/l/ v A LETTER FR O M A Member of the States-General I N HOLLAND T O A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT I N ENGLAND; BY WHICH The Saddle is put upon the RIGHT HORSE, AND The true Origin of the prefent Confufions in Europe plainly demonflrated. LONDON, Printed for^. Robinfon in Ludgateflreet 1743. Price One Shilling. (Vi LETTER FROM A MEMBER of the STATES GENERAL, &c. SIR, YO U afk me, how it comes, that our Republic does not intereft itfelf in Favour of the Houfe of Aujlria^ as much as Great Britain does ; and at the fame time you tell me, that every Body is aftonimed at it; that it is as much the Bufinefs of our Republic as of Great "Britain^ to preferve an "Equilibrium among the Powers of Europe $ that the Houfe of Bourbon feems ready to fwallow up the whole ; that we are upon the Point of lo- fing all thofe great Advantages which by van: Efforts we gained in a twenty Years War; that the Republic has no Regard to the Faith of Treaties ; that it muft be under the Influence of Corruption ; that it is facrificed by its Magiftrates ; that they muft be in the Pay of France; that otherwife it would B have 2007816 { I ) have entered into the Views of Great Bri- tain, which is fcnfible of the Danger?, and has by mighry Preparations put itfelf in a Condition to prevent them j and finally, that if our Republic, powerfully armed as it is, fhould declare, every one of the neighbour- ing Powers would immediately be reduced within thofe Bounds which the Happinefs and Tranquillity of Europe require. Thefe are your Complaints of our Republic, and on the other Side, you fpeak with Admira- tion of the Wifdom, Juftice, and Difinte- reftednefs of your prefent Adminiftration in England, of your Unanimity for fupporting a Caufe fojuftj of the great Sums which you are able to raife at a very moderate Intereft, and of your Forces by Sea and Land. If my Knowledge of your Government were confined to what one learns in the Clofet by reading Books, I fhould, in peruf- ing your Letter, have Reafon to be aftonifh- ed, and to accufe you of Iniincerity ; for from thence we ought to fuppofe, that a Member of the Briftflj Parliament muft be thoroughly informed of the State of Affairs, in order to judge, and refolve upon what is moft proper for the Happinefs of Great Bri- tain, and of Europe in general. I know you too well to doubt of your Capacity, but you like wife know, that I have been at London, and that I have endeavoured to get all poffible In- ( 3 ) Information and Inftrudion, with Regard to the Method? taken by your Minifters for managing your Conftiurion, and with Re- gard to the ftrong and weak Side of your Government. You yourfelf have often be- moaned the Perverfenefs of the Times : You yourfelf have ofcen and publicly ipo- ken with great Vehemence againft the felf- ifh Views of your Minifters, againft the al- moft univerfal Corruption of your Mem- bers of Parliament, and againft the Sacrifice that was made of the Interefts of Great Britain for the Support or Aggrandifement of the Electorate of H r. With what Energy have you not reprefented the Breach of Public Faith, by fo many Treaties con- tradictory to one another, the immenfe fums raifed upon a People finking under the Bur- den of innumerable Debts, and overloaded with Taxes? How often have you com- plained, that your Minifters impofed upon the Parliament by fetting Things in a Light very different from the true one, that they kept you in the dark by always denying you thofe Lights that were necefTary for feeing Things with your own Eyes, and that their Affu ranee was come to fuch a Height, that they laughed at you, if you believed what they faid, and were out of Humour if you did not. B2 I ( 4) I fee plainly, that neither Men nor Mea- fures are changed in your Country ; for if they were, you would know more of your Affairs, and as I know your Candour, you would applaud the Conduct of our Repub- lic as much as you now condemn it, or at leaft you would bemoan the Fate of Great Britain. In the Year 1731, the Court of Great Britain made a Treaty with that of Vienna, by which you guarantee'd the Succeffion of the Houfe of Auftria, and did the Repub- lic the Honour to contract for it without its Knowledge a . Whether you confidered us as Infants or Lunatics I do not know j but in order to compel us to acquiefce in what you had done in our Name, but without our Knowledge, you made the Affair of Eajl- FrieJJandy and that of the Oftend Company a Part of the Treaty. You ought to know how much the Republic had thefe two Affairs at Heart, and the Juftice we had on our Side, by Vir- tue of folemn Treaties, and an uncontro- verted Poffefiion. All the Powers of Europe had acknowledged our Rights to be incon- teftable, and Great Britain more than any other. The Republic faw immediately the fdf- a See Appendix, N". I. ifh ( y ) kh Views of the Court of Vienna, and the little Friendmip of the Court of Great Bri- tain^ which endeavoured to make us pur- chafe what in Juflice belonged to us. How- ever, having confidered the Confequences on both Sides, we thought it more prudent to yield a little to the Times, and to the lit- tle Friendmip and felfifti Views of the Courts of Vienna and Great Britain^ than to be obliged to defend by Force of Arms our inconteftable Rights, which might have fet Europe in a Flame, to the Destruction of thofe States which we had done fb much for fupporting and guaranteeing. We acceded, therefore, to the Treaty, but with Reflections, for the Words, with all our Force, were explained to mean only five thoufand Men on our Part, and the Guaran- tee was to be according to the Terms of the Pragmatic Sanction 3 , that is, Salvo jure cujuslibet b . Upon the Deceafe of Charles the Sixth, of glorious Memory, the Arch-Duchefs his eldeft Daughter, took PofTeflion of his exten- five Dominions. The King of Pritflia re- vived his Pretenfions to fome Parts of Sile- Jia, and the Elector of Bavaria claimed the entire Succeffion to the Dominions of the Houfe of Auftria. a See Appendix, N. II. b App. N-. III. The CO The Empire was without a Head, the Laws afleep, a War kindled on the part of Pruffla t upon Pretenfions which had been given up by Treaty, and for which that Houfe had received a valuable Confidera- tion ! ; and on the Part of Bavaria a Claim was infifted on, which had given the Alarm to the deceafed Emperor fome time before his Death. The Queen of Hungary applied herfelf to all the Powers that had guaran- tee'd the Pragmatic Sanction, and particu- larly to the Republic, demanding the Per- formance of that Guarantee. Tne Repub- lic immediately offered its good Offices, and if they (hould prove unfuccefsful, a Sum of Money in lieu of the five thoufand Men, according to the Stipulations in which we were engaged by Treaty ; the Laws and Conftitutions of the Empire, which we had likewif guarantee'd, rendering it impoffible for us to march any Troops thither. But the Electorate of H r, always ready to fifti in troubled Waters, thought fhe had a good Game to play, and confi- dering only the great Advantages fhe might be able to make, formed, or at leaft is gene- rally fuppofed to have formed a Defign to convert into an orTenfive Treaty againft the King of Pruflia, the defenfive Guarantee ftipulated by the Treaty of Vienna; and a See Appendix, N. IV. ex- (7) expecting to find in the other Powers, whofe Dominions border upon thofe of Prvjfia, the fame infatiable Thirft afcer other Mens Property, (he is fuppofed to have got prc- fented to them, by an indirect Me:hod, a Propofition for making a Partition of the Pntffian Dominions, referving, however, the principal Share to herfelf. This Project was received by all thofe, to whom it was com- municated, and even by the Queen of Hun- gary herfelf, with that Indignation it highly deferved. The Empire, and all the Powers that have an Intereft in its Prefervation, con- ceived that it was abfolutely neceffary to chufe it a Head as foon as poffible, in or- der to awaken its Laws, and to give them that Activity which was neceffary for ex- tinguiming the Flames of War then raging therein, and which threatned a general Conflagration in that formidable Body. Two Candidates prefented themfelves, the Eletfor of Bavaria, and the Great Duke of Titfcany, Every Man of common Senfe immediately perceived, that the whole Empire, and all the Powers that had no View but the Good of the Germanic Body, and the Tranquillity of Europe, would unite their Endeavours in Favour of the former j for who could imagine, that the Empire would ever think of chufing for its Head the Great Duke of T^ufcany, a foreign Prince, and ( 8 ) and one who had fcarcely a Foot of Land within the Compafs of the Empire ? He was, 'tis true, married to the Queen of Hungary, who pofTeffed the Dominions of the Houfe of Aujlrla^ the moft exten- iive and powerful of any in the Empire ; but this very thing was the greateft Obje- cYion againft him ; for what Seeds of Jea- loufy, Miftruft, and Diflention would not thereby have been fown? The Queen of Hungary , you know, pof- fefles the Auftruw Dominions by Virtue of the Pragmatick Sanction, by which thofe Dominions are always to go according to the Order of Primogeniture thereby efta- blifhed 3 . If the Great Duke of Tufcany, declared Co -Regent, had found himfelf inverted with the Imperial Dignity and Power, what Chance would the Prin- cefTes, born Arch-Ducheffes, have had for the Succeffion to which they are called, in Cafe it Ihould become open by the Death of the Queen of Hungary without Chil- dren, or by the Failure of the Heirs of her Body? Who can ever imagine, that the Moderation of any Man polTefTed of the Imperial Power, and Co-Regent of fo many and fuch powerful Dominions, would have been fo extraordinary, as to induce him to 'Sec Appendix N, V. abdicate (p) abdicate all thofe Dominions, and transfer them quietly to another, efpecially as he was thereby to reduce himfelf almoft to nothing ? Can you therefore fuppofe that Princes fo powerful as thofe that are in- terefted in that Succeffion, would have been fo forgetful of their own Intereft, as to acquiefce, much lefs to co-operate in the Election of the Great Duke? Do you be- lieve that any of thofe Powers, who were Guarantees of the Pragmatick Sanffion> would ever think of fuch a thing ? A real War being lighted up in Germa- ny between the Queen of Hungary and the King of PruJJia, about Pretenfiqns which he thought he had to fome Parts of Silefia -, and a Paper War begun between the Elector of Bavaria, who claimed the entire Suc- ceffion to the Dominions of the Houfe of Auftria, and the Queen of Hungary, who was in Pofleffion of them; every one ex- pected with Impatience, that a Head ihould be given to the Empire, who, by reviving its Laws and Conftitutions,with the Concurrence of the States and Princes thereof, and the good Offices of the Powers concerned for its Pre- fervation, might ftifle the War in its Infan- cy, by commanding the contending Parties to lay down their Arms, and fubmit to the Tribunals of the Empire, which would C have have decided their refpective Pretenfions, according to the Laws and Conftitutions of the Empire, and would have taken effectu- al Meafures for compelling the moft obfti- nate to fubmic to their Decifions. None of the foreign Powers would there- fore take Part in thefe Difputes, any other Way than by their good Offices j but the Ele- ctorate of H r, with fome fuch View as I have hinted, afTembled its Troops, which, upon the King of Prujfias invading Silefia, had been augmented with fix thou- fand Men ; the Danift and Heffian Troops, in Entijh Pay, were joined tp them, and a formidable Body of Englifh Troops were prepared to imbark, fome of them having been marched from the moft remote Parts of the Kingdom for that purpofe, and in- camped at Cokbefter, in order to join the Army affembled at H r, under the Command of his B c Majefty. The Republick, being juftly alarmed at a Step fo inconfiderate, what did fhe not do by the ftrongeft and moft prudent Repre- fentations to the Electoral Minifters ? With what Earneftnefs did me not reprefent, that they were going to raife a general Combuf- tion in Europe, which might occafion the utter Subverfion of the Empire: That it was unjuft fo much as to think of giving Laws Laws to the Empire, and much more to think of feizing and parcelling out the Domi- nions of one of its moft confiderable Mem- bers: That by fuch a Step the Princes, that fhould fee themfelves menaced by a foreign Army, would be reduced to the Ncceffity, and would even be juftified in calling 1 ike- wife fome foreign Power to their Aid j and that Prance, in fpite of its pacifick Inclina- tions, would find itfelf obliged to march its Armies into Germany^ which it was the In- tereft of all the other Powers of Europe to prevent. Nay, the Republick went fo far as to refufe a Paffage through their Territories to the Englijh Troops. But the Electoral Minifters would nei- ther give Ear to the Reafons offered by the Republic, nor believe her Predictions. They ftill went on in their own Courfe, and what the Republic had foretold, was confirmed by the Event. 1 he Princes of the Empire, who faw themfelves threaten- ed by a foreign Army, called France to their Aid, which, 'till that Moment, had obferved an exact Neutrality, without em- ploying any thing but her good Offices. The Crown of France being thus invit- ed by feveral of the moft powerful Princes of the Empire, fent two Armies into Ger- many j one for bridling the Electorate of C 2 H r, H r, and the foreign Troops aflembled, or expected there; and the other to the A Pittance of the Princes who laid Claim to the Dominions of the Houfe of Aujlrla^ thofe Princes having been joined by the E- lectoral Houfe of Saxony. Here you fee the Effect of the fine Project formed by the Electorate of H r- y but it foon found itfelf in Danger of paying dear for this Project; and, if it had not been for the good Offices of the Republic \ the Armies of France and Pruffia would have entered in- to that Electorate, in fuch a manner as would have been very far from being a- greeable. The Electorate being thus fo formidably threatened, found itfelf obliged to fubmit to Conditions, hard indeed, but not fo hard as it had Reafon to appre- hend. At laft, the Election of an Emperor came on, which the Empire mod earneftly wifh- ed for ; and all the Voices were united in the Perfon of the Elector of Bavaria. He was immediately acknowledged by the whole Body of the Empire, except the Queen of Hungary, with whom he was then in actual War; and all the Powers of Europe congratulated him upon his Electi- on, as foon as it was notified to them. The ( '3 ) The Republic, always ready to do her utmoft for re-eftablifhing the Peace and Tranquillity of the Empire, offered a-new her good Offices to the Court of Vienna^ and to the Imperial Court: She reprefented to them the Dangers and the Defolaricn, to which they were going to expofe the Em- pire, by theProfecution of fuch a dangerous War : * l She endeavoured to make the Court " of Vienna fenfible, that the Emperor had " great Pretenfions upon the Dominions of " the Houfe of Aujlria, and that fbme of " them were not without Foundation 2 . " That the Houfe of Bavaria had done " eminent Services to the Arch-Ducal " Houfe of Aujlria j and that, without the ct Afliftance of the Houfe of Bavaria, it " might be doubted, whether the Houfe of 11 Anftria could now have been in PofTef- " fion, either of the Kingdom of Hungary^ " or the Territories of Bohemia : That they Ducal Houfe of Auftria\ the auxiliary Troops of France hunted out of Germany 5 jllface and Lorain reftored to the Houfes of ( 19 ) of Auftria and Lorain -, and the Frontier of France contracted upon every Side. All thefe fine Things were prefented to the Imagination of the Court of Vienna \ but, for obtaining fo great Advantages, it was faid to be neceffary for that Court, to begin with giving Satisfaction to the King, of Prujjia, in order to detach him from his Allies , the certain Confequence of which, if it mould happen, would be, that his Pruf- fian Majefty, fearing the Refentment of the Houfe of Bavaria, and the other Powers, his Allies, whom he had thus forfaken, would find himfelf under a Neceffity of at- taching himfelf entirely to the Court of Vienna, and that of the Electorate of H r t who, by this Means, would have an Op- portunity of making ufe of his great Army for the Accomplishment of fuch van; De- figns. But for this purpofe it was faid to be neceffary, that the Satisfaction given to his P ruffian Majefty, fhould even exceed his moft fanguine Hopes, and that it fhould pafs through the Hands of the Court of H r, to the End that the King of Prujfia, in Confideration of fo great Bene- fits received, might be induced to forgive what was fuppoled, as I have already men- tioned, to have been defigned againft him, by that Court for its own Advantage, and for the Advantage, as it thought, of the D 2 Court Court of Vienna ; and that the Electorate of H r y being thus delivered from all Apprehenfions of Refentment on the Part of Prujpa, might join its Troops to thofe of Great Britain, and Aujlria. And farther, it was faid, that whatever this Satisfaction might be, which the Court of Vienna was to give to Prujfia, it could thereby lofe nothing, becaufe the Britifo Court would engage to procure for the Houfe of Au- jlria an Equivalent more than fufficient ; and- that, happen what would, the Houfe of Aujlria might find Opportunities enough for reclaiming whatever it might then be obliged to yield to a fuperior Force, and the Perverfenefs of the Times. To the Misfortune of the Houfe of Au- ftria, of the Empire, nnd of Europe, thefe Reprefentations, which feem not only per- plexing, but a little inconfiftent with Ju- ftice and Equity, prevailed at the Court of Vienna over the prudent and equitable Counfels of the Republic. .The Treaty of Eref.au was concluded by the Mediation of Great Britain, where- by Silefia, and the County of Glatz, were yielded to the King of Prufjia \ and the Houfe oi Aujlria fiript of the fineft, the richeft, and the moft ufeful Province in her Dominions, which brought her in annually four Millions five hundred thoufand Florins of of the Rhine, about five hundred thoufand Pounds Sterling per Annum. This Treaty was concluded at a Time, and in a Manner, that the Electorate of H r imagined (he had all the Reafon in the World to rejoice at it; becaufe it was fuppofed, that the Refentment of the Emperor and his Allies, would carry them to fuch a Height as to declare War again ft the King of Pruffia, for leaving them in {uch an abrupt Manner, which might af- ford the Electorate of H ran Opportuni- ty of getting fome Conceffions,or fome new Engagements from Prtiffia. But they found themfelves miftaken : His Imperial Majefty, and his Allies, though fenfible of the UAge they had met with from the King of Prujia, believed, neverthelefs, that, in Prudence and Moderation, they ought to acquieice j and, accordingly, they did ac- quiefce in what he had done: And, on the other Hand, the King of Prujfia wifely considered, that he could neither with Ju- ftice nor Prudence, enter into the Views of the Electorate of H r ; and thereby not only rifque lofing what he had with fo much Difficulty acquired, but attack his Friends, who were, in fome Meafure, im- barked in the fame Intereft with him, and to whom he could not but acknowledge, that he owed a very great Obligation j for if if Bavaria had not declared, nor France in- terpofed, the greateft Part of his Dominions would, in all Probability, have been made a Prey to the Refentment of the Court of Vi- enna, and the Ambition of the Electorate of H r, fupported by the Purfe and Power of G t B n. . . of Good God ! Is this fupporting the Houfe of Auftria? Is this eftabliming an Equili- brium among the Powers of Europe? Is the Houfe of Auftria fo formidable, that it be- jjifif- came neceffary to retrench her Power, by Gripping her of fo extend ve and fo rich a Territory? In the Year 1717 and 1718 this Houfe was not among you deemed fo formidable, iince you then put yourfelves to fuch an Expence, and did fuch an Inju- ry to your Trade, in order to gain for her the Kingdom of Sicily. In the Year 1721, indeed, you fuddenly altered your Opinion, I mail not fay caufeleflyj for the Caufe is well known, though it had no Relation ei- ther to Britain, or the Balance of Power in Europe. You then thought the Power of the Houfe of Auftria fo great, that it endan- gered the Liberties of Europe. There was no Safety for them, but by Great Britain's uniting itfelf with the two Branches of the Houfe of Bourbon in the Treaty of Madrid 17^1 June 13 th 1721. In the Year 1725, and for fome Years following, you continued in the the fame Opinion ; and nothing could fave Europe from the too great Power of the. Houfe of Auftria t but the Introduction into Italy of the Troops, and a Prince of the Houfe of Bourbon. But you ought to have confidered, that, after the great Lofles, which the Houfe of Aujlria has fuffered in Hungary, and by being difpoffefled of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and of a Part of the Mtfanefe ; and afte r the Addi- tion of Lorain, Naples, and Sicily to the Houfe of Bourbon, the Power of the former is neither really nor comparatively fo great as it was, nor near fo confiderable as to bear diverting itfelf of the Dutchy of Silefia, and County of Glatz, wicdouc weakning that Ba- lance of Power, which, at prefent, you boaft fo much of defigning to re-eftablim. Your Conduct in the North has been much the fame. The Crown of Sweden. was formerly one of the mod powerful Sup- ports of the P rot eft ant Religion, and of the Liberties of Europe, having been among the firft that gave a Check to the growing Power of France, by a League with your King Charles the Second. When that Na- tion, in the Year 1715, was reduced to a Condition that deferved Pity, ftripped of fo many, and fuch, fine Provinces, and oppref- fed by a Confederacy of all the Northern Powers againft it; the Electorate of H r imagined, imagined, it feems, that the Balance of . Power in the North required Great Bri- tain's joining itfelf with fo many other E- nemies, who, at that Time, overwhelmed that unfortunate Kingdom. It is true, in- deed, that when Sweden found herfelf o- bliged to yield up to the Electorate of H r her Right to the Duchies of Bre- tmn and Verden, that Electorate began to think otherwile, and Sweden was to be fup- ported againft Ruffia, at the Expence of the Trade and Treafure of G t B n ; but when it found, that there was nothing more TO be get, Good Night, Gentlemen, the Curtain is down, and Sweden was forced to procure Peace for herfelf by another Cef- iion to the Czar. The Electorate of H r having thus fprung her Mine, with regard to Prujfia, bat without doing Hurt to any one except the Queen of Hungary, it began then to think of making Applications to our Re- public. On the other Hand, the Republic, always tender and vigilant, had never ceafed em- ploying her good Offices for re-eftabliming the Tranquillity of the Empire, and of E- rope; and now feeing, by the Defection of Prujfia y a Superiority of Force in Germany on the Side of the Court of Vienna, and that the Auftrian Armies had already in- vaded (V ) vaded the - Dominions of the Electoral Houfe of Bavaria, and blocked up the French Army in the City of Prague, me redoubled her Applications} for me prefent- ly faw, that France would be obliged to march a greater Force into Germany, which might occafibn a general Defolation. On the Part of the Imperial Court, and alfo on the Part of the Court of France, me found great Compliances; but on the Part of the Court of Vienna, inftigated by the Minifters of// r, me found no Ground to hope. There me found a Haughtinefs and Obfti- nacy infurmountable; fo that me loft all Hopes of procuring for the Empire or Eu- rope, a Peace, which both flood fo much in need of, The Minifters of Gt B n had, from the very Beginning of thofe Misfor- tunes that afflift the Empire, endeavoured to draw the Republic into the Schemes of the Electorate of H r, by Infinuations, by Threats, and by other Methods not at all proper; but the Republic, always wife and provident, withftood all the Arts pra- difed by your M s ; and therefore they at laft refolved to compel her, whether me would or no, to aft in Concert with them. Upon this they formed that wife Enterprife, of fending a Body of fifteen or fixteen thoufand of their Troops to Flanders, E threaten- threatening to attack Dunkirk, and to invade the Kingdom of France: They even feet them thither without fo much as previoufly confulting the Republic, though they pro- fefs to live in perfect Friendship with her, though they confefs, as well as me does, that the Interefls of both Nations are infe- parable, and tho' they know very well, how much the Republic has at Heart the pre- ferving of the Netherlands in the fame Con- dition they are at prefent. The Defign of your Minifters in this wife Enterprife, was eafily feen through: They had a Mind that Prance, feeing her- felf threatened upon the Side of Flanders by fuch a feeble Force, might think herfelf juftified in attacking the Auftrian Nether- lands; and as the Republic could not quiet- ly fee fuch an Attack carried on, me would be obliged to fly to their Defence. Thus a War being once broke out between the Republic and fuch a powerful Kingdom as J&rance, they thought me would then find herfelf under a Neceffity of applying to the Court of GfB for their Companion and Affiftance; and, in that Cafe, they might have prefcribed to her fuch Condi- tions, however hard, as they thought were neceflary for carrying on the Schemes of the. Eledtorate of H r. But France hav- ing difcovered the Mine, took eare to act, upon (l? ) upon that Occafion, with all the Juftice and Moderation the Republic could expert from her. She contented herfelf with co- vering her Frontiers and putting herfelf in a Condition to repel Force by Force; not- withftandingher havingTroops enough ready for invading the Auiirian Netherlands with undoubted Succefs, in fpight of the Troops which G ~t B~n had there ; fo that the Re- public found herfelf under the difagn cable Neceffity of caufing it to be reprefented to the M rs of G t B n, that if they began Hoftilities in Flanders, (he muft oppofe them, and, with Grief, would find herfelf under a Neceffity of coming to Extremities with a Nation, for which me had a moft fincere Friendfhip and real Tendernefs ; and which was, in Intereft bound, to have the fame for the Republic. The Moderation of France, and the Re- folution taken by the Republic, prevented the Evils, which the Britijh Minifters had done all they could to give Birth to. But can the Republic, after fuch a Declaration, be quite eafy, when they fee not only a Bo- dy of J^ jjj Troops continued in Flanders, but alfo a large Body of Hanoverians and Hefliam taken into B ft Pay, and march- ed into that Country? What is the Defign of all thefe Movements ? For what End arc the Treafures and Troops of B n thus E 2 employed, employed, I fhall not fay, fquandered away? The whole World knows, that it is nei- ther the Intereft, nor ought it to be the De- fign, of G t B n to make foreign Con- quefts. This never was, it never ought to be, it never can be, the Defign of G t B- n, no more than of the Republic, as long as B Jh Counfels are governed by a true B fo Spirit. They have bravely defended their own Liberties, they have ho- nourably protected the Liberties of others: If they ever attempt to fubjugate others, they will at laft, as the Romans did, make Slaves of themfelves. Thefe Movements are therefore extremely myfterious j and confe- quently fuch as we mould be apprehensive of. To extinguifh a Fire we ought to bring Wa- ter; we ought not to bring combuftible Matter. It is eafy to kindle the Flames of War; it is likewife eafy to form flattering Ideas of Victories and Conquefts; but the Event, the End of it is uncertain. Of this G t B n has very lately had Expe- rience. No one, I believe, can accufe the Republic of Pufillanimity. Her Courage, her Refolution, have more than once faved ILurope. There are" few .Powers in ILurope that can fail remembering it. Would to God, that, for the future, you would confi- der Things more maturely at L n! May the the Intereft and the Happinefs of the Britijh Nation for ever be the chief Aim of all your Counfels. May they be always pre- ferred to the felfim Views of foreign Coun- fels. As you cannot be fuppofed to want Capacity, I hope no B fh Admin iftration, much lefs a B Jh Parliament, will ever, for the fake of any private View, allow their Country to be made the Cat's Paw by y any foreign Council whatfoever. After what I have now wrote to you, which confifts chiefly in Matters of Fact, fo inconteftable, that I defy any one to con- tradict them; you will, I hope, do Juftice to our Republic, and applaud her Conduct, as much as you have Reafon to blame your own : By making you believe, you are ofcen led into expenfive and dangerous Schemes, with which you have nothing to do, and fometimes fuch as are directly oppofite to what you intend. But how can it be other- wife, fince you are generally kept in the dark, denied the necefTary Lights, and o- bliged to determine yourfelves by what o- thers are pleafed to tell you. It is not fo with us: Our Refolutions, which lie open to every one, are a Teftimony of it. Thofe y/ho think otherwife, muft be extremely ignorant of the happy Conflitution of our Republic. In In your Letter you mention the fupport- ing a Balance of Power in Europe; that the Houfe of Bourbon feems ready to Aval- low it up; and that Britain only can pre- vent this fatal Event. You make my Blood rife to hear you talk fo; notwithstanding the Phlegm of us, Hollanders, my Patience can hardly bear it. Have you forgot the / 7 / ? very Name of Utrecht < Have you forgot, that Europe owes, in a great Meafure, the Balance of Power, fuch as it was, that was eftablifhed at that Time, to the Conduct and Magnanimity of the Republic 1 Have you forgot all that your late M rs did for the Subverfion of that Balance of Power, which you, in England^ make fuch a Noife about? Have you forgot how much Bri- tijh Treafure has been fquandered away for aggrandizing the Houfe of Bourbon, which, at prefent, feems to you to-be fo formida- ble. Would to God your late M rs had given themfelves lefs Concern about the Balance of Power; and that the Powers of Europe had fhewn more Deference to the wife Counfels of the Republic, and lefs to the perplexed Negociations of your late M s. The Republic, in the Treaties me makes, keeps always in View the Good of her na- tive Country, and of her Allies: She never \vas ; was, nor ever will be, directed by the felf- ifh Views of any foreign State; and me makes it a Matter of Confcience, (he makes it her Glory to obferve religioufly the Trea- ties (he makes, not only becaufe it is her Duty, but becaufe it is her Intereft fo to do. I wiflh your Minifters may, in Time to come, be able, with Truth, to fay as much. One muft be altogether ignorant of the Conftitution of our Republic, to be abl~ to imagine or fufpedt, that it is bribed, or that its Members are in any Pay whacfoever, ei- ther Foreign or Domeftic. In a Country governed by a Prime Minifter, and where there are many lucrative Pofts and Places at the fole Difpofa! of that Minifter, fo- reign Gold, or foreign Influence may pre- vail ; becaufe it may be applied to that fole Minifter, and, by Means of the many lu- crative Pofts and Places he has at his fole Difpofal, he may bring the other Members of the Government to concur with him, or approve of his Meafures, though apparent- ly inconfiftent with the true Intereft of their Country But, with us, this is impof- fible, for two very fubftantial Reafons: You muft, or you ought to know, that the Refolutions of the Republic muft be unani- mous. The Stales General can come to no (30 no Refolution without the Confent of each particular Province; and the States of each Province muft have the Confent of each particular City in that Province, before they can approve, or drfapprove of what is propofed in the States General; fo that the leaft confiderable City, in any of our Pro- vinces, may put a Siop to the mod impor- tant Refolution; and it is impoffible to ap- ply foreign Gold to the gaining of every particular City; efpecially if the Meafure be fuch as is apparently inconfiftent with the true Intereft of our Country. This is one Reafon why it is impoffible to fuppofe, that the Republic is ever bribed ; and the other proceeds from our having few, and no very lucrative Pofts or Places in our Government. We have with u none of thofe great and lucrative Employ- ments, which are the conftant Equipage of a Court, and which your M* rs are ge- nerally fuppofed to know how to manage to the beft Advantage. The moft confide- rable ^Employments with us are not com- parable, with regard to their Profits, to many of the Clerkfhips in your Offices ; and the public Money is laid out with the moft exacl: Oeconomy, which you may be con- vinced of by reading the Memorials of our Council of State. Here, we ferve the State becaufe (33 ) becaufe the Good of our Country requires it : The Profits can never be the Object of any Man's Defire to ferve, becaufe they are moft inconiiderable, and the Pains and Trou- ble extremely great. But we think ourfelves abundantly remunerated by the Satisfaction we inwardly feel, in contributing to the Advantage and Good of our Country. You muft from hence perceive, that we neither have, nor can have a Prime Mini- fter. A Member of our Government may, by his Wifdom, his Magnanimity, or his Eloquence, have great Authority, but he can have no Power over his Fellow-Mem- bers: He may convince them, but he can- not corrupt them; therefore, were he fo bafe as to allow himfelf to be bribed by a foreign Court, he could do it very little Service, becaufe he could not convince the whole Republic, which confifts of fo many diftinct Members, and fo many diftinct Af- femblies, to do any thing that but feemed inconfiftent with the Good of their Coun- try ; and this is a moft fubftantial Reafon, why no fuch thing will ever be attempted by any foreign Court whatever. But fuppofe it poflible to bribe the Mem- bers of our Republic, and to bring them all into the pay of a Foreign Power, you will, I believe, agree with me, that our Repub- lic is not fuch a trifling Object as not to F ' de- ( 34 ) deferve the Care of your Minifters, who, if we on this Side the Water, be not mifta- ken, are dextrous enough at this practice, and that they fpare neither Pains nor Ex- pence to fucceed in it. The Bills brought in almoft every Seffion of Parliament upon this Subject, and continually oppofed by your Adm tion with Succefs; and the con- ftant Evafion of the moft exprefs Laws a- gainft this practice, are a Teftimony, that your Circumflances are very different from ours. The Power of G t B - is inconte- flably very great, but we, your Friends and natural Allies, fee, with Grief, the man- ner in which you weaken it, by ufing it (b often without any End, without any vifi- ble Caufe. You talk of your Riches : 'Tis true, there are in G t B #, many particular Per- fons extremely rich ; but your State, is it not in a moft frightful Diiorder ? The Sub- ject over- loaded with Taxes : An Immenfe Debt of above fifty Millions ft erling ; and a good many of thofe Millions due to Foreign- ers, which makes an annual Draught upon your Balance of Trade, or a yearly Increafe of that Draught for the future: No fuffici- cnt Funds for defraying the annual necef- fary Charge of your Government in time of Peace, without incroaching upon the Fund ap- ( 3J ) appropriated to the payment of your Debt, and for fome time held to be facred : Bor- rowing Money by Millions yearly in time of War, and thereby increafing, from Year to Year, your prefent prodigious Load of Debt. For my parr, I am amazed, how people with you, can deep quietly in their Beds, without apprehending the State to be in Danger of becoming B pt. If this fliould happen, which God forbid ! it will occafion fuch Convulfions as may produce an entire Boulverfement in the Conftitution as well as Government of G / B n. The Republic" fees all this with Trouble and Fear. You know, that a great many of her Subjects have confiderable Sums in your Funds. The Republic fees the Dan- ger they are in: If me mould make them fenfible of their Danger, it might anticipate the Evil there is too much Reafon to fear, and which, if it mould happen, will bring not only a Defolation upon a Nation, which is and ought to be dear to her, but a Defb- lation, in which a great many of her own moft confiderable Subjects will find them- felves involved. You ought to call to mind the Affair of the South- Sea Company, and from that Pattern judge of the Piece. In thefe Circumftances, was it prudent for you to provoke in any manner a general War ? Was it prudent for you to encourage F 2 in in the leaft the Q^en of Hungary, in refil- ling to come to any Sort of Accommodation either with PruJ/ia, or Bavaria? Was it prudent in you to order the Foreign Troops in your pay, to march into Germany in the Summer 1741, and thereby furnifh France with an Excufe for marching her great Ar- mies into Germany? Would it not have been better for you, and, I am fure, much lefs expenfive, to have joined your good Offices with thofe of the Republic, for reconciling the contending Parties, and for bringing on the Election of an Emperor as foon as poffi- ble, that the Empire might have been in a Condition to determine the Difputes arifen among its own Members, and to act with united Force againft fuch as mould refufe to fubmit to its Decrees. If the Elector of Bavaria had been cho- fen Emperor by your good Offices, joined with thofe of France and the Republic ; and if, by the fame good Offices, he had come to an Accommodation with the Queen of Hungary , he would have owed no particu- lar Obligation to France, and confequently, from his being Head of the Empire, as well as from his natural Temper, he would have been ready to have joined in a Confederacy againft any future ambitious Project either of France or Spain. The (37) The Power of the Houfe of Auflritt would, it is true, have been leffened, by one part of her Dominions being given to Pruf- fia and another to Bavaria j but the Power of the Empire would have remained the fame ; and in this Cafe, Care might have been taken, that no part of the Auftrian Dominions (hould be yielded either to France or Spain. If either of them had in- fifted upon having a Share, it would have united the Empire, and all the Princes there- of, with the Maritime Powers, in a Confede- racy againft them, which is a Confederacy they will never again, I believe, chufe to cope with. It was therefore your Intereit as well as ours, not to meddle in the Difputes arifen among the Princes of Germany, any other Way than by our good Offices : It was our mutual Intereft to have an End put to them, either by an amicable Adjuftment, or by having the Laws and Conftitutions of the Empire reftored to their full Vigour, which could not be done, till an Emperor was cho- fen. If both of us had held this Conduct: If no Defigns had been formed againft Pruffia: If no Foreign Troops in Britijb Pay had entered Germany : If the Queen of Hungary had not been encouraged to expedt Foreign Affiftancej there was great Reafon to hope that the Negotiations fet on Foot by ( 3 ) by the Republic, would have met with not only a happy but a fpeedy Succefs. The King of Prujjia would at that time have been fatisfied with much lefs than he has got by the Treaty of Erejlau ; and, tho' the Duke of Bavaria laid Claim to all the Do- minions of Auflria, yet from the whole Te- nor of his Conduct it is plain, that he would have been fatisfied with a very inconfidera- ble part, efpccially if the Queen of Hungary had agreed to concur in his Election. This he would the rather have done, b:caufe the King of Prujjia was at firft in no League or Alliance with him, but on the contrary had declared, that, if the Queen of Hungary would give him Satisfaction with Regard to his Claims in Silefta> which had nothing to do with the Pragmatic Sanction, he would fupport her with all his Force, againft all Incroachments upon that Settlement"; and, from the complaifant Reception, the good Offices of the Republic firft met with at the Court of Vienna^ flie had fome Reafon to expect, that the Queen of Hungary might have been induced to give a proper Satisfa- ction to both thefe Princes, upon their en- tering into an Alliance for guaranteeing the reft of her Dominions, which neither of them would in that Cafe have refufed. But the Defigns of the Electorate of H- r ? See App. N. Vllf. em- (39 ) embroiled the whole : They produced an Obftinacy in the Queen of Hungary^ and a Jealoufy in the King of Prtiffia^ which threw the latter into the Arms of France, and made him enter into an Alliance with France and Bavaria. This gave France the Courage and the Power to march her Ar- mies into Germany ; for (he would not have ventured to have marched a Man into that Country, if {he had been in Danger of hav- ing the Prufiian, and confequently the Saxon Armies 5 joined with the AuJIrian a- gainft her j and the Entry of the Danift Troops in Britijb pay furnimed her with an Excuie, which (he accordingly laid hold of. Thus, whatever may be the Event of the prefent War, and, God knows, it may be fatal enough, whatever Expence you or we may be put to, it mufl be wholly imputed to your giving fo much Ear to the ambiti- ous Counfels of the Electorate of H r, and fo little to the difinterefted and pacific Counfels of our Republic. I muft therefore befeech you, Sir, to have for the future a better Opinion of our Re- public. She juftly thinks, that Peace is preferable to War; but whenever her own Safety, or that of her Allies, or of Europe, {hall make a War neceflary, me will not balance a Moment : On the contrary, {he will immediately engage, and will profecute it ( 4 ) it with that Vigour, Refolution and Cou- rage, which ihe has heretofore given fo many Proofs of; and be allured, Sir, that (he will to the utmoft of her Power endea- your to merit the Fiiendfliip and Affection of a Nation, for which flie has an infinite Regard and Efteem, I am, Hague, Dec. 17, 1742. AP- APPENDIX. Numb. I. /^OUN? Zintzendorff's Speech to their High Mightinejfis upon his communicat- ing to them the treaty of Vienna, April, 1731. See Rouffet'j Collection, printed at the Hague, 1732. Vol. VI. pag. 99. His Imperial and Catholic Majefty has ordered me to communicate to you the Treaty concluded and figned at Vienna the 16 h of laft Month, between his Imperial and Catholic Majefty and the King of G t G B n\ ( 4* ) B ; and to invite the Republic to en- ter thereinto, as a principal contracting Party. She is named therein as fuch, be- caufe his Imperial and Catholic Majefty thought it moft agreeable to the Glory of the States General, and that this Method of all others bed mewed the Efteem, which his Imperial and Catholic Majefty has for the Friendship of your Republic, whofe In- terefts are by this Treaty fo carefully provid- ed for, that, I hope, you will look upon it as an advantageous Treaty, and, if I may venture to fay fo, neceffary for the Good of both Parties; and therefore, I hope, you will make no longer any Scruple to enter into reciprocal Engagements with the Em- peror. His Imperial and Catholic Majefty could have wimed with all his Heart to have treated this Affair, from the Beginning to the End of the Negotiation, with the Concurrence of the Republic, but the Na- ture of the thing would not admit of it. He has charged me, Gentlemen, to afTure you, that upon all Occaiions, he will put an en- tire Confidence in you, and will always con- cert with you whatever may relate to the Public Good. Letter (43 ) Letter wrote by their High Mightineffes to the Provinces, upon f tiding them a Copy of tL is Treaty t April 7, 1731. See ditto , pag 176. That the Earl of Che/lerfeld had declared to them, that his Britanic Majefty ardently wimed to have begun and continued that Negotiation in Concert, and with the Approbation of the Republic, but that the Uncertainty of Succefs, and the Secrecy upon which the Court of Vienna ftrongly infifted, would not admit of it. Numb. If. The Aft by which the States General concur- red in the faid Treaty of Vienna, dated Feb. 20, 732. Set dim, pag. 442, 444. Introduction. -* With this View they have examin- ed the Contents of the faid Treaty, and its feparate Articles and Declarations, and be- G 2 ing (44) ing perfuaded, that it is neither the Inten- tion nor the meaning of the faid Treaty, that by the Term, General and Reciprocal Guarantee^ contained in the firft Article thereof, any of the contracting Parties fhould be obliged to fupport or guarantee any Treaties unknown, in Confidence of this, &c. Article I. We the Earls of Sinfzendorf &nd Chejler- field> &c. acknowledge the meaning put upon the Words, General and Reciprocal Guarantee, contained in the firft Article of the faid Treaty, by the Lords the States Ge- neral, to be the true and genuine Seafe there- of, &c. Article II. As it is agreed by the firft and fecond Ar- ticles of the faid Treaty, that thofe who {hall be obliged, fhall employ their whole Force in the Performance of the Guarantee therein (45 ) therein mentioned, without regulating in what manner this mould be done,the contract- ing Parties have thought proper to agree amongft themfelves upon it by a particular Article. Accordingly it is agreed, that, as often as the Cafe of the Guarantee mentioned in the firft and fecond Articles of the faid Treaty {hall exift, the other Parties mall be obliged to fend to the Party injured the fol- lowing Succours, &c. and the Lords the States General four thoufand Foot and a thoufand Horfe ; and to obviate any Ambiguity as to the Value of thofe Aids, it was thought proper to value a thoufand Foot at the Sum of ten thoufand Florins of Holland monthly, and a thoufand Horfe at the Sum of thirty thoufand, &c. Numb. Numb. III. The Emperor s Commijforial Decree to tke Di t of Ratifbon, with regard to the Pragmatic Sanction, dated October i8th, 1731. See ditto p. 277. The Guarantee defired, no way tends to the Prejudice of any Perfon what- ever} but only to defend every one's Pro- perty, &c. Numb. IV. A further Deduflion t which proves, that the Dutchies of Jaegerndorff, G5V. properly belong, by the Laws of Nature, and by the Constitution of the Empire, to the Royal Houfe of Pruffia, &c. 1740 Chap. III. Paragraph 28. See Vol. XV. pag. 238. It is not denied, that the Elector Frederic William did not, by the Satisfaction -Treaty concluded in 1686, come to an Accom- modation with the Houfe of Aujlria-, or that (4? ) that he did not accept, in lieu of the four Dutchies in queftion, a certain Diftrict of Country, commonly called the Circle of SqwibuS) with a Preten^on of the Houfe of Lichtenftein, which might amount to about a Million; or that, in Confideration there- of, he did not renounce all his Pretenfions. It is likewife granted, that the Elector Fre- deric III. reftored that Equivalent to the Houfe of Auftria in i c 94, upon receiving fomething in Return, of very little Import- ance. Numb. V. Pragmatic Sanction fettled at Vienna, A- pril 1 9th 1713. See ditto Vol. VI. 282. Alfo Collection of Treaties publiftjed at London, Vol. IV. p. 145. In fine, that after the Caroline Line, at prefent upon the Throne, and the Jofephine Line, the Arch-Duchefles, Sifters to his Imperial Majefty, and all the other Lines of the moft ferene Arch-Ducal Houfe, fhall fucceed according to their Right of (48 ) of Primogeniture, and according to the Or. der eftablifhed. Numb. VI. A Contract of Reciprocal Entail made in 1635 between the Emperor Ferdinand the Second^ and the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria, at the T^ime he married the Arch-Duchefs Mary- Anne, and after- wards 'when he ajjijled tie Emperor with all his Force in the War of Bohemia, by Virtue of which thefe two Princes were reciprocally to fucceed, as to certain E- Jlates y after the Failure of Heirs Male of either. See RoufTet. A Contrast made in the Tear 1687 be- twixt the Emperor Leopold, and the laft Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian-Emanuel j by which, in Confideration of the great Services he had done, and the Affiftance he had given to his Imperial Majefty in 1683, when Vienna was befieged by the Turks, the Emperor granted to him the eventual Succeffion of the Kingdom of Hungary^ in 4 ( 49) in Cafe the Houfe of Auftria {hould fail of Heirs Male j forafmuch as the Charges the Eleftor of Bavaria had been at , for the Relief of Vienna, and the Emperor's hereditary Countries, amounted to thirty- two Millions. See ditto. Numb. VII. The prefent Emperor's Commijjorial Decree \ communicated to the Diet of the Empire, September nth, 1742. See Daily Ad- verdfer, September *5th, 1742. - That, as he defires nothing more than to prevent a general War, and, above all, to remove it out of the Empire, he is ready to withdraw his moft Chriilian Ma- jefty's auxiliary Troops from Bohemia, and to fend them back to France, evacuating, at the fame Time, the City of Prague, and the whole Kingdom of Bohemia, provided the Court of Vienna will, the fame Day } caufe the City of Munich to be evacuated, and all Bavaria-, Reftitution being to be made both upon the one Side and the o- ther. H Numb, Numb. VIII. An Account of Count Cotter's Negotiation at the Court of Vienna in December 1740. See ditto Vol. XV. p. 143. Alfo Annals of Europe for the Tear 1740, p. 452. By this it appears, that the King of Pruf- fia offered the following Terms to the Court of Vienna, viz. 1. I am ready, with all my Forces, to guarantee the whole Dominions poflefled by the Houfe of Aujlria in Germany againft all Invaders. 2. For this End I will enter into a ftridt Alliance with the Courts of Vienna^ Rujfia, and the Maritime Powers. 3. I will ufe all my Intereft to procure the Imperial Dignity for the Duke of Lor- rain, and to fupport his Election againft all Oppofef s j and I have Reafon to believe I fhall fucceed. To 4. To put the Court of Vienna into a good State of Defence, I will immediately furnifh it with Two Millions of Florins. You will naturally imagine, that, for fuch fubftantial Services upon fuch hard Terms, I ought furely to expect a proper Security for indemnifying me from all the Hazards I may expofe myfelf to, in the Affair I willingly embark in. In fhort, what I want is the entire and abfolute Ceffion of all Silefia, not only as my Right, but as my Reward for the Toils and Hazards which I may incur, in the Career that I am entered upon for the Safety and Glory of the Houfe of Au- Jlria. N. B. Thefe were his firft Propofi tions ; and, though he received a haughty An- fwer, yet he ordered his Minifter at the Court of Vienna, to leave no Stone un- turned to induce the Duke of Lorain to look, with lefs Prejudice, upon the Plan and Views he had propofed to himfelf j and to give his Highnefs to un- deriland derftand, that, though he demanded the entire Ceffion of Silefia, he might per- haps content hunfelf with a Part. Stc ditto. Thefe were at firft the King of Pruf- faz's Sentiments; and, whilft he continued in thefe Sentiments, neither France nor Bavaria offered to ftir any other Way than by a Paper- War. . J ,::. FINIS. ; -