that those officers who have not the advantage of actually serving in the field may have no reason to complain, but on the contrary, to be sensible of your favour, I wou'd humbly desire you wou'd allow of my directing Mr. Walpole to lay before you, for your orders the names of all such major-generals as have their commissions dat'd in the yeare 1708-9, and such brigadiers as are dat'd in the year 1706-7, and all the colonels dat'd 1705, may have their regular promotions, by which you will do justice to the merit of many officers, who will chearfully venture their lives for your service. You must let no body know that I send you this copie, so that you must desire the queen that she will be pleas'd to give you the dates in her letter. I have this moment received yours of the 4th, and I am entirely of your opinion, that Hobart and Ferrars must be added to the number of brigadiers, as well as colonel Sutton. This must be done, but not take notice of at this time to the queen. DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH TO ROBERT WALPOLE. [Walpole Papers.] (Without date or signature, but endorsed " Duke of Marlborough; received April 28, O. S. 1710.") Expresses himself highly dissatisfied with the queen's conduct, and if he only consulted his own inclination, desirous of resigning. For yourself only. I AM extreamly obliged to you for the account you give of the queen's present temper, which I believe to be such, that if I considered onely myself, I wou'd not serve one minut longer. I send you by this post a cypher for some few names, that you may yearafter write with freedome. My letter by this post is write so as you may read it to the queen. I having follow'd your advice as to Mr. Masham, it would be unjust not to put lord North in this promotion, so that you must lett me have a commission for him. COPY OF A LETTER FROM ROBERT WALPOLE TO THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. [Walpole Papers.] He has laid the list of the promotions before the queen, who strongly interests herself in favour of colonel Hill and colonel Masham Advises the duke not to oppose her inclination-Congratulates him on his successes. MY LORD; Whitehall, April 18-29, 1710. I HAVE the honour of your Grace's commands of the 24th instant, and was yesterday with the queen to receive her commands about the promotion. Shee ordered me to lay before her the lists of such as were designed for this promotion, which I just now carry'd to her majesty. By what your grace wrote to me formerly I took it for granted that you designed the promotion of lieutenants generall should go no further than sir Richard Temple and lord Stair, which I acquainted the queen with. As for the brigadeers, your letter is generall to all whose commissions are dated in 1706-7, and there being no dispute about those of the latter end of that promotion, and some of them as Sybourgh and Rellum serving with your grace, I presume you meant all those should be made majors generall, altho' you once said you designed the promotion should go no further than Evans. As to the collonells, your letter to the queen saith all collonells dated in 1705. I do apprehend that will carry that promotion much farther than you designed, if all are to be made brigadeers whose commissions are dated in any part of the year 1705; and your grace haveing in a former letter to me said you design'd it should go no further than the 25th March, 1705. I told the queen I thought that was your sence now, altho' express'd in generall; Shee mentioned collonel Hill to me, whose commission is dated in 1705; I told her there was no hardshipp to him when the promotion stop'd short of him, and to take in the whole year would make it a very great promotion, and more than what I thought your grace design'd; she did not insist upon this but ordered me to write to your grace to know how farr you did design this promotion. But upon the lists of collonells she was very ready about the affair of collonel Masham, and asked me how many more would be affected with the order about brevetts besides him; I told her Sutton, Herbert, and Ferrars. She was of opinion at first they should all be made brigadeers, but I prevailed with her to let me write to your grace first, and have your opinion about it, which she consented to, but I believe is determined already, and as I apprehended said shee would write to you about it. Your grace has already hinted to me your thoughts about the other three gentlemen, and when he will be the single instance, and what I am affraid would be overruled, I am humbly of opinion 'tis not worth disputing, especially now it is put in this method to come from your grace; so that I shall stop all the commissions that are not to be sent to your grace till. I hear from you again, and the commissions of those gentlemen who have the honour to serve under your grace shall forthwith be dispatched and sent over to you. Inclosed is the list of those whose commissions will be now dispatched. I hope I have not mistaken your grace's sence in this affair, wherein I am sure I have made no willfull mistake. It was an infinite satisfaction to me to hear of your grace on the right side of the Scarp. Pray God for ever bless and preserve you, and make your ennemys at home fall before you, as fast as they fly from you abroad. I am with the greatest duty, truth, and fidelity, &c. ROBERT WALPOLE TO THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. [Walpole Papers.] Acquaints him with the queen's earnest desires that Mrs. Masham's brother should be made a brigadier, and with the satisfaction expressed by the queen at Marlborough's compliance in favour of Mr. Masham. MY LORD; Whitehall, April 28,-May 9, 1710. WHEN I first waited on the queen about the promotion shee ordered me to leave with her a list of the colonels, and the dates of their commissions. Since I had the honour to trouble you last the queen sent for me, and after a great deal of preamble and beating about the bush said, that she had been considering the letter she had from your grace, and the letter you wrote to the lord treasurer, wherein you expressed yourself desirous to encourage all the officers that were in service with you, and your letter being for the whole year 1705; she was of opinion it was proper to make all the colonels of that year brigadeers. I told her I was satisfied you had no such designs, as that would extend to so many in your army, that I thought it might cause great confusion and difficultys about command in a confederate army, and used all the arguments I was able to diswade from this step without consulting your grace; and upon the whole made such objections, that she came to name Mrs. Masham's brother again; and after I had diswaded her from giving such directions without your advice, she commanded me to write you word that she did desire Mrs. Masham's brother might be made a brigadier now, but did not insist upon it, if you had any objections. She observed that the promotion came within one of him, and within six weeks of the date of his commission; and tho' she twice said she did not insist upon it, she oftner said she desired it might be done by adding colonel Gore and him to the promotions, and to let it stop there. I dare not advise in this case, whether your grace should comply, or by giving plausible reasons that relate to your own service abroad put it off till the end of the campaign. If one could be assured that it would end here, and this honour extend only to the service of one family, perhaps it were adviseable to be once more easy; but if it is to go on, a stop at some time must be putt to it; the queen express'd all the deference in the world to your opinion, and told me, that great application had been made her for lord Mordaunt's regiment, but she would not meddle. I have just now read your letter of the 5th of May, to the queen, and never saw more satisfaction than was express'd at your compliance upon the last account; your grace is best judge what inference is to be made from that, and whether if there are not to be many instances, it may not help to make things easy. But in this, as in all other matters, your grace's opinion and commands shall be my sole guide, for 'tis your service that I have most at heart. |