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FRANCE.

N our Register No VI, we took Notice of the Controverfy between the Princes of the Blood, and the Legitimated Sons of the late King. This Controverfy arofe to a great Height, and occafion'd many Memorials and Petitions from both Parties to the King, the Regent, and the Parliament of Paris, which will not come within the Bounds of this Volume; and therefore we ihall only acquaint our Readers, that the Duke Regent fearing the ill Confequences of leaving this Affair any longer undetermin'd, thought fit to interpofe the Royal Authority to decide the Difpute, which was accordingly done by the King's Edict, regifter'd in Parliament in July laft. It begins with a Recital of the Tenour of the late King's Edict of July 1714, and his Declaration of May 1715, which conferr'd on the Duke du Maine and the Count de Toulouse, all the Privileges and Honours of Princes of the Blood, and made them and their Heirs capable of the Succeflion to the Crown, on Failure of the lawful Princes of the Houfe of Bourbon. It takes Notice, that after the Death of the late King, the Duke of Bourbon, the Count de Charolois, and the Prince of Conti, did by a Petition to his prefent Majefty and several fubfequent Memorials, infift upon the Revocation of the faid Edict and Declaration. And that on the other Hand the Duke du Maine and the Count de Touloufe, did by feveral Memorials affert the Rights given them by the late King; and not only petition'd his Majefty, either to defer the Decifion of this Affair 'till he came to Majority, or, if he thould think fit to determine it in his Minority, to take firft the Opinion of the States of the Kingdom, lawfully affembled; but deliver'd to the Parliament a Petition and Proteftation to the fame Effect; which laft Proceeding the Parliament laid before his Majefty, in order to receive his Pleasure thereupon. And then the Edict goes on in the following Words. Thus we fee with Concern, "that the Difpofition which the late King, our moft honour'd Lord and Great Grandfather, had made, « as he himself declares by his Edict of July 1714,

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"for preventing the Calamities and Troubles which "might hereafter happen in this Kingdom, in case "of Failure of all the Princes of his Royal Blood,

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is become, contrary to his Intentions, the Grouud " of a prefent Contest between the Princes of our "Blood, and the Legitimated Princes; the Effects of "which begin to be felt, and which the Welfare "of the State requires thould be fupprefs'd in its "Birth. We hope that God, who has preferv'd the "Houfe of France for fo many Ages, and has in "all Times given it such signal Marks of his Prote«ction, will not be lefs favourable to it for the Fucc ture; but that, upholding it as long as the Monar"chy endures, he will by his Goodnefs avert the Evil "which the late King defign'd to provide against "But if the French Nation fhould ever be under "that Misfortune, the Nation itfelf would have "the Right to redrefs it by the Wisdom of its own «Choice: And fince the fundamental Laws of our "Kingdom, put us in a happy_Want of Power to " alienate the Domains of our Crown, we count it "our Glory to acknowledge that we are yet lefs at "Liberty to difpofe of our Crown itfelf: We know

'tis ours only for the Good and Welfare of the "State, and confequently that the State alone would "have Right to difpofe of it in a difmal Exigency; "the forming any Prospect of which is painful to "our People, and we fee the Imagination only of it "afflicts them. We think therefore that we owe to "a Nation fo faithfully and inviolably devoted to "the Family of their Kings, the Juftice not to prevent "the Election, which it would belong to them to "make, fhould this Misfortune happen; and for this "Reafon we have judg'd it needlefs to confult them "on this Occafion, when we are acting only for "them, in revoking a Disposition, upon which they "were not confulted; our Intention being to fecure "to them all their Rights, and prevent even their "Wishes, as we thould always have thought our "felves oblig'd to do, for maintaining the publick "Order, tho' the Princes of our Royal Blood had "made no Reprefentations to us. But after having "taken Care of the Interefts and Laws of the State, "and after having declar'd, that we own no other "Princes of our Blood, but thofe who being law"fully defcended from Kings, may themselves be

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cc come Kings, we think we may also have a fa"vourable Regard to the Poffeffion which our most

dear and most belov'd Uncles the Duke du Maine " and the Count de Toulouse, are in of the new Ho"nours which they have enjoy'd in our Parliament "fince the Edict of July 1714; the Continuance of "which, during their Lives, may be the lefs envy'd "them, because the Favour we grant them, is found"ed on a Motive fo peculiar and fingular in their "Cafe, that it cannot be drawn into Confequence. "Tis upon this Confideration that we yield with Pleasure to the Impulfes of our Affection for Prin❝ces who fo well deferve it by their perfonal Quali"ties, and by their Attachment to us." For these Caufes his Majefty revokes and annuls the beforemention'd Edi&t of July 1714, and Declaration of May 1715; yet allowing the Duke du Maine and the Count de Touloufe, during their Lives, the Honours they enjoy in Parliament, but forbidding the ftyling themselves, or being ftyled Princes of the Blood, and referving to himself the declaring at what Time the Prince of Dombes and the Count d'Eu, the two Sons of the Duke du Maine, thall have Seffion in Parliament, and what Honours fhall be allow'd them there.

This is the Purport of the Edict that had been fo long expected, and fo earnestly infifted upon by the Princes of the Blood, who nevertheless were not entirely fatisfy'd with it; for to declare, faid they, that the Bastard Princes are no Princes of the Blood, and to order at the fame Time that they thall enjoy the Honours due only to that Rank, is a feeming Contradiction, and not easily to be accounted for. This Edict, however, thews that Lewis XIV intrench'd on the fundamental Laws of the Nation, by taking upon him to difpofe of the Succeffion to the Crown; and we have in this Affair a remarkable Inftance of the Vainnefs of human Prudence and Forefight, for that Prince had taken fo many Precautions for uniting all the Branches of the Family of Bourbon, by Intermarriages and other Bands, that he had Reason to believe their Union cemented even beyond a Poffibility of Divifion; but the very Day after his Deceafe, the Discord broke out, and tho' it was filenc'd for fome Time by the Prudence of the Regent, yet it was again fo warmly reviv'd, that it produc'd at

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lait this Edict, which forbids the Legitimated Sons of the late King to take the Title of Princes of the Blood, and declares them incapable to fucceed to the Crown; tho' everal Inftances might be produc'd to fhew, that in the first and fecond Race of the Kings of France, that is, from Clovis down to Hugh Capet, Baftards were fometimes call'd to the Crown, as well as the lawful Iffue of thofe Kings; nor even in the third Race are they excluded from the Succeffion, by any pofitive Law for that purpofe; tho' the Cuftom has fince been not to fuffer the natural Children of their Kings to fucceed to the Crown, even in case of Failure of lawful Princes.

The other Tranfactions in France are not of much Moment, except only that of the Conftitution Unigenitus; but as that Affair began feveral Years ago, before we undertook to publifh this Collection, and being befides too voluminous for us to infert, we fhall forbear fpeaking of it, at least not 'till it comes to be decided; of which at present there is but little Profpect.

$29292 98

HOLLAND.

In our laft Regifter (page 189) we gave you an Abftract of the Treaty of Triple Alliance between Great Britain, France, and Holland, to which we will here add a feparate Article, fign'd and ratify'd between France and Holland only.

7 Hereas in the Vth Article of the Treaty of Alliance concluded this Day between the most ferene the moft Chriftian King, the moft ferene King of Great Britain, and the high and mighty Lords the States-General of the united Provinces, there is an Agreement for a mutual Guaranty for the Execution of all the Conditions mention'd in the fame Article, and likewife for maintaining and defending of all the Kingdoms, Provinces, States, Rights, Immunities, and Advantages which each of the faid Allies refpectively thall really poffefs at the Time of figning this Alliance; the under-written Embaffadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaries of his moft Chri

ftian

ftian Majefty, and the Deputies and Plenipotentiaries of the faid Lords the States-General, have ftipulated, That without any manner of Derogation from the firft Article of this Alliance, according to which, there ihall be an inviolable Peace, and a ftrict Alliance between their faid Majefties, and the faid Lords the States-General, their Dominions and Subjects as well within Europe as out of it; the Guaranty ftipulated in the Vth Article of this fame Treaty, thall not take Place in regard of his moft Chriftian Majefty and the Lords the States-General, but only for the Dominions and Poffeffions which they have refpectively in Europe; which is alfo to be understood of the Succours ftipulated and promis'd mutually in the VIth Article of this Treaty; which Succours fhall also be limited within Europe with refpect to his moft Chriftian Majefty, and the Lords the States-General.

This prefent feparate Article fhall be of the fame Force, as if it were inferted Word for Word in the Treaty, and thall be ratify'd at the fame Time with the Treaty, and the Ratifications thall also be exchang'd at the fame Time with thofe of the Trea-' ty.

In Witnefs whereof, we under-written, being vefted with full Powers from his moft Chriftian Majefty, and the Lords the States-General of the united Provinces, have in their Names fign'd this prefent Article, and caus'd thereto to be affix'd our Seals with our Arms.

Done at the Hague this 4th of January, in the Year 1917, and fign'd by the Plenipotentiaries of France and the States-General.

The following Letter from the Grand Signior to the States-General, written at Adrianople in February laft, and receiv'd by their High-Mightineffes the Beginning of July, deferves to be inferted in this Collection.

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Minent among the great Princes of the Belief of Jefus, moft powerful among the most puiffant Princes of the Meffiah, Mediators of the Differences among the principal Sovereigns of the Chriftian Nation, Lords of Honour and Power, and Poffeffors of

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