conveniences to the subject than the aforesaid objections. When the Bill came to the Commons, the Tories had no consideration but to oblige so great a body as the Scotch. The old Whigs, either for the same reason, or in hopes of getting a Clause added to take away their forfeitures in treason in case the Bill should proceed, joined with the North Britons, first in opposing the Bill, and then upon the commitment got a sufficient party to add such a Clause; which the Court opposed; but it was carried, and the Bill passed with it in the House. The Scotch were here mightily deceived, for they were so complaisant to their friends, the Whigs, as to vote for passing the Bill, thinking it would certainly, with the clause of taking away the forfeitures, be rejected by the Lords, and so their friendship preserved in one House, and their aim of keeping up a distinct government in their own kingdom, and by that measure making themselves of greater weight to every party on occasion, would be obtained in the other. But when the Bill with the Amendment, that no estates should be forfeited upon conviction of treason, nor the crime of the father visited upon the son, was returned to the Lords, they prudently, rather than lose an Act of such consequence to the United Government, let the Clause stand, with this Amendment, that it should not be in force till after the Pretender's death. Yesterday this Amendment was considered by the Commons, and agreed to by a majority of five votes; upon which the North Britons left the House, in a body, very much enraged; and the Commons proceeded in the Bill, and added another Amendment to the Lords', that the forfeiting Clause should not take place till after three years after the death of Her present Majesty, to which I hear just now that the Lords have agreed, so that

the laws in cases of treason will be in the united nation the same as they are in England.” 8

It was greatly feared on the passing of this Bill, that by the aid of its provisions divers acts of vengeful retrospect, of severity and persecution, might be set on foot. Under these apprehensions the Ministers found themselves enabled, ere the Session closed, to propose and carry through an Act of Grace and Free Pardon, which the Queen sent down, and which the two Houses confirmed. It was the first in this reign, and the fullest since the Revolution. The Royal forgiveness was now granted to all treasons committed before the passing of the Act, excepting those only done on the high seas; by which limitation it was intended to shut out those who in the previous year had embarked with the Pretender.

This beneficent Act had a much larger scope than at the time was fully apprehended. It ensured the safety and it allayed the fears of very many who within the last twenty years had held correspondence with the Court of St. Germain's. No stronger proof can be given of its wide-spread influence than that the two chief men in the Queen's service-Marlborough and Godolphin-were in truth affected by it. Both had formerly bound themselves by secret engagements to the exiled King; both had made themselves liable on detection to all the penalties of High Treason, until within the shelter of this Act of Grace which was framed and carried by themselves.

Marlborough had remained upon the Continent long

8 Letter dated Whitehall, April | tender's death was moved by Lord 19, 1709 (MS.). The proviso that Somers. (Parl. Hist. vol. vi. p. the Clauses as to forfeiture should 797.) not take effect until after the Pre

after the close of the campaign and beyond the commencement of the year. His great object was to watch the progress of the French overtures for peace. Louis had grown more and more eager to conclude, even at the cost of low submissions and heavy sacrifices, a to him disastrous war. He had seen General after General defeated, fortress after fortress reduced. He had seen Desmarets, whom he had lately in the room of Chamillart placed at the head of his ruinous finances, wholly unable to retrieve them or to wring fresh imposts from the overburthened people. But great as the public distresses were already, they rose during this winter to the direst pitch of suffering. On the 5th of January there commenced, and there continued during many weeks, a frost of such intensity as had no parallel in France. Not only were the rivers congealed, but ice in some places formed on the sea along the shores-ice so thick as to bear a waggon's weight. The fruit-trees throughout the kingdom-the apple-trees of Normandy no less than the olive-trees of Provence-withered away and died. Blight fell on Anjou with its rich corn-lands, and on Gascony with its budding vines. The hope of the harvest was gone, and famine stared the people in the face.

In a streight so grievous, the King, deeply touched with compassion for his suffering subjects, felt that he should do everything, and bear everything, to obtain a peace. He renewed his overtures at the Hague in a private form, first through Mesnager, a deputy of the

"Tamys rivere twys y-frozen,

9 Mém. de St. Simon, vol. vii. p. | year. 100. Though with less severity the same frost extended to England, as is commemorated by Swift in his Prophecy of Merlin for this

Walke sans wetyng shoes ne hozen." (Swift's Works, vol. xiv. p. 92.)

merchants at Rouen, and a man well skilled in business, and next through Pettekum, the Minister in Holland of the Duke of Holstein. It was found impossible to draw the Dutch into any separate negotiation; a peace if made at all must be made with the whole of the Allies. Pensionary Heinsius moreover declared that it was useless to discuss the question any further, unless the French at the very outset, and previous to other demands that would be made on them, were prepared to offer Spain and the Indies, with the Milanese and the Netherlands; a Barrier of strong towns to the Dutch; and a treaty of commerce in their favour.

Hard as these conditions were deemed at Versailles, as not even preliminaries but only the foundation of preliminaries, M. de Torcy was instructed to allow them. To carry on the negotiation by directly accredited agents, he requested that passports should be sent from the Hague for two Ministers on the part of France; the one to be a French subject, the other Bergheyck, late Intendant for Spain in the Low Countries. A passport was sent to the Frenchman, but refused to the Spaniard. Louis, suppressing all resentment at this slight, made choice for his sole negotiator of Rouillé, a President of the Parliament of Paris, who had shown much ability and address in former diplomatic missions. He was instructed to stipulate the best terms he could, especially if possible the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily as a compensation to Philip of Spain, but above all to obtain a suspension of hostilities, so as to avert from France the only too probable disasters of the next campaign.

With no further delay Rouillé set out for Holland. There he was received with great coldness and exposed to many mortifications. was not permitted to

come to the Hague, but ordered to confine himself first to Moerdyke and afterwards to Worden; and to hold no communication except with the two Deputies assigned him, Buys and Vanderdussen.

Marlborough on the other hand had repaired to London in the first days of March to concert measures with his colleagues. It was felt strongly, and above all by the Whig members of the Cabinet, that the recent attempt at invasion rendered necessary three new claims upon France. In any treaty of peace that was concluded Louis must own the Queen's title and the Protestant Succession. He must further engage to send the Pretender out of the French dominions, and to demolish the fortifications and the harbour of Dunkirk. The two former propositions in the shape of an Address to the Queen were moved by Somers in the House of Lords, and passed Nem. Con. Being sent to the Commons for their concurrence, the third point as to Dunkirk was added, on the motion of Mr. Secretary Boyle. The Lords agreed, and the three points went up to Her Majesty as the unanimous recommendation of both the Houses. Few things could be conceived more galling to the pride of Louis, once so uncontrolled, as the injunction to banish from France a Prince whom he had so long cherished and protected, and to destroy with his own hands the works constructed by him on the coast of his own dominions.

With these instructions however did Marlborough return to the Hague, and was joined by Lord Townshend as the second plenipotentiary on the part of England. On the same errand came Prince Eugene and Count Sinzendorf from Vienna. A crowd of Envoys from the smaller Princes followed in their train, each armed with