CHAP. and that in moving the address, they had sought to A.D. 1678. draw from him the disclosure of his real intentions, an

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object not more beneficial to themselves than to the French monarch; for, were he once with the aid of an army to secure the persons of his political opponents, he would be able to obtain from a servile parliament whatever aid he might demand for the prosecution of the war. Lord Russell carried up the address to the House of Lords for their concurrence; but they contended that it would be folly to plunge the nation into hostilities without some previous knowledge of the intentions of the allies. A conference followed; neither house was convinced by the March 22. other; and the Lords in conclusion returned a direct refusal.1

The fact was, that the success of Louis had subdued March 17. the obstinacy of the confederates. The emperor, the queen of Spain, the prince of Orange, acquainted the king by their ambassadors that they no longer objected to the cession of Tournai, and in addition of Valenciennes, if France would restore the other five towns, and with them her recent conquests. Charles received the information with joy of the acquiescence of Louis he entertained not a doubt, and instantly de

vised a plan of providing for his own interests, while March 25. he seemed to consult only those of the allies. Calling for Danby, he compelled him to write to the ambassador at Paris the celebrated letter, which at a subse

1 C. Journ. Feb. 18, March 8, 15, 22. L. Journ. xiii. 186, 192, 196. Parl. Hist. iv. 940-956. Barillon, 134, 137.

2 M. le duc de Villa Hermosa a répondu qu'il acceptera les conditions. . . . Pour nous, nous ferons de même, et ainsy voilà la paix faite, si la France continue à la vouloir sur ce pied; de quoi je doubte fort. The prince to Danby, March 17, p. 214. See also Danby's Letters (ibid. 210); and Hyde's from the Hague, ibid. 329.

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quent period led to the disgrace and ruin of that CHAP. minister. By it Montague was told that in the official A.D. 1678. despatch he would find instructions to do nothing more than sound the disposition of Louis in respect to these terms; because it was necessary to keep secret the real object of the king. He was, however, to make the proposal, and to pledge the word of his sovereign for the consent of Spain and the States. If it were rejected, he was to add nothing more; but if accepted, to demand for Charles, as the reward for his good service, a pension of six hundred thousand livres during the three following years. A postscript was added in the hand of the king: "This letter is writ by my

order, C. R." By Louis the offer was refused without hesitation: it came, he said, too late; his recent successes entitled him to greater advantages; he might, April L indeed, restore Guislain and Ghent, but he would retain Ipres; and he had given instructions to his envoys at Nimeguen to make an almost similar proposal to the confederates, by which, however, he should not hold himself bound unless it was accepted by a

1 Danby, 70-76. The facts that the bill for the poll-tax received the royal assent on the 20th, and that the king proposed terms of peace to Louis on the 25th, have induced most writers to charge him with deceit, with pretending hostility to France till the money was voted, and then seeking a peace, that he might put the money in his pocket. But attention to dates and events will not justify the inference. It was not before the 14th of March that the bill passed the Lords, when it was known that a strong inclination to make peace existed in the Dutch and Spanish councils. On the 15th the two houses informed the king that they had provided money, and wished him to declare war without delay. He waited four days before he returned an answer, expecting probably certain intelligence from the continent. It did not, however, arrive, and on the 19th he promised to pass the bill, which he did the next day. The prince of Orange wrote his answer, stating that all parties would accept the conditions formerly proposed, on the 17th, which would reach London between the 20th and 25th, and on the receipt of this answer, the king ordered the proposals to be sent to Montague.

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CHAP. certain day. Charles was disappointed and offended; A.D. 1678. his warlike spirit revived, and he suggested to the foreign ministers at his court the conclusion of a quadripartite alliance, which he would follow up with a declaration of war. The Spanish ambassador and the imperial envoy assented with joy, but the Dutch hesitated; he had neither powers nor instructions, and dared not act without them. That he might have April 15. time to consult the States, the parliament, which had met after the Easter recess, was adjourned for a fortnight, and in that interval Van Beuningen received the necessary powers, but without any instructions for his guidance. It was before suspected, it now became manifest, that the States would enter into no engagement which might throw obstacles in the way April 29 of a separate peace. Before a few days were passed, they voted a resolution to accept the terms offered by France.

On the meeting of parliament, the lord chancellor, by order of the king, explained to the two houses the past course and the present state of these negotiations, and in conclusion solicited their advice, with a promise that it should be faithfully followed. But the popular leaders had not forgotten their engagement to the French ambassador. They induced the house to listen to a long and tedious report from the committee for religion, which had discovered that a dozen Catholic priests resided in the counties of Hereford and Monmouth, and that the laws which gave two third-parts of the estates of Catholic recusants to the crown

1 Dalrymple, ii. 155. C. Journ. Ap. 29. The next day Danby complains to the prince-"I do from my soul believe that our par"liament and your States contribute more to the service of the "French king than the best army he has could do" (p. 219).

* See p. 325.

REFUSAL OF A SUPPLY.

335

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were often evaded by means of secret trusts and con- CHAP. veyances. This was sufficient; the alarming intelli- A.D. 1678 gence awakened the fears of the godly and the credulous; and a resolution was passed, that the house could not, consistently with its duty, lay any additional charge on the people, till the kingdom was "secured, "and the dangers were prevented, which might arise "from the prevalence and the countenance given to "the popish party." When the king heard of this vote, so unfounded in fact, and so insulting to his government, he burst into expressions of astonishment and indignation; he saw that the object of its authors was to fortify themselves with the passions of the people, and to connect the refusal of supplies with demands for the security of religion; and he openly charged with deception those among his counsellors who had urged him to enter into war on the ground that he would meet with the co-operation of parliament. There remained, he said, but one resource for himself. The confederates were willing to accept the terms offered by France; they should have his assistance; and he would demand money for concurring in the accomplishment of a pacification, which would equally be accomplished without his concurrence.

With this view he wrote a conciliatory letter to Louis, and ordered the lord-treasurer to commence a May 1. negotiation with the French ambassador. The subsequent proceedings in parliament served to confirm him in his determination. The Commons voted an address for the removal of the duke of Lauderdale from the

1 The evidence on which this vote was founded occupies five folio pages in the printed journals, under the date of April 29, and deserves attention, as it shows what trifles may serve to raise the fiercest ebullitions of religious animosity under the management of bold and artful leaders.-Journals. April 29.

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May II.

CHAP. council, pronounced the alliances lately concluded by A.D. 1678. the king inconsistent with the good and safety of the kingdom advised him to comply with their previous addresses, and prayed him to banish from his presence the counsellors who had induced him to reject their first advice. Charles on the other hand informed them that without a prompt supply a portion of the fleet must be laid up, and a considerable reduction be made in the army. After some debate they refused to conMay 13. sider the subject; and the king, sending for them to the House of Lords, prorogued the parliament, but only for the short space of ten days.1

Louis, in the meantime, aware of the impression which his victories and his emissaries had made on the public mind in Holland, despatched a letter of the most pacific tendency to the States, and awaited their reply in his camp at Wetteren, on the right bank of the Scheldt. They immediately consulted the English, Spanish, and imperial ambassadors, who, by the secret May II. advice of the prince, returned for answer, that they ought to abide by their engagements, and refuse to negotiate unless it were in company with their allies. But Louis had already won a separate peace by the capture of Ghent. The desire to remove the French army to a distance from the frontier, aided by the

1 Temple, ii. 434. Louis, iv. 163. Dalrymple, ii. 172. C. Journ. April 29, May 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13. The parties were so equally balanced, that the fate of every question seemed doubtful. The vote for an address against Lauderdale was carried by a majority of forty-five. On the next day the address itself was rejected by a majority of six, and on the following it was inserted as an amendment in another address by a majority of eight.

2 Sa prise a forcé mes ennemis à la paix, les mettant hors d'état de soutenir la guerre.-Louis, iv. 146. Some of his council thought it beneath the king to solicit peace: mais, he adds with great complacency, le bien public, se joignant à la gloire de me vaincre moi même, l'importa.-Ibid. 163.