take up with the dauphin's fhare of the partition, or to con- Will. III. cert a new one with Lewis XIV, which fhould coincide 1700. better Sir Lambert Blackwell to the earl of Manchester. Florence, July 30, 1700. I wrote to your excellency, the 23d, advifing what paffed at my audience with the great duke; and, at midnight (after the poft was dispatched) I received from cavalier Montemagni, fecretary of state, a few lines; bringing me his highneffes anfwer. Copies of both I inclofe, by which your excellency will find the great duke expreffes himself very much obliged to his majefty; but feeks to gain time by his general anfwer, without mentioning whether he will or not enter into the guaranty of the treaty my opinion being, that his highness is willing first to know, what the emperor and Venetians refolve; and accordingly will take his meafures. I do likewife fend your excellency a copy of his highness's anfwer to the French envoy; being much to the fame purpofe, which the envoy difpatched to his moft Chriftian majefty, by a courier extraordinary; and till the return (which, he tells me, may be in fifteen days) will move no farther. I muft alfo wait his majesty's commands though I intend to let the fecretary of ftate know, that my hopes were, his highnefs would have been more particular. Mr. James Creffet to the earl of Hamburgh, June 30, 1700. Monfieur d'Hervaert to the earl Berne, Aug. 1, 1700. You have seen, by my last letter to my lord Jersey, which I took the liberty to fend you unfealed, what I had done, purfuant to the orders of the king, about Will. III. better with their refpective interefts. But whether thefe offers were despised at Versailles, or the fincerity of them suspected, 1700. about the treaty of fucceffion of Spain, which you had the goodnefs to fend me. I communicated it, in conjunction with M. de Puyfieux, to the Cantons, affembled by their deputies; he and I having invited them to enter into it, and to fubfcribe the guranty. Their anfwer was fuch as we forefaw; that is the deputies promised, that each would make a report to its fovereign. It is eafy to judge, that they will endeavour to gain as much time as they can. As the dyet is finished, we can have no pofitive answer from the Cantons; but, at another, which must be called on purpose: And we intend to push for it, when we fhall think it a fit time. If we cannot perfuade them to engage themfelves, in form, in the guaranty for the execution of the treaty, we flatter ourselves, that we shall, at leaft, obtain that they will not permit that the troops, which the emperor might fend to oppofe it, fhall país. At this we work with all our might; that is, M. de Puyfieux and I; as alfo M. Valkenier; who is arrived in Switzerland, within these eight days, to affift us, by order of the States-General, his mafters. The earl of Manchefter to Mr. fecretary Vernon. Paris, Aug, 11, 1700. An exprefs arrived yesterday from Madrid, in his way to Vienna. He brings no further the account of the queen of Spain's being with child; yet count Harrach had complimented her upon the report; which, fome think, he might as well have let alone. Her anfwer to him was, That God would do what he pleased. I find, that, in Spain, they are refolved to court the king, our mafter. Schonenberg has been admitted to an audience of the king, and what paffed, in relation to Canales, in England, will be forgot, and another will be named. Don Quiros is certainly ordered to return to the Hague. All this matter has been brought about by the queen: And it is faid that our king has wrote to her; which has produced this good effect. In fhort, the Spanish ambaffador here takes all occafions to oblige me; which I return in the fame manner. They find it their intereft to be well with England. The earl of Manchester to Paris, Aug. 13, 1700. The emperor's envoy has received a courier from Spain; whom he difpatched, the fame day, for Vienna. He affures me, That monfieur Schonenberg has had an audience of the king of Spain: That don Quiros has orders to go to the Hague; and that they will take no further notice of the affair of monfieur de Canales, but intend foon to name an ambaffador to the king. The only measure, they the marquis de Villars received no other inftructions in an- Will.III. fwer to them, than that the king did not think it right to ad- 1700. mit any alteration, without the confent of his allies. The emperor's obftinacy in rejecting the treaty, amazed all thofe who were acquainted with his circumftances. His troops, if compleat, did not amount to feventy thousand men ; but, for I have been forced to break open my letters, to acquaint your lordship, that the French ambalador told me, pofitively, he had figned the treaty, the 15th, yet he did not, having obferved, juft as he was going to fign, that the Portuguefe had, in one of the articles, inferted a tlaufe, by which they might afterwards pretend, that they were not obliged to make war on the emperor, or Spain, until they began it. This occafioned a tapute between the ambaffador and the Portuguefe commiflioners; but all was, at laft, accommodated to the fatisfaction of the abafador, and the treaty figned this evening. VOL XV. want Mr. fecretary Vernon to the earl of Manchester. Whitehall, Aug. 5. 1700. N. S. I received, yesterday, your excellency's letter of the 11th inftant. That the Spaniards are fo obliging, of late, does not proceed from his majesty's havthink, they are endeavouring ing writ to them; but, I rather to create jealoufies and fufpicions between us and France; and that they have a mind to have a minifter here, next winter, to blow the coals in parliament, if he can, and to perfuade people to find fault with the treaty about the fucceflion to their dominions: but, I fuppofe, we shall be very well contented, that the peace of Europe may be preferved upon these terms. The report of the queen of Spain's being with child, I conceive, is the more cherished, that it may give the emperor a pretence for returning no answer, whether he will come into the late treaty or not. The three months, propofed for his declaring himfelf, are now near expired; and we hear nothing more from Vienna, but that a certain courier, they expect from Madrid, is not yet arrived. In the mean time, we hear, the C French Will.III. want of recruits, they were far fhort of the number. He 1700. was indebted between thirty and forty millions of florins; French fquadrons, under the command of Nefmont and Pointi, are like to join. One would be glad to know what they are defigned for. It is faid, they will winter at Cadiz, if they do not make themselves mafters of Gibraltar. Mr. Sutton to the earl of Newstadt, Aug. 17, 1700. I am forry to acquaint your excellency, that the refolution we have fo long expected from the emperor, in relation to the treaty for regulating the fucceffion of Spain, is not fuch as was defired. Count Harrach has, to-day, acquainted the M. de Villars, and monfieur Hop, feparately, That he was commanded by the emperor, to impart to them, for their masters information, that his imperial majefty, confidering the king of Spain to be in good health, and of fuch an age, that he might very well, with the blefling of God, hope for issue of his own, did not think it becoming, efpecially him, that was his uncle, to make a divifion of his fucceffion. He added to the M. Villars, That the emperor hoped this answer would not interrupt the good intelligence between himfelf and his moft Chriftian majefty; and that he would not proceed to the nomination of a third, which would but embroil matters the more: That, when the fucceffion happened to fall, and the emperor thought it justly belonged to him; and, after the extinction of the male line of the house of Austria, to the duke of Savoy, according to Philip the IVth's will. He told monfieur Hop alfo, That the emperor defired to continue in a good understanding with the king and the ftates-general. I cannot fee count Harrach to-night; but fhall, doubtlefs, receive the fame answer from him to-morrow. If there be any thing dif ferent in it, I will acquaint your lordship with it, by the firft opportunity. Your excellency is much abler than I am, to judge of the confequences of the emperor's refolution. He certainly reckons upon the friendship of the Spanish court; but, altho' he be fure of it, I cannot fee how it will answer the expectation he may have of it; or, what other means he has, to hinder the performance of the agreement already made. and his chamber of finances had fcarce credit enough to fup- Will. III. ply him with neceffaries. It was generally believed, that he health was better than ever it was; that he had named no perfon to fucceed him, nor would he. The king answered, that no body wished more for his mafter's health than himself; That all men are mortal: That he had no other defign in what he had done but the peace of Europe. The Spanish ambaffador difcourfed afterwards with monfieur de Torcy, who took notice to him, that the refolutions, that were taken in Spain about fuppreffing all penfions, were in order to maintain a confiderable number of forces, which might create jealoufies, efpecially if they were foreign troops. To which he answered, that they had been long enough the jeft of Europe, by having their affairs in fo ill a condition; that every man was master in his own country, &c. I find by monfieur de Torcy, that the French are apprehenfive, that the emperor's troops are to go to Milan and Naples; and he faid it had been already propofed to the republic of Venice, to pafs twenty thousand men through their territories; and, if fo, he thought it would be neceffary, that the French troops that are near Catalonia, fhould have orders to march to the frontiers of Spain; not that he believed there would be any occafion of proceeding further, but that this would be fufficient to hinder the Germans from going into Italy. This he defired the king fhould know. I am fatisfied, that there is fomething placed of this nature in hand, by what monfieur Zinzendorf lets fall fometimes in his difcourfes. Monfieur de Torcy faid, that they intended to prefs for the emperor's answer concerning the treaty, and that it would be convenient we should do it also. The earl of Manchester to the earl of Jersey. Paris, Aug. 27, 1700, Monfieur de Torcy acquainted me yesterday with the answer the emperor has given to monfieur de Villars. He refuses to enter into a treaty concerning the fucceffion of Spain, as long as the king of Spain lives; and hopes they will not proceed to the naming of another prince, which may have ill confequences, and oblige him to take meafures 'to defend his right. He faid, had he feen me in the morning, he should have complained very much of the coolnefs and indifference they shewed in Holland in this affair. That though monfieur de Tallard did affure them, the emperor had concerted with Spain, that his troops were to march into Italy; yet it was not thought fit to take any measures to prevent it; but that by the letter he just then received from monfieur de Tallard, he fees and tells me, that the king our mafter does agree, that both in Spain and Vienna their minifters fhall have orders to declare against it. This court does inC 2 tend 1700. |