prietors of Carolina for the purchase and furrender of their Geo. II, title to that province, promiling to make the expence good 1728, out of the next aids granted by parliament. Nothing remarkable happened in the houfe of peers this feffion, except- and peers. ing an attempt to amend the ftatute of limitations, which mifcarried; and on the 28th of May his majefty put an end to the feffion by a speech, in which he thanked the members for their zeal and unanimity, without containing any thing else that is remarkable.

Towards the clofe of this feffion, fir John Monson, by the Creations of title of lord Monfon, fir Thomas Wentworth, by that of nobility. lord Malton, fir John Hobart, by that of lord Hobart, fir Thomas Coke, by that of lord Lovel, were feverally called up to the house of peers.

Names of

The eyes of all Europe were now fixed upon the congrefs, Congrefs of which, on the 19th of June, was opened at Soiffons. The Soiffons. British minifters were, William Stanhope, efq; afterwards the chief earl of Harrington; Horatio Walpole, efq; afterwards plenipoten lord Walpole, and Stephen Pointz, efq. Thofe of the em- tiaries. peror were, the counts Zinzendorff and Windifgratz, and baron Pentenriedter. Thofe of the French court were, the cardinal Fleury, the marquis de Fenelon, and the count de Brancar. Those from Spain were, the duke de Bournonville, the marquis de Santa Cruz, and don Ignatio de Bernachea. The Dutch, the Swedes, the Danes, the Ruffians, the Poles, the dukes of Holftein, Parma, Bavaria, and the Palatine, had likewise their several ambaffadors there. It cannot be denied, that the French court, during this negotiation, affumed an air of fuperiority, and the difaffected in England represented all the other plenipotentiaries at Soiffons, no better than the pupils of cardinal Fleury. Some days were spent in mutual compliments and entertainments, and little else remarkable happened amongst them till the death of baron Pentenriedter, who was regreted as an able and an honeft minifter. It was Proceedings evident from the manner of proceeding, that the Imperial and intrigues and Spanish courts fought to amufe the allies of the treaty of in the fame. Hanover, till fuch time as their galleons fhould arrive. The court of Spain in particular was fo flow in its proceedings, and fo obftinate in its demands, that it was easy to foresee that the congrefs must come to nothing. The truth is, his Catholic majesty's minifters began to be fenfible, that it would be impoffible for the emperor to fupport the Oftend company, and that they could make a much better bargain with England, which was much abler to affift their queen in her favourite fcheme, of providing for her family; and in this

Geo. II. they were not mistaken. This was the true fource of their 1728. trifling, and of their protracting every step they took, till an

fwers came to every tedious difpatch that was fent to Madrid. The emperor, on the other hand, refused to recall from the Oftend company the privilege he had given them of navagating to the Eaft Indies, but feemed to be a little foftened on that head, by confenting to have the whole affair difcuffed at the congrefs. Mean while, his Danish majefty refolved to augment the capital of his Eaft India company, and to remove the trade from Copenhagen to Altena. This project was looked upon to be very injurious to the fubjects of Great Britain, and the United Provinces; and lord Glenorchy, the British minifter at Copenhagen, joined with the Dutch minifter, in presenting a memorial against it, as being equally prejudicial to their countrymen, as the Oftend company was. Difficulties thus multiplying in the congrefs, proposals for a truce were thrown out amongst all the powers concerned, Unreafon- but it came to nothing. The court of Spain continued to able de- make vaft preparations for war; and in order to get the better allies of Vi- terms of Great Britain, ftill infifted upon the reftitution of Gibraltar and Portmahon, and upon her right to feize, search, and confifcate the Englifh fhips in America.

mands of the

enna.

Duke of

gent fent

Land.

4

During the congrefs at Soiffons, his majefty received Parma's 4- a fignal affront from the duke of Parma, who had inout of Eng- vited the Pretender to refide in his dominions, promifing to receive him with the honours and distinctions due to the king of Great Britain; upon which fignior Como, agent for the duke of Parma in London, was ordered, by his majefty's command, to depart the kingdom in two days, and to be attended by one of the meffengers of ftate to the place of his embarkation.

Death and

the bishop of

This year, the Proteftant intereft in Germany received a fenfible fofs by the death of his royal highness Erneft Auguftus, Oinaburgh. bishop of Ofnaburgh, duke of York and Albany, and only furviving brother to king George I. He was a prince of great temper and virtue; and though reigning over a country peopled almost equally by Papifts and Protestants, he proved himself to be equally the father of all his people. It is remarkable, that this prince was fo good an œconomist, as to leave behind him almost an hundred thousand pounds in fpecie, though he had all his life lived anfwerably to his revenues and quality. By the 10th article of the treaty of Ofnaburgh, and confirmed by that of Munfter, it is ftipulated, that the faid bifhoprick fhould be alternately poffeffed by a Roman Catholic and a Proteftant, in fuch a manner, that when

when it should be the turn of a Proteftant, he should always Geo. II. be poftulated, or chofen, in the most ferene house of duke 1728. George of Brunswick Lunenburg, at that time (in the year 1648) general of the Swedish army; and that, in cafe the male iflue of that branch of the Brunswick family fhould become extinct, the alternate right to that bishoprick should go to the line of Auguftus duke of Brunfwick Wolfenbottel.

derick in

Nothing remarkable during the reft of this year happened Arrival of in England, but the ceremonial of ambaffadors receiving au- prince Frediences, and the deaths of fome noblemen, till the 4th of England. December; when his royal highnefs prince Frederick arrived from Hanover at St. James's. His fudden arrival was faid to have been owing to fome doubts that were urged in the privy council, concerning the non-refidence of a prince of Wales in Great Britain. He was, foon after his arrival, complimented by the city of London and the Royal Society, into whose book he was pleased to write his name.

His majefty had paid an early attention to the affairs of Affairs of Ireland, by fettling the great officers of flate and law there, Ireland, and continuing the old privy council, with the addition of three commoners, members. The lord Carteret, lord lieutenant, was received with great unanimity and applaufe, and the business of parliament went on fmoothly and unanimously. The commons wifely applied themfelves to the repair of highways and bridges, to accelerating law-proceedings, to removing nufances, and to the encouraging, the finding and working mines and minerals in that kingdom: they infpected into the abuses committed by millers, bakers, and farmers, into the ftate of the hempen and flax manufactures, and they even gave confiderable fums of money for encouraging both, and to those who had promoted the tillage of the kingdom, and had discovered ufeful manufactures. In fhort, the foundations were now laid for that amazing progress which Ireland has fince made in thofe feveral particulars and many others.

In America vice-admiral Hobfon, after landing brigadier and Ame Hunter, the new governor of Jamaica, upon that ifland, took ca. upon him the command of the fquadron he found there, in order to cruize upon the Spanish coaft, where the depredations upon the English ftill continued. Both that and the other English plantations in America had prefented very loyal addreffes to his majesty upon his acceffion to the crown, and the people of Barbadoes were fo piqued at an infinuation in their governor's fpeech, which they thought reflected upon their loyalty, that they cleared themfelves by the most folemn

pro

Depredations of the Spaniards

there.

Geo. II. profeffions. All the English America however smarted under 1728. the cruelty and rapine of the Spaniards. The ministry of England early forefaw that this muft terminate in a war with Spain, unless a ftop was put to the depredations; and they had obtained promifes for that purpose from the Spanish miniftry. They had even gone fo far as to give affurances to our colonies abroad, that the court of Spain had iffued orders for the difcontinuing their captures. Thofe affurances had encouraged the merchants and planters to send several valuable ships to fea, which were taken by the Spanish guarda coftas, a fpecies of pirates, who pretended to act by order of their governors; who, they faid, had authority from their court to grant them commiffions for cruifing upon the English in the American feas. In the beginning of Auguft this year, the English commodore at Jamaica fent the Anne galley to demand reftitution of the fhips and cargoes that had been taken, but was obliged to return with an answer, not only unfatisfactory, but infolent, from the Spaniards; who declared, they had received no orders from their court to discontinue their making prizes of all Englifh fhips, whom they fufpected to be concerned in an illicit trade with their colonies and fettlements. The like depredations were continued in all the other feas of America; fo that in England the public daily and hourly received accounts of the most flagrant acts of piracy and barbarity committed by the Spaniards upon their failors and merchants.

Mean while the negotiations for peace were chiefly held at Fontainbleau; and cardinal Fleury having received an answer, which appeared to be little fatisfactory, from the court of Madrid, communicated the fame to the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and Holland, while conferences to the fame purposes went on at the Hague between the earl of Chefterfield and the deputies of their High Mightineffes. It is certain, that nothing but the invincible defire which the British minifter had for the continuance of public tranquillity at this time, could have prevented a war from breaking out all over Europe. The court of Spain, yet unwilling to unmask the true object of its ambition, thought to compromise it the more eafily, by keeping up to her firft demands, which were no lefs than the reftitution of Gibraltar and Port Mahon, and a regulation of the American trade, upon the footing which they (the Spaniards) fhould prefcribe. It was not long, however, before the public had fome hints from Madridof the queen's private project.

and charac

ter of the

queen of

This princefs, an Italian by birth, while queen confort of Géo. II. Spain, through certain natural infirmities of her husband, 1728. who had betaken himself to a peevish reclufe fort of life, engroffed his affections and directed his power; fhe was clofe, refolute, cunning, and dextrous in executing the most daring and the most unpromifing projects, and furmounted Spain. difficulties, which would have been impracticable for others to conquer, merely from a notion fhe had, that nothing was impoffible for her to effect. The grandees of Spain, tho' they were no ftrangers to her character, were by no means favourable to her views. They paffionately defired to fee Gibraltar and Minorca re-annexed to their crown, and were alarmed when they began to fufpect that thofe favourite points were to be given up, and that a branch of the house of Bourbon was to be aggrandized at the expence of the kingdom of Spain. Previous however to any thing decifive in this affair, Double mara double marriage was concluded upon between the royal riage behoufes of Spain and Portugal. The prince of Afturias, eldeft and Portufurviving fon to the king of Spain by his firft queen, efpoufed gal. the infanta of Portugal, as the prince of Brazil, eldeft fon to the king of Portugal, did the infanta of Spain. But it is now time to attend domeftic affairs.

tween Spain

ment in

On the 21ft of January the parliament met; his majefty Meeting of in his fpeech acquainted them, that the project of a provifional the parlia treaty had been approved of by him and his allies, but that 1728-9. no definitive answer to the fame had been returned by the courts of Vienna and Madrid. He acknowledged, that this Subftance of created a state of uncertainty, which gave him a great conhis majefty's cern; "but, continued he, I hope you will believe, that a juft regard for the ease and intereft of my people alone prevailed upon me, rather to fuffer fome temporary inconveniencies, "with the daily profpect of obtaining a fafe and honourable "peace, than precipitately to kindle a war in Europe, and to

plunge the nation into ftill greater and unknown expences.” His majefty was then pleafed to exprefs great concern, that the ftate of affairs obliged to continue the public expences, to enable him, as events might require, to act with vigour and in concert with his allies, who had refolved to make the fame preparations, and to keep on foot all their extraordinary forces. His majesty then threw out a very broad infinuation, as if the courts of Vienna and Madrid had been encouraged in their dilatory proceedings by the hopes that were given. them from hence, of creating difcontents and divifions amongst his fubjects; "but, faid he, I am perfuaded, that your "known affection for me, and a just regard for your own ho

nour,

fpeech.