likewise delivered by them in mails into the Post Office where they arrive," etc.

ACT OF SETTLEMENT (1701).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm._ Vol. vii., pp. 636-638.

After reciting the Bill of Rights and declaring the succession vested in the most Excellent Princess Sophia, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants (in case of default of heirs to Anne), the Act of Settlement lays down:--

I. That whosoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown shall join in communion with the Church of England, as by law established.

II. That in case the Crown and imperial dignity of this realm shall hereafter come to any person, not being a native of this kingdom of England, this nation be not obliged to engage in any war for the defence of any dominions or territories which do not belong to the Crown of England, without the consent of Parliament.

III. That no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown shall go out of the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of Parliament.

IV. That ... all matters and things relating to the well-governing of this kingdom, which are properly cognizable in the Privy Council by the Laws and Customs of this realm, shall be transacted there, and all resolutions taken thereupon shall be signed by such of the Privy Council as shall advise and consent to the same.

V. That ... no person born out of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belonging (although he be naturalized or made a denizen, except such as are born of English parents) shall be capable to be of the Privy Council, or a member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant of lands, tenements, or hereditaments from the Crown, to himself or any other or others in trust for him.

VI. That no person who has an office or place of profit under the King, or receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons.

VII. That ... Judges' Commissions be made _Quamdiu se bene gesserint_, and their salaries ascertained and established; but upon the Address of both Houses of Parliament it may be lawful to remove them.

VIII. That no pardon under the Great Seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment by the Commons in Parliament.

MARLBOROUGH'S LETTERS RELATING TO BLENHEIM (1704).

+Source.+--Coxe's _Life of Marlborough_, vol. i., pp. 206, 213-215. Bohn edition.

A. _The Note to his Wife from the Blenheim Battlefield._

_August 13, 1704._--I have not time to say more but to beg you will give my duty to the queen, and let her know her army has had a glorious victory. M. Tallard and two other generals are in my coach, and I am following the rest. The bearer, my aide-de-camp, Colonel Parke will give her an account of what has passed....--MARLBOROUGH.

B. _To his Wife._

_August 14._--Before the battle was quite done yesterday, I writ to my dearest soul to let her know that I was well, and that God had blessed her majesty's arms with as great a victory as has ever been known; for prisoners I have the Marshal de Tallard, and the greatest part of his general officers, above 8,000 men, and near 1,500 officers. In short, the army of M. de Tallard, which was that which I fought with, is quite ruined; that of the elector of Bavaria and the Marshal de Marsin, which Prince Eugene fought against, I am afraid, has not had much loss, for I cannot find that he has many prisoners. As soon as the elector knew that Monsieur de Tallard was like to be beaten, he marched off, so that I came only time enough to see him retire. As all these prisoners are taken by the troops I command, it is in my power to send as many of them to England as her majesty shall think for her honour and service. My own opinion in this matter is, that the Marshal de Tallard, and the general officers, should be sent or brought to her majesty when I come to England; but should all the officers be brought, it would be a very great expense, and I think the honour is in having the marshal and such other officers as her majesty pleases. But I shall do in this, as in all things, that which shall be most agreeable to her. I am so very much out of order with having been seventeen hours on horseback yesterday, and not having been able to sleep above three hours last night, that I can write to none of my friends.... Had the success of Prince Eugene been equal to his merit, we should in that day's action have made an end of the war.

C. _To his Wife._

_August 18._--I have been so very much out of order for these four or five days that I have been obliged this morning to be let blood, which I hope will set me right; for I should be very much troubled not to be able to follow the blow we have given, which appears greater every day than another, for we have now above 11,000 prisoners. I have also this day a deputation from the town of Augsburg, to let me know the French were marched out of it yesterday morning, by which they have abandoned the country of Bavaria, so that the orders are already given for the putting a garrison into it. If we can be so lucky as to force them from Ulm, where they are now altogether, we shall certainly then drive them to the other side of the Rhine.... Never was victory so complete, notwithstanding they were stronger than we, and very advantageously posted. But believe me, my dear soul, there was an absolute necessity for the good of the common cause to make this venture, which God has so blessed. I am told the elector has sent for his wife and children to come to Ulm. If it be true, he will not then quit the French interest, which I had much rather he should do, if it might be upon reasonable terms; but the Imperialists are for his entire ruin....

D. _To Lord Godolphin._

_August 28._--The troops under my command are advanced three days on their march towards the Rhine, but I have been obliged to stay here[28] to finish, if possible, the treaty with the electoress.... By the letters we have intercepted of the enemy's, going to Paris from their camp at Dublingen, they all own to have lost 40,000 men.

[28] At Sefelingen.

ACT FOR THE UNION OF THE TWO KINGDOMS OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND (1707).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm._ Vol. viii., pp. 566-577.

The Act recites:--

I. That the two kingdoms of England and Scotland shall, upon the first day of May, which shall be in the year one thousand seven hundred and seven, and for ever after, be united into one Kingdom by the name of Great Britain; and, that the ensigns armorial of the said United Kingdom be such as her Majesty shall appoint, and the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew be conjoined in such manner as her Majesty shall think fit, and used in all flags, banners, standards, and ensigns, both at sea and land.

II. That the succession of the monarchy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and of the dominions thereunto belonging, after her most sacred Majesty, be, remain, and continue to the most excellent Princess Sophia, Electoress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body being protestants.

III. That the United Kingdom of Great Britain be represented by one and the same Parliament, to be styled, The Parliament of Great Britain.

IV. That all the subjects of the United Kingdom of Great Britain shall, from and after the union, have full freedom and intercourse of trade and navigation to and from any port or place within the said United Kingdom, and the dominions and plantations thereunto belonging; and that there be a communication of all other rights, privileges, and advantages, which do or may belong to the subjects of either kingdom; except where it is otherwise expressly agreed.

V.-XV. (These articles deal with Trade chiefly.)

XVI. That from and after the union, the coin shall be of the same standard and value throughout the United Kingdom; as now in England, and a mint shall be continued in Scotland, under the same rules as the mint in England, and the present officers of the mint continued, subject to such regulations and alterations as her Majesty, her heirs or successors, or the Parliament of Great Britain shall think fit.

XVII. That from and after the union, the same weights and measures shall be used throughout the United Kingdom, as are now established in England, and standards of weights and measures shall be kept by those burghs in Scotland to whom the keeping the standards of weights and measures, now in use there, does of special right belong: All which standards shall be sent down to such respective burghs, from the standards kept in the Exchequer at Westminster, subject nevertheless to such regulations as the Parliament of Great Britain shall think fit.

XVIII. That the laws concerning regulation of trade, customs, and such excises to which Scotland is, by virtue of this treaty, to be liable, be the same in Scotland, from and after the union, as in England; and that all other laws in use within the kingdom of Scotland, do after the union, and notwithstanding thereof, remain in the same force as before (except such as are contrary to, or inconsistent with, this treaty), but alterable by the Parliament of Great Britain; with this difference between the laws concerning public right, policy, and civil government, and those which concern private right, that the laws which concern public right, policy, and civil government may be the same throughout the whole United Kingdom; but that no alteration be made in laws which concern private right, except for evident utility of the subjects within Scotland.

XIX. (Scottish Courts of Law to remain as before, the right, however, of the United Parliament to make regulations and alterations being recognised.)[29]

XX.-XXI. (Concern Heritable Offices and the rights of Royal Burghs.)

XXII. That, by virtue of this treaty, of the peers of Scotland, at the time of the Union, sixteen shall be the number to sit and vote in the House of Lords, and forty-five the number of representatives of Scotland in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain; and that when her Majesty, her heirs or successors, shall declare her or their pleasure for holding the first, or any other subsequent, Parliament of Great Britain, until the Parliament of Great Britain shall make further provision therein, a writ do issue under the great seal of the United Kingdom, directed to the Privy Council of Scotland, commanding them to cause sixteen peers, who are to sit in the House of Lords, to be summoned to Parliament, and forty-five members to be elected to sit in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain.

XXIII. That the aforesaid sixteen peers of Scotland mentioned in the last preceding article, to sit in the House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain, shall have all privileges of Parliament, which the peers of England now have, and which they, or any peers of Great Britain shall have after the union.... And in case that any trials of peers shall hereafter happen, when there is no Parliament in being, the sixteen peers of Scotland who sat in the last preceding Parliament, shall be summoned in the same manner and have the same powers and privileges at such trials, as any other peers of Great Britain; and that all peers of Scotland, and their successors to their honours and dignities shall, from and after the union, be peers of Great Britain, and have rank and precedency next and immediately after the peers of the like order and degrees in England at the time of the union.

XXIV. (Deals with the Seals.)

XXV. (Scots to retain the Presbyterian system of Church Government and English to retain the Episcopalian.)

[29] No provision is made by the Act for the House of Lords to exercise final Appellate Jurisdiction.

PROCEEDINGS ON THE IMPEACHMENT OF DR. SACHEVERELL (1710).

+Source.+--_The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803._ Vol. vi., pp. 806, 809. London, 1810.

P. 806. _Complaint in the Commons of Dr. Sacheverell's Sermons._ Dec. 13. A complaint being made to the House of Commons, of two printed Books; the one intituled, "The Communication of Sin; a Sermon, preached at the Assizes, held at Derby, August 15, 1709, by Dr. Henry Sacheverell;" and the other intituled, "The Perils of false Brethren, both in Church and State; set forth in a Sermon preached before the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, on the 5th of November, 1709;" preached also by the said Dr. Henry Sacheverell; and both printed for Henry Clements, which Books were delivered in at the clerk's table; where several paragraphs in the epistle dedicatory, preceding the first-mentioned Book, and also several paragraphs in the latter Book, were read:

_Resolution thereon._] Sir Peter King and others having made speeches against the audaciousness of the Doctor, who had advanced positions directly opposite to Revolution principles, to the present government, and to the Protestant Succession, and consequently tending to cherish factions, and stir up rebellion: those, who favoured the Doctor's cause, were surprised at this sudden attack, and, no member offering to speak in his defence, it was resolved, "That the two Sermons were malicious, scandalous, and seditious libels, highly reflecting on the queen, the late Revolution, and the Protestant Succession, tending to alienate the affections of her majesty's subjects, and to create jealousies and divisions among them."

The Doctor was ordered to attend at the bar of the House the next day, and, being examined, owned the two Sermons. He likewise told them, what encouragement he had from the lord-mayor to print "The Perils of False Brethren." Sir Samuel Garrard, being a member of the House, was asked, whether the Sermon was printed at his desire or order? if he had owned it, he would have been expelled the House: but he denied, that he ever desired, or ordered, or encouraged, the printing thereof. Though the Doctor offered to prove it, and brought witnesses for that purpose, yet the House would not enter upon that examination, but it was thought more decent to seem to give credit to their own member, though few indeed believed him.

The Doctor standing to what he had said, without expressing the least consciousness of having done amiss, he was directed to withdraw; and it was resolved, "That he should be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanours, and Mr. Dolben was ordered to do it at the bar of the House of Lords, in the name of all the Commons of Great Britain." At the same time a Committee was appointed to draw up the Articles against him, and the Doctor was taken into custody of the Serjeant at Arms.

[The Charge against Sacheverell.]

P. 809. I. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermon preached at St. Paul's, doth suggest and maintain, 'That the necessary means used to bring about the said happy Revolution, were odious and unjustifiable; that his late majesty, in his Declaration, disclaimed the least imputation of resistance; and that to impute resistance to the said Revolution, is to cast black and odious colours upon his late majesty and the said Revolution.'

II. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermon preached at St. Paul's, doth suggest and maintain, 'That the aforesaid toleration granted by law is unreasonable, and the allowance of it unwarrantable;' and asserts that he is a false brother, with relation to God, religion or the church, who defends toleration and liberty of conscience; that queen Elizabeth was deluded by archbishop Grindall,' whom he scurrilously calls a false son of the church and a perfidious prelate, 'to the toleration of the Genevan discipline; and that it is the duty of superior pastors, to thunder out their ecclesiastical anathemas against persons entitled to the benefit of the said Toleration;' and insolently dares or defies any power on earth to reverse such sentences.

III. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermon preached at St. Paul's, doth falsely and seditiously suggest and assert, 'that the church of England is in a condition of great peril and adversity under her majesty's administration;' and, in order to arraign and blacken the said Vote or Resolution of both Houses of Parliament, approved by her majesty as aforesaid, he, in opposition thereto, doth suggest the church to be in danger; and, as a parallel, mentions a Vote, that the person of king Charles the 1st was voted to be out of danger, at the same time that his murderers were conspiring his death; thereby wickedly and maliciously insinuating, that the members of both Houses, who passed the said vote, were then conspiring the ruin of the Church.

IV. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermons and Books, doth falsely and maliciously suggest, 'that her majesty's administration both in ecclesiastical and civil affairs, tends to the destruction of the constitution; and that there are men of characters and stations, in church and state, who are false brethren, and do themselves weaken, undermine, and betray, and do encourage, and put it in the power of others, who are professed enemies, to overturn and destroy the constitution and establishment;' and chargeth her majesty, and those in authority under her, both in church and state, with a general maladministration: and, as a public incendiary, he persuades her majesty's subjects to keep up a distinction of faction and parties, instils groundless jealousies, foments destructive divisions among them, and excites and stirs them up to arms and violence. And, that his said malicious and seditious suggestions may make the stronger impressions upon the minds of her majesty's subjects, he, the said Henry Sacheverell, doth wickedly wrest and pervert divers texts and passages of holy scripture."

MARLBOROUGH'S REPLY TO THE CHARGE OF PECULATION (1712).

+Source.+--_The Case of his Grace the D---- of M., to be Represented by him to the Honourable House of Commons, in Vindication of Himself from the Charge of the Commissioners of Accounts in Relation to the Two and Half per Cent. Bread and Bread Waggons_ (published 1712). Acton Library Pamphlets, No. d. 25, 1001^12.

[The following extract deals with Marlborough's "commissions" on the bread supplied to the Army on the Continent. The Tories alleged that he had defrauded the Exchequer by taking his 2-1/2 per cent. commission.]

The first Article, in the Report, is founded on the Deposition of Sir _Solomon Medina_, by which you are Informed of a yearly Sum paid by him and his Predecessor, Contractors for Bread and Bread-Waggons, to myself. This Payment, ... I have called a Perquisite of the General or Commander in Chief in the _Low-Countries_; and it has been constantly apply'd to one of the most Important Parts of the Service there, I mean the procuring Intelligence, and other Secret Service.

The Commissioners are pleased to observe, That these Sums cannot be esteemed legal Perquisites, because they don't find 'em Claim'd or Receiv'd by any other _English_ General in the _Low-Countries_. But I must take leave to affirm to this House, That this Perquisite or Payment, has been allowed to that General or Commander in Chief, in the _Low-Countries_, both before and ever since the Revolution, to enable him to carry on such Secret Service. The like Allowance was made to Prince _Waldeck_, whilst he was General of the Dutch Army in _Flanders_; it was made during the last War as well as this; and for your further Satisfaction in this matter, I am content to refer my self to Sir _Solomon Medina_, who cannot but own, that when he made this Allowance, he knew it to be the constant Practice during the former Wars in the _Low-Countries_, and particularly when Prince _Waldeck_ commanded there. And if it be a Circumstance worth your notice, he must Inform you also, That the Allowance of Waggons, which the Report takes Notice of, is usual likewise; that he has allowed the like, or near the like Number to Count _Tilly_, though he was not Velt-Marshal, and that there is a proportionate Allowance of the same kind to other Officers. The Report may have observed very rightly, that the strictest Enquiry the Commissioners could make, they cannot find that any English General ever receiv'd this Perquisite. But I presume to say, the Reason is, that there never was any other English General besides my self, who was Commander in Chief in the _Low-Countries_. I crave leave then to say, That this Observation in the Report was Occasion'd through the want of due Information in the Usage of the Army. In receiving this as an established and known Perquisite, I have follow'd and kept up that Usage which I found in the Army when I first enter'd upon that Service; And upon this Ground alone, I hope that this House will not think I was Unwarranted in taking it.

But that no doubt may remain with you, I will State, as well as I can, what I have learnt, and during that time I have been in the Service, have been always understood to be the Ground, as well as the Design of this Allowance. The Contracts of Bread being of necessity at the same Rates for the whole Army, and it being for the Security of the Service that those Contracts should be in the fewest Hands; the certain Gain upon so large a sum as a Contract for the whole, or even part of the Army, even at the lowest Prices, makes this yearly allowance to have been thought not Unreasonable from the Contractor. This being an Allowance generally arising from Contracts that concern a variety of Troops, all under the same General, must naturally fall under the Direction, and come into the Hands of the Commander in Chief, as an Allowance to enable him to carry on such Designs which could not be foreseen, but yet necessary to be put in execution, and which chiefly depend upon Intelligence.

I thought it more needful to give you this Account of the Nature and Design of this Allowance, because I observe from the Report, that the Objection is to the Justice and Reasonableness of the Perquisite it self, without having regard to the Application or Use for which it is intended.

But the Commissioners apprehend this not to be a Justifiable Perquisite, because they say, the Publick or the Troops, necessarily suffer in proportion to every such Perquisite.

If these Observations were well grounded, I should think them good Reasons to put an end to the Allowance, and at the same time to blame those who first introduced it: But I take upon me to affirm, that this neither is nor can be the Cause. I have never heard a Complaint either of publick or particular Injury from this Allowance; nor does the Report assign any particular wherein it may be judged to be so.

This Allowance to the General can have no Influence upon the Contract it self, which is annually made and signed at the _Treasury_, and the Price regulated by what the States have agreed to pay for the Bread for their Forces. I appeal to all the Officers who have served with me in _Flanders_, whether the Forces in Her Majesty's Pay have not all along had as much, and as good Bread, as those of the _States_, and at the same Prices; which every Body will believe to be the Lowest, that consider the Frugal Economy of the _States_, and the small Pay of their Troops. And therefore I may safely conclude, that if the _English_ have had their Bread as Cheap as the _Dutch_, they have had it as Cheap as was possible. Nor indeed can it be imagined to be otherwise; for the very supposition of two different Prices paid by different Troops in the same Army, for the same Quantity of Bread, would occasion a Mutiny.

* * * * *

'Twill be necessary that I trouble the House with an account of the Time and Occasion whence this Payment of Two and Half _per Cent._ by the Foreign Troops commenced.

During the last War, the Allowance by Parliament for the Contingencies of the Army, of which that of Secret Service is the principal, was Fifty Thousand Pounds _per Annum_; but this Allowance fell so far short of the Expense on that Head, that upon the Prospect of this War's breaking out, the Late King assured me, That this part of the Service never cost him less than Seventy Thousand Pounds a year; However the Allowance of Parliament for the whole Contingent Service during this War, has been but Ten Thousand Pounds _per annum_; Three Thousand Pounds of which, or thereabouts, has generally gone for other Contingencies, than that of Intelligence. The Late King being unwilling to come to Parliament for more Money on that Head of the Service, proposed this Allowance from the Foreign Troops, as an Expedient to assist that part of the Service, and Commanded me to make the Proposition to them; which I did accordingly, and it was readily Consented to. By this Means a New Fund of about Fifteen Thousand Pounds _per annum_, was provided for carrying on the Secret Service, without any Expense to the Publick, or grievance to the Troops from whom the Allowance was made: For when the Publick pays, those Troops are not at all affected, or one Farthing increased in Consideration of this Deduction; nor is there in any Conventions for them any weight laid upon it, the Hire of Foreign Troops being governed by settled Rules and Treaties, and the Convention of the _States_ for them, being in the same Terms.

* * * * *

The true design of this Deduction being to supply the Secret Service, Gentlemen, I hope, you will observe that this, together with the _Article_ of the _Allowance_ by Parliament, when put together, doth fall short of the _Allowance_ given by Parliament, in the last War, upon this Head.

THE TORIES AND THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION (1712).

+Source.+--Swift: _The Conduct of the Allies_. Vol. v., pp. 66-72. Swift's Works, Bohn edition.

At the Revolution, a general war broke out in Europe, wherein many princes joined in an alliance against France, to check the ambitious designs of that monarch; and here the emperor, the Dutch, and England were principals. About this time the custom first began among us of borrowing millions upon funds of interest: It was pretended, that the war could not possibly last above one or two campaigns; and that the debts contracted might be easily paid in a few years, by a gentle tax, without burthening the subject. But the true reason for embracing this expedient, was the security of a new prince, not firmly settled on the throne: People were tempted to lend, by great premiums and large interest, and it concerned them nearly to preserve that government, which they trusted with their money. The person[30] said to have been author of so detestable a project, is still living, and lives to see some of its fatal consequences, whereof his grandchildren will not see an end. And this pernicious counsel closed very well with the posture of affairs at that time: For, a set of upstarts, who had little or no part in the Revolution, but valued themselves by their noise and pretended zeal when the work was over, were got into credit at court, by the merit of becoming undertakers and projectors of loans and funds: These, finding that the gentlemen of estates were not willing to come into their measures, fell upon those new schemes of raising money, in order to create a monied interest, that might in time vie with the landed, and of which they hoped to be at the head.

The ground of the first war, for ten years after the Revolution, as to the part we had in it, was, to make France acknowledge the late king, and to recover Hudson's Bay. But during that whole war, the sea was almost entirely neglected, and the greatest part of six millions annually employed to enlarge the frontier of the Dutch. For the king was a general, but not an admiral; and although King of England, was a native of Holland.

After ten years fighting to little purpose; after the loss of above an hundred thousand men, and a debt remaining of twenty millions, we at length hearkened to the terms of a peace, which was concluded with great advantages to the empire and Holland, but none at all to us;[31] and clogged soon after by the famous treaty of partition;[32] by which, Naples, Sicily, and Lorrain, were to be added to the French dominions; or if that crown should think fit to set aside the treaty, upon the Spaniards refusing to accept it, as they declared they would, to the several parties at the very time of transacting it; then the French would have pretensions to the whole monarchy. And so it proved in the event; for the late King of Spain reckoning it an indignity to have his territories cantoned out into parcels, by other princes, during his own life, and without his consent, rather chose to bequeath the monarchy entire to a younger son of France: And this prince[33] was acknowledged for King of Spain both by us and Holland.

It must be granted, that the counsels of entering into this war were violently opposed by the church-party, who first advised the late king to acknowledge the Duke of Anjou; and particularly, 'tis affirmed that a certain great person,[34] who was then in the church interest, told the king in November, 1701, That since His Majesty was determined to engage in a war so contrary to his private opinion, he could serve him no longer, and accordingly gave up his employment; though he happened afterwards to change his mind, when he was to be at the head of the Treasury, and have the sole management of affairs at home; while those abroad were to be in the hands of one, whose advantage, by all sorts of ties, he was engaged to promote.

The declarations of war against France and Spain, made by us and Holland, are dated within a few days of each other. In that published by the States, they say very truly That "they are nearest, and most exposed to the fire; that they are blocked up on all sides, and actually attacked by the Kings of France and Spain; that their declaration is the effect of an urgent and pressing necessity;" with other expressions to the same purpose. They "desire the assistance of all kings and princes," &c. The grounds of their quarrel with France, are such as only affect themselves, or at least more immediately than any other prince or state; such as, "the French refusing to grant the Tariff promised by the treaty of Ryswick; the loading the Dutch inhabitants settled in France, with excessive duties, contrary to the said treaty; the violation of the Partition Treaty, by the French accepting the King of Spain's will, and threatening the States, if they would not comply; the seizing the Spanish Netherlands by the French troops, and turning out the Dutch, who by permission of the late King of Spain were in garrison there; by which means that republic was deprived of her barrier, contrary to the treaty of partition, where it was particularly stipulated, that the Spanish Netherlands should be left to the archduke." They alleged, that "the French king governed Flanders as his own, though under the name of his grandson, and sent great numbers of troops thither to fright them: That he had seized the city and citadel of Liège, had possessed himself of several places in the archbishopric of Cologne, and maintained troops in the country of Wolfenbuttel, in order to block up the Dutch on all sides; and caused his resident to give in a memorial, wherein he threatened the States to act against them, if they refused complying with the contents of that memorial."

The Queen's declaration of war is grounded upon the grand alliance, as this was upon the unjust usurpations and encroachments of the French king; whereof the instances produced are, "his keeping in possession a great part of the Spanish dominions, seizing Milan and the Spanish Low Countries, making himself master of Cadiz, &c. And instead of giving satisfaction in these points, his putting an indignity and affront on Her Majesty and kingdoms, by declaring the pretended Prince of Wales, K. of England, &c.," which last was the only personal quarrel we had in the war; and even this was positively denied by France, that king being willing to acknowledge Her Majesty.

I think it plainly appears by both declarations, that England ought no more to have been a principal in this war, than Prussia, or any other power, who came afterwards into that alliance. Holland was first in the danger, the French troops being at that time just at the gates of Nimeguen. But the complaints made in our declaration, do all, except the last, as much or more concern almost every prince in Europe.

For, among the several parties who came first or last into this confederacy, there were but few who, in proportion, had more to get or to lose, to hope or to fear, from the good or ill success of this war, than we. The Dutch took up arms to defend themselves from immediate ruin; and by a successful war, they proposed to have a larger extent of country, and a better frontier against France. The emperor hoped to recover the monarchy of Spain, or some part of it, for his younger son, chiefly at the expense of us and Holland. The King of Portugal had received intelligence, that Philip designed to renew the old pretensions of Spain upon that kingdom, which is surrounded by the other on all sides, except towards the sea, and could therefore only be defended by maritime powers. This, with the advantageous terms offered by K. Charles,[35] as well as by us, prevailed with that prince to enter into the alliance. The Duke of Savoy's temptations and fears were yet greater: The main charge of the war on that side was to be supplied by England, and the profit to redound to him. In case Milan should be conquered, it was stipulated that his highness should have the Duchy of Montferrat, belonging to the Duke of Mantua, the provinces of Alexandria and Valencia, and Lomellino, with other lands between the Po and the Tanaro, together with the Vigevenasco, or in lieu of it, an equivalent out of the province of Novara, adjoining to his own state; beside whatever else could be taken from France on that side by the confederate forces. Then, he was in terrible apprehensions of being surrounded by France, who had so many troops in the Milanese, and might have easily swallowed up his whole duchy.

The rest of the allies came in purely for subsidies, whereof they sunk considerable sums into their own coffers, and refused to send their contingent to the emperor, alleging their troops were already hired by England and Holland.

Some time after the Duke of Anjou's succeeding to the monarchy of Spain, in breach of the partition treaty, the question here in England was, Whether the peace should be continued, or a new war begun. Those who were for the former alleged the debts and difficulties we laboured under; that both we and the Dutch had already acknowledged Philip for King of Spain; that the inclinations of the Spaniards to the house of Austria, and their aversion for that of Bourbon, were not so surely to be reckoned upon, as some would pretend; that we thought it a piece of insolence, as well as injustice, in the French to offer putting a king upon us; and the Spaniards would conceive, we had as little reason to force one upon them; that it was true, the nature and genius of those two people differed very much, and so would probably continue to do, as well under a king of French blood, as one of Austrian; but, that if we should engage in a war for dethroning the D. of Anjou, we should certainly effect what, by the progress and operations of it, we endeavoured to prevent, I mean an union of interest and affections between the two nations; for the Spaniards must of necessity call in French troops to their assistance: This would introduce French counsellors into King Phillip's court; and this, by degrees, would habituate and reconcile the two nations: That to assist King Charles by English or Dutch forces, would render him odious to his new subjects, who have nothing in so great an abomination, as those whom they hold for heretics: That the French would by this means become masters of the treasures in the Spanish West Indies: That, in the last war, when Spain, Cologne, and Bavaria were in our alliance, and by a modest computation brought sixty thousand men into the field against the common enemy; when Flanders, the seat of war, was on our side, and His Majesty, a prince of great valour and conduct, at the head of the whole confederate army; yet we had no reason to boast of our success: How then should we be able to oppose France with those powers against us, which would carry sixty thousand men from us to the enemy, and so make us, upon the balance, weaker by one hundred and twenty thousand men at the beginning of this war, than of that in 1688?

On the other side, those whose opinion, or some private motives, inclined them to give their advice for entering into a new war, alleged how dangerous it would be for England, that Philip should be King of Spain; that we could have no security for our trade, while that kingdom was subject to a prince of the Bourbon family; nor any hopes of preserving the balance of Europe, because the grandfather would, in effect, be king, while his grandson had but the title, and thereby have a better opportunity than ever of pursuing his design for universal monarchy. These and the like arguments prevailed; and so, without offering at any other remedy, without taking time to consider the consequences, or to reflect on our own condition, we hastily engaged in a war which hath cost us sixty millions; and after repeated, as well as unexpected success in arms, hath put us and our posterity in a worse condition, not only than any of our allies, but even our conquered enemies themselves.

The part we have acted in the conduct of this whole war, with reference to our allies abroad, and to a prevailing faction at home, is what I shall now particularly examine; where I presume it will appear, by plain matters of fact, that no nation was ever so long or so scandalously abused by the folly, the temerity, the corruption, the ambition of its domestic enemies; or treated with so much insolence, injustice and ingratitude by its foreign friends.

This will be manifest by proving the three following points.

_First_, That against all manner of prudence, or common reason, we engaged in this war as principals, when we ought to have acted only as auxiliaries.

_Secondly_, That we spent all our vigour in pursuing that part of the war which could least answer the end we proposed by beginning of it; and made no efforts at all where we could have most weakened the common enemy, and at the same time enriched ourselves.

_Lastly_, That we suffered each of our allies to break every article in those treaties and agreements by which they were bound, and to lay the burthen upon us.

[30] Dr. Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Sarum.

[31] The Peace of Ryswick, concluded in October, 1697. All that Louis did for England by that peace was to acknowledge William as King of England, and to engage not to assist his enemies. The Dutch and Leopold, however, were much better treated. The former had its commerce re-established, while to the latter were given many fortresses and towns, and advantages strengthening his empire. The Peace of Ryswick was truly not a peace, but a temporary cessation of hostilities.

[32] The Partition Treaties arose out of the troublesome question of the Spanish succession. After the Peace of Ryswick William III. and Louis XIV. attempted to settle this question by a partition of the Spanish possessions.

[33] This was Philip of Anjou, second son of the Dauphin.

[34] Sidney Godolphin, one of the greatest financiers among English statesmen. He was Lord High Treasurer under Queen Anne, and an intimate friend, as well as relative by marriage, of Marlborough. He was created an Earl in 1706, but was removed from his office at the fall of the Whig ministry in 1710.

[35] The Archduke Charles, who styled himself Charles III. of Spain.

VICAR OF BRAY.

_Old Song Composed in the time of George I._

The song illustrates the many changes of religion in the later Stuart period.

1. In good King Charles's golden days
When loyalty no harm meant,
A zealous High-Churchman was I,
And so I got preferment.
To teach my flock, I never missed,
Kings were by God appointed,
And damned are those that dare resist
Or touch the Lord's anointed.

_Chorus._ And this is law that I'll maintain
Until my dying day, sir,
That whatsoever King shall reign
I'll still be Vicar of Bray, sir.

2. When royal James possessed the Crown
And Popery came in fashion
The penal laws I hooted down
And signed the Declaration.
The Church of Rome I found would fit
Full well my constitution,
And I had been a Jesuit
But for the Revolution.