Will. III. placed his chief reliance on the chapter of accidents, or on 1700. what the fuperftition of his family, or adulation of its parti tend to prefs the duke of Savoy to enter into a treaty with France, if he is not already engaged with the emperor. It cannot be his intereft to have the German troops fo near him, and, in cafe he refufes France, it will be demonstration, that he his acting otherwife than he has affured them. Mr. Robinson to the earl of Manchester. Helfingburg, Aug. 25. 1700, O. S. The acceffion of this crown [of Sweden] to the treaty about the Spanish fucceffion, goes very flowly forward, and thefe minifters feem to think the circumftances of their affairs ought to excufe them at prefent from taking part in it, fince the emperor has fo many ways to incommode them, especially while the war the king of Poland has begun against them continues. They feem much perfuaded that their friends will not prefs them to expose themselves, but rather firft help them to a fiate of fafety, and then they fhall be in a condition to make returns. zans, I do like the proposal, to engage thofe that will not enter into the guaranty, to be neuter. I did hear from other parts, that the French minifters were uneafy, and of opinion, that we did not act fairly; but I affure you, that they have no fuch thoughts here at present. The earl of Manchester, to Paris, Sept. 18, 1700. I can now affure you, that this court is intirely fatisfied with the proceedings in Holland, in relation to the treaty, and there are no grounds for what is faid in other parts. I do not doubt but that there are too many that would have it otherwife; but I am of opinion, that it is not in their power to effect it. Monfieur Schonenberg to the Madrid, Sept. 23, 1700. I do not doubt but your excellency is informed of the anfwer of this court to the last memorial of the French envoy extraordinary, to make it change its refolution of receiving any The earl of Manchefter to the imperial or other foreign troops earl of Jersey. Paris, Sept. 17, 1700. Yesterday I faw monfieur de Torcy. I do find by him, that they are very well fatisfied with the proceedings in Holland, in relation to the great affair, and into its domains in Italy; as I have also represented on the fame fubject, by exprefs order as well of the king our master, as the lords the itates-general, they have, almoft word for word, anfwered to it in the fame manner; that is to say, in short, that zans, have ftiled the miracle of the house of Auftria. But Will. III. the true fpring of his refufal was, that, in June this year, the 1700. king of Spain made a difpofition in favour of his fecond fon, which they knew at Vienna, and yet took no measures to State of the Spanish render it effectual, by marching troops into Italy, or fending the young archduke with a fufficient force into Spain; both Cole. which fchemes had been in agitation. The affairs of Spain were all this fummer in a terrible ferment. The king had frequent returns of his illness; and it was expected, that every relapfe would carry him off. The adminiftration was in a moft infeebled and disjointed state; they pretend here to be at liberty; and under pretence of recruiting the foreign troops, who ferve in the Spanish pay, to introduce them, when they fhall judge it to be proper. The faid court plunges itself more and more into frange diforders, in regard to the fucceffion. The king and queen are abfolutely for the imperial court; and on the other hand, the council of State runs blindly and head-foremoft in favour of the duke of Anjou, flattering themselves, that his moft Catholic majefty will embrace this affair. In the mean while every thing grows worfe and worfe'; many deliberations and confultations, but no good refolutions. The king keeps his bed fince yefterday, by reason of a new fiux, &c. land, to the court of Spain, in The earl of Manchefter to Paris, Oct. 3. 1700. The earl of Manchefter to Mr. that the declaration that has fecretary Vernon. Paris, Sept. 25, 1700. Here is a courier arrived from Madrid to the French court. He alfo brought letters from Mr. Schonenberg, which I have fent forward. The French miniter there having given a memorial, as was agreed in Hol court. been made at Madrid and at C 3 Boyer. the Will. III. the nobility split into factions; the people mutinous and dif1700. contented. On the first knowledge of the treaty, they appeared highly incenfed, that three foreign powers should unMemoires dertake to transfer their allegiance, and parcel out their domid'Harrach. nions. They confidered a partition as the greatest diminution of the fplendor and ftrength of the Spanish monarch. The grandees, in particular, could not endure to be deprived of fo many lucrative governments; and it was the universal cry, that France alone could maintain their fucceffion intire, and recover them out of the calamity, to which they were reduced. It is the common opinion, that the feeds of this great revolution were laid by the capacity and address of the marquis d'Harcourt, during his embaffy at Madrid in 1698; and that he found means to gain over the cardinal Portocarrero, the marquis de Monterey, and de los Balbazes, befides feveral others of the principal nobility, lawyers, and men of note in Spain. However this may be, it is certain, the mifmanagements of the prefent reign, and the rapacious and violent carriage of the queen Mariana, aunt to the archduke Charles, had intirely alienated the hearts of the whole nation from the Germans; and that they were disposed to receive with open arms a grandfon of Lewis XIV, provided they were affured of never becoming a province to France. Nor did the reflection, that a prince of the Austrian line muft owe his chief fupport to Heretics, carry a fmall weight along with it in the minds of a fuperftitious people. Portocarrero, for the repofe of the king's confcience, which fometimes fuggefted to him the unnatural part he was about to act, in depriving his own family of their juft rights, advised him to confult the pope on this momentous point of regulating the fucceffion. Innocent XII, who was firmly attached to France, after taking the opinion of a college of cardinals, determined against the validity of queen Maria Teresa's renunciation, as being founded on compulfion, and contrary to the fundamental laws of the Spanish monarchy; and exhorted his Catholic majefty to make his will in favour of one of the French king's grandfons, by which he would effectually contribute to the propagation of the faith, and the repofe of Christendom. As foon as this infallible decision was procured, the cardinal of Toledo redoubled his efforts, to perfuade his mafter to act in conformity to it; who accordingly figned his teftamentary difpofition, in the beginning of October, N. S. Military Conduct of With regard to the conduct of the French king, whilft the French this tranfaction was depending, it is too extraordinary not to Different fentiments about it. to be a little insisted on. Some have thought, and not with- Will. III. out fufficient grounds of probability, that in the propofal and 1700. conclufion of this partition, his fincerity ought to be unqueftioned; and that he really confidered it at that time as more for the immediate intereft of his crown, to annex to it for ever those dominions, which were to be given him as an equivalent for the Dauphin's pretenfions, than to put his grandfon in poffeffion of the whole monarchy. But the emperor's unexpected refufal of his concurrence, the abhorrence which the Spaniards fhewed for being difmembered, and, above all, a perfuafion, that England would not renew the war, induced him to break through his engagements, by accepting the will. We muft however confels, that it has been the more prevailing opinion, that his moft Chriftian majesty meant only to deceive and amufe from the beginning, and made use of what was his own propofition, as an argument to perfuade Charles II, to leave the duke of Anjou his fole heir. Let this be as it will, the treaty was no fooner ratified, Dr. Hare's than his minifters at foreign courts co-operated with thofe of negociations England and the ftates-general, in pushing the acceptance of for a treaty of peace in it; and when King William, having received fome intelli- 1709 configence of Harcourt's negociation, expoftulated with him upon dered in a it by letter, the French king not only denied his knowing to a Tory any thing of the matter, but declared under his own hand, member, in a letter to the king, that, though a will fhould be made p. 5. in favour of his family, he would take no advantage of it, but adhere to the partition. Nay further, when count Zinzendorf, the imperial minifter at Paris, demanded in a memorial, What part France would act, in cafe Spain fhould voluntarily place a grandfon of the French king onthe throne? monfieur de Torcy returned answer in writing, that it would Cole. by no means be liftened to: and to the very last moment, the court of Versailles expreffed, in all their fteps, a fixed refolution of adhering to the treaty. third letter When the fecret of the partition was divulged in England, it was prefently writ and talked into an unpopular measure, though visibly the only one, that could be taken to prevent a new war, in which the nation then feemed unwilling or unable to engage. The different cenfures it underwent were, Dr. Dave that fo important an affair ought not to have been concluded nant. without the advice of parliament: That it was contrary to the first separate article of the alliance: That, unless concerted with the king of Spain, it was unjuft in the contrivance, and hazardous in the execution: That the terms which France had obtained, were prejudicial to the interefts Will.III. of this country, and deftructive of the ballance of power 1700. as the poffeffion of Naples and the Tufcan ports, muft fub Cole. Affairs of Jetter to the ject Italy to their yoke, and render our Levant and Mediterranean trade precarious, and to be carried on at their dif cretion; whilft the ceffion of Guipufcoa afforded them another inlet into the heart of Spain upon any rupture. The almost extinguished hopes of the Jacobites began to revive on this occafion, and upon the fad event of the duke of Gloucefter's death. As they knew, whatever tended to create a general dislike to the king's meafures must be of fervice to their caufe, they were the forwardeft to inflame the minds of the people, and had a book fent to the press against the treaty, in which all thofe, who were fuppofed to have had an hand in it, were feverely treated. Mr. Graham, lord Prefton's brother (as the earl of Manchefter wrote over from Paris) was difpatched to St. Germain's by Sir Christopher Mufgrave, and others of the Tory party, with a propofal to get the fucceffion fettled on the pretended prince of Wales, and to affure king James, that a vote would be proposed in the houfe of commons, not to fupport the crown in the execution of the treaty. Such was the perplexed and melancholy fituation of affairs, when the king left Loo to embark for England, where he arrived the 18th of October, not a little chagrined at the difficulties in which he found himself involved, and which had a vifible effect both on his health and temper. Before his return, he made good his declaration to the Scots, in allowing their parliament to meet on the 28th of October, and fent them a letter from Loo, containing in The king's fubftance, That, having adjourned their parliament on account of going beyond fea, he then promifed what he was now ready to make good to them, at this meeting. That he had confidered their addrefs in 1698, in behalf of the African company, and would comply with their defires, in relation to their national concern; and moreover do all clfe, that could be required for maintaining and advancing the peace and welfare of their kingdom. He likewife promifed to give his royal affent to all acts for better establishing the Prefbyterian government, preventing the growth of popery, fuppreffing vice and immorality, encouraging piety and virtue, preferving and fecuring perfonal liberty, regulating and advancing trade, and efpecially for retrieving the loffes, and promoting the interefts of the African and Indian companies. He alfo promifed to encourage manufactures, and affent to whatever elfe should be offered for ⚫ clearing 6 |