STATE OF THE NATION AT THAT PERIOD.
Certain it is, the pretender could not have chosen a more favourable opportunity for making a descent upon Scotland. The people in general were disaffected to the government on account of the union; the regular troops under Leven did not exceed five-and-twenty hundred men, and even great part of these would in all probability have joined the invader; the castle of Edinburgh was destitute of ammunition, and would in all appearance have surrendered at the first summons; in which case the Jacobites must have been masters of the equivalent money lodged in that fortress: a good number of Dutch ships, loaded with cannon, small arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money, had been driven on shore in the shire of Angus, where they would have been seized by the friends of the pretender, had the French troops been landed; and all the adherents of that house were ready to appear in arms. In England, such a demand was made upon the bank, by those who favoured the invasion, and those who dreaded a revolution, that the public credit seemed to be in danger. The commons resolved, that whoever designedly endeavoured to destroy or lessen the public credit, especially at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an invasion, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and an enemy to her majesty and the kingdom. The lord treasurer signified to the directors of the bank, that her majesty would allow for six months an interest of six per cent, upon their bills, which was double the usual rate; and considerable sums of money were offered to them by this nobleman, as well as by the dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle, and Somerset. The French, Dutch, and Jewish merchants, whose interest was in a peculiar manner connected with the safety of the bank, exerted themselves for its support; and the directors having called in twenty per cent, upon their capital stock, were enabled to answer all the demands of the timorous and disaffected. All the noblemen and persons of distinction in Scotland, suspected of an attachment to the court of St. Germain’s, were apprehended, and either imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, or brought up to London to be confined in the Tower or in Newgate. Among these was the duke of Hamilton, who found means to make his peace with the whig ministers; and, in a little time, the other prisoners were admitted to bail. [153] [See note 2 D, at the end of this Vol.]
ANNE, 1701—1714
PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.
On the first day of April the parliament was prorogued, and afterwards dissolved by proclamation. Writs were issued out for new elections, together with a proclamation commanding all the peers of North Britain to assemble at Holyrood-house in Edinburgh, on the seventeenth day of June, to elect sixteen peers to represent them in the ensuing British parliament, pursuant to the twenty-second article of the treaty of union. After the dissolution of the parliament, the lords Griffin and Clermont, two sons of the earl of Middleton, and several Scottish and Irish officers who had been taken on board the Salisbury, were brought to London and imprisoned in the Tower or in Newgate. Lord Griffin being attainted by outlawry, for high treason committed in the reign of king William, was brought to the bar of the court of king’s bench, and a rule made for his execution; but he was reprieved from month to month, until he died a natural death in prison. The privy-council of Scotland was dissolved; the duke of Queensberry was created a British peer, by the title of baron of Ripon, marquis of Beverley, and duke of Dover; and the office of secretary at war, vacant by the resignation of Henry St. John, was bestowed upon Robert Walpole, a gentleman who had rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, and whose conduct Ave shall have occasion to mention more at large in the sequel. About the same time a proclamation was issued for distributing prizes, in certain proportions, to the different officers and seamen of the royal navy; a regulation that still prevails.
THE FRENCH SURPRISE GHENT AND BRUGES.
The French king, not at all discouraged by the miscarriage of his projected invasion, resolved to improve the advantages he had gained on the continent during the last campaign, and indeed he made efforts that were altogether incredible, considering the consumptive state of his finances. [154] [See note 2 E, at the end of this Vol.] He assembled a prodigious army in the Netherlands, under the command of the duke of Burgundy, assisted by Vendôme, and accompanied by the duke of Berry and the chevalier de St. George. The elector of Bavaria was destined to the command of the troops on the Rhine, where he was seconded by the duke of Berwick; and the mareschal de Villeroy was sent to conduct the forces in Dauphiné. About the latter end of March, the duke of Marlborough repaired to the Hague, where he was met by prince Eugene: these two celebrated generals conferred with the pensionary Heinsius, and the deputies of the states-general. Then they made an excursion to Hanover, where they prevailed upon the elector to be satisfied with acting upon the defensive in his command on the Rhine, and spare part of his forces, that the confederates might be enabled to make vigorous efforts in the Netherlands. The prince proceeded to Vienna, and the duke immediately returned to Flanders, where he assembled the army towards the latter end of May. On the twenty-fifth day of that month, the duke de Vendôme marched to Soignies, and posted himself within three leagues of the confederates, who were encamped at Billinghen and Halle. The duke of Marlborough having received intelligence that the enemy were on their march by Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Braine-la-Leuwe, concluded their intention was to take post on the banks of the Deule, to hinder the allies from passing that river, and to occupy Louvaine. He, therefore, commanded the army to march all night, and on the third day of June encamped at Terbank, general d’Auverquerque fixing his quarters in the suburbs of Louvaine, while the French advanced no farther than Genap and Braine-la-Leuwe. As they were more numerous than the confederates, and headed by a prince of the blood, the generals of the allies at first expected that they would hazard a battle; but their scheme was to retrieve by stratagem the places they lost in Flanders. The elector of Bavaria had rendered himself extremely popular in the great towns; the count de Bergeyck, who had considerable interest among them, was devoted to the house of Bourbon; the inhabitants of the great cities were naturally inconstant and mutinous, and particularly dissatisfied with the Dutch government. The French generals resolved to profit by these circumstances. A detachment of their troops, under the brigadiers la Faile and Pasteur, surprised the city of Ghent, in which there was no garrison; at the same time the count de la Motte, with a strong body of forces, appeared before Bruges, which was surrendered to him without opposition; then he made a fruitless attempt upon Damme, and marched to the little fort of Plassendhal, which he took by assault. The duke of Marlborough was no sooner apprised of the enemy’s having sent a strong detachment towards Tabize, than he marched from Terbank, passed the canal, and encamped at Anderlach. The French crossed the Senne at Halle and Tabize, and the allies resolved to attack them next morning; but the enemy passed the Dender in the night with great expedition; and the duke of Marlborough next day encamped at Asche, where he was joined by prince Eugene, who had marched with a considerable reinforcement of Germans from the Moselle. The enemy understanding that this general was on his march, determined to reduce Oudenarde, the only pass on the Schelde possessed by the confederates; and invested it on the ninth day of July, hoping to subdue it before the allies could be reinforced. The duke of Marlborough was immediately in motion, and made a surprising march from Asche, as far as Herselingen, where he was joined by the reinforcement. Then he took possession of the strong camp at Lessines, which the French had intended to occupy in order to cover the siege of Oudenarde.