118 



The Palatine Emigration. 



given encouragement to the Palatines to come over, though 

 few of them had made use of that act in order to secure 

 naturalization, while on notice of its intended repeal two 

 thousand refugee French had rushed to secure the benefits 

 of the act as existing. The bill for repeal passed the com- 

 mons, and was sent up to the lords, where " Lord Guernsey 

 and some others entertained them with tragical declara- 

 tions on the subject, yet upon the first reading of the bill 

 it was rejected to the great joy of all foreign Protestants." 1 

 The law remained still in force till the next year, Feb., 

 1712, when it was finally repealed, and signed by the 

 queen. 



Before narrating the disposition which was finally made 

 of the Palatines, I cannot refrain from giving some extracts 

 from a diary written at the time, and only recently printed, 

 which illustrate the prominence the subject had in the 

 minds of contemporaries, and contain some additional in- 

 formation. The extracts are from the Diary of Narcissus 

 Luttrell, kept for thirty-seven years from 1678 to 1714. 2 



" 1709, May 12. We hear from Cologne, that three great vessels 

 more were arrived there with protestants from the Palatinate for 

 England, and thence to Pennsylvania ; so that above 1000 families 

 have already quitted that country. 



May 14. A. great many poor German and French protestants have 

 taken the oaths this week at the Queen's Bench Court, in order to 

 their naturalization by the late act. 



May 28. Sunday last about 300 protestants from the Palatinate 

 received the Sacrament at the Prussian church in Savoy, in order 

 to their naturalization : 1,800 more are also arrived, and a sermon 

 will be preached before them once a week in Aldgata church. 



June 14. Sunday Mr. DuQuesne, a French protestant presented 

 a letter to her majesty from the king of Prussia about the reformed 

 churches in France, and a petition in the name of above a million of 



1 TindaVs History of England ; Burnet's Own Time. 



2 A Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from Sept., 1678 to April, 

 1714. Oxford, 1857, 6 vols. 



