The Imperial forces retreated to Reggio, and from thence moved to the plains of Carpi, on the right of the Secchia, where they received some reinforcements; then general count Konigsegg arriving in the camp, took upon himself the command of the army. His first step was to take post at Quingentolo, by which motion he secured Mirandola, that was threatened with a siege. On the fifteenth of February he forded the river Secchia, and surprised the quarters of mareschal de Broglio, who escaped in his shirt with great difficulty. The French retired with such precipitation, that they left all their baggage behind, and above two thousand were taken prisoners. They posted themselves under Gustalla, where, on the nineteenth day of the month, they were vigorously attacked by the Imperialists, and a general engagement ensued. Konigsegg made several desperate efforts to break the French cavalry, upon which, however, he could make no impression. The infantry on both sides fought with uncommon ardour for six hours, and the field was covered with carnage. At length the Imperial general retreated to Lazara, after having lost above five thousand men, including the prince of Wirtemberg, the generals Valpareze and Colminero, with many other officers of distinction; nor was the damage sustained by the French greatly inferior to that of the Germans, who repassed the Po, and took post on the banks of the Oglio. The allies crossed the same river, and the marquis de Maillibois was sent with a detachment to attack Mirandola; but the Imperialists marching to the relief of the place, compelled him to abandon the enterprise; then he rejoined his army, which retired under the walls of Cremona, to wait for succours from Don Carlos. So little respect did the French court pay to the British nation at this juncture, that in the month of November, an edict was published at Paris, commanding all the British subjects in France, who were not actually in employment, from the age of eighteen to fifty, to quit the kingdom in fifteen days, or enlist in some of the Irish regiments, on pain of being treated as vagabonds, and sent to the galleys. This edict was executed with the utmost rigour. The prisons of Paris were crowded with the subjects of Great Britain, who were surprised and cut off from all communication with their friends, and must have perished by cold and hunger, had not they been relieved by the active charity of the Jansenists. The earl of Waldegrave, who then resided at Paris, as ambassador from the king of Great Britain, made such vigorous remonstrances to the French ministry upon this unheard of outrage against a nation with which they had been so long in alliance, that they thought proper to set the prisoners at liberty, and publish another edict, by which the meaning of the former was explained away.
NEW PARLIAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN.
While these transactions occurred on the continent, the king of Great Britain augmented his land-forces; and warm contests were maintained through the whole united kingdom in electing representatives for the new parliament. But in all these struggles the ministerial power predominated; and the new members appeared with the old complexion. The two houses assembled on the fourteenth day of January, and Mr. Onslow was re-elected speaker. The leaders of both parties in all debates, were the self-same persons who had conducted those of the former parliament; and the same measure were pursued in the same manner. The king in his speech at the opening of the session, gave them to understand, that he had concerted with the states-general of the United Provinces such measures as were thought most advisable for their common safety, and for restoring the peace of Europe; that they had considered on one side the pressing applications made by the Imperial court both in England and Holland, for obtaining succours against the powers at war with the house of Austria; and, on the other side, the repeated professions made by the allies of their sincere disposition to put an end to the present troubles upon honourable and solid terms; that he and the states-general had concurred in a resolution to employ their joint and earnest instances to bring matters to a speedy and happy accommodation; that their good offices were at length accepted; and in a short time a plan would be offered to the consideration of all parties engaged in the war, as a basis for a general negotiation of peace. He told them he had used the power vested in him by the last parliament with great moderation; and concluded a treaty with the crown of Denmark of great importance in the present conjuncture. He observed, that whilst many of the principal powers of Europe were actually engaged in a war, Great Britain must be more or less affected with the consequences; and as the best concerted measures are liable to uncertainty, the nation ought to be prepared against all events. He therefore expressed his hope, that his good subjects would not repine at the necessary means of procuring the blessings of peace and universal tranquillity, or of putting him in a condition to act that part which it might be necessary and incumbent upon him to take. The address of thanks produced a dispute as usual, which ended with an acquiescence in the motion The house, in a grand committee on the supply, resolved, That thirty thousand seamen should be employed for the service of the ensuing year; and that the land-forces should be augmented to the number of twenty-five thousand seven hundred and forty-four effective men. But these resolutions were not taken without dispute and division. The minister’s opponents not only reproduced all the reasons which had been formerly advanced against a standing army, but they opposed this augmentation with extraordinary ardour, as a huge stride towards the establishment of arbitrary power. They refuted those fears of eternal broils on which the ministry pretended to ground the necessity of such an augmentation; and they exposed the weak conduct of the administration, in having contributed to destroy the balance of power, by assisting Spain against the emperor in Italy, so as to aggrandize the house of Bourbon.
DEBATE ON A SUBSIDY TO DENMARK.
Sir William Wyndham moved, that the estimate of the navy for the ensuing year might be referred to a select committee. He expressed his surprise, that notwithstanding the vast sums which had been yearly raised, and the long continuance of the peace, the people had not been quite delivered of any one tax incurred in the preceding war. He said, he could not comprehend how it was possible to find pretences for exposing the nation to such exorbitant charges; and he took notice of some unconsionable articles in the accounts of the navy-debt that lay upon the table. He was seconded by Mr. Sandys, and supported by sir J. Jekyll and Mr. Pulteney; but after some debate, the motion was carried in the negative. When the new treaty with Denmark fell under consideration in a grand committee, Mr. H. Walpole moved, that the sum of fifty-six thousand two hundred and fifty pounds, should be granted to his majesty as a subsidy to the Dane, pursuant to the said treaty, for the service of the ensuing year. The demand did not meet with immediate compliance. All the leaders in the opposition exclaimed against the subsidy as unnecessary and unreasonable. They observed, that as the English had no particular interest of their own for inducing them to engage in the present war, but only the danger to which the balance of power might be exposed by that event; and as all the powers of Europe were as much, if not more, interested than the English in the preservation of that balance, should it ever be really endangered, they would certainly engage in its defence, without receiving any valuable consideration from Great Britain; but should the English be always the first to take the alarm upon any rupture, and offer bribes and pensions to all the princes in Europe, the whole charge of preserving that balance would fall upon Great Britain; every state would expect a gratification from her, for doing that which it would otherwise be obliged to do for its own preservation; even the Dutch might at last refuse to assist in trimming this balance, unless Britain should submit to make the grand pensionary of Holland a pensionary of England, and take a number of their forces into English pay. The debate having had its free course, the question was put, and the motion approved by the majority. The ministry allowed a bill to be brought in for limiting the number of officers in the house of commons; but at the second reading it was rejected upon a division, after a learned debate, in which it appeared that the opposition had gained a valuable auxiliary in the person of lord Pol-worth, son to the earl of Marchmont, a nobleman of elegant parts, keen penetration, and uncommon vivacity, who spoke with all the fluency and fervour of elocution.
PETITION OF SOME SCOTTISH NOBLEMEN.
The minority in the house of lords were not less vigilant and resolute in detecting and opposing every measure which they thought would redound to the prejudice of their country. But the most remarkable object that employed their attention during this session, was a very extraordinary petition subscribed by the dukes of Hamilton, Queensberry, and Montrose, the earls of Dundonald, Marchmont, and Stair, representing that undue influence had been used for carrying on the election of the sixteen peers of Scotland. The duke of Bedford, who delivered their petition to the house, proposed a day for taking it into consideration; and to this they agreed. It was afterwards moved, that the consideration of it should be adjourned to a short day, before which the petitioners should be ordered to declare whether they intended to controvert the last election of all the sixteen peers, or the election of any, and which of them. This affair was of such an unprecedented nature, that the house seemed to be divided in opinion about the manner in which they ought to proceed. The partisans of the ministry would have willingly stifled the inquiry in the beginning; but the petitioners were so strenuously supported in their claim to some notice, by the earls of Chesterfield, Abingdon, and Strafford, the lords Bathurst and Carteret, that they could not dismiss it at once with any regard to decorum. The order of the house, according to the motion explained above, being communicated by the lord-chancellor to the petitioners, they waited on him with a declaration, importing, that they did not intend to controvert the election or return of the sixteen peers for Scotland; but they thought it their duty to lay before their lordships the evidence of such facts and undue methods as appeared to them to be dangerous to the constitution; and might in future elections equally affect the right of the present sixteen peers, as that of the other peers of Scotland, if not prevented by a proper remedy. This declaration being repeated to the house, the duke of Devonshire made a motion, that the petitioners might be ordered to lay before the house in writing, instances of those undue methods and illegal practices upon which they intended to proceed, and the names of the persons they suspected to be guilty. He was warmly opposed by the country party; and a long debate ensued, after which the question was carried in favour of the motion, and the order signified to the petitioners. Next day their answer was read to the house to this effect: That as they had no intention to state themselves accusers, they could not take upon them to name particular persons who might have been concerned in those illegal practices; but who they were would undoubtedly appear to their lordships upon their taking the proper examinations: nevertheless, they did humbly acquaint their lordships, that the petition was laid before them upon information that the list of the sixteen peers for Scotland had been framed previous to the election, by persons in high trust under the crown; that this list was shown to peers, as a list approved by the crown; and was called the king’s list, from which there was to be no variation, unless to make way for one or two particular peers, on condition they should conform to measures; that peers were solicited to vote for this list, without the liberty of making any alteration; that endeavours were used to engage peers to vote for this list by promise of pensions, and offices civil and military to themselves and relations, as well as by offers of money: that sums were given for this purpose; that pensions, offices, and releases of debts owing to the crown, were actually granted to peers who concurred in voting for this list, and to their relations; that on the day of election a battalion of his majesty’s troops were drawn up in the Abbey-court of Edinburgh, contrary to custom, and without any apparent cause but that of over-awing the electors. This answer gave rise to another violent dispute; but the majority voted it unsatisfactory, and the petition was rejected, though the resolution was clogged with a vigorous protest.