ever brought upon the stage of public affairs ;-that instead of endeavouring to reduce within due bounds the exorbitant power of France; to re-establish the balance and tranquillity of Europe; to fecure, in particular, our prefent happy conftitution, and the commerce of this nation, upon a folid and lafting foundation, which great bledings Providence, by an uninterrupted feries of wonderful advantages, that had attended for many years the common caufe against France, had enabled the Allies to obtain; and which they were in a way, and even upon the point, of obtaining; your Lordship is convinced, that all thefe hopeful expectations of reaping the fruit of fo much blood and treature (which from the nature and fituation of things feemed infallible) were blafted and confounde! on a fudden, by the prevailing intrigues of a faction, compofed of fome few ambitious and defigning men, in concert with a new favourite Lady, who had gained the affections of the Queen;--that, the Dutchess of Marlborough being difgraced, her near relations, a Treafurer of the greatest integrity and abilities, and the braveft and moft fortunate General that ever was at the head of an army, were removed; that thefe new Projectors, impatient to fuccced and fupport themielves in their places, broke through the barriers of honour, honefty, and good faith; and giving up all concern, not only for the intereft of our friends, but of their own country, without any other motive or provocation than that of fatisfying their wicked and afpiring views at any rate, and in order to bring in the Pretender, flung themselves into the arms of France.

"That, far from fteadily infifting upon (as before this unaccountable change it was practicable, and in their power to have done) terms of peace, agreeable to treaties, and to the principles upon which thofe treaties were founded, they were forced to receive the law from her, and accept of fuch conditions as she would condefcend to give us and our Allies; and while we.fhamefully abandoned thofe Allies, far from obtaining (as was pretended) particular advantages to this nation, as a fatisfaction for our having borne the chief burden of the war: what was peculiarly granted to us, was calculated to dazzle the of the unthinking multitude; being of no benefit to us, but productive (as it afterwards proved) of new troubles in Europe.

eyes

"The moft interefting and effential confiderations for fecuring and increafing our foreign commerce, were facrificed in a moft ignominious manner; and laftly, the foundation of the Proteftant fucceffion in this royal family, the bulwark of our laws, liberties, and religion, was fo fhaken, that, at the time

of Queen Anne's death, it was in a very hazardous and tottering condition."

This, continues our Author to his noble Correfpondent, is the light (and, indeed, a very true one it is) in which your Lordship ftill fees the negotiations of thofe times, when stripped of the artful drefs with which this Author [Bolingbroke] labours to difguife them.

It was with a view, therefore, as his Lordfhip of Woolterton obferves, to unmask this political Charlatan, and expofe his pretended erudition and veracity, in its proper colours, that he undertook to write thefe Letters; a tafk which at the fame time he modeftly confeffes, he thought needlefs. "I have already told your Lordship, fays he, that it feems to me an unneceffary undertaking; and that any one, who will give himself the trouble to have recourse to the papers called the Medley, to the several tracts written by Dr. Hare, late Bishop of Chichester, relating to the Management of the war, to the negociations of the preli minaries of peace at the Hague in 1709, and at Gertruydenburgh in 1710; the Report of the fecret committee in 1715, founded chiefly upon Lord Bolingbroke's own papers; the Barrier treaty vindicated; Burnet's hiftory of his own times; and Lamberti's Memoirs, will find, that what your Lordship propofes is fully performed; and that the ftrong affertions advanced by the Author of the Sketch, with fuch an affuming and dictatorial air, and which by the help of his magic lanthorn appear to be fomething, are, as he fays himself of the fyftems of fome Philofophers, nothing but appearances. It would therefore be fufficient to refer the impartial Reader, who feems charmed at firft fight with this entertaining novel (for a mere novel it is) to a careful perusal of those tracts, and the charm will foon be diffolved; the pleafing ideas, confronted with naked truth, will immediately vanith, and leave nothing to be feen but a mixture of iniquity and falfhood."

After fo frank a conceffion, the Reader will not expect to meet with a fund of new matter in thefe Letters. To those, however, who have not perufed, or cannot readily have recourse to all the tracts and documents above-mentioned, they may afford both information and amufement. Our Author's method of arranging his materials, is not injudicious; nor are his animadverfions on the mifreprefentations of his adverfary, and on the political tranfactions of those times, uninftructive or unentertaining. He fets out with making a deduction of the great progrefs of the power of France, as it gradually increased, by the co-operation of the fword and pen, from the treaty of Munfter in 1648, to the Revolution in England, and the grand alliance

in

in 1689; at which time the languifhing condition of Charles the fecond of Spain had ftruck all Europe with a panic, left the greatnels of France, already raised to an enormous height, fhould, by the union of thofe two crowns, upon the death of that Prince without iffue, become fo exorbitant, as to attain to universal monarchy.

He then proceeds to ftate and explain the various engagements, relative to the fucceffion of Spain, which the Maritime Powers contracted with other Potentates, for their common fecurity a-gainst the Houfe of Bourbon, according to the circumstances of affairs, and the events of the war, from 1689 to 1703.

A general review is next taken of the operations of the war, and the confequences of them in the feveral parts of Europe, from 1703 to the end of 1706: his Lordship interfperfing fome occafional obfervations on the steps that were made toward a peace during that time, and on the forced conftructions which Lord Bolingbroke hath put on the articles of the grand alliance of 1701. He here endeavours to refute the affertion advanced by his Lordship, [Bolingbroke] that France offered in 1706, to make a fafe and honourable peace with the Allies, on the principles of that treaty.

The noble Writer proceeds next to ftate the fubfequent events of the war, from 1706 to 1709, and 1710; and to fet, in a true light, the negociations for peace during the two last years. And, indeed, we think he hath made it fully apparent, that there was no reafon to doubt, that the Allies might have been able to recover Spain and the Weft-Indies out of the hands of the Houfe of Bourbon, in favour of that of Auftria, had not the adminiftration in England been changed in 1710.

It is the profefled intention of our Author, to examine next into the conduct of the new adminiftration in England, from 1710 to the conclufion of the general peace, in concert with France, by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713; and whether the honour, fafety, and trade of this nation were confulted in those articles particularly made for England at that time. This part of his Lordship's defign, however, is left imperfect, unless it be executed in fome fubfequent Epiftles, to be published in a future volume; the laft of the Letters before us, ending with the negociations at Gertruydenburgh: fo that his Lordship's epiftolary intercourse, like thofe negociations, is broken off in an abrupt and extraordinary manner.-But poffibly the public may expect another volume, as we do not fee any propriety in publifhing thefe Letters alone, which appear introductory only to the main object of his Lordship's defign.

Serious

Serious Confiderations on the Measures of the prefent Administration. 4to. 1s. Kearfly.

I

T hath been obferved by the greatest Politicians, and confirmed by the beft Hiftorians, that times of imaginary fecurity are generally times of the greatest danger; the liberties of a people being no longer fafe, than while they are apprehenfive of lofing them. In a country, therefore, where this maxim, in any degree, prevails, it is almoft impoffible that fome oppofition fhould not conftantly be made to the meafures of the adminiftration. Among a free people alfo, juftly tenacious of their privileges, it may reasonably be doubted, whether fuch an oppofition, though miftaken in its object, may not be falutary in its confequences. Certain it is, that as all government hath a natural tendency to defpotifm, it behoves every nation that hath freedom to lofe, to keep a jealous eye on the conduct of its Ministers and, perhaps, the very virtues of a Prince or his Minifter, ought to be additional motives to the vigilance of the Subject. One thing, at leaft, we may venture to affert; viz. that none but bad or ill-designing Minifters will be difpleafed at having their measures candidly enquired into, or the motives of their conduct impartially explained. So far, therefore, as the Writer of these Confiderations hath done this, with regard to the prefent administration, he hath done his country fervice, and ought not to incur the displeasure of an upright and patriotic Ministry. But if he is guilty of partiality in the relation of facts, or want of candour in tracing the motives of them, he betrays himself to be the tool of a faction, and should be treated with that contempt which is due to all those who endeavour to delude the fenfes, and impofe on the understandings, of mankind. We fhall let him fpeak for himself, and leave the Reader to judge both of his candour and fincerity.

One of the great out lines, fays he, of the prefent adminiftration is, an open and declared profeffion of increafing the power of the Crown, by creating influence and dependencies upon it in both houfes of parliament." This meafure, we are told, hath been carried to a degree unknown fince the reign of Charles the fecond; as proofs of which our Author fpecifies, the creation of fixteen new Peerages within the face of two years; the increafe of the Lords of the bed-chamber, in the prefent reign, from twelve to twenty-two; as alfo of the Clerks of the green cloth, and other Officers of the houfhold, each with a falary of 500l. per annum, fo as to be double the number of thofe of his late M. He expatiates on the probable confequences

confequences of this method of increafing the influence of the Crown; and thinks, whatever objections were made to a former adminiftration, on the fcore of corruption, in a late reign, the fame, and ftill greater, may be made to the prefent.

In fupport of what he advances on this head, he mentions the following fact.

"At the beginning of this Parliament, two perfons were recommended to the M, whofe want of property, and expectations in their profeffion, might perhaps make them ufeful to him as Members of Parliament; he, having no perfonal or family intereft in any borough, where he could introduce them, did advife, though, at the fame time, preaching aloud the stricteft economy, and making it the teft of his righteous administration, that he did not proftitute the public money for thefe purpofes; I fay he did agree to increase the falary of an office 500l. per annum, if he might be permitted to name the Reprefentatives of a certain borough. The bargain was made; the falary of the office was increafed; the Reprefentatives named were elected; and the whole done in fo open and avowed a manner, that the perfon who receives the increafed falary, makes no fcruple to declare it in public conversation; whilft the two independent Reprefentatives talk loudly of the upright intentions of their Matter, and mention, by way of proof, that no money was, at the general election, advanced, out of the treasury, for minifterial purposes."

To this particular fact are added other charges against the M, of a more general nature; after which our Author proceeds thus.

"But it may be asked, Where is the danger of thefe meafures? His M -, born a Briton, and tender of British liberty, will fcorn to take advantage of any increafe of power, and to do any thing that may, in the leaft, infringe the CONSTITUTION his M, a man in private life of exemplary goodness, has no other view, than to render his Master's time as eafy, amufing, and quiet as poffible: the Gentlemen who accept thefe offices, have been always fufpicious of the power of the Crown, and cannot be fuppofed, for the paltry bribe of a nominal 500l. per annum, to have been convinced of the fallity of principles which they have fo obftinately adhered to, and fo loudly echoed for fo many years.' I answer, that I have moft fincerely the highest efteem for the goodness of his M's heart, and do not believe he will be brought to do any act that we fhall have reafon to complain of: I am pleafed

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