720 A. D, 1702. 



was fucceeded by his fifter-in-law Anne, the daughter of the abdicated 

 king. 



D'Avenant [in his ^Jfay on loans, 1700] obferves, that, ' when upon 

 the revolution the parUament fell moft willingly into the war, as a 

 thing the enemy, by efpoufing King James's interefl, made abfolute- 

 ly neceflary, the firft branch of our expenfe was carried on in the 

 common road of levying taxes, and the money required for every 

 year's expenfe was railed and paid within the year. The nation was 

 rich, trade prodigioully great, paper-credit ran high, and the gold- 

 fmiths in Lombard ftreet, &c. commanded immenfe fums. Antici- 

 pations were indeed in pradice ; they had been fo of old ; and bor- 

 rowing claufes were added to the bills of aid ; but thefe lafted but a 

 few months : the money came in of courfe, and they were paid off in 

 their turn. Land-taxes, polls, additional duties of cufloms, excifes, 

 and the like, were the ways and means by which thefe things were 

 done. The year generally fupported its own demands. All the loans 

 were fuppofed to be temporary, and to end with the collection.' 

 Happy had it been for pofterity had minifters gone on to King Wil- 

 liam's death in the manner thus defcribed in the former part of his 

 reign ; or had Queen Anne's minifters refolutely determined that King 

 William's debt, which was above fourteen millions, fhould on no pre- 

 tence be increafed, the nation could with great eafe have born fo mo- 

 derate a burden. But the minifters of every fucceeding reign going on 

 to accumulate the public burdens, is truely a very fad profpeft, and moil 

 grievoufly affeds the commerce, manufadures, and navigation, of the 

 nation, and alfo the landed interefl; which melancholy conli deration 

 will, we hope, fufBciently juflify our prefent brief animadverfion there- 

 on. 



On the 4th of May Queen Anne declared war againfl the French 

 king, not only on account of his feizing on the Spanifh monarchy, as 

 before mentioned, but ' for the great affront and indignity' (fays the 

 queen) * offered to us and our kingdoms, in taking upon him to de- 

 ' clare the pretended prince of Wales king of our realms.' 



The flates-general's declaration of war fets forth, in fubflance, that 

 Louis had long lince cafl his eyes on their provinces, and had twice at- 

 tacked their republic (i. e. in the years 1672 and 168S) by moll unjufl 

 war, in order to make his way to univerfal monarchy. That fo far was 

 he from defigning to obferve the treaty of Ryiwick, that he thereby 

 folely aimed at lulling the allies afleep, and particularly to ruin the 

 commerce of the Dutch ; fince that treaty was fcarcely ratified, before 

 he began manifeflly to encroach on their trade, which is the great finew 

 of their flate, by openly refufmg the tarif promiled by that treaty. 



This year an attempt was made by the Englifh from Carolina againfl 

 St. Augufline, the capital of Spanifh Florida ; but though they took 



