Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/179

A.D. 1702.] would take every means to secure the crown in the protestant line, and to extinguish the hopes of all pretenders and their abettors; that the French king, by placing his grandson on the throne of Spain, had put himself in a condition to oppress the rest of Europe, and, under the pretence of maintaining it as a separate monarchy, had yet made himself master of the dominions of Spain, placed it entirely under his control, and so surrounded his neighbours that, though the name of peace continued, they were put to the expense and inconvenience of war; that this endangered the whole of our trade, and even our peace and safety at home, and deprived us of that position which we ought to maintain for the preservation of the liberties of Europe; that to obviate these calamities he had entered into several alliances according to the encouragement given him by both houses of parliament, and was still forming others. And he then said emphatically, "It is fit I should tell you that the eyes of all Europe are upon this parliament. All matters are at a stand till your resolutions are known; therefore no time ought to be lost. You have yet an opportunity, by God's blessing, to secure to you and your posterity the quiet enjoyment of your religion and liberties if you are not wanting to yourselves, but will exert the ancient vigour of the English nation; but I tell you plainly my opinion is, if you do not lay hold on this occasion, you have no reason to hope for another."

He then recommended the commons to take measures for the discharge of the debts, and preserving public credit by the sacred maxim, that they shall never be losers who trust to a parliamentary security. In urging them for the necessary aids, he was only urging them to care for their own safety and honour at a most dangerous and critical time; that in the late war he ordered yearly accounts of the expenditure to be laid before them, and passed several bills for securing a proper examination of the public accounts; that he was quite willing that any further measures should be adopted for that end, so that it might appear whether the debts had arisen from misapplication or mere deficiency of the funds. He then finally came upon the sore point of the dissensions; trusting that both houses were determined to avoid all manner of disputes and differences, and resolved to act with a general and hearty concurrence for promoting the common cause, which alone could insure a happy session; that he should think it as great a blessing as could befall England if he could perceive them inclined to lay aside those unhappy feuds which divided and weakened them, for that he himself was disposed to make all his subjects easy as to even the highest offences committed against him. He conjured them to disappoint the hopes of their enemies and let there be no other distinction amongst them for the future but of those who were for the protestant religion and the present establishment, and those who were for a popish prince and a French government; that, for his part, he desired to be the common father of his people, and that, if they desired to see England placed at the head of the protestant interest, and hold the balance of Europe, they had only to improve the present opportunity.

The effect of this speech was wonderful. It flew through the nation, which was already worked up into a war-fever, with the rapidity of lightning, and was everywhere received with enthusiasm. It was printed by the zealous supporters of the principles of the revolution in ornamental style, in English, Dutch, and French, and was soon translated into other languages and disseminated all over Europe. It was the announcement of a determined war against the grasping ambition of France, and the eyes of the whole world were truly fixed on England, which volunteered to take the lead in this serious enterprise. As for the supporters of William and the protestant government, they framed his speech and hung it in their houses as the last legacy of the protestant king to his people. The lords immediately drew up a zealous address, in which they echoed his resentment of the conduct of the French king in acknowledging the pretended prince of Wales, and declared that they would not only support and defend him against the pretended prince of Wales and all other pretenders, but, should they be deprived of his majesty's protection, they would still defend the crown of England, by virtue of the acts of parliament, against all but the recognised successors. On the 5th of January the commons presented a similar address, and assured the king that they would enable him to make good the alliances he had made and such as he should yet make for the peace of Europe. The lords, not to be behind the commons, presented a second and more explicit address, in which they not only engaged to support the king in his alliances, but declaring that Europe could never be safe till the emperor was restored to all his rights, and the invaders of Spain should be expelled. And they, too, declared their full approbation of the king's new alliances, and their full determination to support him in them.

William, warned by the resentment of the last house of commons at the concealment of the partition treaties, now laid his present treaties at once before the new parliament. On the 6th of January secretary Vernon laid before both houses copies of the treaty with the king of Denmark and the States-General, the secret articles attached to this treaty, the treaty betwixt the king of Sweden, the States-General, and William, and the separate treaty betwixt William and the States-General, signed in the month of November. The commons were as prompt in expressing their approbation of them, and on the 9th of January they proposed, by an address to his majesty, to take care that an article be introduced into the several treaties of alliance, binding the allies never to make peace with France until reparation was made for the indignity offered by the French king in declaring the pretended prince of Wales king of England. They also resolved that a bill should be brought in for the abjuration of the pretended prince of Wales.

They then went into the question of the supplies, and voted unanimously £600,000 should be borrowed, at six per cent., for the services of the navy, and £50,000 for guards and garrisons. They agreed to the number of troops which the king had stipulated as his contingent in the war, namely, 30,000 foot and 7,000 horse; they added 8,300 more English soldiers to the 10,000 already sent to Holland, and voted 40,000 seamen, and that his majesty's allies should be invited to embark a certain proportion of troops on board his majesty's ships of war; they confirmed all the king's contracts for subsidising troops belonging to foreign princes, and to defray the charges of these naval and military forces,