Spain.

of Spain was restored to the house of Austria." BOOK VI. The tories were unanimous in magnifying the 1707. services of the earl of Peterborough; who being Debates respecting justly in disfavour with the ministers for his ex- the War in travagant and eccentric behaviour, and lately recalled by them, now threw himself upon the protection of the opposite party. The whigs, on the other hand, vindicated the earl of Galway, who published an excellent narrative of his own conduct in answer to the accusations brought against him by lord Peterborough. Complaints were in return preferred against the accuser, and letters of the titular king of Spain produced, sufficiently manifesting the dissatisfaction he had felt at the earl of Peterborough's proceedings. Upon which the earl brought so many witnesses to the bar, and produced such a number of papers to justify his conduct, that the house, after sitting day after day for near a fortnight, and wasting their time in endless readings and examinations, grew weary of the business; and perceiving that the longer they investigated, the more they were puzzled and perplexed, the whole business was suffered to fall to the ground, without coming to any vote or resolution whatever respecting it.

Council of

abolished.

A remarkable debate took place during this Privy session relative to Scotland. Notwithstanding Scotland the union of legislatures, it was still a doubt whether a distinct administration of the executive

BOOK VI. government should not be maintained in that 1707. kingdom; but the house of commons were deter

Secretary Harley dismissed.

mined against it: and a bill was introduced, and passed by a great majority, "for rendering the union of the two kingdoms more entire and complete;" by which it was positively enacted that there should be but one privy council in the kingdom of Great Britain. The utmost influence of the court was exerted against this bill when sent up to the house of lords; where it passed at length with great difficulty, and to the extreme discontent of all those who were jealous or indignant at any circumscription of the royal prerogative, on a close division of fifty to fortyfive voices.

On this occasion, that distinguished and illustrious patriot, lord Somers, delivered an eloquent and impressive speech in favour of thebill, shewing, both by argument and example, the utter incompatibility of the existence of any such body as the Scottish council, vested with powers similar to those formerly exercised by the court of star-chamber in England, with the faintest idea of political liberty.*

Early in February 1708 happened an important change in the administration, by the dismission of Mr. Harley, secretary of state, and the promotion of Mr. Boyle, chancellor of the

* Vide HARDWICKE State Papers,

1707.

exchequer, to that office, who was succeeded by BOOK VI. Mr. Smith, speaker of the house of commons. Mr. St. John, secretary at war, and sir Simon Harcourt, attorney-general, chose to follow the fortunes of Mr. Harley, and resigned their places; the former of which was given to Mr. Robert Walpole, now distinguished for his great parliamentary talents and capacity for business; and sir James Montague was made attorney-general. The lords Godolphin and Marlborough had for a considerable time past been very uneasy at the secret practices of the late secretary, and the dangerous intrigues carrying on by him in conjunction with Mrs. Masham. This charge, indeed, the secretary positively denied; and in a letter written by him to the duke of Marlborough, March 1707, he says, "I beg leave to assure your grace, that I serve you by inclination and principle, and a very little time will make that manifest; as well as that I have no views or aims of my own." And in September following he writes, I have for near two years seen the storm coming upon me, and now I find I am to be sacrificed to sly insinuations and groundless jealousies. I have the satisfaction not only of my own mind, but my enemies and friends witness for me, that I have served your grace, and my lord treasurer, with the nicest honour, and by the strictest rules

BOOK VI.

1707.

of friendship*." But these hypocritical professions were too gross to deceive. At length the two great lords avowed their determination to serve the queen no longer, if he was continued The Whigs in that post. The queen endeavoured in vain, vour of the by the most soft and soothing expressions, to di

lose the Fa

Queen.

vert them from this resolution; and being herself equally inflexible, these great noblemen, to the astonishment of all, actually withdrew from court, Shortly after the queen, greatly indignant, and no doubt influenced by her secret advisers, repaired to the cabinet council, where Mr. Harley attempted to state some particulars relative to foreign affairs; on which the duke of Somerset said, "that he did not see how they could deliberate on such matters in the absence of the general and treasurer." The other members present plainly acquiescing in this sentiment so obvious and unavoidable, the council broke up in disorder, and the queen sending for the duke of Marlborough, told him Mr. Harley should resign; which he did within two days. But from this æra the queen harboured the deepest resentment against the duke and the treasurer, and manifested an incurable alienation from the whigs.

It is a subject of mere speculation, how far the

* SOMERVILLE'S Appendix.

1

queen might in time have been incited to adopt BOOK VI, new measures and new counsels to the prejudice 1707. of that party, if she had not been thus impoliticly urged and irritated. Certain it is, that the duchess of Marlborough, who had so many years possessed an absolute ascendant over her mind, now no longer retained the smallest degree of influence. But the queen, who at present feared as much as she had once loved her, was still anxiously desirous of keeping up appearances, and of maintaining a civil correspondence. Nothing is more difficult than to recover affection which from any cause has fallen into the wane. The natural progress is from coldness to dislike. But the conduct of the duchess, when she disco- Conduct of vered that the queen's partiality was transferred Marlboto another, was that of a woman frantic with

rage and jealousy. Tears, solicitations, upbraidings, reproaches, succeeded each other without intermision, till she made herself equally the object of hatred and contempt. But till the forcible resignation of Harley, there is no good ground to believe that the queen entertained any serious thoughts of a political change: her only object seems to have been, to assert the privilege of having a few persons about her to whom she could talk freely and confidentially; and to whom, however hopeless of relief, she could make her complaints and express her resentment of the

the Duchess

rough.