BOOK VI. practicability of succeeding in the professed ob1710. ject of it-the recovery of the Spanish monarchy,

State of the

War.

was by this time visible to all persons capable of reflexion. "We had now," says a celebrated con

temporary writer, "sufficiently experienced how Hopeless little dependence could be had on the vigor of the Spanish Portuguese, and how firmly the Spanish nation was attached to Philip. Our armies had been twice at Madrid: this prince had been twice driven from his capital: his rival had been there : none stirred in favor of the victorious; all wished and acted for the vanquished. Mr. Stanhope himself owned that nothing could be done more in Spain; that armies of 20 or 30,000 men might walk about the country till doomsday without effect; that wherever they came the people would submit to Charles III. out of terror, and as soon as they were gone proclaim Philip V. again out of affection; that to conquer Spain required a great army, and to keep it a greater*." Even the sanguine and romantic disposition of lord Peterborough was equally impressed with this grand truth; and, in a letter written at this period by that nobleman, he acknowledges the impossibility of carrying on the war in Spain, "where success," says he, "becomes misfortune, where the mines of Peru and Mexico, would

* Bolingbroke's Letters on History, vol. ii. p. 94.

hardly supply the expence, and from whence BOOK VI. neither men nor money return*."

1710.

liament

The new parliament, which met on the 25th of New ParNovember 1710, was composed almost wholly of convened. tories; the popular violence in the late general election being such as made it scarcely safe to vote for a whig. Mr. Bromley was chosen speaker with little or no opposition. In the speech from the throne the queen recommended the carrying on the war in all its parts, particularly in Spain, with the utmost vigor. She declared her resolution to support and encourage the church of England as by law established, to preserve the British constitution according to the union, and to maintain the indulgence allowed by law to scrupulous consciences. "And that all these," said the queen in conclusion, " may be transmitted to posterity, I shall employ none but such as are heartily for the protestant succession in the house of Hanover, the interest of which family no person can be more truly concerned for than myself." The addresses were in the same unexceptionable strain; so that the use of the obnoxious phrase, indulgence of scrupulous consciences," was the only indication of the predominance of tory principles.

66

In December the duke of Marlborough ar

* Somerville's History of Queen Anne, Appendix.

BOOK VI. rived in London, and was received with the usual 1711. popular acclamation. His grace manifested no

resentment at what had passed: he visited and was visited by the heads of the present administration; and, being strongly solicited by the States General and the emperor to continue in the command, seemed resolved to acquiesce in the new order of things. Convinced at length, however slow to believe, that the duchess of Duchess of Marlborough must relinquish every hope of rerough re- gaining the lost affection of her sovereign, he Court. carried, January 19, 1711, a surrender of all

Marlbo

tires from

her places to the queen, who divided them between the duchess of Somerset and Mrs. Masham. The duke was told "that he had nothing to reproach the present ministers with; that his wife, lord Godolphin, and himself, had thrown the queen's favor away; and that he ought not to be angry if other people had taken it up." He never brought the key till he had but three days given him to do it in; and till he found that a longer delay was not to be hoped for from the queen's resolution*. The house of commons, actuated by the rage of party, eagerly sought occasions to display their hatred to the principles and persons of their predecessors. Though the earl of Godolphin had been the most incorrupt

*Bolingbroke's Correspondence, vol. i. p. 49.

1711.

of ministers, very great pains were taken to in- BOOK VI. fuse into the public mind false and injurious suspicions of his integrity. For this purpose, and in pursuance of the report of a committee instituted for examining into the public accounts, the house voted, "that of the moneys granted by parliament, thirty-five millions remained unaccounted for." But Mr. Mainwaring, auditor of the imprest, published a very able and satisfactory answer to the report, by which it appeared, that of the thirty-five millions, above thirty were accounted for; although, from official impediments, the accounts were not formally passed that, in order to swell the amount, arrears due from the reign of king William, and even of Charles II., were included: and that in no time were accounts so regularly brought up as under the administration of lord Godolphin. The house of commons Factious nevertheless, regardless of truth and rectitude, ings in the and inflamed by the malignant spirit of faction, Commons. presented a subsequent address to the queen, in which this unjust and even ridiculous accusation. was repeated; and they expressed their great surprise and concern to find, "that they who of late years have had the management of the treasury, and ought to have compelled the several accomptants to pass their respective accounts, have been guilty of so notorious a breach of trust, and of so high an injustice to the nation, that of

Proceed

House of

BOOK VI. the moneys granted by parliament, and issued for 1711. the public service, to Christmas 1710, there re

mains unaccounted for the sum of 35,302,107. From all these evil practices, and worse designs," say they," of some persons who had by false professions of love to their country insinuated themselves into your royal favor, irreparable mischief had ensued to the public, had not your majesty, in your great wisdom, seasonably discovered the fatal tendency of such measures, and, out of singular goodness to your people, removed from the administration of affairs those who had so ill answered the favourable opinion your majesty had conceived of them." This representation

your

was artfully and assiduously circulated throughout the nation, and contributed greatly to confirm the strong prejudices now prevalent against the late whig administration.

2

For the sake of offering an indignity to the memory of king William, the house of commons ordered in a bill empowering commissioners to examine all grants made by that monarch, and to report the value of them, and the considerations upon which they were bestowed. This however was rejected by the lords.

An inquiry was again set on foot, in the upper house, into the conduct of the war with Spain. The tories having now obtained an ascendency in that house in consequence of the accession of