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 ministers may pretend, no one likes paying taxes. So these men got the ear of the electors, and a Tory Parliament came in determined to end the war at any price. The Duke of Marlborough was accused of prolonging it for his own reasons, and being bribed by foreigners to do so. Of course this was ridiculous nonsense, but he was dismissed from the command, and in 1713 peace with France was concluded at the Treaty of Utrecht and Great Britain openly deserted her allies.

Yet so great had been our victories that this Treaty of Utrecht could not fail to be of great advantage to us. It was, in the eyes of all Europe, the foundation of the British Empire. It was like a notice-board:—

THERE IS A BRITISH EMPIRE:

FOREIGNERS

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND KEEP OFF IT.

For we kept not only Gibraltar and Minorca, which were the beginnings of the power of our fleet in the Mediterranean, but also Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, which had been the outworks of French Canada. Also we secured certain definite rights to trade with the Spanish colonies in South America. It was on trade the Empire was founded, and by trade it must be maintained. But, remember, a great trade needs a great defence by a great fleet and a great army. One gets nothing for nothing in this world.

Yet old King Louis XIV had won his point; his grandson kept the throne of Spain, to prevent which we had originally begun to fight. He did, indeed, give up