Geo. I. after his arrival at London, informed of the plot, by the 1716. feizing of count Gyllenburg. The king, having finished all his affairs abroad, fet out 1716-17. from Hanover the 19th of January, N. S. and in ten The king's days landed at Margate, from whence he proceeded to Lonreturn to don. England. It was expected, the parliament would have immédiately dish refident met, but their meeting was put off for some time, on account feized, of a surprising event. On the 29th of January, Mr. fecretary Stanhope communicating to the privy-council, the informations the king had received of a confpiracy, which had for some time been carried on to excite a new rebellion, and to favour a foreign invafion. The fame night, major Smith; an Irish officer, who was no longer in the fervice, and who, that very evening, had been playing at baffet at the apartments in St. James's, was feized at his lodgings; and, about twelve o'clock, lieutenant colonel Blakeney, with a detachment of the foot-guards, fecured the house of count Gyllenburg, the Swedish refident. Not long after, major-general Wade, attended by the colonel, went and knocked at the door of the Swedish minifter, and being admitted, found him making up some dispatches. Having, in a few words, made him a compliment, and acquainted him with his com miffion to put a guard upon his person, and to secure his papers, he laid hold on fuch as were on the table, and demanded those that were in his fcrutore. Count Gyllenburg's furprise raised in him an extraordinary emotion, which made him expoftulate with some warmth about the law of nations being violated in his perfon; but, having fomewhat recovered his temper, he defired leave to fend for the marquis de Monteleone, the Spanish ambaffador, that he might confult with him, how to act on fuch an occafion. But general Wade, having pofitive orders not to let him speak with any perfon, could not grant his request. On the other hand, the count's lady having refused the keys of the ferutore, upon pretence, that there was nothing in it but linen and plate, the general caused it to be broke open; and, having found in it a great many papers, he fealed them all up, and left a ftrong guard upon the refident. The fame morning Charles Cæfar, formerly treasurer of the navy, and member of parliament for the borough of Hertford; and Sir Jacob Bancks, formerly member of parliament for Minehead, were apprehended, upon fufpicion of being in confederacy with count Gyllenburg. There There were feveral conjectures as to the means of this im- Geo. I. portant difcovery. Some affirmed, the king had long before 1716-17. notice of the defign from France; others, that the discovery was owing to an intercepted letter from count Gyllenburg to the lord Duffus, prifoner in the Tower: And others afferted, the lord Duffus accidentally revealed the confpiracy to an English lord, his fellow prifoner, who difcovered it to the government, and thereby merited his pardon. Be this as it will, it is certain, that the king and his ininisters had long before entertained fufpicions of the count's clandeftine practices; which were not a little increased upon the publication of a libel about September 1716, intitled, An English Mer'chant's Remarks upon a fcandalous Jacobite Paper pub'lished in the Poft-Boy, under the name of, A Memorial prefented to the Chancery of Sweden, by the Refident of "Great Britain.' Of which libel count Gyllenburg was fufpected to be the author, as afterwards appeared by his let ters. The fecuring the person and papers of a public minister being an affair of an extraordinary nature, and fome foreign minifters having expreffed their refentments of it at court, they were given to understand, that in a day or two they fhould be acquainted with the reasons for proceeding against the Swedish minifter in fuch a manner. Accordingly, the fecretaries of state, Mr. Stanhope and Mr. Methuen, wrote a circular letter to the foreign minifters of their respective diftricts, who were pretty well reconciled to the proceedings of the court; only the marquis de Monteleone, the Spanish ambaffador, faid, in his answer to Mr. Stanhope: That he was forry no other way could be found out, for preferving the peace of his majefty's dominions, without arrefting the perfon of a public minifter, and feizing all his papers, which are the facred repofitories of the fecrets of his mafter; and, in whatever manner these two facts may feem to be underftood, they seem very fenfibly to wound the law of nations.' Not many days after the feizing of count Gyllenburg, ba- Baron Gorta ron Gortz, minister and favourite of the king of Sweden, fecured. was likewife fecured in Guelderland, in the following man ner Mr. Leathes, the British refident at the Hague, received the king's orders to defire the regents of that state to confent to the feizing of baron Gortz, with his two fecretaries, M. Stambke and M. Guftavus Gyllenburg, the baron having for fome time been concerned in carrying on a correfpondence, and concerting measures with the British rebels in France, and with feveral perfons in England, by means of VOL. XIX. D count Geo. I. count Gyllenburg, for raising a rebellion in England, to 1716-17. be supported by a foreign force. Mr. Leathes went immediately to Amfterdam, and difpofed the magiftrates of that place to consent to the securing of baron Gortz, in case he fhould come thither from France; and returned back to the Hague. The fame night baron Gortz arrived there, having heard at Calais of count Gyllenburg's being put under arreft, which prevented his going over to England, as he intended. He had, on the 18th of February, a conference with the imperial minifter, wherein he extolled the inclination of the king of Sweden to peace, and infifted on a resolution about his laft propofitions; but, the next day, he fet out, a little before noon, in a poft-chaife, accompanied by general Poniatowefki, having, as it is believed, had fome notice, that orders were given to fecure him, which indeed he narrowly escaped. For, upon Mr. Leathes's application, the council of the States of Holland met, and paffed a refolution for feizing the baron and his fecretaries; but, before it could be executed, the baron and M. Stambke were gone that morning for Amfterdam; fo that only Mr. Gyllenburg was then taken. A party of horse was immediately sent after the other two, and Mr. Leathes followed them to Amfterdam, and, learning where baron Gortz was lodged, he went, accompanied with the proper officers, to the house of M. Teitsen, a Swedish merchant, and fearched it; but the baron had left it fome hours before. However, a box was found, in which were twelve large packets of letters; and, informations being given which way the baron had taken, fome perfons were dispatched after him, who feized him and M. Stambke at Arnheim, by leave of the magiftrates of that place, as they were taking coach to go on from thence. Mr. Leathes, being returned to the Hague, waited on the deputies of the province of Guelderland, who thought fit to write a letter to the magiftrates of Arnheim, ordering them to cause the baron and M. Stambke to be kept in safe custody. On this occafion, all those of the regency, who were applied to, entered readily into the reasonableness of the king's demands, and gave all the affiftance and difpatch, that was confiftent with the known forms of proceeding in that country. It is obfervable, that, when baron Gortz was feized, he owned himself to have been the projector of the intended invafion of Great Britain by the king of Sweden, and that he had actually provided ten thousand arms, and other neceffaries for this fervice, valuing himself very much upon what he had done in this affair, as thinking it extremely for the intereft intereft of his master, and a noble and glorious enter- Geo. I. prize (a). 1716-17. The fecond feffion of The parliament of Great Britain met on the 20th of February, according to their last prorogation; and the king being come to the house of peers with the ufual folemnity, the fifth and delivering a speech into the lord chancellor's hands, it parliament was by him read to both houses. "My lords and gentlemen, “I 46 Was in hopes, that the fuccefs which it pleafed God to give us, in defeating the late rebellion, might have "fecured to the nation peace, plenty, and tranquillity. "My endeavours have not been wanting, during your "recefs, to improve the happy prospect which was in view, "by entering into fuch negotiations, as I judged most con"ducive to thofe good ends: And it is with pleasure I can "acquaint you, that many defects in the treaties of Utrecht, "which very nearly affected the trade, and even the security " of these kingdoms, have been remedied by subsequent con"ventions, the happy confequences of which have already "very sensibly appeared, by the flourishing condition of our "trade and credit. of Great Britain. Pr. H. C. "By the alliance lately concluded with France and the The king' fpeech. "States-General, we are foon to be eased of all future ap"prehenfions from Dunkirk and Mardyke. The pretender "is actually removed beyond the Alps: His adherents are "deprived of all hopes of fupport and countenance from "France; and even the affiftance of that crown is stipulated " to us in cafe of exigency. "It seemed reasonable to expect, that fuch a fituation of "affairs at home and abroad fhould have recovered from "their delufion all fuch of our fubjects, as had unhappily "been feduced by the craft and wickednefs of defperate and ill-defigning men, and thereby have afforded me the op"portunity, which I defired, of following the natural bent (a) To juftify this invafion, it was urged, that king George, as elector of Hanover, had af fifted the princes in confederacy against the king of Sweden, proclaimed war against him, aided the king of Denmark to take Bremen and Verden, and afterwards purchased thefe two duchies of him: And this year had given inftructions to Sir John Norris to join the Danish and Ruffian fleets in the Baltick; which the admiral did accordingly. D 2 "of Geo. I." of my own inclinations to lenity, by opening this feffion 1716-17." with an act of grace. But fuch is the obftinate and inveterate rancour of a faction amongst us, that it hath again "prompted them to animate and ftir up foreign powers to "difturb the peace of their native country: They will choose rather to make Britain a scene of blood and confu"fion, and to venture even the putting this kingdom under "a foreign yoke, than give over their darling defign of im"pofing a Popish pretender. "I have ordered to be laid before you copies of letters, "which have paffed between the Swedish minifters on this "occafion, which contain a certain account of the projected "invafion: And I promife myself from your experienced zeal "and affection to my perfon and government, that you will "come to such refolutions, as will enable me, by the blef❝fing of God, to defeat all the defigns of our enemies against ❝ us. "Gentlemen of the houfe of commons, "I did hope, the putting an end to the late rebellion "would have fo far fecured the peace and tranquillity of the "nation, that I might, confiftently with the fafety of my "people, have made a confiderable reduction of the forces. "But the preparations, which are making from abroad, to "invade us, oblige me to afk fuch fupplies, as you shall find "abfolutely neceffary for the defence of the kingdom. "You are all fenfible of the infupportable weight of the "national debts, which the public became engaged for, "from the neceffity of the times, the preffures of a long and "expenfive war, and the languishing state of public credit. "But, the fcene being now fo happily changed, if no new "difturbances fhall plunge us again into ftreights and diffi"culties, the general expectation feems to require of you, “that you should turn your thoughts towards fome method "of extricating yourfelves, by reducing, by degrees, the "debts of the nation. "My lords and gentlemen, "I have an intire confidence in you, and have therefore "nothing to aík, but, that you would take fuch measures, "as will beft fecure your religion and liberties. While you preferve those ineftimable bleffings, I fhall fit easy and safe |