622 



Britain. 



ANNE. 

 1711. 



Confer- 

 ences for 

 peace, 

 1712; 



Wlmh is 

 concluded, 

 Mar. 1713, 



The sub- 

 ject of the 

 union 

 again 

 brought 

 before par- 

 liament. 



by the allied troops, who soon suffered a severe check 

 at Denain. Prince Eugene was unable, alone, to resist 

 the progress of Villars and Douay. Quesnoy and 

 Bouchain were recovered by the French in this dis- 

 astrous campaign. The immediate and rapid suc- 

 cesses of France, after Marlborough's removal, fur- 

 nishes the best arguments for condemning that false 

 pity towards Louis, which the Tories of that period 

 so deeply cherished, and the relaxation of that hosti- 

 lity against France, which, if kept up at the begin- 

 ning of the century, might have saved Europe from 

 subjugation before the end of it. 



In the mean time, conferences for peace had been 

 opened at London, and the Earl of Strafford had gone 

 as ambassador to Holland for the same purpose. Nei- 

 ther the influence of the Whigs at home, nor the visit 

 of Prince Eugene, who came to London in order to 

 excite the public spirit against the negotiations, could 

 intercept, or even retard them. The treaty began 

 at Utrecht, and a peace was concluded in 1713, be- 

 tween France and Britain. By this peace it was sti- 

 pulated, that Philip, who had been settled on the 

 throne of Spain, should renounce all right to the 

 Crown of France ; that the Duke of Berry, his bro- 

 ther, the presumptive heir to the crown of France 

 after the death of the Dauphin, should also renounce 

 his right to the crown of Spain, in case he became 

 king of France. The Duke of Orleans was to make 

 the hame resignation. The Duke of Savoy had the 

 island of Sicily, with the title of king, with Fenes- 

 trelles, and other places on the continent. The 

 Dutch had that barrier granted them which they 

 had so long sought for ; but if the house of Bourbon 

 was stript of some dominions, in order to enrich the 

 Duke of Savoy, on the other hand, the house of 

 Austria was taxed to supply the wants of the Hol- 

 landers, who were put in possession of the strongest 

 towns in Flanders. In behalf of England, it was 

 agreed that the fortifications of Dunkirk should be 

 demolished, and its port destroyed. Spain surren- 

 dered 'Gibraltar and the island of Minorca. France 

 resigned Hudson's Bay, Nova Scotia, and Newfound- 

 land, but was left in possession of Cape Breton. 

 Among the articles which reflected honour on the 

 English, the liberation of French Protestants, con- 

 lined for their religion, was not the least important. 

 To the emperor, the kingdom of Naples, the duchy 

 of Milan, and the Spanish Netherlands, were assign- 

 ed. Prussia was allowed Upper Guelder ; and a 

 time was fixed for the emperor's acceding to these 

 resolutions, for he had hitherto refused to assist at 

 the treaty. 



The union with Scotland at first gave so little sa- 

 tisfaction, that, before six years had elapsed, the 

 same party by whom it was established proposed to 

 dissolve it, from the real or imaginary injuries which 

 the nation had sustained. On a day appointed to 

 consider the state of the nation, the Earl of Seafield 

 enumerated the grievances which the Scotch had en- 

 dured : the introduction of English laws against 

 treason ; the declaration of their peers being inca- 

 pable of acquiring honours ; and the oppression of a 

 tax, * which the country could not sustain. He was 



BRITAIN. 



seconded by Mar, Argyie, and the Scottish peers. 

 The English Tone-, however, concurred in preserving 

 an union which they had formerly so much opposed. 

 The English Whigs, apprehensive of an obscure de- 

 sign which the qui-en was said to entertain, of intro- 

 ducing her brother, the Pretender, into Scotland, 

 and securing his succession to "?he crown, listened to 

 the assurances of the Scotch, that they would sup- 

 port the Protestant succession if the union were dis- 

 solved, warmly supported the proposal. So nearly 

 were the parties balanced, that the motion was re- 

 jected by enly fonr votes. 



During the remainder of Anne's reign, the Tories 

 retained their power, with a security which was only 

 disturbed by their own quarrels. The cabinet was a 

 scene of the bitterest altercations between the follow- 

 ers of Bolingbroke and of Oxford. The former, 

 daring, proud, and impetuous, carried the designs 

 and zeal of the Tory party to the utmost pitch ; the 

 other was for a reconciliation with the Whigs, whose 

 resentment he feared, as the queen's health began vi- 

 sibly to decline. Bolingbroke prevailed. Oxford 

 was removed from the treasury, while the suddenness 

 of his fall occasioned the utmost confusion at court. 

 The fatigue of attending a long cabinet council had 

 such an effect upon the queen's spirits and constitu- 

 tion, that she declared she could not outlive it, and 

 was immediately seized with a lethargic disorder. 

 On the 30t!i of July, when her life was despaired of, 

 the committee of the council assembled at the cock- 

 pit ; adjourned to Kensington, being informed of the 

 desperate situation in which she lay, repaired to the 

 palace, and, without being summoned, entered the 

 council chamber. By their advice, all privy coun- 

 sellors in or about London were invited to attend, 

 without distinction of party. Somers, and many 

 others of the Whigs, immediately repaired to Ken- 

 sington. By their measures, the designs of Boling- 

 broke, and those who favoured the Jacobite succes- 

 sion, were defeated. Troops were ordered to Lon- 

 don ; the heralds-at-arms were kept in waiting ; and 

 precautions were taken to secure the sea ports, and to 

 overawe the Jacobites in Scotland. The queen con- Deal 

 tinued to dose in a lethargic, insensibility, till the first 

 of August, in the morning, when she expired, in the 

 50th year of her age, and in the 13th of her reign ; and 

 with her ended the race of Stuarts. See ANNE. 



George I. son of Ernest Augustus, elector of Geor 

 Brunswick, and Sophia, grand-daughter to James I. succe 

 succeeded, pursuant to the act of succession, in his the ' 

 55th year. In the new parliament, which was sum- 

 moned, the Whigs had by far the majority ; full of 

 the strongest aversion to the Tories, and led on by 

 the king himself, who made no secret of his displea- 

 sure at the party who were accused of having intend- 

 ed to exclude him from the throne. The commons 

 began the expression of their resentment by arraign- 

 ing Lord Bolingbroke for high treason ; but that in- 

 triguing statesman disappointed their vengeance by 

 flying to the continent, from whence he solemnly de- 

 clared his having cherished no favour for the Jacob- 

 ites, though he afterwards embarked in the Pretend- 

 er's interest. Robert Earl of Oxford was impeached 



B.-it: 



ANI 



171 



A tax upon barley, which, from the inferiority of the Scotch barley, was unequal, and distressing. 



