antagonists to trouble themselves upon the articles of his birth, education, or fortune; for whoever writes at this rate of his fovereign, to whom he owes fo many perfonal obligations, I fhould never inquire whether he be a GENTLEMAN BORN, but whether he be a HUMAN CREATURE The 93* The Conduct of the ALLIES, and of the LATE: MINISTRY, in beginning and carrying on the prefent war*, Written in the year 1712. Partem tibi Gallia noftri Fripuit: partem duris Hifpania bellis : Odimus accipitrem quia femper vivit in armis. - PREE ACE I Cannot fuficiently admire the induftry of a fort of men, wholly out of favour with the prince and people, and openly profeffing a feparate intereft from the bulk of the landed men, who yet are able to raise at this juncture fo great a clamour against a peace, without of fering one fingle reafon, but what we find in their bal lads. I lay it down for a maxim, That no reasonable *To this tract and the Examiners, which make vol. s. of the Irif edition, there is a preface in the name of the publisher, which Lord Orrery afcribes to Swift for no other apparent rea~fon, than to accufe him of praifing himself. But, befides the incorrectness of the ftyle, which his Lordship fuppofes to be affected, there is an affertion, that thefe papers produced the change in the Queen's miniftry, which even in his Lordship's opinion they were written to defend, and to which they appear by their date as well as tenor to be fubfequent; an abfundity of which Swift, even in the character of a publisher, cannot be fuppofed to have been guilty. Hawkef man, whether Whig or Tory, (fince it is neceffary to use thofe foolish terms), can be of opinion for continuing the war upon the foot it now is, unless he be a gainer by it, or hopes it may occafion fome new turn of affairs at home to the advantage of his party; or, laftly, unless he be very ignorant of the kingdom's condition, and by what means we have been reduced to it. Upon the two first cafes, where intereft is concerned, I have nothing to fay: but as to the laft, I think it highly neceflary that the public should be freely and impartially told what circumftances they are in, after what manner they have been treated by those whom they trufted fo many years with the difpofal of their blood and treafure, and what the confequences of this management are like to be upon themfelves and their pofterity. Those who, either by writing or difcourfe, have underaken to defend the proceedings of the late ministry in the management of the war, and of the treaty at Ġertruydenburg, have spent time in celebrating the conduct and valour of our leaders and their troops, in fumming up the victories they have gained, and the towns they have taken. Then they tell us what high articles were infifted on by our minifters and thofe of the confederates, and what pains both were at in perfuading France to accept them. But nothing of this can give the leaft fatisfaction to the juft complaints of the kingdom. As to the war, our grievances are, that a greater load has been laid on us than was either juft or neceffary, or than we have been able to bear; that the groffell impofitions have been fubmitted to for the advancement of private wealth and power, or in order to forward the more dangerous defigns of a faction, to both which a peace would have put an end; and that the part of the war which wa chiefly our province, which would have been most benefi cial to us, and destructive to the enemy, was wholly neg lected. As to a peace, we complain of being delude by a mock-treaty, in which thofe who negotiated tool care to make fuch demands as they knew were impoffib! to be complied with; and therefore might fecurely pre every article as if they were in earnest. Thefe are fome of the points I defign to treat of i the following difcourfe; with feveral others which though thought it neceffary at this time for the kingdom to be informed of. I think I am not mistaken in thofe facts I mention; at least not in any circumftance fo material as to weaken the confequences I draw from them. After ten years wars with perpetual fuccefs, to tell us it is yet impoffible to have a good peace, is very furprifing, and feems fo different from what hath ever happened in the world before, that a man of any party may be allowed fufpecting, that we have been either ill used, or have not made the moft of our victories, and might therefore defire to know where the difficulty lay. Then it is natural to inquire into our prefent condition; how long we shall be able to go on at this rate; what the confequences may be upon the prefent and future ages; and whether a peace without that impracticable point, which some people do so much infift on, be really ruinous in itself, or equally fo with the continuance of the war. The The CONDUCT of the ALLIES, &c.* HE motives that may engage a wife prince or ftate in war, I take to be one or more of these : either to check the overgrown power of fome ambitious neighbour; to recover what hath been unjustly taken from them; to revenge fome injury they have received (which all political cafuifts allow); to affift fome ally in a juft quarrel; or, laftly, to defend themselves when they are invaded. In all thefe cafes the writers up-on politics admit a war to be juftly undertaken. The laft is what hath been ufually called pro aris et focis; where no expence or endeavour can be too great, because all we have is at stake, and confequently our utinoft force to be exerted; and the difpute is foon determined either in fafety or utter deftruction. But in the other four, I believe it will be found, that no monarch or commonwealth did ever engage beyond a certain degree; never proceeding fo far as to exhauft the ftrength and fubftance of their country by anticipations and loans, which in a few years must put them in a worfe condition, than any they could reasonably apprehend from thofe evils, for the pre This was written preparatory to the peace which the mini-fters were then concerting, and which was afterwards per-fected at Utrecht. It begins by reflections on war in general, and then particularly mentions the feveral civil wars in our kingdom.-Unhappy country! torn to pieces by her own fons : a wretched mother of vultures, for whom, like Tityus, the produces new intrails only to be devoured! Orrery. This tract, and remarks on the barrier-treaty, contain the principal facts which the author of John Bull has thrown into allegory; and greatly illuftrates that piece, of which indeed it is poffible they were the ground-work. Hawkef. A particular account of the occafion of this tract, and of the eonfequences it produced, may be feen in Dr Swift's life, prefixed to vol. venting |