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ferve the Peace of Christendom, and that the Partitioning of the Spanish Monarchy for that end, was as neceffary as the pulling down or blowing up a Street or fome Houfes, during a Fire, to prevent a whole City's being confum'd. He difcover'd his Ingratitude ftill further, by charging the Maritime Powers with Infincerity, in demanding what they never defign'd to obtain; and the Dutch in particular, with framing Views contrary to the Intereft of their Republick: and that neither we nor they ftipulated any advantage to our felves. The Defign of this was to incenfe the Subjects of England and Holland againft their refpective Govern. ments, as if they had concerted Mea fures with France prejudicial to their Trade and Liberty: and we know well enough what ufe the difaffected Faction made of this in England, when in Parliament they charg'd the King with having made a Felonious Treaty, and impeach'd his Ministers for confenting to it.

The French King having thus feiz'd the Spanish Monarchy by virtue of that pretended Will, one wou'd have thought he fhould have piously obferv'd the Contents of it; but he was fo far from doing fo, that according to his ufual Trea chery he broke in upon it in many inftances, and particularly by fending Frenchmen to poffefs the chief Trufts of the Kingdom, and to govern their Councils contrary to the 33d Article, by which King Charles II. order'd that each of his Kingdoms fhou'd be govern'd by Natives without any Innovation.

This Treachery and Ingratitude of the French King, brought on the prefent Confederacy; wherein the late King William III, was the chief Inftrument, but dy'd before the War was declar'd. Her prefent Majefty, who fucceeded. to his Defigns for the publick welfare of Europe, as well as to his Crown, publifh'd her Declaration of War against France on the 4th of May, 1702. which was less than two Months after King William's Death. Her Majefty charges him there with unjult Ufurpations and Incroachments; with keeping poffeffion of a great Part of the Spanish Dominions; with exercifing an abfolute Authority over all that Monarchy; with feizing Milan, and the Spanish Low-Countrys, and making himself Mafter of the Entrance into the Mediterranean, and of the Ports in the Spanish West Indies; with a defign to invade the Libertys of Europe, and to obftruct the freedom of Navigation and Commerce. 'Tis fit to be obferv'd here, that before the Death of King William, the French King had declar'd the Pretender to be King of

Great

Great Britain and Ireland; which was directly contrary to the 1ft and 4th Articles of the Treaty of Refwick, by which he was bound to a perpetual Peace and fincere Friendship with King William, to promote his Intereft, Honour, and Advantage; and tied up from giving or affording any affiftance directly or indirectly to any Enemy or Enemys of King William, and in no manner whatsoever to favour the Conspiracys and Plots which any Rebels or ill difpos'd Perfons may in any Place excite or contrive against the said King, and that he wou'd not affift with Arms, or any other way, any Perfon or Perfons who fhou'd hereafter under. any pretence whatfoever, disturb or moleft the faid King of Great Britain in the free and full Poffeffion of his Kingdom, &c. Upon this her Majefty in her faid Declaration, p. 421. of the following Collections, takes notice that the French King, instead of giving that fatisfaction for his Contravention of the above-mention'd Treatys, which ought juftly to be expected, not only proceeded to further violence, but added thereunto a great Affront and Indignity to her Majefty and her Kingdoms, in taking upon him to declare the pretended Prince of Wales King of England, Scotland, and Ireland; and had alfo influenc'd Spain to concur in the fame Affront and Indignity, as well as in other Oppreflions.

The States-General in their Manifefto, p. 422. recapitu late the French King's former breach of Treatys, and particularly that of Refwick; wherein, befides the other Infractions already mention'd, they charge him alfo with breaking the Treaty of Partition, notwithstanding the repeated Proteftations he had made never to depart from it; and that he had violated the fame without giving any previous Communication of his Intention to thofe with whom he had made it, alledging for his principal Motive, that the Spirit and Senfe of the faid Treaty, and not the Letter, were to be regarded; and explain'd that Spirit and Senfe in his own way. He threatned them at the fame time, if they did not concur with him, which they juftly obferv'd was an uncommon, as well as unheard of Breach of Faith, and a dangerous Inftance, which tended for the future to undermine and ruin the Faith of all publick Treatys. They charg'd him likewife with having poffefs'd himself of the Spanish Dominions, contrary to the Treaty of Partition, without any regard to the Emperor's Pretenfions; which being the Foundation of it, the greatest Part of the Spanish Monarchy was thereby yielded to the Archduke, He like

wife, contrary to that, and former Treatys, had poffefs'd himself of the Spanish Netherlands, notwithstanding they had Garifons there by the Confent of the King of Spain for the Security of the Country; by which the French depriv'd them of the Barrier he had fettled by former Treatys, and particularly by that of the Partition, and had procur'd an abfolute surrender of thofe Provinces from his Grandfon, whofe Dominions he govern'd in as abfolute a manner as if France and Spain were one and the fame Kingdom. He likewise endeavour'd to force the States into a feparate Treaty without their Allies; and to compel them to it, feiz'd Liege, and the moft confiderable Places of the Electorate of Cologn, that he might invade them on all fides, as in 1672. and for that fame end rais'd a confiderable number of Troops in the Country of Wolfembuttel. He likewife feiz'd all the Harbours of Spain, Naples, Sicily, and other Iflands in the Mediterranean, and alfo of the Spanish Netherlands and the Weft Indies, to make himself intire Mafter of the Commerce of Europe, and to exclude them and other Nations from it. He endeavour'd alfo to perfwade the King of Portugal to deny them his Harbours; and fent a Squadron to the West Indies to feize the Plate-Fleet, in which the Subjects of the States, and of other Princes and Potentates had fo great a fhare; and at the fame time he endeavour'd to amuse them with a Treaty for a General Peace, tho he erected a Fort in the Netherlands within Cannon hot of one belonging to the States, contrary to a Treaty agreed on with Spain in 1648. to the Laws of Nations, and those of

War.

The Emperor in his Declaration, p. 430. charges the French King with the Breach of the Treaty of Refwick, and of the Pyrenees, with feizing feveral Hereditary Countrys belonging to the Houfe of Auftria; with invading the Empire, and feizing feveral of its Fiefs; with fupporting the Elector of Cologn in his Difobedience, and his Grandfon the Duke of Anjou in ufurping feveral Titles, as that of Duke of Auftria, Count of Hapsbourg and Tirol, &c. which belong to none but the Archducal Houfe. In the laft place, with feizing the Dominions of Spain, on pretence of a Will contriv'd by fome brib'd Spanish Counsellors, according to the Direction of the French King, which was offer'd to the late King of Spain, when he was fo weak in Body and Mind, as not to be able to read or understand, much lefs to weigh and examine, as was neceffary, the large Contents of the faid Will, which of it felf was full of Falfities, and incomprehenfible

prehenfible Contradictions, as well as contrary to the Intention of the faid King, which he had fo often fignify'd to the Emperor.

All these things being confider'd, we may juftly say that there was never a Prince in the World, and much less any who affum'd the Title of Chriftian, whofe Reign affords fo many Instances of study'd and deliberate Perjury, and Breach of folemn Treatys; nor have we an Inftance of any Prince that ever pretended to the Belief of a God, that fo frequently profan'd his Name by the breach of publick Oaths, or that play'd fift and loofe in fuch a manner with things that they themselves accounted Sacred: So that like another Pharaoh he has all along bid defiance to the Almighty, and it has been the Language of his Practice, tho not of his Mouth, Who is the Lord that I should obey him?

Tho the Divine Vengeance has punifh'd him in a remarkable manner by the Defeats of his Armys, and defolating Judgments upon his Dominions, he goes on ftill in his obftinate Perjurys and Ufurpations, and has fo chican'd with the Confederates in the bufinefs of the Preliminarys, that 'tis hop'd they will truft no more to his Treatys, till he be put out of condition to break them, and till they have fuch à Guaranty for the performance of 'em, as he and his Succeffors, whom he has bred up in his own Maxims, fhall not be able to break.

*

As to the following Collection, 'twill fpeak for itself. 'Tis the only compleat thing of this Nature which has yet appear'd in English, therefore 'tis hop'd twill be of general ufe to open the Eyes of the British Nation, to let them fee their true Intereft, and what they ought to infift upon in any future Treaty with relation to themselves and their Allys, and particularly for the Security of the Proteftant Succeffion, and Proteftant Intereft in general, and for the Security and Inlargement of our Commerce; all which have fuffer'd fo much by the Perjury and Tyranny of Lewis XIV. whom if we and our Allys be not wanting to our felves, the Divine Providence, which has fo long made him the Rod of its Anger, and the Staff of its Indignation, feems + now to be throwing into the Fire.

*As to which Subject the Reader may confult a late Book, intitled, The True Intereft of Europe confider'd, with refpect to Peace and War, under the following Heads. 1. Whether it be for the Interest of the Allies to confent to a Peace in this Conjuncture. 2. Upon what Conditions a lafting Peace may be fettled. 3. The means for obtaining thofe Conditions.

Viz. Anno 1710.

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