of the British cabinet, in neglecting to make a right use of those advantages and happy occasions which their own courage and God's blessing had put into their hands.”* 55. Marlborough's onding the mo Marlborough seconded the motion of Halifax in a speech of peculiar interest, as the last which he made on the speech in sec- conduct of this eventful war. "Although," said tion of Halifax. he, "the negotiations for peace may be far advanced, yet I can see no reason which should induce the allies or ourselves to remain inactive, and not push on the war with the utmost vigor, as we have incurred the expense of recruiting the army for the service of another year. That army is now in the field; and it has often occurred that a victory or a siege produced good effects and manifold advantages when treaties were still further advanced than in the present negotiation. And as I am of opinion that we should make the most we can for ourselves, the only infallible way to force France to an entire submission is to besiege and оссиру Cambray or Arras, and to carry the war into the heart of the kingdom. But as the troops of the enemy are now encamped, it is impossible to execute that design, unless they are withdrawn from their position; and as they can not be reduced to retire from want of provisions, they must be attacked and forced. For the truth of what I say, I appeal to a noble duke (Argyll), whom I rejoice to see in this house, because he knows the country, and is as good a judge of these matters as any person now alive." Argyll, though a bitter personal enemy of Marlborough, thus appealed to, said, "I do indeed know that country, and the situation of the enemy in their present camp, and I agree with the noble duke that it is impossible to remove them without attacking and driving them away; and, until that is effected, neither of the two sieges alluded to can be undertaken. I likewise agree that the capture of these two towns is the most effectual way to carry on the war with advantage, and would be a fatal blow to France."t * Parl. Hist., May 28, 1712. Lockhart Papers, i., 392. The ministers falsely declare parties to the negotiation. Notwithstanding the creation of twelve peers to swamp the Upper House, it is doubtful how the division would 56. have gone, had not Lord Strafford, a cabinet minister, observed, in reply to the charge that the the allies to be British government was about to conclude a separate peace, “Nothing of that nature has ever been intended; for such a peace would be so foolish, villainous, and knavish, that every servant of the queen must answer for it, with his head, to the nation. The allies are acquainted with our proceedings, and satisfied with our terms." This statement was made by a British minister, in his place in Parliament, on the 28th of May, eighteen days after the private letter had been dispatched from Mr. Secretary St. John to the Duke of Ormond, already quoted, mentioning the private treaty with Louis, enjoining him to keep it secret from the allies, and communicate clandestinely with Villars. But such a declaration, coming from an accredited minister of the crown, produced a great impression, and ministers prevailed by a majority of sixty-eight to forty. In the course of the debate, Earl Poulett let fall such cutting expressions against Marlborough for having, as he alleged, led his troops to certain destruction, in order to profit by the sale of the officers' commissions,* that the duke, without deigning a reply, sent him a challenge on leaving the house. The agitation, however, of the earl, who was less cool than the iron veteran in the prospect of such a meeting, revealed what was going forward, and, by an order from the queen, the affair was terminated without bloodshed.† 57. Conditions of the Treaty of Utrecht, It soon appeared what foundation there was for the assertion of the queen's ministers, that England was engaged in no separate negotiation for a peace. On the 6th of June, the outlines of the treaty, which 6th June. afterward became so famous as the PEACE OF UTRECHT, were * "No one can doubt the Duke of Ormond's bravery; but he is not like a certain general who led troops to the slaughter, to cause a great number of officers to be knocked on the head in a battle, or against stone walls, in order to fill his pockets by the sale of their commissions."-Coxe, vi., 196. t Lockhart Papers, i., 392. COXE, vi., 196-199. divulged. The Duke of Anjou was to renounce forever, for himself and his descendants, all claim to the French crown; and the crown of Spain was to descend, by the male line only, to the Duke of Anjou, and failing them, to certain princes of the Bourbon line by male descent, always excluding him who was possessed of the French crown.* Gibraltar and Minorca remained to England; Dunkirk was to be demolished; the Spanish Netherlands were to be ceded to Austria, with Naples, Milan, and Sardinia; the barrier towns were to be ceded to the Dutch, as required in 1709, with the exception of two or three places. Spain and her Indian colonies remained with the Duke of Anjou and his male heirs, as King of Spain And thus, at the conclusion of the most glorious and successful war recorded in English history, did the English cabinet leave to France the great object of the contest—the crown of Spain placed on the head of a prince of the Bourbon race, and of its magnificent Indian colonies. With truth did Marlborough observe, in the debate on the preliminaries, "The measures pursued in England for the last year are directly contrary to her majesty's engagements with the allies, sully the triumphs and glories of her reign, and will render the English name odious to all other nations." It was all in vain. people loudly clamored for peace; the cry against the taxes. was irresistible. The Tory ministry was seconded by a vast numerical majority throughout the country. The peace was The * The words of the treaty, which subsequent events have rendered of importance on this point, were these: Philippe V., king of Spain, renounced "à toutes pretensions, droits, et tîtres qui lui et sa postérité avaient ou pourraient avoir à l'avenir à la couronne de France. Il consentit pour lui et sa postérité que ce droit fût tenu et considéré comme passé au Duc de Berry son frère et à ses descendants et postérité male et au defaut de ce prince; et de sa postérité male, au Duc de Bourbon son cousin et á ses héritiers, et aussi successivement à tous les princes du sang de France." The Duke of Saxony and his male heirs were called to the succession, failing Philippe V. and his male heirs. This act of renunciation and entail of the crown of Spain on male heirs was ratified by the Cortes of Castile and Arragon; by the Parliament of Paris, by Great Britain and France in the sixth article of the Treaty of Utrecht.-Vide SCHOELL, Hist. de Trait., ii., 99-105, and Du. MONT, Corp. Dipl., tom. viii., p. 1, p. 339. + CoxE, vi., 205. approved of by large majorities in both houses. Parliament was soon after prorogued; and Marlborough, seeing his public career terminated, solicited and obtained passports to go abroad, which he soon afterward did. 58. Mournful sepa gent from the Great was the mourning, and loud the lamentations, both in the British and allied troops, when the fatal day arrived that the former were to separate from ration of the their old companions in arms. On the 16th of English contin July, the very day on which Quesnoy surrendered, allies. the last of their long line of triumphs, Ormond having exhausted every sort of procrastination to postpone the dreaded hour, was compelled to order the English troops to march. He in vain, however, gave a similar order to the auxiliaries in British pay. The hereditary Prince of Cassel replied, "The Hessians would gladly march if it were to fight the French." Another, "We do not serve for pay, but fame." The native English, however, were compelled to obey the order of their sovereign, and they set out, twelve thousand strong, from the oamp at Cambresis. Of all the Germans in British pay, only one battalion of Holstein men, and a regiment of dragoons from Liege, accompanied them. Silent and dejected they took their way; the men kept their eyes on the ground; the officers did not venture to return the parting salute of the comrades who had so long fought and conquered by their side. Not a word was spoken on either side; the hearts of all were too full for utterance; but the averted eye, the mournful air, the blush of indignation, told the deep emotion which was every where felt. It seemed as if the allies were following to the grave, with profound affliction, the whole body of their British comrades. But when the troops reached their restingplace for the night, and the suspension of arms was proclaimed at the head of each regiment, the general indignation became so vehement, that even the bonds of military discipline were unable to restrain it. A universal cry, succeeded by a loud murmur, was heard through the camp. The British soldiers were seen tearing their hair, casting their muskets on Сс the ground, and rending their clothes, uttering all the while furious exclamations against the government which had so shamefully betrayed them. The officers were so overwhelmed with vexation, that they sat apart in their tents looking on the ground, through very shame; and for several days they shrunk from the sight even of their fellow-soldiers. Many left their colors to serve with the allies; others withdrew; and whenever they thought of Marlborough and their days of glory, tears filled their eyes.* 59. Great difficul ties now expe negotiation It soon appeared that it was not without reason that these gloomy presentiments prevailed on both sides, as to the consequences of the British withdrawing rienced in the from the contest. So elated were the French by with France. this withdrawal, that they speedily lost all sense of gratitude and even honesty, and refused to give up Dunkirk to the British; and the cession was only effected with great difficulty, on the earnest entreaties of the British government. So great were the difficulties which beset the negotiation, that St. John was obliged to repair in person to Paris, where he remained incognito for a considerable time, and effected a compromise with regard to the objects still in dispute between the parties. The secession of England from the confederacy was now openly announced; and, as the allies refused to abide by her preliminaries, the separate negotiation continued between the two countries, and lingered on for nearly a year after the suspension of arms. Meanwhile, Eugene, after the departure of the British, con60. tinued his operations, and laid siege to Landrecies, Landrecies is the last of the barrier fortresses on the road to Paris, ineffectually Eugene, who verse at De nain. besieged by in the end of July. But it soon appeared that Ensustains a re- gland had been the soul of the confederacy, and that it was the tutelary arm of Marlborough which had so long averted disaster, and chained victory to its standards. Nothing but defeat and misfortune attended the allies after its secession. Even the great and tried abilities of Eu*CUNNINGHAM, ii., 342. MILNER, 356. |