GALLIAE FLAGELLUM: OR, THE Reduction of France Made EASIE: WITH A Scheme thereof. IN A LETTER TO A Member of PARLIAMENT.  
LONDON, Printed in the YEAR 1696.   

THE Epistle Dedicatory.  
SIR,  
BOth the Foreign and Domestic Prints making such a noise and rattle with the vast Preparations of France by Sea and Land, without taking equal notice of the much greater of the Allies, who will be too strong and too early for the French, I have adventured to give you my Sentiments upon a Method (in my Opinion) the most rational to reduce France to an absolute and speedy Necessity of making, or rather taking a Peace from the Allies; and knowing your Merit and Judgement, and the Figure you make in this Kingdom, and particularly in the Great Council of which you are an Honourable Member: And being bound in gratitude to make you some return for the great Favours received at your band, I have resolved to this way, and beg your kind but not severe Censure; and hope you'll accept my Zeal to the Public, and Respect to yourself, and Pardon  
Your most humble and Obedient Servant, W. Perron.   

GALLIAE FLAGELLUM: OR, THE Reduction of France, etc.  
THAT France has been upon the Defensive, both by Sea and Land these two Years last passed, I hope no Body will deny: That her Career was stopped in the Campaign of 1694, and that she lost Ground every where, (Germany excepted, where she got none,) viz. in Flanders, Italia, and Catalonia, in the Campaign of 1695, is well known to all the World: That she sneaked behind her Lines last Summer, and that she is making new ones between Dinant and Chastelet, having fortified her Frontiers, and reinforced those Garrisons, we are all very sensible: That ever since the fatal Blow at La-Hogue, the Navy-Royal of France has been disarmed and laid up, nay and blocked up too in her own Ports, by her Enemies, not daring to peep out to Sea, must be acknowledged by all: That this way of Defending herself by Lines is purely new to her, and a certain Effect of her Declension, is not capable of the least Doubt or Dispute; for, having Armies more numerous, and Magazines better filled than her Foes, she always acted upon the Offensive, till, for want of Money, Magazines could not be amassed, nor Forces augmented, nay Recruits hardly made. That the Necessities of France are pressing and pinching we shall clearly evince, by her Commerce being entirely destroyed; (for what little remains, is by stealth sent out, which bears no Proportion to that in the Freedom of Trade:) That the Revenues of France are fallen short above forty Millions of Sterling Money, of what they amounted to about thirty Years ago, I have made out plainly in a Treatise I writ, and which was lately published in France, entitled Les Detailes de France, in which it appears (above Contradiction) that France was in her most exalted State, and most flourishing Condition, just before she began the Persecution of those of the Holy Reformed Religion, and her Declension may thence take Date: That her Traders and Artificers are fled, her Towns and Villages depopulated, her Manufactures (her richest Mine) abandoned, her very native Products neglected, is no piece of News, but rather too stolen to be now broached: That the Fertility of the late Years have made Bread (the Staff of Life) abundantly plentiful in most Parts of that Kingdom is very certain, which yet hinders not Multitudes of People from starving, (which is not Report, or Fancy, or Conjecture, but ocular Demonstration,) three Hungarian Gentlemen who lately obtained Passes, and made the Tour of France have declared, that in riding a few Miles they saw and told above a hundred dead with Hunger in the Roads as they passed; besides, many other Gentlemen lately come from thence affirm it: And this Misery increases daily, for the Taxes are every where doubled upon the poor Rogues, who being insolent, their necessary Movables are seized, (which never was done before) and sold to the King's Use, who knows nothing of this barbarous Treatment; no Body (no, not the tenderhearted Clergy) durst tell him; he sees no Scarcity, feels no Want, great Trains, and great Tables are still in his view; Monsieur Pont Chartrain with his his Janissaries manages this Matter, first Projects, and then raises Money, being assisted by the King's Absolute and Arbitrary Power. And now to revive the drooping Spirits, and languishing Senses of my poor, slavish, and drowsy Countrymen, they are told often, and frequently tickled with the hopes of Peace, which our August and Invincible Monarch, (as the Court Parasites call him) assures them he will have, either by Force, or fair Means: And such is the Vanity and Credulity of my dear Compatriots, that they yet believe him, (although they have been so often deceived by him,) and to that end, all Instruments are made use of, no Stone unturned, Sea and Land compassed, all Methods attempted to bring this about; but finding Peace is not to be gain (even by his new and late Concessions, which are much more reasonable,) but with Sword in Hand, his  Majesty, is resolved to try one Effort more, (and that, he says, shall be a very extraordinary one) (and, I say, will be his last,) by augmenting his Troops, and making an early Campaign of the next, and (as is pretended) by equipping both his Fleets, in the Mediterranean, and Ocean, and joining them to make Head against the united Force of England and Holland, to preserve their Coasts from being Insulted, and their Towns and Ports from Bombs and Fireships, and to reinforce their Armies with the Regular Troops, and the Garrisons with the Militia that guarded their Coasts; but all this is Rhodomantade, mere Huff, and Splutter, being impracticable, and almost impossible, for the Charge of setting out their Fleet will be superior to that of augmenting their Armies by new Levies in lieu of the Troops on the Coasts; besides, 'tis absolutely impossible for them to Man 'em, (tho' they call in every individual Privateer,) and surely they are not yet so mad to pretend to meet the English and Dutch at Sea, without a Force superior, or at least equal to them, (which is what the Allies desire;) besides, the French Exchequer is exhausted, the Branches of the Revenue anticipated, the Credit of the Court clogged, and the Reputation of the Kingdom already mortgaged; the King's Lands would be made Cautionary, but no Body durst open their Purses for that purpose. That there is Money left in France we will not deny, and that if his Majesty can come at it, he will have it to the last Farthing we know, but care is taken to hid it from his Officers, by burying it deep in the Earth, and find it if they can. This is the State of France at this present Juncture, she will be ruined even by the bare continuance of the War, without a Blow, or the loss of a Town; but, to effect this speedily, and to prevent a deluge of Blood, and to accelerate a Peace (which is now only talked of) which will be perfected as soon as agitated, I say, will even be concluded without any Preliminaries, which often take up a great deal of time. I propose the following Scheme, with all humility and deference, and wholly submit it to the Pleasure and Discretion of the Allies, whose Interest I shall endeavour to prove it to be to put it in timely execution; and that this Project may not savour of Pride, or Self-Esteem, or any sinister or private Design, I do declare it is the pure result of Zeal and Gratitude for my Religion, and Bread, which I enjoy, and eat, with Liberty and Satiety; from the Arms and Charity of the Allies, now in Confederacy against my native Country, (France) which denies me both.  
First, That the Allies furnish each his Quota to a new Levy of Fifty or sixty thousand Men, this Winter, to be put in Garrisons during the next Campaign, which shall begin very early: That out of the Veteran Troops there be detached Forty thousand chosen Men, (whereof ten thousand Horse and Dragoons) under experienced Officers, with a good Train of Artillery, conducted by the best Engineers, with Ammunition and Provision suitable, spare Arms, and all Necessaries for such Service, all ready to be embarked from their several Ports in England and Holland, as soon as ever the Armies on both Sides shall have taken the Field.  
That a real and actual Descent be made with this complete Army of Forty thousand Men upon France, there being several Places (well known) on the Coasts of Picardy, Normandy, and Britain, favourable to such a Design.  
That they may land Safely, and with little or no Opposition from the French Troops, is not to be doubted; and that they may march far up into the Country (which lies open enough for 'em) is certain: That no Inland Towns of France, on that side, are capable of resisting such a Force, is also well known.  
That by the appearing of such an Army, [of Friends] among them, the Reformed, all the new Converts, (nay, and many Papists too, having been also oppressed) would resume their Courage, and take Arms to recover their Laws, Liberty, and Religion: And thus would the Invading Army be soon doubled, nay treble, and be able by this Means to give to, or receive Battle from the united Force of France; who, in this great and (almost) resistless Distress, would first detach a great Body from her Army in Flanders, (which by this means would be so weakened, that Villeroy could not defend the Lines, which would then be penetrated, and the Country that way entered) being nearest, which in conjunction with the few Regular Troops, and more Militia on the Coasts, would be sent to make Head against this Army in their Bowels, which in all probability would defeat 'em, or, at the worst, have a drawn Battle, and then repair to their Ships, always ready to receive them: This would more distract and confound the French, Court and Councils, and break all their Measures, than all other Attempts whatever, nay than Two hundred thousand Men in Arms in Flanders against 'em, tho' each besieged and took a good Town or two every Campaign.  
The Terror the landed Army would give them, the universal Consternation they would be exposed to, would overwhelm 'em, and destroy 'em. The Allies might have what Terms they pleased to insist upon, for nothing would be denied 'em; no Disputes would be made, but all granted that should be demanded: For any one of the Allie's Armies, once got into France, would produce this happy Effect immediately; and if all Things did not succeed according to expectation in the Descent, yet the French Forces in Flanders (as I said before) could not make Head against the mighty Army of the Allies there, always in full view of them, ready to attack them, upon the first march of the Detachment they would be forced to make, to complete the Army intended to repel the new Invaders.  
We want not Examples of mighty Victories obtained over the French by handfuls of Men, even when their Armies were seven or eight to one; and by the English alone, after a glorious Compaign made, and their Forces fatigued and almost disabled. The same Courage resides in the brave, and impenetrable Hearts of the same Nation; and if it be objected, The French are now better Soldiers, and have better Officers; so are, and have the Allies, whose Soldiers were always as good as (or better than) the French, and their Officers now much better; of which they gave Proof beyond contradiction, in their Conduct all the last Campaign, which their very Enemies cannot deny, and particularly in the celebrated Retreat by Prince Vaudemont; and the stupendious Siege and successful Reduction of Namur by the King of Great Britain, in view of the united Power, nay, and Flower of France. If it should be urged, That Money would be wanting to put this great and glorious Design in execution, it is answered, No; for the Quota to each of the Allies would not be vastly great, and if it did strain 'em, they had better do so than linger on in a long, tedious, and consumptive War; the English Nation would be forwardest, and give the Example, (tho' they have suffered most already by the War,) for all being now convinced of the Necessity of prosecuting this common Quarrel against an Invader, and Oppressor, they willingly contribute to the Charge of it, and would more, and more cheerfully, if they had a Prospect of its sudden Conclusion; which this very Enterprise would most infallibly produce.  
Nor would there be wanting Shipping, or Seamen, for this Service, the English and Dutch can furnish both; tho' we are sensible so great and well-appointed an Army would take up abundance of Ships, and employ a great many Mariners; but the Horse and Dragoons only would require the greatest Number of both, for the Foot might embark on board the Men of War of both Nations, who must spare their Seamen to man the Vessels of Transport, Provisions, etc. 'Tis but a short Cut to France; the English formerly knew the Way very readily thither, and liked the Country so well, that they not only wintered, (as well as summered,) but also conquered it all for themselves: And tho' this is not now pretended, nor intended, being against the true Interest of Europe, wholly to ruin France, or to canton her out into Provinces, and so each share the Spoil: No, all that is designed, and aimed at, is to reduce her within due Bounds, France may be France still, and Lewis the Fourteenth King thereof, but he must be stripped from those Dominions he is now possessed of, which he got by Fraud, or Stealth; he is pretty well weakened already, he is very sick of the War, and wishes it were at an End, and would come to pretty good Terms, but is mightily loath to part with those fine Morsels he has swallowed, he thinks he could digest 'em, but they lie too crude and heavy at his Stomach, he is unwilling to disgorge, but he must, for his natural Heat abates, and his radical Moisture is exhausted, (I mean his Coin and Power) so that they must come up again: His Appetite is good yet, and Ostrich-like he can swallow, but not (like them) digest (as 'tis reported) Iron, especially if there be any Steel in it, of which he is like to have his Belly full; and pray God he may, that a speedy End may be put to these bloody, merciless, destructive and unmanly Wars; these Bombs and red-hot Balls, this Burning, and Bombarding, which (I am sorry I must say it) France began, tho' now she reputes of it, as she will soon of all her great and glorious Achievements, (as she vainly and falsely called her barbarous Invasions, Usurpations, and Oppressions,) she must e'er long tamely submit to a Peace, because she can no longer do Mischief; her Will is good, but her Power dwindles apparently and visibly, she must be reduced to Reason, and brought to so low an Ebb, that it shall not be in her Reach, to hurt, or in the least to offend her honest, quiet, and peaceful Neighbours, who being contented with their own, never covet other Folks Goods, or Lands; and happy for France had she been so too, 'tis she that has thinned Europe, (as well as herself) of People; Millions have bled to gratify her boundless Ambition, have fallen Sacrifices to her matchless Cruelty, and to merit the empty Name of Great, which her present Prince has obtained, at the vast Expense of Blood, Treasure, Time, and Application: But great what? Great Monster! Great Murderer! Great Tyrant! Great Oppressor! Perfidious! Base! And Perjurious to his Subjects and Neighbours. Hated by both, but feared by neither, but by them humbled, and exposed to the Contempt of all the World; and at his Death this will be said of him; He lived unbeloved, and died unlamented. He will stink and putrify in the Grave; his Name and Memory will be Nauseous to Posterity, and instead of embellishing, (like good Kings and Patriots) will sully History.  
FINIS.