all other Nations were daily making, was chiefly owing to the Law which forbad the People of Muscovy to travel; refolved to break through that Law himself in Perfon, and take a Journey into Foreign Countries; which he accordingly put in Execution this Summer, aud having visited the Courts of Poland, Denmark, Saxony, Hanover, and the rest in that Part of Germany, came down into Holland, where he had an Interview with King William, who inviting him to his Court, his Czarian Majefty came over hither in Jan. 1697-8, and was entertained by the King with all the Refpect due to his Character. But as he defired to be in cognito, he took a private Lodging, and bufied himself in infpecting the Art of Ship Building, and acquiring Knowledge in the Mathematical Sciences. He tarried here fome Months, and vifited the Univerfities and other notable Places, and when he returned, divers Ship Carpenters went along with him, and were employed afterwards in his Docks at Woronitz, to their very good Profit and Satisfaction.

The King's Affairs ftill, notwithflanding the Termination of the War, calling him over into Holland, his Majefty departed the 21ft of July, having conftituted Nine Lords Juftices, and arrived the next Day.

It hath been already faid, that the Parliament of England expreffed great Refentments against thofe, who in London had fubfcribed to the Scotch East India Company, and voted Impeachments against them, and that both Houfes addreffed the King against it. This occafioned the King to discountenance that Company; and for that Reafon, a Complaint was exhibited this Summer in the Scotch Parliament, by the Council General of the Company,

trading to Africa and the Indies, The Subftance whereof is as fol lows, viz.

That their Company being efa blifhed by folemn Acts, and Letters Patents, with Liberty for Strargers to be of it, they had made an Of fer to the English of coming into it, who embraced that Offer, and forfcribed 300,000 /. to it. That the Parliament of England had not only addreffed the King for fruftrating the Ends of the faid A&ts, but alle fummoned and accufed feveral Perfons thereupon. Which fo diap pointed and retarded it, as forced them to quit the Enterprize. Th they alfo received all poffible Ercouragement at Hamburgh, where the Merchants had contracted to fubfcribe 200,000 7. but a Stop was put to it by an English Minist there, who, by special Warrant from his Majefty, gave in a Mema to the Senate, difowning the Astrority of the faid Acts and Patenty and threatning them with his Ma jefty's utmost Displeasure, if the Subjects joined in the faid Compary Wherefore tho' many Merchants that City did afterwards fubic& into it, the Condition of that S fcription being that his Maje Approbation fhould be obtaine thofe Subfcriptions were ineffect and thereby their whole Proce.. irgs were difcouraged. T the Profpect of thefe Afla having induced them to greater Preparations for Tra than they fhould otherwife h done, their Lofs by the DA pointment was the greater. Th therefore prayed, that their C: might be confidered, their Com ny vindicated by fupporting Credit of the faid Acts and Pater their Loffes repaired, and their ur lengthened in Confideration of w was already elapfed without F tion, by reafon of thofe Ob

こ

ons. This Petition was delivered the 22d of July, and on the 5th of Auguft, the Parliament refolved up on an Addrefs, wherein the faid Complaint being fet forth, They entreated his Majesty to take fuch Measures as might effectually vindicate the undoubted Rights of the fid Company, and fupport the Credit and Intereft thereof. The Heats and Debates about this Affair continued all this Seffion, which terminated Nov. 25.

The Parliament in Ireland met the 27th of September. To whom the Lords Juftices recommended the Improvement of the Linnen Manuactory; the Payment of the Debts of the Nation; fupporting the Etablishment of the Forces; the providing Money for building Baaques; and an Infpection into the emifs Payment of the Poll-Tax. The Parliament complied with the Requests made to them, and made he neceflary Provifions according

y.

The Affairs abroad this Year, vherein England bore any Share, vere, the First Partition Treaty, ind the Treaty of the Peace, beween the Turks and the Confedeates, that had been fo long at War with them.

While the King was at Lob this Summer, the Count de Tallard waited upon him there, and profecuted in Overture which had been alrealy made, of coming to an Agreenent concerning the Succeffion to he Crown of Spain. The King vrote to the Lord Sommers, and the Carl of Portland wrote to Secretary Ternon about it, with orders to both of being very cautious in commuicating it, wherefore only the Duke of Shrewsbury, Lord Oxford, and Mr. Mountague, were made acquaintd with it. The Refult of all whofe Opinions was tranfmitted to is Majelly by the Lord Sommers,

whofe Letter having been printed, we fhall refer the Reader to it, as being too long to have Place here, and fhall only fay, that they propofed to his Majefty all the Objections before hand, which upon the Publication of this Treaty were afterwards made. The Treaty in the mean Time went on, and on the 29th of August, N. S. was concluded. The Conditions whereof were,

I. That the Peace of Ryfwick fhould be confirmed. II. That, in Confideration of the ill State of the King of Spain's Health, and for preferving the publick Peace in cafe of his Death' without Iffue, Naples and Sicily, the Towns belonging to Spain on the Coafts of Tufcany, and the Marquifate of Final on that fide of Spain; and the Province of Guipufcoa, with Fontarabia, St. Sebaftian, and Port Paffage, on the other Side of Spain, fhould be given to the Dauphin, in confideration of his Claim to the Crown of Spain. III. That Spain and the Spanish West Indies, &c. fhould defcend to the Electoral Prince of Bavaria. IV. That the Dutchy of Milan fhould be given to the Archduke Charles, the Emperor's fecond Son. But the young Prince of Bavaria dying foon after, a fecond Treaty was made the next Year, wherein the Archduke Charles was put in his Place.

This Treaty was the Ruin of King William's Reputation. He had hitherto been efteemed the best Politician, as well as the beft Soldier, but France fo outwitted him in this, that his Character funk with all the World. For (befides all other Objections) as he had only the French King's Word that he would abide by this Treaty, which indeed 'tis faid he fo far gave us as to declare by Letter under his own Hand, that even a Will of the King of Spain in favour of his Son, fhould not alter

A. D. it, 'twas univerfally thought by his 1698, best Friends, that the Security was not ftrong enough. And fo it appeared, for the French Court immediately fet to work at Madrid to deftroy it. And even this very Summer, their Ambaffador the Marquifs de Harcourt was bufy with the Grandees, in his Infinuations against the Houfe of Austria. But the Queen, who was nearly related to the Emperor, laboured hard with the King her Husband to fupport the Intereft of that Family, and to get a Ratification of the Will of Philip IV. his Father, whereby the Succeffion, in default of Iffue by his Son, was fettled upon the German Branch of the Auftrian Family.

The other Foreign Affair, wherein we are concerned, was the Peace between the Turks and the Confederate Chriftian Princes, Wherein our King was Mediator, and exceedingly inftrumental. The Traffick our Nation maintains in the Dominions of the Grand Seignior, hath always made our Ambaflador at the Port respected, and therefore the King's Overture of mediating a Peace which they very much wanted was acceptable enough.

The Lord Paget was at this time the King's Ambaffador at Conftantinople; he was in the Year 1689 fent over Envoy extraordinary to the Emperor, with whom he had refided ever fince: But Sir William Huffey firft, and afterward Mr. Harbard, who was fent to fucceed him at Conftantinople, both dying, the Lord Paget was removed thither, and now, in Conjunction with Mr. Collier the Dutch Ambaffador, had the Honour to mediate and perfect this Peace. About the middle of Auguft, they arrived at the Turkish Camp near Belgrade; and foon after they fixed the Place of Treaty to be at Carlowitz, a small Town in Sclavonia, between Peter waradin and

Salankement; the Turkish Minifters refiding at the laft Place, the Cor federates at the firft, and the Mediators between both. The fa Conferences were held No. 7, ard were fo well purfued, that by the 25th of December, 1698, a Trace for two Years was concluded between the Muscovite and the Turk, and on the 27th of January the Emperor and the Poles concluded the Peace on their Parts, and the Venetians did the fame a Month after.

His Majefty arrived in England on the 3d of December; and three Days after the Parliament met, and having chofen Sir Thomas Lyttleton, Speaker, the King made a Speech: wherein he recommended to them the Confideration of what Strength ought to be kept at Sea, and what Force maintained at Land the next Year for the Security of the Nation, and to preferve the Influence g land at that Time had on the Councils of all Europe. He alfo recommended to them the making a farther Progrefs in the Payment of the Publick Debts. And wifhed they could find out fome way of employing the Poor and encourag ing Trade.

This Houfe of Commons were 2 little difpofed to comply with the King's Defire in respect to a ftanding Force as the laft, nay, lefs, for they feemed to think it lay up them to perfect what the other had but begun in that Matter, and therefore voted on the 16th of December, That all the Land Forces in Engin fhould be reduced to 7,006 Mea, and those to be all his Majesty's na tural born Subjects. And that the Forces in Ireland be reduced to 1200 Men. All above thofe Numbers be ing ordered to be disbanded. The King ftruggled hard for preferving his Dutch Guards, but could not obtain it. The Number of Men to be kept at Sea was agreed to be

15,000,

15,000, to confift of Seamen only. So jealous were they of the King's keeping up any of the Army under the Colour of Marines. For the Maintenance of these they gave an Aid of 1.484,015 . by a Land Tax 1. and Subfidy of 3 s. in the Pound. Wherein a Claufe,was added to empower the Earl of Drogheda, Francis Annefly, John Trenchard, James Hamilton, Sir Richard Leving, and Sir Francis Brewster, or any four of hem, as Commiffioners, to take an Account of the Eftates forfeited in Ireland during the Rebellion, and ince Feb. 1688, and the Quality, Nature and Value of all fuch Efates, as alfo the Grants and Difcofitions thereof.

The Debates of this Seffion took p much Time, altho' the Bufinefs ranfacted was not much. Several cts paffed as ufual, but none of hem of fo publick a Nature as to eserve Place in Hiftory. Some Complaints were made by the Houfe n an Address to the King, April 3. of Mifmanagements in the Navy, which the Earl of Orford taking to e levelled at him, he wifely turender'd his Places. The Houfe of ommons refolved March the 28th, hat Provifion fhould be made for aying off divers of the publick Debts; but as they made no Progrefs in it, 'tis needlefs to fay more of it. At laft, May 4, the King came to the Houfe, and having pafd many Acts, made a Speech, and hen the Parliament was prorogued the ift of June.

The other publick Acts at this me were thefe: The Earl of Warwick and Lord Mohun were feveraltried at Westminster in the latter nd of March by the Houfe of Peers, or the Murther of Richard Coote, fq;; they were both acquitted of durther, but the Earl of Warwick as found guilty of Manslaughter. The Earl of Jerfey, who had been

Ambaffador in France after the Earl of Portland, was now upon his return made Secretary of State May 14, and the Earl of Manchester was named for Ambaffador to France. The Earl of Pembroke was made Prefident of the Council, and the Lord Lonsdale Lord Privy-Seal.

The Scotch East India Company making fresh Complaints, they were anfwered, that their Ships were arrived on the Coaft of America, the particular Defign whereof the King was acquainted with. To which they replyed, that they had landed at Darien, upon the Ifthmus of America, where the Spaniards had no Colony or Settlements, and were kindly received by the Inhabitants, and thought they might, without injuring the Spaniards, make a Settlement there, and carry on a fair Trade, which they conceived might be of great Advantage to the Nation. But the King of Spain in the mean time having complained of this as an Invafion of his Territories (for it seems the Spaniards had poffeffed that Country as long as the Unwholfomnefs of the Air would give them leave) and a breach of the Alliance, the King gave Orders to the Governors of the Plantations to afford them no Relief or Affiftance; accordingly in April this Year Proclamations were iffued at Jamaica, Barbades, New England, and New-York, to forbid all Commerce with the Scots of Darien. The Spaniards at the fame time came down with Arms against them, fo that they were foon after obliged to quit that Settlement, having again in vain petitioned the King for Protection.

The Parliament in Ireland fat laft Winter, and made a Provifion for maintaining the 1,200 Men, which the English Parliament had voted fhould be kept up there, and for the Building and finishing the Ba

raques.

A. D. raques. They alfo paffed divers 1699. good Acts for the Service of the Country, which having received the Royal Affent, the Parliament was prorogued. And not long after a Commiffion was fent over, conftituting the Duke of Bolton, the Earl of Berkley, and the Earl of Galloway, Lords Juftices of Ireland. The King went over to Holland, and landed there June the 3d. His Majetty received the Vifits and Compliments of all the Foreign Minifters. But efpecially he received Letters from the Grand Seignior, and from the Czar of Muscovy, in acknowlegment of his Majelly's good Office in mediating the Peace.

The King returned to England, October the 17th. And the Parliament met the 6th of November following. The Speech was more than ordinary Gracious, in order to put them into good Humour. A Provifion for the Safety of the Kingdom both by Sea and Land, and the making good the Deficiencies, together with the Payment of a Debt due to the Prince of Denmark, were the principal Matters that his Majefty recommended to their Care.

The House of Commons from the beginning of the Seffion difcovered an Afpect disfavourable to the Court. On the 4th of December they prefented an Addrefs to the King of Complaint, as if fome about his Majelly had endeavoured to mifreprefent and create Diffatisfaction in his Majefty against them. To which the King in the frankeft manner declared, that their Apprehenfion was ground lefs.

We told you that a Claufe was added in the Land Tax laft Seffion, to impower Commiflioners to take account of the forfeited Eftates in Ireland. Thofe Commiffioners now made their Report, the Subflar ce whereof was, That the number of Perfons that were outlawed were

3,921. Whereof 1,283 had been al lowed to reverse thofe Outlawries by Adjudications, as included in the Articles of Limerick and Galloway, or otherwife exempted. That the Total of the Lands forfeited to the Crown by thofe Outlawries, were 1,060,792 Acres. The Value where of, reckoning Lives at fix Years Purchase, and Inheritance at thirteen Years Purchase, amounted to 2,685,130. Whereof there had been reftored by Accufations as aforefad 233,106 Acres. The Value whereof was 784,923 . That Incrumbrances and feveral Deductions neceffary to be made, amounted to the Value of near 300,000 7. more. So that the Neat

Value amounted to be 1,699,343 . Befides the Eitate granted to Mrs. Villers, the Ren's where of were 25,999. the total Valle, 337,943 Note, This was the private Eftate of King James Wille Duke of York, and was granted oct for the Term of his Life, after which it would defcend to the Princes of Denmark.

This Report extended into leaga, by reafon that all the Circun kances relating to Grants, Sales, Wa Fees, for favour in referving Oct lawries, and what elfe could be put in by the fmarteft Inquifitar, were exhibited. Two of the Cenmillioners, Sir Richard Leving, and Sir Francis Breyer, did not f the Report, and for that Reals were allowed but 500 each, where as the reft had each 1000 1. athgred them out of the Forfeitures. Moreover, Sir R. Lewing was commit ted to the Tower, ufon Occafione his having laid, that a certain Men ber of the Houle wrote to the Com miffioners to make a feparate Ancle of the Lady Orkney's [Mrs. W er's] Grant, becaufe that might re flect upon fome Body. [Every Dor knew that the King had a great fection for that Lady, but thote that