Commons; and that a Month's Time be allow'd him, to anfwer the Articles of Impeachment against him. It was expected, that the Earl of Oxford would, on the 23d of August, have given in his Anfwer to the Articles exhibited against him; but, on that Day, a Petition from the faid Earl, praying for a longer Time, being prefented to their Lordships, they were pleased to agree to give him till that Day feven-night, and order'd that he fhould then attend at their Bar in Perfon, and deliver in his Anfwer. But on the 30th of August, having petition'd for a longer Delay, their Lordships granted him till this Day, being the 3d of September, when the Earl of Oxford caufed the following Aufwer to be deliver'd to the House of Lords: The ANSWER of Robert Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, to the Articles exhibited by the Knights, Citizens, and Burgeffes in Parliament affembled, in the Name of themfelves, and of all the Commons of Great Britain, in Maintenance of their Impeachment against him, for High Treafon, and other High Crimes and Misdemeanours, fuppofed to have been by him committed. HE faid Earl faving to himself all Advantages of Ex Tception to the faid Articles, and of not being preju diced by any Words, or Want of Form, in this his Anfwer; and also faving to himself all Rights and Privileges belonging to him, as one of the Peers of this Realm, for Answer to the faid Articles, faith, he admits many folemn Treaties and Alliances have been formerly enter'd into, between the Crown of England, and other Princes and Potentates of Europe, for their mutual Security, and to prevent the immoderate Growth of the Power of France, which might prove dangerous to the neighbouring Princes and States: And that it was therefore laid down as a fundamental Principle and Maxim of Union amongst the Allies, that France and Spain should never be united under the fame Government, and that one and the fame Perfon fhould not be King of both thofe Kingdoms: And he apprehends, that the principal View and Aim of the Allies was to fettle and maintain an equal Ballance of Power in Europe; and fince the Conjunction of Spain to the Dominions of France might poffibly enfue, from the Duke of Anjou's being poffeffed of that Crown, the Difpoffefling him was defir'd, as the most likely Means to prevent that Conjunction; and, for the fame Reason, the Union of Spain with the Empire must have been equally fa VOL. II. D tal, tal, and the Prevention of it equally the Defign of the Alliance; nor could the Continuance of Spain in the House of Bourbon be, in any Refpect, prejudicial to the Allies, if the Union of that Crown with France could be prevented. As new Dangers of fuch Union have been apprehended, new Treaties and Stipulations have been enter'd into amongst the Allies, to obviate fuch Dangers, and particularly the Treaty for an intended Partition feems to have been concluded upon that View: And though he acknowledges the Wisdom of Parliament in condemning that Treaty, as prejudicial and fatal, in its Confequences, to England, and the Peace of Europe; yet he prefumes it was not condemn'd, becaufe Part of the Dominions of the Crown of Spain were thereby allotted to the Houfe of Bourbon, but becaufe fuch confiderable Parts of thofe Dominions, as the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the Province of Guipufcoa, and other Territories, were allotted to that Branch of the Houfe of Bourbon, to whom the Crown of France was to defcend, which might have been a great and dangerous Addition to the then formidable Strength of that Crown; and because it was made against the repeated Remonftrances of Charles IId, then King of Spain, who declar'd by his Ambassador, that fuch Partition Trea ty could have no other Effect than to force Spain to throw it felf into the Arms of France, to prevent the Difmembering of the Spanish Monarchy: And that it had this Confequence, appear'd upon the Death of that Prince, who feems to have been induced, by that Confideration, to be queath the entire Monarchy of Spain to the Duke of Anjou, a younger Branch of the Houfe of Bourbon, who accordingly, upon the Demife of the faid King King Charles II, took Poffeflion of the Monarchy of Spain. But this Acceffion of the Duke of Anjou to the Crown of Spain did not produce the Alliance in the Article mention'd, between Leopold then Emperor of Germany, his late Majefty King William III. of ever-glorious Memory, and the States General, as immediately neceffary at that Juncture; for King William, as well as the States General, acknowledg'd the Duke of Anjou as King of Spain, thereby allowing that the Duke of Anjou's Enjoyment of the Monarchy of Spain, while he was but a younger Branch of the Houfe of Bourbon, was not deftructive of the Liberties of Europe, or the Prefervation of a due Ballance of Power. And afterwards, when the French King had feiz'd the Spanish Netherlands, King William, by Advice of Parliament, came in, to the Affistance of the States, as Auxiliary only, by fending, up on their Request, ten thousand Men, which England was obliged by Treaties to furnish, in Cafe the States were attack'd; after which, many Conferences paffed at the Hague, betwixt the Minifters of England and the States, and thofe of France, in order to find out fome Expedient, by which, pon a reasonable Divifion of the Dominions of Spain, a new War might be prevented: And the States, in the Courfe of thofe Conferences, often afferted, that tho' they had acknowledg'd Philip King of Spain, yet fuch an Acknowledgment was not contrary to the Demand of a reafonable Satisfaction to be given to the Emperor, for his Pretenfions to the Spanish Succeffion': Which was in Effect to declare, that the Satisfaction demanded for the Emperor was fuch as would leave King Philip in Poff:ffion of Spain. But thefe Conferences broke off about August 1701, without Effect, and, in September following, King Willi am enter'd into the Grand Alliance with the Emperor and the States General, whereby it was agreed, that, in the first Place, Endeavours fhould be used, by amicable Means, to obtain the Satisfaction defir'd for the Emperor, who probably, at that Time, would have accepted a very eafy Compofition for his Pretenfions: But when the French King acknowledged the Pretender as King of England, which not long after happened, his Majesty King William, and the Parliament of England, justly provoked by this Affront, refolv'd to enter into the War which had been begun by the Emperor alone, in Italy, the Year before. And the late Queen mentions this Indignity as the chief Motive of her engaging in it, as appears by her Declara tion of War against France and Spain, in May 1702. The faid Earl admits the feveral Treaties fet forth in the Preamble to the faid Articles, and that fuch Advice was given by Parliament, and fuch Speeches were made from the Throne, as in the faid Preamble are mentioned'; but, for more Certainty, begs Leave to refer himself to the very Treaties, Addreffes of Parliament, and Speeches, when they shall be produc'd: And he humbly Hopes your Lordfhips will allow him to observe, that thofe Treaties manifeftly fhew, that the Defign of the Allies, in endeavouring the Recovery of Spain from the Houfe of Bourbon, was to prevent the Union of those two potent Kingdoms, in one and the fame Perfon. In the Grand Alliance 1701, the avow'd Ends thereof are, the procuring an equitable and reafonable Satisfaction to his Imperial Majefty for his Pretenfion to the Spanish Succeflion, the Security of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain and States General, with the Navigation and Commerce of their Subjects; the preventing the Union of France and Spain under the fame Government: And the Territories and Provinces pointed out in the fifth Article, were the furtheft Views of that Alliance; whereby it was thought his Imperial Majefty would receive the utmoft Satisfaction which he could reafonably demand, for his Pretenfion to the Spanish Succeffion. No mention is made of the Recovery of the whole Monarchy of Spain to the Houfe of Auftria, either in the Grand Alliance, or in the defenfive One made the fame Year, between his Majefty King William and the States General: And when, in the Treaty between the Empe ror, the Queen of Great Britain, and the States General, on the one Part, and the King of Portugal on the other, about May 1703, it was concerted to place Arch-duke Charles, the prefent Emperor, upon the Throne of Spain, he was then but a younger Branch of the House of Austria; and there is great Reason to believe, that the Queen, as well as other Princes of Europe, and in particular the King of Portugal, did not think a Treaty to procure the Crown of Spain for the Arck-duke, when a younger Branch of the Houfe of Auftria, did lay any Obligation of procuring that Monarchy for him, when he became firft of that Houfe, and was elected Emperor; fince the Imperial and Hereditary Dominions, join'd to the whole Spanish Monarchy, would have given fuch excefs of Power to one Prince, as would have been formidable to Europe, and a Means to destroy that Ballance of Power which her Majefty, in all her Treaties, had conftantly labour'd to preferve; and it is a known and an allow'd Rule, by the Law of Nations, in Reference to Leagues between Princes, that if there happens a material Change in what was the principal Ground and Caufe of the Treaty, the Obligation thereof ceafes. If therefore, in the Preliminary Articles in 1709, and afterwards in the Conferences at Gertruydenberg, a Ceffion of of the Spanish Monarchy to King Charles III. who was then younger Brother to the Emperor, was thought reafonable to be infifted on; yet the faid Earl humbly fubmits to your Lordships great Judgments, whether there was equal Reafon for insisting on fuch Ceffion, when King Charles III. was become Head of that Houfe, and had Poffeflion of the Empire and all the Hereditary Countries of Auftria, as a Condition without which no Peace should be made. The States General were fo far from admitting or yielding that the Monarchy of Spain should, in all Events, be given to the House of Auftria, that he the faid Earl hath 1 hath heard, they refus'd to admit it to be inferted as a D. 3 |