THE KING RETURNS TO ENGLAND.
The king having prevailed upon the states-general to augment their land forces and navy for the service of the ensuing campaign, embarked for England, and arrived at Kensington on the thirtieth day of October. Finding the people clamorous and discontented, the trade of the nation decayed, the affairs of state mismanaged, and the ministers recriminating upon one another, he perceived the necessity of changing hands, and resolved to take his measures accordingly. Sunderland, his chief counsellor, represented that the tories were averse to the continuance of a war which had been productive of nothing but damage and disgrace; whereas, the whigs were much more tractable, and would bleed freely, partly from the terror of invasion and popery, partly from the ambition of being courted by the crown, and partly from the prospect of advantage, in advancing money to the government on the funds established by parliament; for that sort of traffic which obtained the appellation of the monied interest was altogether a whig-gish institution. The king revolved these observations in his own mind; and, in the meantime, the parliament met on the seventh day of November, pursuant to the last prorogation. In his speech, he expressed his resentment against those who were the authors of the miscarriages at sea; represented the necessity of increasing the land forces and the navy; and demanded a suitable supply for these purposes. In order to pave the way to their condescension, he had already dismissed from his council the earl of Nottingham, who, of all his ministers, was the most odious to the people. His place would have been immediately filled with the earl of Shrewsbury; but that nobleman suspecting this was a change of men rather than of measures, stood aloof for some time, until he received such assurances from the king as quieted his scruples, and then he accepted the office of secretary. The lieutenancy for the city of London, and all other commissions over England, were altered with a view to favour the whig interest; and the individuals of that party were indulged with many places of trust and profit; but the tories were too powerful in the house of commons to be exasperated, and therefore a good number of them were retained in office.