not only been cleared of the Enemy, Men and Ships to fupport Don but the Emperor himself, the princi- Philip, in renewing his Enterprizes pal Aggreffor, has been driven out against the King of Sardinia. The of his own Territories, and the late Cardinal's pacifick, half-paced French, in a great Measure, out of Genius, balancing between Peace the Empire; and although the active and War, is buried with him; and Part of thefe Advantages, is owing A the ancient Spirit of domineering, to the Conduct of Prince Charles has refumed the Reins of Governof Lerrain, and the Courage of the ment in France; confequently, the Troops under his Command, yet leaft Abatement of cur Zeal and the Allied Army having kept Mar- Force, in fupport of the Common fhal Noailles in Echec, and prevented Caufe, muft prove, at this Juncture, his making any Detachment in fup- of the most dangerous Confeport of Broglie, and Count Secken B quence; and that must be the Cafe, dorff, to which he was moft carneftly fhould we refufe to continue the follicited, joined with the glorious 16,000 Men any longer in our SerBattle of Dettingen, must be con- vice; for it is impoffible to fhow, feffed to have greatly contributed as will be made appear by and by, to the Success of the Auftrians, on that the fame Number of Troops, the other Side of the Rhine, and to fupply that Defect, can be had, have obliged the French to retire C in Time, any where elfe; or that into their own Country: Add to that Defect can be made good by this, the Advantage that may be any other Means. expected from the Activity of the King of Sardinia, by the Alliance lately concluded between him, his Majefty, and the Queen of Hungary. But it is pretended that the Hanoverian Troops can be of no Ufe, because those of Great Britain are fo incenfed against them, that it is imDpoffible they fhould ever act together again. This Situation requires therefore, inftead of a Diminution, rather an Increase of our Forces, in order to make the utmost Efforts to finish the great Work, that is happily advanced fo far; and to oblige the Emperor, and his Allies, to come to a general Pacification on reasonable Terms, E to which, at prefent, they feem not at all disposed: On the contrary, if we may judge by outward Appearances, France is making greater Preparations than ever, both by Sea and Land; and has, 'tis faid, concluded a new offenfive and defenfive Alliance with Spain and the Emperor; by Virtue of which, befides a great Augmentation of her own Armies on the Continent, fhe has engaged to enable the Emperor, by Subfidies, to put his fcattered Troops in a Condition to act, who is accordingly taking the proper Meafures for that Purpofe; he is alfo to furnish a confiderable Number of Now, to imagine that the Service of foreign Troops in the Pay of Great Britain, fhould be incompatible with the Service of the Troops of the Nation that pays them, seems at firft to be very extraordinary, and, indeed, an abfurd Suppofition, contrary to the Experience of the two laft long Wars, which, if that had been the Cafe, could never have been carried on fo many Years by the Allies. Where an Army is compofed of Troops of different Nations, fome Incidents, in the Variety of Services and Motions, muft frequently happen, relating to Quarters, Forage, and even from Jealoufies in the Services to be performed, which may caufe Difputes among fo many Gvarious Corps; but it is not to be doubted, but that if the Officers will do their Duty, their Prudence and Authority may eafily remove or re F concile concile fuch Difputes, fo as to pre- acknowledged nor rewarded, and be- quently happened in the laft Wars, D But fince the Clamour is fo loud, the Impreffion fo general, and, indeed, fo violent, against the Hangverian Troops, as to affect many Per- C fons zealoufly attached to the Intereft of this Government, the Motives, whether well or ill founded, muft arife from fomething more than what is ufually incidental to the Service of Troops of different Nations; they cannot poffibly proceed from Difputes about Quarters, Forage, &c. nor from the Ignorance or Impertinence of an inferior Hanoverian Officer, refufing to obey an English General, without Orders from a General of his own Nation. Thefe Difputes are certainly fuch as may eafily be prevented, and could never have occafioned fo general an Outcry; we must therefore look for fome other Caufe, in order to judge and determine upon a proper Remedy. Barnet, in his Hiftory, 1691, takes Notice of a general Uneafinefs againft King William, arifing, as he expreffes it, from a Prejudice, as if that Prince was thought to love the Dutch more than the English, to trust more to them, and to admit them to more Freedom with him; a general Difguft (he fays) was pread among G the English Officers, and the Nobili -the Earl of Mariborough thought bis great Services were not E F Let us then fuppofe, that fomething of this Kind may have happened lait Year in the Army; that fome Civil and Military Officers of this Nation, of confiderable Quality and Station, may have thought themselves flighted or neglected, by a preferable Confdence, Truft aud Regard thown to fome of another Country, in all Refpects their Inferiors; this, indeed, must have been fhocking and difagreeable; may have made them complain to their Friends, and these Complaints may have fpread among the Subaltern Officers, and being diffufed among the common Soldiers, may have occafioned a national Refentment in Favour of their own Countrymen, against thofe that may have had that Preference; and tranfmitted hither with certain aggravating Circumftances, may have had a very bad Effect upon the People, to the Difadvantage of the Government. If this has been the Cafe, it is, indeed, to be extremely lamented, and much to be wifh'd that nothing of this Kind had happened; for perfonal Slights have often been the Caufe of publick Difalters: A Difregard at a Levee of the Earl of Ejex, is thought to have been one of the first Occations of King Charles the Firft's Misfortunes. But can it be juftifiable in a Parlia ment, though enfibly affected, and' con PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &t. B concerned for this fuppofed Distinction, and the Confequences of it, to blend their Counfels fo much with it, as to carry Things to Extremities, and to endanger the Common Caufe, for which fuch extraordinary Efforts, attended with fuch unex- A pected Succeffes, have been made? God forbid! that a Difregard of one or two, or inore, particular Men, tho' ever fo confiderable in themselves, fhould be of that Confequence, and have fuch an Influence on this great Affembly, as to make them take a Step, that would, as will be proved by and by, diffolve the Alliance at once, expofe the Balance of Europe, and confequently the Safety of this Nation, to the Will of a moft formidable Power; efpecially, when C the Caufes of this great Fermentation and Clamour may be removed, the very Nature of them fhows how obvious tac Remedy is. Perfonal Cure for perfonal Difguft, from whence the popular Outcry is derived, is certainly eafy But, if they who appear fo anxious to remove the Diaffection, and the fatal Confequences which they apprehend from it, would be as attentive to think of Expedients, furely more than one might occur, fo folid and so fubftantial, as would at once eradicate thofe unfortunate Jealouties and Animolities between two Nations under the Government of one Prince, without having Recourfe to fuch violent ones, as would immediately redound to the Disadvantage of the Publick, diftrefs and destroy irretrievably, that F Caufe which we are fo greatly engaged to fupport, and render, at one Stroke, all the other Supplies, which have been hitherto to heartily granted, ufelefs and infignificant, as will be evident from the following Coniderations. For, it is impoffible, that 16,000 Hanoverians can be replaced, by taking any other Troops in their Stead. None can be had from the D E lefs than they were latt Year; which the 1 the Preparations that are making by France, give that Crown a Superiority in the Empire; or if the continues upon the Defenfive there, enable her to fend fuch a Detachment, as may, in Conjunction with the Spaniards, be too powerful for the King of Sardinia, and force him to a feparate Peace; this muft be the unavoidable Confequence of fuch a Measure, fuppofing the Allies fhould ftill continue, after fuch "a Diminution of the Army, in a Difpofition to act together. But nothing is inore certain, than that it would be an immediate Diffolution of the Alliance. Power in their Neighbourhoods and should the Parliament difcharge 16,000 Men,and that purely for Reafons that by the Nature of them must perfonally reflect upon his Majesty, fuch a Diminution of our Forces, by A fuch a Difgrace, and, as it will certainly be conftrued abroad, such an Affront to the King; fuch a Diftruft and Divifion between the King and this House, upon whose Union the Support and Succefs of this great Caufe chiefly depends, will throw B fuch a Damp and Difcouragement upon the Spirits of the well-intentioned in Holland, and to animate the Oppofition, as to enable them to obftruct the Activity of the States, and precipitate a Negotiation for Peace on any Terms; this, every body C knows, that knows any Thing of that Government, mult be the inevitable Confequence of this extraordinary Step; for no body abroad will imagine, that the Service of Britons and Hanoverians together is incompatible, if the Officers will do their Duty; and all that Influence, Respect, and Regard, which was fhown by all the neighbouring Powers in Germany, on Account of the noble and formidable Army of the Allies, furnithed in a great Measure by this Country, will at once be loft; a Diffidence and Difpiritedness in the Dutch will certainly affect other Powers, that are at prefent either neuter, or feemingly inclined to us. Will any one promife, that we can depend upon the 6000 Heffians, which came very loth and very late lait Year to the Field; and whofe Prince, although nearly related to this Crown, has given too many Marks of his good Will towards the Elector of Bavaria, in Oppofition to the Queen of Hungary. Will any one anfwer, that another Prince, that has 130,000 Men at his Command, and although engaged at prefent to oblerve a Neutrality, yet being by no Meam perfonally well af D Would the Dutch, who have been encouraged, from the great Efforts made by this Nation to fupport this Caufe, to give their Affillance, who will make the Sentiments and Refolutions of this Houfe a Rule and Measure for their Actions, and now wait in Expectation of our Proceedings to govern their own; will they, when they fee fuch a Diminution of Forces on our Part, at a Time when the Preparations of France call for an Increase rather than a Diminution, continue to pursue any vigorous Refolution? It is impoflible to imagine it; and the plaufible Motives given here for laying afide the Hanoverians, will be the principal Caufe to intimidate and dishearten them. The States of Holland have, contrary to the fundamental Rule of their Government, of not acting without an Unanimity in Matters relative to Peace and War, with great Conduct and Management, induced the States Ge- F neral, by a Majority, to give 20,000 Men to the Affiftance of the Queen of Hungary, which has been obtained not without great Struggle againit a moft vigilant and induftrious Oppofition, crying out loudly against the Violation of their Conftitution, and G against the Danger of expofing themfelves, and their Frontiers, to the Refentment of a molt formidable E fected fested to us; will any one, I fay, anfwer, that that Prince, when he fees fuch a Diminution of our For tes, and fuch a Want of Harmony between the King and his Parliament, and the Confequences of it, will not, under Pretence of preferving the A Peace of the Empire, act a Part that will make it impoffible for the Allies to continue their Succeffes against the Enemy of the House of Auftria, efpecially if the Coldness between the Courts of Vienna and Ruffia, on Account of General Botta, fhould con tinue. In fhort, nothing can be more evident, than that, by the Discharge of the Hanoverians, there will be an immediate Diffolution of Alliance; and the Confequences of it muft as inevitably be the giving France fuch a Superiority, as to put it in her Power to impofe what Terms of Peace the pleases upon the Queen of Hungary; who being abandoned, mult afterwards leave her Allies to the Mercy of that Crown: The Confequence of which must be, that when the Peace upon the Continent is made by the Directions and Influence of France, exclufive of England, that Power, fenfible of the Oppofition made to her by this Nation, and out of Refentment for the Trouble and Obftructions to her Views, will foon take an Opportunity to deliver to us a long Liit of pretended Provocations, and require an extraordinary Satisfaction, to which we muft fubmit in a fhameful Manner, like a Province to her, or run the Hazard of a War with France and Spain, without the Profpect of the leaft Support from any Ally whatfoever; and fo the War will be tranflated from the Continent to this Ifland, which will become a Scene of Blood and Confufion. The next that stood up was C. Popillius Lænas, who, in the Character of the Lord Strange, poke in Subftance thus B C D Mr. Prefident, Sir, T1 HERE is one Question very I fhould be glad to have anfwered our Confideration; and as no Gentle- E ger |