7

and queen, upon his courage and conduct in the field, and her fortitude and sagacity at the helm, in times of danger and disquiet. The commons, pursuant to an estimate laid before them of the next year's expenses, voted a supply of four millions for the maintenance of the army and navy, and settled the funds for that purpose.

XLII. They proposed to raise one million by the sale of forfeited estates in Ireland: they resolved that a bill should be brought in for confiscating those estates, with a clause, empowering the king to bestow a third part of them on those who had served in the war, as well as to grant such articles and capitulations to those who were in arms, as he should think proper. This clause was rejected; and a great number of petitions were offered against the bill, by creditors and heirs, who had continued faithful to the government. These were supposed to have been suggested by the court, in order to retard the progress of the bill; for the estates had been already promised to the king's favourites: nevertheless, the bill passed the lower house, and was sent up to the lords, among whom it was purposely delayed by the influence of the ministry. It was at this juncture that lord Torrington was tried and acquitted, very much to the dissatisfaction of the king, who not only dismissed him from the service, but even forbade him to appear in his presence. When William came to the house of lords, to give the royal assent to a bill for doubling the excise, he told the parliament, that the posture of affairs required his presence at the Hague; that, therefore, they ought to lose no time in perfecting such other supplies as were still necessary for the maintenance of the army and navy; and he reminded them of making some provision for the expense of the civil government. Two bills were

accordingly passed for granting to their majesties the duties on goods imported, for five years; and these, together with the mutiny bill, received the royal assent: upon which occasion the king observed, that if some annual provision could be made for augmenting the navy, it would greatly conduce to the honour and safety of the nation. In consequence of this hint, they voted a considerable supply for

building additional ships of war, and proceeded with such alacrity and expedition, as even seemed to anticipate the king's desires. This liberality and despatch were in a great measure owing to the management of lord Godolphin, who was now placed at the head of the treasury, and sir John Somers, the solicitor general. The place of secretary of state, which had remained vacant since the resignation of the earl of Shrewsbury, was now filled with lord Sydney; and sir Charles Porter was appointed one of the justices of Ireland, in the room of this nobleman.

§ XLIII. Notwithstanding the act for reversing the proceedings against the city charter, the whigs had made shift to keep possession of the magistracy: Pilkington continued mayor, and Robinson retained the office of chamberlain. The tories of the city, presuming upon their late services, presented a petition to the house of commons, complaining, That the intent of the late act of parliament, for reversing the judgment on the quo warranto was frustrated by some doubtful expression; so that the old aldermen elected by commission under the late king's great seal still acted by virtue of that authority: That sir Thomas Pilkington was not duly returned as mayor by the common hall; and, That he and the aldermen had imposed Mr. Leonard Robinson upon them as chamberlain, though another person was duly elected into that office: That divers members of the common council were illegally excluded, and others, duly elected, were refused admittance. specified other grievances, and petitioned for relief. ington and his associates undertook to prove that those allegations were either false or frivolous; and represented the petition as a contrivance of the jacobites, to disturb the peace of the city, that the supply might be retarded, and the government distressed. In the late panic which overspread the nation, the whigs had appeared to be the moneyed men, and subscribed largely for the security of the settlement they had made, while the tories kept aloof with a sus

They

Pilk

e This supply was raised by the additional duties upon beer, ale, and other liquors. They also provided in the bill, that the impositions on wines, vinegar, and tobacco, should be made a fund of credit: That the surplus of the grants they had made, after the current service was provided for, should be applicable to the payment of the debts contracted by the war: and, That it should be lawful for their majestics to make use of five hundred thousand pounds, out of the said grants, on condition of that sum being repaid from the revenue. Ralph.

picious caution. For this reason the court now interposed its influence in such a manner, that little or no regard was paid to their remonstrance.

§ XLIV. The marquis of Caermarthen, lord president, who was at the head of the tory interest in the ministry, and had acquired great credit with the king and queen, now fell under the displeasure of the opposite faction; and they resolved, if possible, to revive his old impeachment. The earl of Shrewsbury, and thirteen other leading men, had engaged in this design. A committee of lords was appointed to examine precedents, and inquire whether impeachments continued in statu quo from parliament to parliament. Several such precedents were reported; and violent debates ensued: but the marquis eluded the vengeance of his enemies, in consequence of the following question: "Whether the earls of Salisbury and Peterborough, who had been impeached in the former parlia"ment, for being reconciled to the church of Rome, shall "be discharged from their bail?" The house resolved in

the affirmative, and several lords entered a protest, The commons having finished a bill for appointing commissioners to take and state the public accounts, and having chosen the commissioners from among their own members, sent it up to the house of lords. There the earl of Rochester moved, That they should add some of their number to those of the commons: they accordingly chose an equal number by ballot; but Rochester himself being elected, refused to act: the others followed his example, and the bill passed without alteration. On the fifth day of January, the king put an end to the session with a speech, in which he thanked them for the repeated instances they had exhibited of their affection to his person and government. told them, it was high time for him to embark for Holland; recommended unanimity; and assured them of his particular favour and protection. Then lord chief baron Atkins signified his majesty's pleasure, that the two houses should adjourn themselves to the thirty-first day of March.

He

f In this year the English planters repossessed themselves of part of the island of St. Christophers, from which they had been driven by the French.

§ XLV. William, having settled the affairs of the nation, set out for Margate on the sixth day of January ; but the ship in which he proposed to embark being detained by an easterly wind and hard frost, he returned to Kensington. On the sixteenth, however, he embarked at Gravesend with a numerous retinue, and set sail for Holland, under convoy of twelve ships of war, commanded by admiral Rooke. Next day, being informed by a fisherman that he was within a league and a half of Goree, he quitted the yacht, and went into an open boat, attended by the duke of Ormond, the earls of Devonshire, Dorset, Portland, and Monmouth, with Auverquerque and Zuylestein. Instead of landing immediately, they lost sight of the fleet, and, night coming on, were exposed in very severe weather to the danger of the enemy and the sea, which ran very high for eighteen hours, during which the king and all his attendants were drenched with sea water. When the sailors expressed their apprehensions of perishing, the king asked if they were afraid to die in his company? At daybreak, he landed on the Isle of Goree, where he took some refreshment in a fisherman's hut: then he committed himself to the boat again, and was conveyed to the shore in the neighbourhood of Measlandsluys. A deputation of the states received him at Hounslardyke: about six in the evening he arrived at the Hague, where he was immediately complimented by the states general, the states of Holland, the council of state, the other colleges and the foreign ministers. He afterwards, at the request of the magistrates, made his public entry with surprising magnificence; and the Dutch celebrated his arrival with bonfires, illuminations, and other marks of tumultuous joy. He assisted at their different assemblies; informed them of his successes in England and Ireland; and assured them of his constant zeal and affection for his native country.

§ XLVI. At a solemn congress of the confederate princes, he represented, in a set speech, the dangers to which they were exposed from the power and ambition of France; and the necessity of acting with vigour and des

g An. 1691.

patch. He declared he would spare neither his credit, forces, nor person, in concurring with their measures; and that in the spring he would come at the head of his troops to fulfil his engagements. They forthwith resolved to employ two hundred and twenty-two thousand men against France in the ensuing campaign. The proportions of the different princes and states were regulated; and the king of England agreed to furnish twenty thousand. He sup

plied the duke of Savoy so liberally, that his affairs soon assumed a more promising aspect. The plan of operations was settled, and they transacted their affairs with such harmony, that no dispute interrupted their deliberations. In the beginning of March, immediately after the congress broke up, the siege of Mons was undertaken by the French king in person, accompanied by the dauphin, the dukes of Orleans and Charters. The garrison consisted of about six thousand men, commanded by the prince of Bergue: but the besiegers carried on their works with such rapidity as they could not withstand. King William no sooner understood that the place was invested, than he ordered prince Waldeck to assemble the army, determined to march against the enemy in person. Fifty thousand men were soon collected at Halle, near Brussels: but when he went thither, he found the Spaniards had neglected to provide carriages, and other necessaries for the expedition. Meanwhile, the burghers of Mons, seeing their town in danger of being utterly destroyed by the bombs and cannon of the enemy, pressed the governor to capitulate, and even threatened to introduce the besiegers: so that he was forced to comply, and obtained very honourable conditions. William, being apprised of this event, returned to the Hague, embarked for England, and arrived at Whitehall on the thirteenth day of April.h

h A few days before his arrival, great part of the palace of Whitehall was consumed by fire, through the negligence of a female servant.