164 political progrefs of hrltain. April i^. 



" rous prosecution of the war; and about one hun- 

 " dred and fifty-two thousand pounds to the ScottiQi 

 " claimants, in lieu of their jurisdiction. The 

 *' supplies for the ensuing year fell very little Ihort 

 " of NINE millions*." Denmark, had also for several 

 years enjoyed a subsidy of seventy thousand pounds, 

 but in 1742, refused to continue the treaty. We 

 had also, in 1741, proposed to take the Swedes into 

 our service, but they rejected our advances. About 

 the beginning of the year X744, the king ol Folaiid^. 

 likewise, entered into- an alliance with England, and 

 did us the honour of guaranteeing our dominions, as . 

 if we ourselves had been inadequate to their de- 

 fence. For his concurrence, we paid him an annual 

 subsidy of an hundred thousand pounds f- After 

 5uch work, is it wonderful that we are now harnefsed 

 in debts and taxes, like horses in a carriage ? Is it 

 not in the course of divine justice, that after a series 

 of insane outrages on the rest of Europe, we are at 

 last completely fhackled in fetters forged by our 

 crimes ? Were it pofsible to discharge but one-fourth 

 jpart of the public burdens in the course of this year, 

 a second would not elapse till the mere lust of mis- 

 chief would drive us into scfme foreign quarrel. ,Th& 

 scene of butchery lasted for almost nine years till Oc- 

 tober 1748, and at an expence to this country of 

 sixty or eighty millions sterling ; that is to say, at an 

 expence, at least six or eight hundred times greatef 

 than the whole sum pretended to be in dispute. One 

 of the least fhocking events which it produced, was, 

 that an Englifli man of war, with an admiral and 



• Smojlet vol. xi. p. 297. f Ibid. 



