1711. mising, that they could not but think an offensive war necessary; and that to advise a defensive one would have made them liable to a just censure, as designing to protract the war. The design on Toulon was no way intermixed with the affairs of Spain; the earl of Peterborough fancied he was in that secret, and had indeed proposed the bringing over some troops from Spain on that design, and had offered a scheme to the duke of Savoy, in which that was mentioned, and had sent that over to England. But though the duke of Savoy suffered that lord to amuse himself with his own project, which he had concerted for the attempt on Toulon, that duke had declared he would not undertake it, if it was not managed with the utmost secrecy, which was sacredly kept, and communicated only to those to whom it must be trusted for the execution of it. No troops from Spain were to be employed in that service, nor did it miscarry for want of men. These lords farther said, they gave their opinions in council according to the best of their judgment; their intentions were very sincere for the service of the queen, and to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. Yet a vote passed, that they were to blame for advising an offensive war in Spain, upon which the loss of the battle of Almanza followed; and that this occasioned the miscarrying of the design upon Toulon. Reflections made on it. Here was a new and strange precedent of censuring a resolution taken in council; and of desiring the queen to order all that had passed in council to be laid before the house in all the hot debates in king Charles the first's reign, in which many resolutions taken in council were justly censurable, yet the passing any censure on them was never at- 1711. tempted by men who were no way partial in favour 561 of the prerogative: but they understood well what our constitution was in that point: a resolution in council is only the sovereign's act, who, upon hearing his counsellors deliver their opinions, forms his own resolution: a counsellor may indeed be liable to censure for what he may say at that board; but the resolution taken there has been hitherto treated with a silent respect: but by this precedent it will be hereafter subject to a parliamentary inquiry. The queen was so desirous to have a censure fixed on her former ministry, that she did not enough consider the wound given to the prerogative by the way in which it was done1. After this was over, another inquiry was made into the force we had in Spain at the time of the battle of Almanza; and it was found not to exceed 14,000 men, though the parliament had voted 29,000 for the war in Spain. This seemed to be a crying thing; tragical declamations were made upon it: but in truth that vote had passed here only in the January before the battle of Almanza, which was fought on the 14th of April. Now it was not possible to levy and transport men in so short a time it was made appear, that all the money given by the parliament for that service was issued out and applied to it, and that extraordinary diligence was used, both in forwarding the levies and in their transportation: they were sent from Ireland, the The good bishop's general and indefinite sentiments here are liable to much exception. He did not try them by his whig principles. See what he 1711. passage from thence being both safest and quickest. All this, and a great deal more to the same purpose, was said but it signified nothing; for when resolutions are taken up beforehand, the debating concerning them is only a piece of form, used to come at the question with some decency: and there was so little of that observed at this time, that the duke of Buckingham said in plain words, that they had the majority, and would make use of it, as he had observed done by others, when they had it on their side. So, though no examination had been made, but into that single point of the numbers at Almanza m, they came to a general vote, that the late ministry had been negligent in the management of the war in Spain, to the great prejudice of the nation; and they then ordered all their proceedings and votes to be put in an address, and laid before the queen and though they had made no inquiry into the expense of that war, nor into the application of the money given by the parliament for it, yet in their address they mentioned the great profusion of money in that service. This they thought would touch the nation very sensibly; and they hoped the thing would be easily believed on their word. Protests were made against every vote in 265 the whole progress of this matter: some of these carried such reflections on the votes of the house, that they were expunged. m (The author of the Life and Reign of Queen Anne observes, "that if it be true what the bishop says before, that it "was made appear, that all the "money given by the parlia"ment for that service was is “sued out and applied to it; "then something more must "have been examined into be"sides that single point of the "numbers at Almanza.” p. 610. Other points, incidentally at least, were entered on.) ceeding. I never saw any thing carried on in the house of 1711. lords so little to their honour as this was; some, a strange who voted with the rest, seemed ashamed of it: they way of prosaid, somewhat was to be done, to justify the queen's change of the ministry; and every thing elsewhere had been so well conducted as to be above all censure: so the misfortune of Almanza being a visible thing, they resolved to lay the load there. The management of the public treasure was exact and unexceptionable; so that the single misfortune of the whole war was to be magnified: some were more easily drawn to concur in these votes, because, by the act of grace, all those who had been concerned in the administration were covered from prosecution and punishment: so this was represented to some as a compliment that would be very acceptable to the queen, and by which no person could be hurt. They loaded singly the earl of Galway with the loss of the battle of Almanza, though it was resolved on in a council of war, and he had behaved himself in it with all the bravery and conduct that could be expected from a great general, and had made a good retreat, and secured Catalonia with inexpressible diligence. They also censured him for not insisting on the point of honour, in the precedence to be given to the English troops, as soon as the Portugueze army entered into Spain: but by our treaty with that crown the army was to be commanded by a Portugueze general; so it was not in his power to change the order of the army: if he had made the least struggle about it, the Portugueze, who were not easily prevailed on to enter into Spain, would have gladly enough laid hold of any occasion which such a dispute would have given them, and have 1711. turned back upon it: and so by his insisting on such a punctilio, the whole design would have been lost. We had likewise, in our treaty with them, yielded expressly the point of the flag in those seas", for which alone, on other occasions, we have engaged in wars; so he had no reason to contest a lesser point: yet a censure was likewise laid on this. And this was the conclusion of the inquiries made by the house of lords this session. Some abuses cen house of Harley, in the house of commons, led them to insured in the quire into some abuses in the victualling the navy: commons. they had been publicly practised for many years, some have said, ever since the restoration: the abuse was visible, but connived at, that several expenses might be answered that way: some have said, that the captains' tables were kept out of the gain made in it. Yet a member of the house, who was a whig, 563 was complained of for this, and expelled the house; Supplies given for the war. and a prosecution was ordered against him; but the The money did not come into the treasury so n (This had been conceded through the superior influence of lord Godolphin in the cabinet, against the remonstrance of the earl of Nottingham. See 1 |