INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE WAR IN SPAIN.
When the queen passed these bills, she recommended an augmentation in the aids and auxiliaries granted to the king of Spain and the duke of Savoy. This intimation produced a debate in the house of lords on the affairs of Spain. The services of the earl of Peterborough were extolled by the earl of Rochester and lord Haver-sham, who levelled some oblique reflections on the earl of Galway. Several lords enlarged upon the necessity of carrying on the war until king Charles should be fully established upon the throne of Spain. The earl of Peterborough said they ought to contribute nine shillings in the pound rather than make peace on any other terms: he declared himself ready to return to Spain, and serve even under the earl of Galway. The earl of Rochester repeated a maxim of the old duke of Schom-berg, that attacking France in the Netherlands was like taking a bull by the horns. He therefore proposed that the allies should stand on the defensive in Flanders, and detach from thence fifteen or twenty thousand men into Catalonia. He was seconded by the earl of Nottingham; but warmly opposed by the duke of Marlborough, who urged that the great towns in Brabant which he had conquered could not be preserved without a considerable number of men; and that if the French should gain any advantage in Flanders from their superiority in point of number, the discontented party in Holland, which was very numerous, and bore with impatience the burden of the war, would not fail crying aloud for peace. Being challenged by Rochester to show how troops could be procured for the service of Italy and Spain, he assured the house that measures had been already concerted with the emperor for forming an army of forty thousand men under the duke of Savoy, for sending powerful succours to king Charles. This declaration finished the debate, which issued in an affectionate address to her majesty. The lords resolved, that no peace could be safe and honourable for her majesty and her allies, if Spain and the Spanish West Indies were suffered to continue in the power of the house of Bourbon. They presented an address, in which they desired she would press the emperor to send powerful succours to Spain under the command of prince Eugene, with all possible expedition, to make good his contract with the duke of Savoy, and strengthen the army on the Rhine, which was now happily put under the conduct of that wise and valiant prince, the elector of Hanover. The commons concurred in this remonstrance, in consequence of which the queen desired the emperor to bestow the command in Spain upon prince Eugene. The court of Vienna, however, did not comply with this request, but sent thither count Staremberg, who, of all the German generals, was next to the prince in military reputation. The commons now proceeded to consider of ways and means, and actually established funds for raising the supply, which amounted to the enormous sum of six millions.
At this period Mr. Harley’s character incurred suspicion, from the treachery of William Gregg, an inferior clerk in his office, who was detected in a correspondence with monsieur Chamillard, the French king’s minister. When his practices were detected he made an ample confession, and pleading guilty to his indictment at the Old Bailey, was condemned to death for high-treason. At the same time, John Bara and Alexander Valiere were committed to Newgate for corresponding with the enemy; and Claude Baud, secretary to the duke of Savoy’s minister, was, at the request of his master, apprehended for traitorous practices against her majesty and her government. A committee of seven lords being appointed to examine these delinquents, made a report to the house, which was communicated to the queen, in an address, importing, that Gregg had discovered secrets of state to the French minister: that Alexander Valiere and John Bara had managed a correspondence with the governors and commissaries of Calais and Boulogn; and, in all probability, discovered to the enemy the stations of the British cruisers, the strength of their convoys, and the times at which the merchant ships proceeded on their voyages; that all the papers in the office of Mr. Secretary Harley had been for a considerable time exposed to the view of the meanest clerks, and that the perusal of all the letters to and from the French prisoners had been chiefly trusted to Gregg, a person of a very suspicious character, and known to be extremely indigent. The queen granted a reprieve to this man, in hope of his making some important discovery, but he really knew nothing of consequence to the nation. He was an indigent Scot, who had been employed as a spy in his own country, and now offered his services to Chamillard, with a view of being rewarded for his treachery; but he was discovered before he had reaped any fruits from his correspondence. As he had no secrets of importance to impart, he was executed at Tyburn, where he delivered a paper to the sheriff, in which he declared Mr. Harley entirely ignorant of all his treasonable connexions, notwithstanding some endeavours that were made to engage him in an accusation of that minister.
The queen had refused to admit the earl of Peterborough into her presence until he should have vindicated his conduct, of which king Charles had complained in divers letters. He was eagerly desirous of a parliamentary inquiry. His military proceedings, his negotiations, his disposal of the remittances, were taken into consideration by both houses; but he produced such a number of witnesses and original papers to justify every transaction, that his character triumphed in the inquiry, which was dropped before it produced any resolution in parliament. Then they took cognizance of the state of affairs in Spain, and found there had been a great deficiency in the English troops at the battle of Almanza. This, however, was explained so much to their satisfaction, that they voted an address to the queen, thanking her for having taken measures to restore the affairs in Spain, and provide foreign troops for that service. The bill for rendering the union more complete, met with a vigorous opposition in the house of lords from the court-party, on account of the clause enacting, that, after the first of May, there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of Great Britain. The ministry, finding it was strenuously supported by all the tories and a considerable number of the other faction, would have compromised the difference, by proposing that the privy-council of Scotland should continue to the first day of October. They hinted this expedient, in hope of being able to influence the ensuing elections; but their design being palpable, the motion was overruled, and the bill received the royal assent: a court of exchequer, however, was erected in Scotland upon the model of that in England. The execution of Gregg, and the examination of Valiere and Bara, who had acted as smugglers to the coast of France, under the protection of Harley, to whom they engaged for intelligence, affected the credit of that minister, who was reviled and traduced by the emissaries of the whig party. The duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin, being apprised of his secret practices with Mrs. Masham, wrote to the queen that they could serve her no longer, should Mr. Harley continue in the post of secretary. Being summoned to the cabinet-council, they waited on her in person, and expostulated on the same subject. She endeavoured to appease their resentment with soft persuasion, which had no effect; and when they retired from court, to the astonishment of all the spectators, she repaired in person to the council. There Mr. Secretary Harley began to explain the cause of their meeting, which was some circumstance relating to foreign affairs. The duke of Somerset said, he did not see how they could deliberate on such matters while the general and treasurer were absent: the other members observed a sullen silence; so that the council broke up, and the queen found herself in danger of being abandoned by her ministers. Next day her majesty sent for the duke of Marlborough, and told him that Harley should immediately resign his office, which was conferred upon Mr. Henry Boyle, chancellor of the exchequer; but she deeply resented the deportment of the duke and the earl of Godolphin, from whom she entirely withdrew her confidence. Sir Simon Harcourt, attorney-general, sir Thomas Mansel, comptroller of the household, and Mr. St. John, relinquished their several posts upon the disgrace of Harley.
THE PRETENDER EMBARKS AT DUNKIRK FOR SCOTLAND.
The kingdom was at this period alarmed with a threatened invasion from France. The court of St. Germain’s had sent over one colonel Hook with credentials to Scotland, to learn the situation, number, and ability of the pretender’s friends in that country. This minister, by his misconduct, produced a division among the Scottish Jacobites. Being a creature of the duke of Perth, he attached himself wholly to the duke of Athol, and those other zealous partisans who were bent upon receiving the pretender without conditions; and he neglected the duke of Hamilton, the earl-marshal, and other adherents of that house, who adopted the more moderate principles avowed by the earl of Middleton, At his return to France, he made such a favourable report of the disposition and power of the Scottish nation, that Louis resolved to equip an armament, and send over the pretender to that kingdom. His pretence was to establish that prince on the throne of his ancestors; but his real aim was to make a diversion from the Netherlands, and excite a revolt in Great Britain, which should hinder queen Anne from exerting herself against France on the continent. He began to make preparations for this expedition at Dunkirk, where a squadron was assembled under the command of the chevalier de Fourbin; and a body of land forces were embarked with monsieur de Gace, afterwards known by the appellation of the mareschal de Matignon. The pretender, who had assumed the name of the chevalier de St. George, was furnished with services of gold and silver plate, sumptuous tents, rich clothes for his life-guards, splendid liveries, and all sorts of necessaries even to profusion. Louis at parting presented him with a sword studded with valuable diamonds, and repeated what he had formerly said to this adventurer’s father: “He hoped he should never see him again.” The pope contributed to the expense of this expedition, and accommodated him with divers religious inscriptions, which were wrought upon his colours and standards. Queen Anne being informed of these preparations, and the design of the French monarch, communicated to the commons the advices which she had received from Holland and the Netherlands, touching the destination of the Dunkirk armament; both houses concurred in an address, assuring her they would assist her majesty with their lives and fortunes against the pretended prince of Wales, and all her other enemies. Then they passed a bill, enacting, that the oath of abjuration should be tendered to all persons, and such as refused to take it should be in the condition of convicted recusants. By another, they suspended the habeas-corpus act till October, with relation to persons apprehended by the government on suspicion of treasonable practices. The pretender and his adherents were proclaimed traitors and rebels; and a bill was passed, discharging the clans of Scotland from all vassalage to those chiefs who should take up arms against her majesty.
Transports were hired to bring over ten British battalions from Ostend; a large fleet being equipped with incredible diligence, sailed from Deal towards Dunkirk, under the conduct of sir John Leake, sir George Byng, and lord Dursley. The French imagined that Leake had sailed to Lisbon, and that Britain was unprovided of ships of war; so that they were amazed and confounded when this fleet appeared off Mardyke: a stop was immediately put to the embarkation of their troops; frequent expresses were despatched to Paris; the count de Fourbin represented to the French king the little probability of succeeding in this enterprise, and the danger that would attend the attempt; but he received positive orders to embark the forces, and set sail with the first favourable wind.
The British fleet being forced from their station by severe weather on the fourteenth day of March, the French squadron sailed on the seventeenth from the road of Dunkirk; but the wind shifting, it anchored in Newport-pits till the nineteenth in the evening, when they set sail again with a fair breeze, steering their course to Scotland. Sir George Byng having received advice of their departure, from an Ostend vessel sent out for that purpose by major-general Cadogan, gave chase to the enemy, after having detached a squadron, under admiral Baker, to convoy the troops that were embarked at Ostend for England. On the tenth day of March the queen went to the house of peers, where, in a speech to both houses, she told them that the French fleet had sailed; that sir George Byng was in pursuit of them; and that ten battalions of her troops were expected every day in England. This intimation was followed by two very warm addresses from the lords and commons, in which they repeated their assurances of standing by her against all her enemies. They exhorted her to persevere in supporting the common cause, notwithstanding this petty attempt to disturb her dominions; and levelled some severe insinuations against those who endeavoured to foment jealousies between her majesty and her most faithful servants. Addresses on the same occasion were sent up from different parts of the kingdom; so that the queen seemed to look with contempt upon the designs of the enemy. Several regiments of foot, with some squadrons of cavalry, began their march for Scotland; the earl of Leven, commander-in-chief of the forces in that country, and governor of the castle of Edinburgh, hastened thither to put that fortress in a posture of defence, and to make the proper dispositions to oppose the pretender at his landing. But the vigilance of sir George Byng rendered all these precautions unnecessary. He sailed directly to the Frith of Edinburgh, where he arrived almost as soon as the enemy, who immediately took the advantage of a land breeze, and bore away with all the sail they could carry. The English admiral gave chase; and the Salisbury, one of their ships, was boarded and taken. At night monsieur de Fourbin altered his course, so that next day they were out of reach of the English squadron. The pretender desired they would proceed to the northward, and land him at Inverness, and Fourbin seemed willing to gratify his request; but the wind changing, and blowing in their teeth with great violence, he represented the danger of attempting to prosecute the voyage; and, with the consent of the chevalier de St. George and his general, returned to Dunkirk, after having been tossed about a whole month in very tempestuous weather. In the meantime sir George Byng sailed up to Leith road, where he received the freedom of the city of Edinburgh in a golden box, as a testimony of gratitude for his having delivered them from the dreadful apprehensions under which they laboured.