Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/157

A.D. 1701.] sailed along the coast of Spain, and came to anchor in the port of Cadiz, and another squadron was dispatched to secure the South American and West Indian settlements of Spain. The elector of Bavaria, who had declared that his son had been poisoned by the French court, now hastened to make terms with France, and proclaimed the duke of Anjou as king of Spain at Brussels on the 20th of November. That part of the Dutch army quartered in Luxembourg, Mons, and Namur were declared prisoners of war, because they would not acknowledge the new king without orders from the States. Confounded by this proceeding, and dreading an attack on their own defenceless frontier, the States in their turn lost no time in acknowledging the duke of Anjou, and, therefore, their troops were dismissed. On the 4th of December the duke set off for Spain, and his two brothers attended the new Spanish king to the frontiers.

Thus Louis, by his daring and unprincipled manœuvres, had accomplished his grand object of securing the Spanish succession, to prevent which so many lives had been lost and so much wealth exhausted. He had outwitted the king of England, though he could not drive him from the battlefield, and stood in proud preeminence in Europe—France, Spain, the Netherlands, a great part of Italy, and the vast regions of South America all lying under his dominion, though part nominally under that of his grandson. He had at the same time the satisfaction of seeing his most powerful and determined enemy, the king of England and stadtholder of Holland, deluded, disgraced, put down through his Machiavellian artifice, from his high moral status, and his mind and body a prey to the combined attacks of shame, disappointment, helpless chagrin, and a dropsical state of body, induced by his declining physical powers. Bishop Burnet, reviewing the state of things at this melancholy crisis, says:—"And now I am come to the end of this century, in which there was a black appearance of a new and dismal scene. France was now in possession of a great empire, for a small part of which there had been wars—broke off, indeed, in some intervals—for above two hundred years, while we in England, who were to protect and defend the rest, were, by wretched factions and violent animosities, running into a feeble and disjointed state. The king's cold and reserved manner on so high a provocation, made some conclude that he was in secret engagements with France; that he was resolved to own the new king of Spain, and to engage in no new war. This seemed so different from his own inclinations, and from all the former parts of his life, that it made many conclude that he found himself in an ill state of health, the swelling of his legs being much increased, and this might have such effects on his mind, as to make him less warm and active,—less disposed to involve himself in new troubles, and that he might think it too inconsiderate a thing to enter on a new war that was not like to end so soon, when he found himself in a declining state of health."

But besides his health and the mortification of Louis's triumphant deceit, William had plenty of troubles from the temper of his parliament, and the state of the factions which harassed his government. With such gloomy auspices came in the year 1701. The king had now replaced the retiring whigs of his ministry by Tories. Lord Godolphin was made first commissioner of the treasury; lord Tankerville succeeded Lord Lonsdale, deceased, as privy seal; lord Rochester was sent as lord-lieutenant to Ireland, and Sir Charles Hedges was appointed secretary of state. By their advice parliament was dissolved, and writs issued for the meeting of the new one on the 6th of February.

At this juncture count Wratislaw arrived as ambassador from the emperor, to explain the title of Leopold to the Spanish crown; but the envoy of William's old ally was received with great coldness. The truth was, William was secretly engaged in a negotiation with the Spanish regency to procure a concession of certain frontier towns of the Netherlands being garrisoned by Dutch and English troops for the protection of Holland. Wratislaw's arrival could not, therefore, have occurred at a more awkward crisis, as tending to excite the suspicion of France. But the proposal of the garrisons was rejected by the regency, or, in reality, by France, for it now meant the same thing, and William then gave a more cordial welcome to the imperial minister. But the new cabinet was averse to running into fresh engagements which might lead to another continental war. They contended that it was not the business of England to concern itself with the balance of power on the continent, but for the nations there to assert and maintain their own liberties; for which reason they could enter into suitable combinations. That it was the more fitting and dignified position of England to maintain friendly relations as far as possible with them all, and to act as umpire betwixt them, promoting peace and good neighbourhood, as became a Christian nation. And these, indeed, were the true principles of British action, had they enunciated them from sound motives; but it is to be feared that a desire to cast the blame of the past ruinous war on their opponents, the whigs, had more weight with them than honest and enlightened principle.

When parliament met on the 6th of February, it was found that the late speaker, Sir Thomas Littleton, had absented himself from the house, and the tories proposed in his stead Robert Harley, who was now fast rising into favour with that party. The king had requested Lyttleton, in fact, to withdraw, that the tories might get in their man; but there was such a ferment in the house, that it was obliged to be adjourned till the 20th. Then the whigs brought forward Sir Richard Onslow, but he was defeated by a majority of two hundred and forty-nine to one hundred and twenty-five. This showed that a strong tory commons had been returned, and yet it was not true that all the tories were unanimous. There was, indeed, a considerable breach in the party. Those of them who had been passed over in the selection of the ministry, or had other causes of pique against the government, remained in opposition, and occasioned the king and their own party no little embarrassment. Amongst these were the duke of Leeds, the marquis of Normandy, the earl of Nottingham, Seymour, Musgrove, Howe, Finch, and Showers. It was strongly suspected, too, that Louis had made use of Tallard to bribe members of parliament and of the government to an awful extent to oppose any measures for war and continental combinations. "It was observed," says Burnet, "as soon as parliament opened, that the French had a