Certain it is, the pretender could not have chosen a more favourable opportunity for making a descent upon Scotland. The people in general were disaffected to the government on account of the union; the regular troops under Leven did not exceed five-and-twenty hundred men, and even great part of these would in all probability have joined the invader; the castle of Edinburgh was destitute of ammunition, and would in all appearance have surrendered at the first summons; in which case the Jacobites must have been masters of the equivalent money lodged in that fortress: a good number of Dutch ships, loaded with cannon, small arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money, had been driven on shore in the shire of Angus, where they would have been seized by the friends of the pretender, had the French troops been landed; and all the adherents of that house were ready to appear in arms. In England, such a demand was made upon the bank, by those who favoured the invasion, and those who dreaded a revolution, that the public credit seemed to be in danger. The commons resolved, that whoever designedly endeavoured to destroy or lessen the public credit, especially at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an invasion, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and an enemy to her majesty and the kingdom. The lord treasurer signified to the directors of the bank, that her majesty would allow for six months an interest of six per cent, upon their bills, which was double the usual rate; and considerable sums of money were offered to them by this nobleman, as well as by the dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle, and Somerset. The French, Dutch, and Jewish merchants, whose interest was in a peculiar manner connected with the safety of the bank, exerted themselves for its support; and the directors having called in twenty per cent, upon their capital stock, were enabled to answer all the demands of the timorous and disaffected. All the noblemen and persons of distinction in Scotland, suspected of an attachment to the court of St. Germain’s, were apprehended, and either imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, or brought up to London to be confined in the Tower or in Newgate. Among these was the duke of Hamilton, who found means to make his peace with the whig ministers; and, in a little time, the other prisoners were admitted to bail. 153 [See note 2 D, at the end of this Vol.]
ANNE, 1701—1714
On the first day of April the parliament was prorogued, and afterwards dissolved by proclamation. Writs were issued out for new elections, together with a proclamation commanding all the peers of North Britain to assemble at Holyrood-house in Edinburgh, on the seventeenth day of June, to elect sixteen peers to represent them in the ensuing British parliament, pursuant to the twenty-second article of the treaty of union. After the dissolution of the parliament, the lords Griffin and Clermont, two sons of the earl of Middleton, and several Scottish and Irish officers who had been taken on board the Salisbury, were brought to London and imprisoned in the Tower or in Newgate. Lord Griffin being attainted by outlawry, for high treason committed in the reign of king William, was brought to the bar of the court of king’s bench, and a rule made for his execution; but he was reprieved from month to month, until he died a natural death in prison. The privy-council of Scotland was dissolved; the duke of Queensberry was created a British peer, by the title of baron of Ripon, marquis of Beverley, and duke of Dover; and the office of secretary at war, vacant by the resignation of Henry St. John, was bestowed upon Robert Walpole, a gentleman who had rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, and whose conduct Ave shall have occasion to mention more at large in the sequel. About the same time a proclamation was issued for distributing prizes, in certain proportions, to the different officers and seamen of the royal navy; a regulation that still prevails.
The French king, not at all discouraged by the miscarriage of his projected invasion, resolved to improve the advantages he had gained on the continent during the last campaign, and indeed he made efforts that were altogether incredible, considering the consumptive state of his finances. 154 [See note 2 E, at the end of this Vol.] He assembled a prodigious army in the Netherlands, under the command of the duke of Burgundy, assisted by Vendôme, and accompanied by the duke of Berry and the chevalier de St. George. The elector of Bavaria was destined to the command of the troops on the Rhine, where he was seconded by the duke of Berwick; and the mareschal de Villeroy was sent to conduct the forces in Dauphiné. About the latter end of March, the duke of Marlborough repaired to the Hague, where he was met by prince Eugene: these two celebrated generals conferred with the pensionary Heinsius, and the deputies of the states-general. Then they made an excursion to Hanover, where they prevailed upon the elector to be satisfied with acting upon the defensive in his command on the Rhine, and spare part of his forces, that the confederates might be enabled to make vigorous efforts in the Netherlands. The prince proceeded to Vienna, and the duke immediately returned to Flanders, where he assembled the army towards the latter end of May. On the twenty-fifth day of that month, the duke de Vendôme marched to Soignies, and posted himself within three leagues of the confederates, who were encamped at Billinghen and Halle. The duke of Marlborough having received intelligence that the enemy were on their march by Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Braine-la-Leuwe, concluded their intention was to take post on the banks of the Deule, to hinder the allies from passing that river, and to occupy Louvaine. He, therefore, commanded the army to march all night, and on the third day of June encamped at Terbank, general d’Auverquerque fixing his quarters in the suburbs of Louvaine, while the French advanced no farther than Genap and Braine-la-Leuwe. As they were more numerous than the confederates, and headed by a prince of the blood, the generals of the allies at first expected that they would hazard a battle; but their scheme was to retrieve by stratagem the places they lost in Flanders. The elector of Bavaria had rendered himself extremely popular in the great towns; the count de Bergeyck, who had considerable interest among them, was devoted to the house of Bourbon; the inhabitants of the great cities were naturally inconstant and mutinous, and particularly dissatisfied with the Dutch government. The French generals resolved to profit by these circumstances. A detachment of their troops, under the brigadiers la Faile and Pasteur, surprised the city of Ghent, in which there was no garrison; at the same time the count de la Motte, with a strong body of forces, appeared before Bruges, which was surrendered to him without opposition; then he made a fruitless attempt upon Damme, and marched to the little fort of Plassendhal, which he took by assault. The duke of Marlborough was no sooner apprised of the enemy’s having sent a strong detachment towards Tabize, than he marched from Terbank, passed the canal, and encamped at Anderlach. The French crossed the Senne at Halle and Tabize, and the allies resolved to attack them next morning; but the enemy passed the Dender in the night with great expedition; and the duke of Marlborough next day encamped at Asche, where he was joined by prince Eugene, who had marched with a considerable reinforcement of Germans from the Moselle. The enemy understanding that this general was on his march, determined to reduce Oudenarde, the only pass on the Schelde possessed by the confederates; and invested it on the ninth day of July, hoping to subdue it before the allies could be reinforced. The duke of Marlborough was immediately in motion, and made a surprising march from Asche, as far as Herselingen, where he was joined by the reinforcement. Then he took possession of the strong camp at Lessines, which the French had intended to occupy in order to cover the siege of Oudenarde.
Thus disappointed, the French generals altered their resolution, abandoned Oudenarde, and began to pass the Schelde at Gavre. The two generals of the confederates were bent upon bringing them to an engagement. Cadogan was sent with sixteen battalions and eight squadrons to repair the roads, and throw bridges over the Schelde below Oudenarde. The army was in motion about eight o’clock, and marched with such expedition, that by two in the afternoon the horses had reached the bridges over which Cadogan and his detachment were passing. The enemy had posted seven battalions in the village of Heynem, situated on the banks of the Schelde, and the French household troops were drawn up in order of battle on the adjacent plain, opposite to a body of troops under major-general Bantzaw, who were posted behind a rivulet that ran into the river. The duke de Vendôme intended to attack the confederates when one half of their army should have passed the Schelde; but he was thwarted by the duke of Burgundy, who seemed to be perplexed and irresolute. This prince had ordered the troops to halt in their march to Gavre, as if he had not yet formed any resolution; and now he recalled the squadrons from the plain, determined to avoid a battle. Vendôme remonstrated against this conduct, and the dispute continued till three in the afternoon, when the greater part of the allied army had passed the Schelde without opposition. Then the duke of Burgundy declared for an engagement, and Vendôme submitted to his opinion with great reluctance, as the opportunity was now lost, and the army unformed. Major-general Grimaldi was ordered to attack Rantzaw with the horse of the king’s household, who, finding the rivulet marshy, refused to charge, and retired to the right. Meanwhile Cadogan attacked the village of Heynem, which he took, with three of the seven battalions by which it was guarded. Bantzaw, passing the rivulet, advanced into the plain and drove before him several squadrons of the enemy. In this attack the electoral prince of Hanover, his late majesty George IL, charged at the head of Bulau’s dragoons with great intrepidity. His horse was shot under him, and colonel Laschky killed by his side. Divers French regiments were entirely broken, and a good number of officers and standards fell into the hands of the Hanoverians. The confederates continued still passing the river, but few or none of the infantry were come up till five in the afternoon, when the duke of Argyle arrived with twenty battalions, which immediately sustained a vigorous assault from the enemy. By this time the French were drawn up in order of battle; and the allies being formed as they passed the river, both armies were engaged through the whole extent of their lines about seven in the evening. Europe had not for many years produced two such noble armies: above one hundred general officers appeared in the field, and two hundred and fifty colonels fought at the head of their respective regiments. The number of the French exceeded that of the allies by twelve thousand; but their generals were divided, their forces ill-disposed; and the men dispirited by the uninterrupted success of their adversaries. They seemed from the beginning averse to an engagement, and acted in hurry and trepidation. Nevertheless, the action was maintained until general d’Auverquerque and count Tilly, who commanded on the left of the allies, obliged the right of the enemy to give ground; and the prince of Orange, with count Oxienstern, attacked them in flank with the Dutch infantry. Then they began to give way, and retired in great confusion. The duke de Vendôme, alighting from his horse, rallied the broken battalions, called the officers by name, conjured them to maintain the honour of their country, and animated the men with his voice and example. But notwithstanding all his endeavours, they were forced back among the enclosures in great confusion. Some regiments were cut in pieces; others desired to capitulate; and if the darkness had not interposed, their whole army would have been ruined. The night coming on, so that it became impossible to distinguish friends from enemies, the two generals ordered the troops to cease firing, and the enemy took this opportunity of escaping by the road which leads from Oudenarde to Ghent. The duke de Vendôme seeing the French forces flying in the utmost terror and precipitation, formed a rear-guard of about five-and-twenty squadrons, and as many battalions, with which he secured the retreat. To this precaution the safety of their army was entirely owing; for at day-break the duke of Marlborough sent a large detachment of horse and foot, under the lieutenant-generals Bulau and Lumley, to pursue the fugitives; but the hedges and ditches that skirted the road were lined with the French grenadiers in such a manner, that the cavalry could not form, and they were obliged to desist. The French reached Ghent about eight in the morning, and marching through the city, encamped at Lovendegen on the canal. There they thought proper to cast up intrenchments, upon which they planted their artillery, which they had left at Gavre with their heavy baggage. About three thousand were slain on the field of battle; two thousand deserted; and about seven thousand were taken, including a great number of officers, together with ten pieces of cannon, above an hundred standards and colours, and four thousand horses. The loss of the allies did not amount to two thousand men; nor was one officer of distinction killed on their side during the whole engagement.*
* Among the officers who were engaged in this battle, old general d’Auverquerque and the duke of Argyle distinguished themselves by the most extraordinary valour and activity.
After the confederates had rested two days on the field of battle, a detachment was ordered to level the French lines between Ypres and the Lys; another was sent to raise contributions as far as Arras; they ravaged the country, and struck terror even into the city of Paris. While the allies plundered the province of Picardy, a detachment from the French army, under the chevalier de Rozen, made an irruption into Dutch-Flanders, broke through the lines of Bervilet, which had been left unguarded, and made a descent upon the island of Cadsandt, which they laid under contribution.
The generals of the allies now undertook an enterprise, which, in the opinion of the French generals, savoured of rashness and inconsiderate self-sufficiency. This was the siege of Lisle, the strongest town in Flanders, provided with all necessaries, stores of ammunition, and a garrison reinforced with one and twenty battalions of the best troops in France, commanded by mareschal de Boufflers in person. But these were not the principal difficulties which the allies encountered. The enemy had cut off the communication between them and their magazines at Antwerp and Sas-Fan-Ghent; so that they were obliged to bring their convoys from Ostend along a narrow causeway, exposed to the attack of an army more numerous than that with which they sat down before Lisle. On the thirteenth of August it was invested on one side by prince Eugene, and on the other by the prince of Orange-Nassau, stadtholder of Friesland; while the duke of Marlborough encamped at Hel-chin, to cover the siege. The trenches were opened on the twenty-second day of August, and carried on with that vigour and alacrity which is always inspired by victory and success. The dukes of Burgundy and Vendôme being now joined by the duke of Berwick, resolved, if possible, to relieve the place; and made several marches and counter-marches for this purpose. Marlborough being apprized of their intention, inarched out of his lines to give them battle, being reinforced by a considerable body of troops from the siege, including Augustus king of Poland, and the landgrave of Hesse, as volunteers; but the enemy declined an engagement, and the allies returned to their camp, which they fortified with an intrenchment. On the seventh day of September, the besiegers took by assault the counterscarp of Lisle, after an obstinate action, in which they lost a thousand men. The French generals continued to hover about the camp of the confederates, which they actually cannonaded; and the duke of Marlborough again formed his army in order of battle; but their design was only to harass the allies with continual alarms, and interrupt the operations of the siege. They endeavoured to surprise the town of Aeth, by means of a secret correspondence with the inhabitants; but the conspiracy was discovered before it took effect. Then they cut off all communication between the besiegers and the Schelde, the banks of which they fortified with strong intrenchments, and a prodigious number of cannon; so that now all the stores and necessaries were sent to the camp of the confederates from Ostend. On the twenty-first day of September, prince Eugene, who was in the trenches, seeing the troops driven by the enemy from a lodgement they had made on the counterscarp of the tenaille, rallied and led them back to the charge; but being wounded over the left eye with a musket-shot, he was obliged to retire, and for some days the duke of Marlborough sustained the whole command, both in the siege and of the covering army. On the twenty-third the tenaille was stormed, and a lodgement made along the covered way. Mareschal Boufflers having found means to inform the duke de Vendôme that his ammunition was almost expended, this general detached the chevalier de Luxembourg, with a body of horse and dragoons, to supply the place with gunpowder, every man carrying a bag of forty pounds upon the crupper. They were discovered in passing through the camp of the allies, and pursued to the barrier of the town, into which about three hundred were admitted; but a great number were killed by the confederates, or miserably destroyed by the explosion of the powder which they carried.
The next attempt of the French generals was to intercept a convoy from Ostend. The count de la Motte marched from Ghent, with about two and twenty thousand men, to attack this convoy, which was guarded by six thousand of the allies, commanded by major-general Webb. This officer made such an admirable disposition by the wood of Wynendale, and received the enemy with such a close fire, that, after a very warm action that lasted two hours, they retired in the utmost confusion, notwithstanding their great superiority in number, leaving six thousand men killed upon the field of battle; the loss of the allies not exceeding nine hundred and twelve officers and soldiers. This was the most honourable exploit performed during the whole war, and of such consequence to the confederates, that if the convoy had been taken, the siege must have been raised. The duke de Vendôme ordered the dikes between Bruges and Newport to be cut, so as to lay the whole country under water, in hopes of destroying the communication between Ostend and the camp of the confederates; and, after a regular siege, he took colonel Caulfield, and a body of British troops posted in the village of Leffinghen, by whose means the convoys had been forwarded to the duke of Marlborough. On the twenty-second of October, mareschal Boufflers desired to capitulate for the town of Lisle: next day the articles were signed: on the twenty-fifth the allies took possession of the place, and the mareschal retired into the citadel with the remains of his garrison, which, from twelve thousand, was reduced to less than the half of that number. A negotiation was begun for the surrender of the citadel; but Boufflers made such extravagant demands as were rejected with disdain. Hostilities were renewed on the twenty-ninth day of the month; and the earl of Stair was detached to provide corn for the army in the districts of Fumes and Dixmuyde. During these transactions, veldt-mareschal D’Auverquerque died at Roselser, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, after having, in above thirty campaigns, exhibited innumerable proofs of uncommon courage, ability, and moderation. The duke de Vendôme did not despair of obliging the confederates to abandon their enterprise: the French ministers at Rome and Venice publicly declared the allied army was cooped up in such a manner, that it must either raise the siege or be famished. The elector of Bavaria, with a detachment of ten thousand men, marched to Brussels, and attacked the counterscarp with incredible fury; but was repulsed by the garrison, under the command of general Paschal, and retired with precipitation, when he understood that the duke of Marlborough was in motion to relieve the place. This nobleman and prince Eugene no sooner understood the danger to which Brussels was exposed, than they marched with the covering army to the Schelde, which they passed in pontoons without opposition, notwithstanding the formidable works which the French had raised. They now abandoned them with precipitation, to the surprise of the confederates, who had laid their account with the loss of a thousand men in the attack. Having passed the river between Eskenaffe and Hauterive, as well as at other places, they marched to Oudenarde, where they received intelligence that the elector had retreated. Then prince Eugene returned to Lisle, and the duke of Marlborough proceeded to Brussels, where he was received with joy and acclamation. He afterwards took post at Oudenarde, so as to maintain a communication with prince Eugene.
The besiegers having made lodgements and raised batteries on the second counterscarp of the citadel, sent a message to Boufflers, intimating, that if he would surrender before the opening of the batteries, he should have an honourable capitulation; otherwise he and his garrison must be made prisoners of war. He chose to avoid the last part of the alternative: hostages were exchanged on the eighth day of December, and the articles signed on the tenth; when the mareschal and his garrison marched out with the honours of war, and were conducted to Douay. In this great enterprise, spirit and perseverance made amends for want of foresight and skill, which was flagrant on the side of the confederates; yet their success was owing in a great measure to the improvidence and misconduct of the besieged. The French generals never dreamed that the allies would attempt any thing of consequence after the reduction of Lisle, considering the advanced season of the year, and therefore they returned to Paris, after having distributed their army into winter quarters. But their indefatigable antagonists were determined to strike another stroke of importance before their forces should separate. On the twentieth day of December they invested the city of Ghent on all sides; and on the thirtieth, when the batteries were ready to open, the count de la Motte, who commanded the garrison, desired to capitulate. On the third day of January, 1708, he marched out with thirty battalions and sixteen squadrons, which were conducted to Tournay; while the duke of Argyle, with six British battalions, took possession of the town and citadel. Then the enemy abandoned Bruges, Plassendahl, and Leffengen; and the generals of the allies, having settled the plan of winter quarters, repaired to Holland, leaving their forces under the command of count Tilly. The French king was confounded and dismayed at these conquests in the Netherlands. Nor was he easy on the side of Dauphiné: in spite of all the vigilance and activity of Villars, the duke of Savoy made himself master of the important fortresses of Exilles, La Perouse, the valley of St. Martin, and Fenestrells; so that by the end of the campaign he had secured a barrier to his own frontiers, and opened a way into the French provinces, after having made a diversion in favour of king Charles, by obliging the enemy to send a strong detachment from Rousillon to the assistance of Villars.
1708
The campaign in Catalonia was productive of a great event. Count Guido de Staremberg arrived at Barcelona on the last day of April; but the Imperial troops brought from Italy by admiral Leake did not land in time to relieve Tortosa, which the duke of Orleans besieged and took, together with Denia, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war, contrary to the articles of capitulation. These losses, however, were abundantly made up to the allies by the conquest of Sardinia and Minorca. Sir John Leake, having taken on board a handful of troops, under the conduct of the marquis d’Alconzel, set sail for Cagliari, and summoned the viceroy to submit to king Charles. As he did not send an immediate answer, the admiral began to bombard the city, and the inhabitants compelled him to surrender at discretion. The greater part of the garrison enlisted themselves in the service of Charles. The deputies of the states being assembled by the marquis d’Alconzel, acknowledged that prince as their sovereign, and agreed to furnish his army with thirty thousand sacks of corn, which were accordingly transported to Catalonia, where there was a great scarcity of provisions. Major-general Stanhope having planned the conquest of Minorca, and concerted with the admiral the measures necessary to put it in execution, obtained from count Staremberg a few battalions of Spaniards, Italians, and Portuguese; at the head of these he embarked at Barcelona with a fine train of British artillery, accompanied by brigadier Wade and colonel Petit, an engineer of great reputation. They landed on the island about ten miles from St. Philip’s fort, on the 26th of August, with about eight hundred marines, which augmented their number to about three thousand. Next day they erected batteries; and general Stanhope ordered a number of arrows to be shot into a place, to which papers were affixed, written in the Spanish and French languages, containing threats, that all the garrison should be sent to the mines if they would not surrender before the batteries were finished. The garrison consisted of a thousand Spaniards, and six hundred French marines, commanded by colonel la Jonquire, who imagined that the number of the besiegers amounted to at least ten thousand, so artfully had they been drawn up in sight of the enemy. The batteries began to play, and in a little time demolished four towers that served as out-works to the fort; then they made a breach in the outward wall, through which brigadier Wade, at the head of the grenadiers, stormed a redoubt, with such extraordinary valour as struck the besieged with consternation. On the second or third day they thought proper to beat a parley, and capitulate, on condition that they should march out with the honours of war: that the Spaniards should be transported to Murcia, and the French to Toulon. These last, however, were detained, by way of reprisal for the garrison of Denia. The Spanish governor was so mortified when he learned the real number of besiegers, that on his arrival at Murcia, he threw himself out of a window in despair, and was killed upon the spot. La Jonquire was confined for life, and all the French officers incurred their master’s displeasure. Fort St. Philip being thus reduced, to the amazement of all Europe, and the garrison of Fort Fornelles having surrendered themselves prisoners to the admirals Leake and Whitaker, the inhabitants gladly submitted to the English government, for king Philip had oppressed and deprived them of their privileges: general Stanhope appointed colonel Petit governor of Fort St. Philip, and deputy-governor of the whole island. After this important conquest he returned to the army in Spain, where an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Tortosa, finished the operations of the campaign.
The British fleet not only contributed to the reduction of Minorca, but likewise overawed the pope, who had endeavoured to form a league of the princes in Italy against the emperor. This pontiff had manifested his partiality to the house of Bourbon in such a palpable manner, that his Imperial majesty ordered monsieur de Bonneval to march with the troops that were in Italy, reinforced by those belonging to the duke of Modena, and invade the duchy of Ferrara. He accordingly took possession of Comachio and some other places, pretending they were allodial estates belonging to the duke of Modena, and fiefs of the emperor, to which the holy see had no lawful claim. The viceroy of Naples was forbid to remit any money to Rome; and the council of the kingdom drew up a long memorial, containing the pretensions of his catholic majesty, which struck at the very foundation of the pope’s temporal power. His holiness wrote a long remonstrance to the emperor on the injustice of those proceedings, and declared that he would assert his cause though he should lose his life in the contest. He forthwith began to raise an army, and revived a plan of forming a league among the princes and states of Italy for their mutual defence. Sir John Leake had received orders to bombard Civita-Vecchia, in resentment for the pope’s having countenanced the pretender’s expedition to Great Britain; but as the emperor and duke of Savoy hoped to effect an accommodation with the court of Rome, they prevailed upon the English admiral to suspend hostilities until they should have tried the method of negotiation. The marquis de Prie, a Piedmontese nobleman, was sent as ambassador to Rome; but the pope would not receive him in that quality. Elated with the promises of France, he set the emperor at defiance; and his troops having surprised a body of Imperialists, were so barbarous as to cut them all in pieces. The duke of Savoy having ended the campaign, the troops of the emperor, which had served under that prince, were ordered to march into the papal territories, and drove the forces of his holiness before them, without any regard to number. Bologna capitulated; and Rome began to tremble with the apprehension of being once more sacked by a German army. Then the pope’s courage failed; he was glad to admit the marquis de Prie as envoy from the emperor. He consented to disband his new levies; to accommodate the Imperial troops with winter quarters in the papal territories; to grant the investiture of Naples to king Charles; and to allow at all times a passage to the Imperial troops through his dominions. On the Upper Rhine the electors of Bavaria and Hanover were so weak, that they could not undertake any thing of consequence against each other. In Hungary the disputes still continued between the emperor and the malcontents. Poland was at length delivered from the oppression exercised by the king of Sweden, who marched into the Ukraine against the czar of Muscovy, notwithstanding the submission with which that monarch endeavoured to appease his indignation. During the course of this year the English merchants sustained no considerable losses by sea: the cruisers were judiciously stationed, and the trade was regularly supplied with convoys. In the West Indies, commodore Wager destroyed the admiral of the galleons, and took the rear-admiral on the coast of Carthagena. Had the officers of his squadron done their duty, the greatest part of the fleet would have fallen into his hands. At his return to Jamaica, two of his captains were tried by a court-martial and dismissed from the service.
The court of England was about this time not a little disquieted by the consequences of an outrage committed on the person of the count de Matueof, the Muscovite ambassador. He was publicly arrested at the suit of a laceman, and maltreated by the bailiffs, who dragged him to prison, where he continued until he was bailed by the earl of Feversham. Incensed at this insult, he demanded redress of the government, and was seconded in his remonstrances by the ministers of the emperor, the king of Prussia, and several other foreign potentates. The queen expressed uncommon indignation against the authors of this violence, who were immediately apprehended, and orders were given to prosecute them with the utmost severity of the law. Matueof repealed his complaints with great acrimony; and Mr. Secretary Boyle assured him, in the queen’s name, that he should have ample satisfaction. Notwithstanding this assurance, he demanded a pass for himself and family; refused the ordinary presents at his departure; and retired to Holland. From thence he transmitted a memorial, with a letter from the czar to the queen, insisting upon her punishing with death all the persons concerned in violating the law of nations upon the person of his ambassador. Such punishment being altogether inconsistent with the laws of England, the queen and her ministry were extremely perplexed, and held several councils to deliberate upon the measures proper to be taken on such an occasion. On the twenty-eighth day of October, prince George of Denmark died of an asthma and dropsy, with which he had been long afflicted. He was a prince of an amiable rather than a shining character, brave, good-natured, modest, and humane, but devoid of great talents and ambition. He had always lived in harmony with the queen, who, during the whole term of their union, and especially in his last illness, approved herself a pattern of conjugal truth and tenderness. At his death the earl of Pembroke was created lord-high-admiral, the earl of Wharton promoted to the government of Ireland, and lord Somers appointed president of the council. Notwithstanding these promotions of the whig noblemen, the duke of Marlborough declined apace in his credit with the queen, who privately consulted and reposed her chief confidence in Mr. Harley, though he had no visible concern in the administration.
The new parliament, in which the whig interest still preponderated, was assembled on the sixteenth day of November, when they were given to understand by a commission under the great seal, that the archbishop of Canterbury, the chancellor, the lord-treasurer, the lord steward, and the master of the horse, were appointed to represent the person of her majesty, whom decency would not permit to appear in the house so soon after the death of her consort. Sir Richard Onslow being chosen speaker of the lower house with the queen’s approbation, the chancellor, in a speech to both houses, recommended the vigorous prosecution of the war, telling them her majesty hoped they would enable her to make a considerable augmentation for preserving and improving the advantages which the allies had gained in the Netherlands; that she desired they would prepare such bills as might confirm and render the union effectual; and that if they would propose means for the advancement of trade and manufacture, she would take pleasure in enacting such provisions. Both houses having presented addresses of condolence and congratulation, on the death of prince George, and the success of her majesty’s arms during the last campaign, the commons took cognizance of controverted elections, which were decided with shameful partiality for the whig faction. Then they proceeded to consider the different branches of the supply; they approved of an augmentation of ten thousand men, which was judged necessary for the more vigorous prosecution of the war; and they voted above seven millions for the service of the ensuing year. The bank agreed to circulate two millions five hundred thousand pounds in exchequer bills for the government, on condition that the term of their continuance should be prolonged for one-and-twenty years; and that their stock of two millions, two hundred and one thousand, one hundred and seventy-one pounds, should be doubled by a new subscription. The two-thirds subsidy was appropriated for the interest of the money raised by this expedient.
ANNE, 1701—1714
Great debates having arisen about Scottish elections, the house considered the petitions and representations that were delivered, touching the incapacity of the eldest sons of Scottish peers, excluded from sitting in the parliament of Great Britain. Counsel being heard upon the subject, that incapacity was confirmed; and new writs were issued, that new members might be elected for the shires of Aberdeen and Linlithgow, in the room of William lord Haddo, and James lord Johnston. Petitions were likewise presented to the house of lords by some Scottish peers, concerning their right of voting and signing proxies. After warm debates, the house, upon a division, determined that a Scottish lord created a peer of Great Britain should no longer retain his vote in Scotland; and that the noblemen who were in the castle of Edinburgh had a right to sign proxies, after having taken the oaths to the government. The Scottish peers and commoners that sat in the British parliament were divided into two factions. The duke of Queensberry was in great credit with the Queen and the lord-treasurer, by whose interest he was appointed secretary of state for Scotland. His influence in elections was so great, that all offices in that kingdom were bestowed according to his recommendation. He was opposed by the dukes of Hamilton, Montrose, and Roxburgh, who were supported by the earl of Sunderland and lord Somers; so that the whole interest in that country was engrossed by one or other member of the ministry. A bill for a general naturalization of all protestants was brought into the house, and notwithstanding violent opposition from the tories, both among the lords and commons, was enacted into a law. The whigs argued for this bill, as a measure that would encourage industry, improve trade and manufacture, and repair the waste of men which the war had occasioned; but one of their chief motives was to throw an addition of foreigners into the balance against the landed interest. The tories pleaded that a conflux of aliens might prove dangerous to the constitution; that they would retain a fondness for their native countries, and, in times of war, act as spies and enemies; that they would insinuate themselves into places of trust and profit; become members of parliament; and by frequent intermarriages contribute to the extinction of the English race: that they would add to the number of the poor, already so expensive; and share the bread of the labourers and tradesmen of England.
An inquiry being set on foot in both houses concerning the late intended invasion in Scotland, lord Haversham and the other tory members endeavoured to demonstrate, that proper precautions had not been taken for the security of that kingdom, even after the ministry had received undoubted intelligence of the pretender’s design; that since the attempt had miscarried, many persons of quality had been apprehended and severely used by the government, on pretended suspicion of high treason; though in all probability the aim of the ministry, in confining those persons, was to remove all possibility of their opposing the court at the ensuing elections for members of parliament. These assertions were supported by many incontested facts and shrewd arguments, notwithstanding which, the majority were so little disposed to find fault, that the inquiry issued in a joint address to the queen, containing resolutions, that timely and effectual care had been taken to disappoint the designs of her majesty’s enemies, both at home and abroad. A bill, however, was brought into the house of lords, under the title of “An act for improving the union of the two kingdoms.” It related to trials for treason in Scotland, which by this law were regulated according to the manner of proceeding in England, with some small variation. The Scottish members opposed it as an encroachment upon the form of their laws; and they were joined by those who had laid it down as a maxim to oppose all the court measures; nevertheless, the bill passed through both houses, and received the royal assent. Yet, in order to sweeten this unpalatable medicine, the queen consented to an act of grace, by which all treasons were pardoned, except those committed on the high seas; an exception levelled at those who had embarked with the pretender. Major-general Webb, who had been defrauded of his due honour, in a partial representation of the battle of Wynendale, transmitted by Cardonnel, secretary to the duke of Marlborough, was now thanked by the house of commons for the great and eminent services which he had performed in that engagement. This motion was made by the tories; and the whigs did not fail to procure a compliment of the same nature to the duke of Marlborough, even before he returned to England. When the news of Ghent’s being taken arrived, the lords and commons congratulated the queen on this last effort of a glorious campaign; and the duke at his arrival was thanked, in the name of the peers, by the lord chancellor. As he was supposed to have brought over proposals of peace, the two houses, in an address, desired the queen would insist on the demolition of Dunkirk, which was a nest of pirates that infested the ocean, and did infinite prejudice to the commerce of England. The queen promised to comply with their request. But she was not a little surprised at the next address they presented, humbly entreating, that she would have such indulgence to the hearty desires of her subjects, as to entertain thoughts of a second marriage. She told them, that the provision she had made for the protestant succession would always be a proof how much she had at heart the future happiness of the kingdom; but the subject of this address was of such a nature, that she was persuaded they did not expect a particular answer.
1709
The laws having been found insufficient to punish capitally the authors of the insult offered to the Muscovite ambassador, a bill was brought into the house of commons for preserving the privileges of ambassadors and other foreign ministers; and passed through both houses, as did another, to prevent the laying of wagers relating to the public, a practice which had been carried to a degree of infatuation; and by which many unwary persons fell a sacrifice to crafty adventurers. On the fourteenth day of March, the commons voted the sum of one hundred and three thousand, two hundred and three pounds, for the relief of the inhabitants of Nevis and St. Christopher’s, who had suffered by the late invasion; and on the twenty-first day of April, the parliament was prorogued. The Muscovite ambassador continued to write expostulatory letters to Mr. Secretary Boyle, who at last owned that the laws of the kingdom did not admit of such punishment as he demanded. An information was tried in the court of king’s bench for her majesty against Thomas Morton, laceman, and thirteen other persons concerned in the insult, of which they were found guilty; and the special matter of the privileges of ambassadors was to be argued next term before the judges. Meanwhile, the queen, by way of satisfaction to the czar, condescended to make solemn excuses by her ambassador; to repair Matueof’s honour by a letter, and indemnify him for all his costs and damages: concessions with which the czar and his ambassador declared themselves well satisfied. The convocation had been summoned, chosen, and returned with a new parliament; but as the old spirit was supposed to prevail in the lower house, the queen, by writ to the archbishop, ordered him. to prorogue it from time to time, until the session of parliament was finished.
Negotiation for Peace ineffectual..... The Allied Army besieges and takes Tour-nay..... The French are defeated at Malplaquet..... Mons surrendered..... Campaign in Spain..... The French King’s Proposals of treating rejected by the States-general..... Account of Dr. Sacheverel..... He is impeached by the Commons..... His Trial..... Debates upon it in the House of Lords..... He is silenced for three Years..... Conferences at Gertruydenburgh..... Pride and Obstinacy of the Dutch..... Douay besieged and taken by the Confederates, as well as Bethune, Aire, and St. Venant..... King Charles obtains a Victory over Philip at Saragossa, and enters Madrid..... Battle of Villaviciosa..... The Whig Ministry disgraced..... The Parliament is dissolved..... Meeting of the New Parliament..... The Duke of Marlborough insulted and reviled..... Inquiry into the Conduct of the War in Spain..... Severe Votes in the House of Commons against those who invited over the poor Palatines..... Harley stabbed at the Council Board by Guiscard; and created Earl of Oxford..... Death of the Emperor Joseph..... Representation by the Commons to the Queen..... Proceedings in the Convocation..... The Duke of Marlborough continues to command the Allied Army..... He surprises the French Lines..... Reduces Bouchain..... The Duke of Argyle commands the British Troops in Spain..... King Charles elected Emperor..... Expedition to Canada..... Insolence of the Jacobites in Scotland..... A Negotiation set on Foot between the Courts of France and England..... Prior is sent to Fountainbleau..... Ménager arrives privately in England..... The French King’s Proposals disagreeable to the Allies..... Violent Debate upon them in the House of Lords..... The Duke of Hamilton’s Title of Duke of Brandon disallowed..... Bill against occasional Conformity passes..... Duke of Marlborough dismissed from all his Employments..... Twelve new Peers created..... Prince Eugene of Savoy arrives in England..... Walpole expelled the House of Commons..... Votes against the Duke of Marlborough..... Resolutions against the Barrier-treaty and the Dutch..... Acts unfavourable to the Presbyterian Discipline in Scotland.
The French king was by this time reduced to such a state of humiliation by the losses of the last campaign, and a severe winter, which completed the misery of his subjects, that he resolved to sacrifice all the considerations of pride and ambition, as well as the interest of his grandson, to his desire of peace, which was now become so necessary and indispensable. He despatched the president Rouillé privately to Holland, with general proposals of peace, and the offer of a good barrier to the states-general, still entertaining hopes of being able to detach them from the confederacy. This minister conferred in secret with Buys and Vanderdussen, the pensionaries of Amsterdam and Gouda, at Moerdyke, from whence he was permitted to proceed to Woerden, between Leyden and Utrecht. The states immediately communicated his proposals to the courts of Vienna and Great Britain. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough arrived at the Hague in April, and conferred with the grand pensionary Heinsius, Buys, and Vanderdussen, on the subject of the French proposals, which were deemed unsatisfactory. Rouillé immediately despatched a courier to Paris, for further instructions; and the duke of Marlborough returned to England, to make the queen acquainted with the progress of the negotiation. Louis, in order to convince the states of his sincerity, sent the marquis de Torcy, his secretary for foreign affairs, to the Hague, with fresh offers, to which the deputies would make no answer until they knew the sentiments of the queen of Great Britain. The duke of Marlborough crossed the seas a second time accompanied by the lord Townshend, as ambassador-extraordinary and joint plenipotentiary; prince Eugene being likewise at the Hague, the conferences were begun. The French minister declared that his master would consent to the demolition of Dunkirk; that he would abandon the pretender, and dismiss him from his dominions; that he would acknowledge the queen’s title and the protestant succession; that he would renounce all pretensions to the Spanish monarchy, and cede the places in the Netherlands which the states-general demanded for their barrier; that he would treat with the emperor on the footing of the treaty concluded at Rys-wick, and even demolish the fortifications of Strasburgh. The ministers of the allies, rendered proud and wanton by success, and seeing their own private interest in the continuation of the war, insisted upon the restitution of the Upper and Lower Alsace to the empire; upon the French monarch’s restoring Strasburgh in its present condition; upon his ceding the town and castellany of Lisle, demolishing Dunkirk, New Brisac, Fort-Louis, and Hunningen. In a word, their demands were so insolent, that Louis would not have suffered them to be mentioned in his hearing, had not he been reduced to the last degree of distress. One can hardly read them without feeling a sentiment of compassion for that monarch, who had once given law to Europe, and been so long accustomed to victory and conquest. Notwithstanding the discouraging despatches he had received from the president Rouillé, after his first conferences with the deputies, he could not believe that the Dutch would be so blind to their own interest, as to reject the advantages in commerce, and the barrier which he had offered. He could not conceive that they would choose to bear the burden of excessive taxes in prosecuting a war, the events of which would always be uncertain, rather than enjoy the blessings of peace, security, and advantageous commerce: he flattered himself that the allies would not so far deviate from their purposed aim of establishing a balance of power, as to throw such an enormous weight into the scale of the house of Austria, which cherished all the dangerous ambition and arbitrary principles, without the liberality of sentiment peculiar to the house of Bourbon. In proportion as they rose in their demands, Louis fell in his condescension. His secretary of state, the marquis de Torcy, posted in disguise to Holland, on the faith of a common blank passport. He solicited, he soothed, he supplicated, and made concessions in the name of his sovereign. He found the states were wholly guided by the influence of prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough. He found these generals elated, haughty, overbearing, and implacable. He in private attacked the duke of Marlborough on his weakest side: he offered to that nobleman a large sum of money, provided he would effect a peace on certain conditions. The proposal was rejected. The duke found his enemies in England increasing, and his credit at court in the wane; and he knew that nothing but a continuation of the war, and new victories, could support his influence in England. Torcy was sensible that his country was utterly exhausted, that Louis dreaded nothing so much as the opening of the campaign; and he agreed to those articles upon which they insisted as preliminaries. The French king was confounded at these proposals; he felt the complicated pangs of grief, shame, and indignation. He rejected the preliminaries with disdain. He even deigned to submit his conduct to the judgment of his subjects. His offers were published, together with the demands of the allies. His people interested themselves in the glory of their monarch. They exclaimed against the cruelty and arrogance of his enemies. Though impoverished and half-starved by the war, they resolved to expend their whole substance in his support; and rather to fight his battles without pay, than leave him in the dire necessity of complying with such dishonourable terms. Animated by these sentiments, they made such efforts as amazed the whole world. The preliminaries being rejected by the French king, Rouillé was ordered to quit Holland in four-and-twenty hours; and the generals of the confederates resolved to open the campaign without further hesitation.