acted confiftently and honeftly both in their firft Beginnings to op、 pofe---and then in defifting to oppofe at the Time they did. And if it should appear, that the Whig Leaders of the late Oppofition, though they had no further Connexion with these Men after that Change of the Minifter, and the Measures, was effected, which was the only View they intended or profeffed, or concurred with thefe Men in, did yet endeavour, out of a Defire to destroy (as much as in them lay, and till they found it an Utopian Undertaking) the Evil of Parties in general, and the Diftinction of Tory in particular, by using their Influence to advance many of thefe, (who feemed the leaft violent) into Employments, where they might be placed without the Danger of their influencing the publick Measures, and where they might have given Probation of their Sincerity.If they had actually in a very few Days begun to do this, and if it will appear that for no other visible Reason but this, that the Tories and Jacobites were not permitted to take the Government by Storm, and that their Ambition could not be fatisfied, or their Views anfwered, without thofe Employments were conferred upon them, which would inevitably give them the Power of influencing the publick Measures; and if the Terms were fuch as to force their whole Faction into the Administration, without allowing the Prince to except against a fingle Man, and their Impatience, fuch as to defert their Leaders, and to form a new Party before they had given them any reasonable Time-What Man can have the Confidence to deny, that they acted not only with greater Friendship to thefe Men than they deferved, but with as much Honour as it was in human Power honeftly to do? And thirdly, if it should appear, that by this new raised Oppofition, it is the manifeft View to do that, which, as we have already obferved, is the Criterion of the Conduct of a Jacobite Faction, viz. to advance the Interefts of France; and if this manifest View is now followed by the very fame wicked Arts and Measures, which that Faction in all former Periods have purfued, I may be juftified in that Affertion which it is my Point principally to prove-That the Oppofition of this Time is not an Oppofition, but a Faction, and that of the most dangerous kind to this Nation. Now that this is true, and rather to illuftrate than to prove this (for Things felf-evident, and what arifes from the Recollection of Facts, neither will admit, nor ftands in need of Proof) I fhall make it the Plan of my Difcourfe in the following Sheets:--Firft, To fhew the State of our Affairs, as they flood previous to the Change of the late Miniftry, and to give a fhort Deduction of the Conduct of the Oppofition till the Whigs and the prefent Faction Separated 2 Separated from each other.--- I fhall then obferve the Conduct of the Faction thus feparated from the Whigs to the End of that Seffions of Parliament. I fhall in the third Place obferve the Conduct of the new Administration, the Success of their Measures, and the Dif ference that appeared in the Situation of our Affairs upon the fecond Meeting of the Parliament.--Ifball fhew in the next place, the farther Meafures of the Faction in their Attempts to delude the People, in their Methods of Oppofition, and the Tendency of both.--- I shall then proceed to offer a few candid Reflections upon those popular Topicks, which are the Engines principally used to play upon the Paffions of the People, and to divert them from a cool Reflection of the true Condition of our Affairs in this Conjuncture, and conclude with Some general Confiderations, which will lead the Publick to a just Senfe of thofe Dangers to which they are expofed, by a further Concurrence with what is now plaufibly called by the tender Name of the prefent Oppofition. We have already mentioned the Conduct of the Minister, with regard to the Emperor, Spain and France, at the time of the Hanover-Treaty, which throwing this Nation into the Arms of France, and breaking off from our old and natural Connexion with the House of Auftria, divided the Whig Intereft, and was the Ground of the late Oppofition.---We are now to fee the Measures afterwards pursued by the fame Minifter, and the Confequence they had.—But before I quit this Subject of the Hanover-Treaty, which was the fatal Ground of all our prefent Confufion, to confirm what I have already said, with regard to the juft Alarm the Whigs took at it, I must observe, that by a feparate Article of this Treaty, Great Britain engaged, in cafe War fhould be declared by the Empire against France, "that though fhe was not comprized in the Declaration of fuch "War, Great Britain fhould act in Concert with France till "fuch War fhould be determined ;" and by Virtue of the third Article of the fame Treaty, "fhould, if Neceffity required, "declare War upon the Empire." And thus, fays a a Foreigner, who is quoted often upon Occafions of this Nature, and cannot be fufpected of any Party Concern in the Affairs of this Country, By this Treaty, the Duke of Bourbon, then First Minifter to the Moft Chriftian King, brought to Maturity what his Predeceffor had projected, and France at length attained what fhe had fo long wifhed, and for which she had in vain expended fuch immenfe Sums in the preceding Reign. The Confequence immediate upon the Conclufion of this Treaty, was a vaft additional Expence. And without all Doubt, the Rafhnefs of this Measure had engaged us in a War, Rouffet. vol. II. fol. 188. which which would have ruined the Balance of Power in Europe without Resource, (the Powers of the grand Alliance being now upon the Point of purfuing the Deftruction of each other, with the fame determined Rancour, which they had formerly exerted against their common Enemy the French,) if the Emperor, notwithstanding the Pride and Infolence, of which he was accused, and the fhameful Indignity with which he was treated, obferving the Danger in which we had, by our unnatural Apprehenfions, involved ourselves, had not, with an happy Moderation, himself opened a Way, (in a very uncommon Manner, through the Channel of a Nuncio of the Pope at Venice,) to bring this Matter to an Accommodation; fo that at length, upon the Sufpenfion of the Oftend Company, which was one of the pretended Subjects of the Quarrel, a new Preliminary Treaty was figned at Vienna, in June 1727; which quieted our Minifterial Fears of a general War in fome degree for a Time: During this Interval we sustained an immenfe Expence in defending Gibraltar, raifing Troops at Home, and hiring Troops abroad, the ineftimable Lofs of many thousands of our Seamen, and the Ruin of the never-to-be forgotten Squadron fent with Hofier, to rot in Sight of the Treasures of Peru and Mexico, at Porto-Bella. But there yet remained great Matter of Anxiety; for Spain, under frivolous Pretences, which fhewed her manifeft Contempt for the British Minifter, refused to ratify this Preliminary Treaty, and continued her Hoftilities, till the Emperor, with great Candour, detefting this Chicane, took part with our Court against her. And Spain, finding no Support, was at length obliged to accede by a new Act figned at the Pardo, the 4th of March, 1728. By which it was agreed, that all Hoftilities fhould ceafe, and all the Differences between Great Britain and Spain be submitted to the Decifion of a future Congress. - The Minister, fenfible of the Danger he had escaped, was glad of the Opportunity, which offered itself in that Congrefs (which was held at Soiffons) to reunite with the Imperial Court.Notwithstanding all the Indignities that had paffed, and all the Provocations he had received, the Emperor retained so just a Senfe both of his Obligations, and his Intereft to cultivate the antient Friendship of the Houfe of Auftria with Great-Britain, that he was willing to overlook all that was paffed; and as his Union with Spain before, had given so much Umbrage here, he thought by railing Difficulties, and by delaying the Execution of fome Articles of the former Treaty with Spain, he should give us Proofs of his Sincerity.-But alas! he had not yet experienced what he had to fuffer from the pacific Councils, or (as they are termed termed by the great Conductor of them himself,) the prevent tive and defenfive Measures of the British Minifter.- Spain was incensed at this Conduct, and at the Emperor's candid Behaviour with regard to the Preliminary Articles; we now began to be as much frightened at the Variance, as we had been terrified before with the Union of these two Powers; we had practifed our defenfive as we have feen; we must now try our Skill in preventive Measures, and with the like Success. The Emperor's Conduct deferved the Gratitude of the whole Nation; and merited the best Returns that could have been made him. On the other hand, during this whole time, even after the signing the Act at the Pardo, Spain had treated us with the utmost Infolence, taken and plundered all the Veffels of this Nation, that fell into her Hands, with as little Referve as if we had been at open War. These Circumftances together fhould, in all human Wisdom, have induced the Minifter, to have laid afide his old Way of alliancing with France, to have improved the Misunderstanding between the Emperor and Spain, and to have endeavoured, with the utmoft Vigour, to crush that Infolence of Spain by force, which he faw vifibly, was not to be reclaimed by generous Ufage, by the Moderation of fuffering her to declare War without any reciprocal Declaration on our Part, by our fignal Abftinence from a Seizure of above four Millions Sterling in America, nor by the Patience we had exercifed under fo many Indignities, Infults and continued Depredations. But inftead of doing this, in Conjunction with his good Ally the French, he concluded a new Treaty with Spain, which was figned at Seville, the 9th of November, 1729. 1701 The Emperor, who had fhewn himself fo truly defirous of preferving the Peace of Europe,-who had acted with so much Moderation and Candour, to preferve the Friendship of this Nation, was not acquainted in the least with this Treaty, till it was concluded; it was kept fecret from him; and no Wonder,---for it contained an Article, which has fince proved, as we have seen, and as he always forefaw it would, of the moft fatal Confequence to his Italian Dominions :---This Article was the immediate Admiffion of 6,0co Spanish Troops into the Places of Tuscany, Parma and Placentia, to fecure the Reverfion of thofe States, after the Deaths of their respective Princes, to Don Carlos, which in the Quadruple Alliance the Emperor had confented to be done only by Neutral Forces, and even that very much against his Inclination. It may be eafily conceived what Effect fuch a Treatment as this must have had upon the Emperor: It juftly gave him the greatest Alarm, as well as raifed his Refentment to the highest de gree. gree. Even in his Conjunction with Spain in 1725, intimate, as it had been reprefented to be, he was never brought by Spain to confent to this Alteration,-and what made the Matter still worse, these Territories being Fiefs of the Empire, this arbitrary Settlement with relation to them juftly incenfed the Empire too. Thefe preventive Meafures put us into worfe Plight than ever.-France had brought us about again, and we were now upon the Point of joining, not only France, but of uniting with the whole Houfe of Bourbon, not only against the Emperor, but the whole Germanick Body.-Spain and France urged us openly and vehemently to compleat thefe new Engagements.-The Emperor in the mean time marched a powerful Army, and filled all Italy with his Troops, determined to refift the Execution of this Treaty, which he thus prevented for the whole Year 1730.-The Minifter was now in Despair, his Fleets at Spithead had not terrified the Emperor's Armies in Lombardy.-But the Refentments of France and Spain at his Inactivity, and contradictory Proceedings, terrified the Minifter.-The Marquis de Caftellar, the Spanish Minifter at Paris, published a Declaration there, by Order of his Mafter, upon the 28th of January 1731, with bitter Reproaches against this Conduct, renouncing all his Engagements with us, profeffing that he now looked upon himself as intirely at Liberty to act what Part foever he should find moft fuited to his Interests. Thus he had vifibly difobliged all Parties, he thought a War inevitable, and himfelf undone. His new Treaty of Seville, upon which he had plumed himself fo proudly, now vanished into Smoak.-But the Emperor's good Senfe and Moderation faved our Minifter once more.-He confented to this ruinous Measure, tho' with Tears in his Eyes.-He confentedto admit a Prince of the Houfe of Bourbon into Italy, whom we were vifibly carrying thither to eftablish in a great Monarchy at the Expence of his Dominions.-Willing not even yet to defpair that this Nation would fee its Errors at laft, he determined to try us once more, and submitted to make this Sacrifice, on condition that we fhould accede to the Pragmatic Sanction, and guaranty the reft of his Dominions to his eldeft Daughter. This Treaty concerning the Admiflion of the Spanish Troops into the Italian States, and the Guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction was concluded at Vienna the 16th of March 1731.between the Emperor and Great Britain alone. Its View was to enforce the Treaty of Seville.-Yet it was concluded without the Participation either of France or Holland, who had 2 Rougit, Vol. VI. fol. 11. been |