In the course of this session the commons having prosecuted their inquiry into the conduct of Kidd, brought in a bill for the more effectual suppressing of piracy, which passed into a law; understanding afterwards that Kidd was brought over to England, they presented an address to the king desiring that he might not be tried, discharged, or pardoned, till the next session of parliament; and his majesty complied with their request. Boiling still with indignation against the lord chancellor, representing the necessity of an immediate parliament. It was circulated about the kingdom for subscriptions, signed by a great number of those who sat in parliament, and presented to the king by lord Boss, who with some others was deputed for that purpose. The king told them they should know his intention in Scotland; and in the meantime adjourned their parliament by proclamation. The people exasperated at this new provocation, began to form the draft of a second national address, to be signed by the shires and boroughs of the kingdom; but before this could be finished, the king wrote a letter to the duke of Queensberry and the privy council of that nation, which was published for the satisfaction of the people. He professed himself grieved at the nation’s loss, and willing to grant what might be needful for the relief and ease of the kingdom. He assured them he had their interest at heart; and that his good subjects should have convincing proofs of his sincere inclination to advance the wealth and prosperity of that his ancient kingdom. He said he hoped this declaration would be satisfactory to all good men; that they would not suffer themselves to be misled; nor give advantage to enemies and ill-designing persons, ready to seize every opportunity of embroiling the government. He gave them to understand that his necessary absence had occasioned the late adjournment; but as soon as God should bring him back, their parliament should be assembled. Even this explanation, seconded by all the credit and address of his ministers, failed in allaying the national ferment, which rose to the very verge of rebellion.
The king, who from his first accession to the throne had veered occasionally from one party to another, according to the circumstances of his affairs and the opposition he encountered, was at this period so incensed and embarrassed by the caprice and insolence of the commons, that he willingly lent an ear to the leaders of the tories, who undertook to manage the parliament according to his pleasure, provided he would part with some of his ministers who were peculiarly odious to the commons. The person against whom their anger was chiefly directed was the lord chancellor Somers, the most active leader of the whig party. They demanded his dismission, and the king exhorted him to resign his office; but he refusing to take any step that might indicate a fear of his enemies or a consciousness of guilt, the king sent a peremptory order for the seals by the lord Jersey, to whom Somers delivered them without hesitation. They were successively offered to lord chief justice Holt, and Trevor the attorney-general, who declined accepting such a precarious office. Meanwhile the king granted a temporary commission to three judges to sit in the court of chancery; and at length bestowed the seals, with the title of lord keeper, on Nathan Wright, one of the sergeants at law, a man but indifferently qualified for the office to which he was now preferred. Though William seemed altogether attached to the tories and inclined to a new parliament, no person appeared to take the lead in the affairs of government; and, indeed, for some time the administration seemed to be under no particular direction.
During the transactions of the last session, the negotiation for a second partition treaty had been carried on in London by the French minister Tallard, in conjunction with the earls of Portland and Jersey, and was soon brought to perfection. On the twenty-first day of February the treaty was signed in London; and on the twenty-fifth of the next month it was subscribed at the Hague by Briord, the French envoy, and the plenipotentiaries of the states-general. By this convention the treaty of Ryswiek was confirmed. The contracting parties agreed, that, in case of his catholic majesty’s dying without issue, the dauphin should possess, for himself and his heirs, the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the islands of St. Stephano, Porto Hercole, Orbitello, Telamone, Porto Longone, Piombino, the city and marquisate of Final, the province of Guipuscoa, the duchies of Lorraine and Bar; in exchange for which last, the duke of Lorraine should enjoy the duchy of Milan; but that the county of Biche should remain in sovereignty to the prince of Vaudemont; that the archduke Charles should inherit the kingdom of Spain and all its dependencies in and out of Europe; but in case of his dying without issue, it should devolve to some other child of the emperor, excepting him who might succeed as emperor or king of the Romans: that this monarchy should never descend to a king of France or dauphin; and that three months should be allowed to the emperor, to consider whether or not he would accede to this treaty. Whether the French king was really sincere in his professions at this juncture, or proposed this treaty with a view to make a clandestine use of it at the court of Spain for more interested purposes, it is not easy to determine; at first however it was concealed from the notice of the public, as if the parties had resolved to take no step in consequence of it during the life of his catholic majesty.
In the beginning of July the king embarked for Holland, after having appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence. On the twenty-ninth day of the same month the young duke of Gloucester, the only remaining child of seventeen which the princess Anne had borne, died of a malignant fever, in the eleventh year of his age. His death was much lamented by the greater part of the English nation, not only on account of his promising talents and gentle behaviour, but also, as it left the succession undetermined, and might create disputes of fatal consequence to the nation. The Jacobites openly exulted in an event which they imagined would remove the chief bar to the interest of the prince of Wales; but the protestants generally turned their eyes upon the princess Sophia, electress dowager of Hanover, and grand-daughter of James I. It was with a view to concert the establishment of her succession, that the court of Brunswick now returned the visit of king William. The present state of affairs in England, however, afforded a very uncomfortable prospect. The people were generally alienated from the person and government of the reigning king, upon whom they seem to have surfeited. The vigour of their minds was destroyed by luxury and sloth; the severity of their morals was relaxed by a long habit of venality and corruption. The king’s health began to decline, and even his faculties decayed apace. No person was appointed to ascend the throne when it should become vacant. The Jacobite faction alone was eager, vigilant, enterprising and elate. They despatched Mr. Graham, brother of lord Preston, to the court of St. Germain’s, immediately after the death of the duke of Gloucester; they began to bestir themselves all over the kingdom. A report was spread that the princess Anne had privately sent a message to her father, and that Britain was once more threatened with civil war, confusion, anarchy, and ruin.
In the meantime King William was not inactive. The kings of Denmark and Poland, with the elector of Brandenburgh, had formed a league to crush the young-king of Sweden, by invading his dominions on different sides. The Poles actually entered Livonia, and undertook the siege of Riga; the king of Denmark, having demolished some forts in Holstein, the duke of which was connected with Sweden, invested Tonninghen. The Swedish minister in England demanded that assistance of William which had been stipulated in a late renewal of the ancient treaty between England and Sweden. The states of Holland were solicited to the same purpose. Accordingly, a fleet of thirty sail, English and Dutch, was sent to the Baltic under the command of sir George Rooke, who joined the Swedish squadron, and bombarded Copenhagen, to which the Danish fleet had retired. At the same time the duke of Lunenbourg, with the Swedish forces which happened to be at Bremen, passed the Elhe, and marched to the assistance of the duke of Holstein. The Danes immediately abandoned the siege of Tonninghen, and a body of Saxons, who had made an irruption into the territories of the duke of Brunswick, were obliged to retreat in disorder. By the mediation of William, a negotiation was begun for a treaty between Sweden and Denmark, which in order to quicken, Charles the young king of Sweden made a descent upon the isle of Zealand. This was executed with great success. Charles was the first man who landed; and here he exhibited such marks of courage and conduct, far above his years, as equally astonished and intimidated his adversaries. Then he determined to besiege Copenhagen; a resolution that struck such terror into the Danes, that they proceeded with redoubled diligence in the treaty, which was brought to a conclusion, between Denmark, Sweden, and Holstein, about the middle of August. Then the Swedes retired to Schonen, and the squadrons of the maritime powers returned from the Baltic.
When the new partition treaty was communicated by the ministers of the contracting parties to the other powers of Europe, it generally met with a very unfavourable construction. Saxony and the northern crowns were still embroiled with their own quarrels, consequently could not give much attention to such a remote transaction. The princes of Germany appeared cautious and dilatory in their answers, unwilling to be concerned in any plan that might excite the resentment of the house of Austria. The elector of Brandenburgh in particular had set his heart upon the regal dignity, which he hoped to obtain from the favour and authority of the emperor. The Italian states were averse to the partition treaty, from their apprehension of seeing France in possession of Naples and other districts of their country. The duke of Savoy affected a mysterious neutrality, in hopes of being, able to barter his consent for some considerable advantage. The Swiss cantons declined acceding as guarantees. The emperor expressed his astonishment that any disposition should be made of the Spanish monarchy without the consent of the present possessor, and the states of the kingdom. He observed, that neither justice nor decorum could warrant the contracting powers to compel him, who was the rightful heir, to accept a part of his inheritance within three months, under penalty of forfeiting even that share to a third person not yet named; and he declared that he could take no final resolution until he should know the sentiments of his catholic majesty, on an affair in which their mutual interest was so nearly concerned. Leopold was actually engaged in a negotiation with the king of Spain, who signed a will in favour of his second son Charles; yet he took no measures to support the disposition, either by sending the archduke with a sufficient force to Spain, or by detaching troops into Italy.
The people of Spain were exasperated at the insolence of the three foreign powers who pretended to parcel out their dominions. Their pride took the alarm at the prospect of their monarchy’s being dismembered; and their grandees repined at the thoughts of losing so many lucrative governments which they now enjoyed. The king’s life became every day more and more precarious, from frequent returns of his disorder. The ministry was weak and divided, the nobility factious, and the people discontented. The hearts of the nation had been alienated from the house of Austria, by the insolent carriage and rapacious disposition of the queen Mariana. The French had gained over to their interests the cardinal Portocarrero, the marquis de Monterey, with many other noblemen and persons of distinction. These perceiving the sentiments of the people, employed their emissaries to raise a general cry that France alone could maintain the succession entire; that the house of Austria was feeble and exhausted, and any prince of that line must owe his chief support to detestable heretics. Portocarrero tampered with the weakness of his sovereign. He repeated and exaggerated all these digestions; he advised him to consult Pope Innocent XII. on this momentous point of regulating the succession. That pontiff, who was a creature of France, having taken the advice of a college of cardinals, determined that the renunciation of Maria Theresa was invalid and null, as being founded upon compulsion, and contrary to the fundamental laws of the Spanish monarchy. He therefore exhorted king Charles to contribute to the propagation of the faith, and the repose of Christendom, by making a new will in favour of a grandson of the French monarch. This admonition was seconded by the remonstrance of Portocarrero; and the weak prince complied with the proposal. In the meantime the king of France seemed to act heartily as a principal in the treaty of partition. His ministers at foreign courts co-operated with those of the maritime powers in soliciting the accession of the different potentates in Europe. When count Zinzendorf, the imperial ambassador at Paris, presented a memorial, desiring to know what part France would act should the king of Spain voluntarily place a grandson of Louis upon the throne, the marquis de Torcy answered in writing, that his most christian majesty would by no means listen to such a proposal; nay, when the emperor’s minister gave them to understand that his master was ready to begin a separate negotiation with the court of Versailles, touching the Spanish succession, Louis declared he could not treat on that subject without the concurrence of his allies.
The nature of the partition-treaty was no sooner known in England, than condemned by the most intelligent part of the nation. They first of all complained, that such an important affair should be concluded without the advice of parliament. They observed that the scheme was unjust, and the execution of it hazardous; that in concerting the terms, the maritime powers seemed to have acted as partizans of France; for the possession of Naples and the Tuscan ports would subject Italy to her dominion, and interfere with the English trade to the Levant and Mediterranean; while Guipuscoa, on any future rupture, would afford another inlet into the heart of the Spanish dominions; they, for these reasons, pronounced the treaty destructive of the balance of power, and prejudicial to the interest of England. All these arguments were trumpeted by the malcontents, so that the whole kingdom echoed with the clamour of disaffection. Sir Christopher Musgrave, and others of the tory faction, began to think in earnest of establishing the succession of the English crown upon the person of the prince of Wales. They are said to have sent over Mr. Graham to St. Germain’s with overtures to this purpose, and an assurance that a motion would be made in the house of commons, to pass a vote that the crown should not be supported in the execution of the partition treaty. King William was not ignorant of the censure he had undergone, and not a little alarmed to find himself so unpopular among his own subjects. That he might be the more able to bestow his attention effectually upon the affairs of England, he resolved to take some measures for the satisfaction of the Scottish nation. He permitted the parliament of that kingdom to meet on the twenty-eighth day of October, and wrote a letter to them from his house at Loo, containing an assurance that he would concur in every thing that could be reasonably proposed for maintaining and advancing the peace and welfare of their kingdom. He promised to give his royal assent to such acts as they should frame for the better establishment of the presbyterian discipline; for preventing the growth of popery, suppressing vice and immorality, encouraging piety and virtue, preserving and securing personal liberty, regulating and advancing trade, retrieving the losses, and promoting the interest of their African and Indian companies. He expressed his concern that he could not assert the company’s right of establishing a colony at Darien, without disturbing the peace of Christendom, and entailing a ruinous war on that his ancient kingdom. He recommended unanimity and despatch in raising competent taxes for their own defence; and told them he had thought fit to continue the duke of Queensberry in the office of high commissioner. Notwithstanding this soothing address, the national resentment continued to rage, and the parliament seemed altogether intractable. By this time the company had received certain tidings of the entire surrender of their settlement; and on the first day of the session, they represented to parliament, that, for want of due protection abroad, some persons had been encouraged to break in upon their privileges even at home. This remonstrance was succeeded by another national address to the king, who told them he could not take any further notice of that affair, since the parliament was now assembled; and he had already made a declaration, with which he hoped all his faithful subjects would be satisfied. Nevertheless he found it absolutely necessary to practise other expedients for allaying the ferment of that nation. His ministers and their agents bestirred themselves so successfully, that the heats in parliament were entirely cooled, and the outcry of the people subsided into unavailing murmurs. The parliament resolved, that in consideration of their great deliverance by his majesty, and as next, under God, their safety and happiness wholly depended on his preservation and that of his government, they would support both to the utmost of their power, and maintain such forces as should be requisite for those ends. They passed an act for keeping on foot three thousand men for two years, to be maintained by a land-tax. Then the commissioner produced the king’s letter, desiring to have eleven hundred men on his own account to the first day of June following; they forthwith complied with this request, and were prorogued to the sixth of May. The supernumerary troops were sent over to the states-general; and the earl of Argyle was honoured with the title of duke, as a recompence for having concurred with the commissioners in managing this session of parliament.
WILLIAM, 1688—1701.
King William had returned to England on the eighteenth day of October, not a little chagrined at the perplexities in which he found himself involved; and in the beginning of the next month, he received advice that the king of Spain was actually dead. He could not be surprised at this event, which had been so long-expected; but it was attended with a circumstance which he had not foreseen. Charles, by his last will, had declared the duke of Anjou, second son of the dauphin, the sole heir of the Spanish monarchy. In case this prince should die without issue, or inherit the crown of France, he willed that Spain should devolve to the duke of Berry: in default of him, and children, to the archduke Charles and his heirs; failing of whom, to the duke of Savoy and his posterity. He likewise recommended a match between the duke of Anjou and one of the archduchesses. When this testament was first notified to the French court, Louis seemed to hesitate between his inclination and engagements to William and the states-general. Madame de Maintenon is said to have joined her influence to that of the dauphin, in persuading the king to accept of the will; and Pontchartrain was engaged to support the same measure. A cabinet-council was called in her apartment. The rest of the ministry declared for the treaty of partition; the king affected a kind of neutrality. The dauphin spoke for his son with an air of resolution he had never assumed before; Pontchartain seconded his argument; madame de Main-tenon asked, what the duke of Anjou had done to provoke the king, that he should be barred of his right to that succession? Then the rest of the members espoused the dauphin’s opinion; and the king owned himself convinced by their reasons. In all probability the decision of this council was previously settled in private. After the will was accepted, Louis closeted the duke of Anjou, to whom he said in presence of the marquis des Rois, “Sir, the king of Spain has made you a king. The grandees demand you; the people wish for you, and I give my consent, remember only, you are a prince of France. I recommend to you to love your people, to gain their affection by the lenity of your government, and to render yourself worthy of the throne you are going to ascend.” The new monarch was congratulated on his elevation by all the princes of the blood; nevertheless, the duke of Orleans and his son protested against the will, because the archduke was placed next in succession to the duke of Berry, in bar of their right as descendants of Anne of Austria, whose renunciation could be of no more force than that of Maria-Theresa. On the fourth day of December the new king set out for Spain, to the frontiers of which he was accompanied by his two brothers.
When the will was accepted, the French minister de Torcy endeavoured to justify his master’s conduct to the earl of Manchester, who resided at Paris in the character of ambassador from the court of London. He observed, that the treaty of partition was not likely to answer the end for which it had been concerted; that the emperor had refused to accede; that it was relished by none of the princes to whom it had been communicated; that the people of England and Holland had expressed their discontent at the prospect of France being in possession of Naples and Sicily; that if Louis had rejected the will, the archduke would have had a double title derived from the former will, and that of the late king; that the Spaniards were so averse to the division of their monarchy, there would be a necessity for conquering the whole kingdom before the treaty could be executed; that the ships to be furnished by Great Britain and Holland would not be sufficient for the purposes of such a war, and it was doubtful whether England and the states-general would engage themselves in a greater expense. He concluded with saying, That the treaty would have been more advantageous to France than the will, which the king accepted purely from a desire of preserving the peace of Europe. His master hoped therefore that a good understanding would subsist between him and the king of Great Britain. The same reasons were communicated by Briod, the French ambassador at the Hague, to the states-general. Notwithstanding this address, they ordered their envoy at Paris to deliver a memorial to the French king, expressing their surprise at his having accepted the will; and their hope, that as the time specified for the emperor’s acceding to the treaty was not expired, his most christian majesty would take the affair again into his consideration, and adhere to his engagements in every article. Louis in his answer to this memorial, which he despatched to all the courts of Europe, declared that what he chiefly considered was the principal design of the contracting parties, namely, the maintenance of peace in Europe; and that, true to his principle, he only departed from the words that he might the better adhere to the spirit of the treaty.
With this answer he sent a letter to the states, giving them to understand that the peace of Europe was so firmly established by the will of the king of Spain, in favour of his grandson, that he did not doubt their approbation of his succession to the Spanish crown. The states observed, that they could not declare themselves upon an affair of such consequence, without consulting their respective provinces. Louis admitted the excuse, and assured them of his readiness to concur with whatever they should desire for the security of the Spanish Netherlands. The Spanish ambassador at the Hague presented them with a letter from his new master, who likewise notified his accession to all the powers of Europe, except the king of England. The emperor loudly exclaimed against the will, as being more iniquitous than the treaty of partition; and threatened to do himself justice by force of arms. The Spaniards, apprehending that a league would be formed between his imperial majesty and the maritime powers for setting aside the succession of the duke of Anjou, and conscious of their own inability to defend their dominions, resigned themselves entirely to the protection of the French monarch. The towns in the Spanish Netherlands and the duchy of Milan admitted French garrisons: a French squadron anchored in the port of Cadiz; and another was detached to the Spanish settlements in the West Indies. Part of the Dutch army that was quartered at Luxembourg, Mon, and Namur, were made prisoners of war, because they would not own the king of Spain, whom their masters had not yet acknowledged. The states were overwhelmed with consternation by this event, especially when they considered their own naked situation, and reflected that the Spanish garrisons might fall upon them before they could assemble a body of troops for their defence. The danger was so imminent, that they resolved to acknowledge the king of Spain without further hesitation, and wrote a letter to the French king for that purpose; this was no sooner received, than orders were issued for sending back their battalions.
How warmly soever king William resented the conduct of the French king, in accepting the will so diametrically opposite to his engagements, he dissembled his chagrin; and behaved with such reserve and apparent indifference, that some people naturally believed he had been privy to the transaction. Others imagined that he was discouraged from engaging in a new war by his bodily infirmities, which daily increased, as well as by the opposition in parliament to which he should be inevitably exposed. But his real aim was to conceal his sentiments until he should have sounded the opinions of other powers in Europe, and seen how far he could depend upon his new ministry. He now seemed to repose his chief confidence in the earl of Rochester, who had undertaken for the tories, and was declared lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Lord Godolphin was appointed first commissioner of the treasury, lord Tankerville succeeded lord Lonsdale, lately deceased, as keeper of the privy-seal, and sir Charles Hedges was declared secretary of state, in the room of the earl of Jersey; but the management of the commons was intrusted to Mr. Robert Harley, who had hitherto opposed the measures of the court with equal virulence and ability. These new undertakers, well knowing they should find it very difficult, if not impossible, to secure a majority in the present parliament, prevailed on the king to dissolve it by proclamation; then the sheriffs were changed according to their nomination, and writs issued for a new parliament to meet on the sixth day of February. During this interval, count Wratislaw arrived in England, as ambassador from the emperor, to explain Leopold’s title to the Spanish monarchy, supported by repeated entails and renunciations, confirmed in the most solemn treaties. This minister met with a very cold reception from those who stood at the helm of affairs. They sought to avoid all connexions, that might engage their country as a principal in another war upon the Continent; smarting as they were from the losses and incumbrances which the last had entailed upon them and their posterity. They seemed to think that Louis, rather than involve himself in fresh troubles, would give all the security that could be desired for maintaining the peace of Europe; or even should this be refused, they saw no reason for Britain exhausting her wealth and strength to support a chimerical balance, in which her interest was but remotely concerned. It was their opinion, that by keeping aloof she might render herself more respectable. Her reserve would overawe contending powers; they would in their turn sue for her assistance, and implore her good offices; and, instead of declaring herself a party, she would have the honour to decide as arbitress of their disputes. Perhaps they extended this idea too far; and, in all probability, their notions were inflamed by a spirit of faction. They hated the whigs as their political adversaries, and detested the war, because it had been countenanced and supported by the interest of that party. The king believed that a conjunction of the two monarchies of France and Spain would prove fatal to the liberties of Europe; and that this could not be prevented by any other method than a general union of the other European powers. He certainly was an enthusiast in his sentiments of this equilibrium; and fully convinced that he himself, of all the potentates in Christendom, was the only prince capable of adjusting the balance. The imperial ambassador could not therefore be long ignorant of his real purpose, as he conversed with the Dutch favourites, who knew and approved of their master’s design, though he avoided a declaration until he should have rendered his ministers more propitious to his aim. The true secret, however, of that reserve with which count Wratislaw was treated at his first arrival, was a private negotiation which the king had set on foot with the regency of Spain, touching a barrier in the Netherlands. He proposed that certain towns should be garrisoned with English and Dutch troops, by way of security against the ambitious designs of France; but the regency were so devoted to the French interest, that they refused to listen to any proposal of this nature. While this affair was in agitation, William resolved to maintain a wary distance from the emperor; but when his efforts miscarried, the ambassador found him much more open and accessible.*
* This year was distinguished by a glorious victory which the young king of Sweden obtained in the nineteenth year of his age. Riga continued invested by the king of Poland, while Peter the czar of Muscovy made his approaches to Narva, at the head of a prodigious army, purposing, in violation of all faith and justice, to share the spoils of the youthful monarch. Charles landed at Revel, compelled the Saxons to abandon the siege of Riga, and having supplied the place, marched with a handful of troops against the Muscovites, who had undertaken the siege of Narva. The czar quitted his army with some precipitation, as if he had been afraid of hazarding his person, while Charles advanced through ways that were thought impracticable, and surprised the enemy. He broke into their camp before they had the least intimation of his approach, and totally routed them after a short resistance. He took a great number of prisoners, with all their baggage, tents, and artillery, and entered Narva in triumph.
The parliament meeting on the sixth, was prorogued to the tenth day of February, when Mr. Harley was chosen speaker by a great majority, in opposition to sir Richard Onslow. The king had previously told sir Thomas Lyttleton, it would be for his service that he should yield his pretensions to Harley at this juncture; and that gentleman agreed to absent himself from the house on the day of election. The king observed in his speech, that the nation’s loss in the death of the duke of Gloucester, had rendered it absolutely necessary for them to make further provision for the succession of the crown in the protestant line; that the death of the king of Spain had made such an alteration in the affairs of the Continent, as required their mature deliberation. The rest of his harangue turned upon the usual topics of demanding supplies for the ensuing year, reminding them of the deficiencies and public debts, recommending to their inquiry the state of the navy and fortifications; exhorting them to encourage commerce, employ the poor, and proceed with vigour and unanimity in all their deliberations. Though the elections had been generally carried in favour of the tory interest, the ministry had secured but one part of that faction. Some of the most popular leaders, such as the duke of Leeds, the marquis of Normanby, the earls of Nottingham, Seymour, Musgrave, Howe, Finch, and Showers, had been either neglected or found refractory, and resolved to oppose the court measures with all their influence. Besides, the French king, knowing that the peace of Europe would in a great measure depend on the resolutions of the English parliament, is said to have distributed great sums of money in England, by means of his minister Tallard, in order to strengthen the opposition of the house of commons. Certain it is, the nation abounded at this period with the French coins called louis d’ors and pistoles; but whether this redundancy was owing to a balance of trade in favour of England, or to the largesses of Louis, we shall not pretend to determine. We may likewise observe, that the infamous practice of bribing electors had never been so flagrant as in the choice of representatives for this parliament. This scandalous traffic had been chiefly carried on by the whig party, and therefore their antagonists resolved to spare no pains in detecting their corruption. Sir Edward Seymour distinguished himself by his zeal and activity; he brought some of these practices to light, and, in particular, stigmatized the new East-India company for having been deeply concerned in this species of venality. An inquiry being set on foot in the house of commons, several elections were declared void; and divers persons who had been illegally returned, were first expelled the house, and afterwards detained in prison. Yet these prosecutions were carried on with such partiality, as plainly indicated that they flowed rather from party zeal than from patriotism.
A great body of the commons had resolved to present an address to his majesty, desiring he would acknowledge the king of Spain; and the motion in all probability would have been carried by a considerable majority, had not one bold and lucky expression given such a turn to the debate, as induced the anti-courtiers to desist. One Mr. Monckton, in the heat of his declamation against this measure, said he expected the next vote would be for owning the pretended prince of Wales. Though there was little or no connexion between these two subjects, a great many members were startled at the information, and deserted the measure, which was dropped accordingly. The king’s speech being taken into consideration, the house resolved to support his majesty and his government; to take such effectual measures as might best conduce to the interest and safety of England, and the preservation of the protestant religion. This resolution was presented in an address to the king, who received it favourably. At the same time, he laid before them a memorial he had received from the states-general, and desired their advice and assistance in the points that constituted the substance of the remonstrance. The states gave him to understand, that they had acknowledged the duke of Anjou as king of Spain; that France had agreed to a negotiation, in which they might stipulate the necessary conditions for securing the peace of Europe; and that they were firmly resolved to do nothing without the concurrence of his majesty and their other allies. They therefore begged he would send a minister to the Hague, with necessary powers and instructions to co-operate with them in this negotiation; they told him that in case it should prove ineffectual, or Holland be suddenly invaded by the troops which Louis had ordered to advance towards their frontiers, they relied on the assistance of England, and hoped his majesty would prepare the succours stipulated by treaty, to be used should occasion require. The memorial was like-wise communicated to the house of lords. Meanwhile the commons desired that the treaties between England and the states-general should be laid before the house. These being perused, they resolved upon an address, to desire his majesty would enter into such negotiations with the states-general, and other potentates, as might most effectually conduce to the mutual safety of Great Britain and the united provinces, as well as to the preservation of the peace of Europe, and to assure him of their support and assistance in performance of the treaty subsisting between England and the states-general. This resolution however was not carried without great opposition from those who were averse to the nation involving itself in another war upon the continent. The king professed himself extremely well pleased with this address, and told them he would immediately order his ministers abroad to act in concert with the states-general and other powers, for the attainment of those ends they proposed.
He communicated to the commons a letter, written by the earl of Melfort to his brother the earl of Perth, governor to the pretended prince of Wales. It had been mislaid by, accident, and came to London in the French mail. It contained a scheme for another invasion of England, together with some reflections on the character of the earl of Middleton, who had supplanted him at the court of St. Germain’s. Melfort was a mere projector, and seems to have had no other view than that of recommending himself to king James, and bringing his rival into disgrace. The house of lords, to whom the’ letter was also imparted, ordered it to be printed. Next day they presented an address, thanking his majesty for his care of the protestant religion; desiring all the treaties made since the last war might be laid before them; requesting him to engage in such alliances as he should think proper for preserving the balance of power in Europe; assuring him of their concurrence; expressing their acknowledgment for his having communicated Melfort’s letter; desiring he would give orders for seizing the horses and arms of disaffected persons; for removing papists from London; and for searching after those arms and provisions of war mentioned in the letter; finally, they requested him to equip speedily a sufficient fleet for the defence of himself and the kingdom. They received a gracious answer to this address, which was a further encouragement to the king to put his own private designs in execution; towards the same end the letter contributed not a little, by inflaming the fears and resentment of the nation against France, which in vain disclaimed the earl of Melfort as a fantastical schemer, to whom no regard was paid at the court of Versailles. The French ministry complained of the publication of this letter, as an attempt to sow jealousy between the two crowns; and as a convincing proof of their sincerity, banished the earl of Melfort to Angers.
The credit of exchequer bills was so lowered by the change of the ministry, and the lapse of the time allotted for their circulation, that they fell nearly twenty per cent, to the prejudice of the revenue, and the discredit of the government in foreign countries. The commons having taken this affair into consideration, voted, That provision should be made from time to time for making good the principal and interest due on all parliamentary funds; and afterwards passed a bill for renewing the bills of credit, commonly called exchequer bills. This was sent up to the lords on the sixth day of March, and on the thirteenth received the royal assent. The next object that engrossed the attention of the commons, was the settlement of the succession to the throne, which the king had recommended to their consideration in the beginning of the session. Having deliberated on this subject, they resolved, That for the preservation of the peace and happiness of the kingdom, and the security of the protestant religion, it was absolutely necessary that a further declaration should be made of the limitation and succession of the crown in the protestant line, after his majesty and the princess, and the heirs of their bodies respectively; and that further provision should be first made for the security of the rights and liberties of the people. Mr. Harley moved, That some conditions of government might be settled as preliminaries, before they should proceed to the nomination of the person, that their security might be complete. Accordingly, they deliberated on this subject, and agreed to the following resolutions; That whoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this crown, shall join in communion with the church of England as by law established; 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; that no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of the crown, shall go out of the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of parliament; that, from and after the time that the further limitation by this act shall take effect, 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 the 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; that, after the limitation shall take effect, no person born out of the kingdom of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belonging, although he be naturalized, and 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 to any others in trust for him; 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; that, after the limitation shall take effect, 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; but no pardon under the great seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment by the commons in parliament. Having settled these preliminaries, they resolved, that the princess Sophia, duchess dowager of Hanover, be declared the next in succession to the crown of England, in the protestant line, after his majesty, and the princess, and the heirs of their bodies respectively; and, that the further limitation of the crown be to the said princess Sophia and the heirs of her body, being protestants. A bill being formed on these resolutions, was sent up to the house of lords, where it met with some opposition from the marquis of Normanby; a protest was likewise entered against it by the earls of Huntingdon and Plymouth, and the lords Guilford and Jeffries. Nevertheless it passed without amendments, and on the twelfth day of June received the royal assent: the king was extremely mortified at the preliminary limitations, which he considered as an open insult on his own conduct and administration; not but that they were necessary precautions, naturally suggested by the experience of those evils to which the nation had been already exposed, in consequence of raising a foreign prince to the throne of England. As the tories lay under the imputation of favouring the late king’s interest, they exerted themselves zealously on this occasion to wipe off the aspersion, and insinuate themselves into the confidence of the people; hoping that in the sequel they should be able to restrain the nation from engaging too deep in the affairs of the continent, without incurring the charge of disaffection to the present king and government. The act of settlement being passed, the earl of Macclesfield was sent to notify the transaction to the electress Sophia, who likewise received from his hands the order of the garter.
The act of succession gave umbrage to all the popish princes, who were more nearly related to the crown than this lady, whom the parliament had preferred to all others. The duchess of Savoy, grand-daughter to king Charles I. by her mother, ordered her ambassador, count Maffei, to make a protestation to the parliament of England, in her name, against all resolutions and decisions contrary to her title, as sole daughter to the princess Henrietta, next in succession to the crown of England, after king William and the princess Anne of Denmark. Two copies of this protest, Maffei sent in letters to the lord keeper and the speaker of the lower house, by two of his gentlemen, and a public notary to attest the delivery; but no notice was taken of the declaration. The duke of Savoy, while his minister was thus employed in England, engaged in an alliance with the crowns of France and Spain, on condition, That his catholic majesty should espouse his youngest daughter without a dowry; that he himself should command the allied army in Italy, and furnish eight thousand infantry, with five-and-twenty hundred horse, in consideration of a monthly subsidy of fifty thousand crowns.
During these transactions, Mr. Stanhope, envoy extraordinary to the states-general, was empowered to treat with the ministers of France and Spain, according to the addresses of both houses of parliament. He represented, that though his most christian majesty had thought fit to deviate from the partition-treaty, it was not reasonable that the king of England should lose the effect of that convention; he therefore expected some security for the peace of Europe; and for that purpose insisted upon certain articles, importing, That the French king should immediately withdraw his troops from the Spanish Netherlands; that for the security of England, the cities of Ostend and Nieuport should be delivered into the hands of his Britannic majesty; that no kingdom, provinces, cities, lands, or places, belonging to the crown of Spain, should ever be yielded or transferred to the crown of France, on any pretence whatever; that the subjects of his Britannic majesty should retain all the privileges, rights, and immunities, with regard to their navigation and commerce in the dominions of Spain, which they enjoyed at the death of his late catholic majesty; and also all such immunities, rights, and franchises, as the subjects of France, or any other power, either possess for the present, or may enjoy for the future; that all treaties of peace and conventions between England and Spain should be renewed; and that a treaty formed on these demands should be guaranteed by such powers as one or other of the contractors should solicit and prevail upon to accede. Such likewise were the proposals made by the states-general, with this difference, that they demanded as cautionary towns, all the strongest places in the Netherlands. Count D’A vaux, the French minister, was so surprised at these exorbitant demands, that he could not help saying, They could not have been higher, if his master had lost four successive battles. He assured them that his most christian majesty would withdraw his troops from the Spanish Netherlands as soon as the king of Spain should have forces of his own sufficient to guard the country; with respect to the other articles, he could give no other answer, but that he would immediately transmit them to Versailles. Louis was filled with indignation at the insolent strain of those proposals, which he considered as a sure mark of William’s hostile intentions. He refused to give any other security for the peace of Europe, than a renewal of the treaty of Ryswick; and he is said to have tampered, by means of his agents and emissaries, with the members of the English parliament, that they might oppose all steps tending to a new war on the continent.
WILLIAM, 1688—1701.