SINCE my last I have received your Lordship's of the 14th; and in one Letter from Mr. Williamson, an Ac­count of what was Resolv'd at the Foreign Committee, to whom your Lord­ship only referr'd the Determination of what manner the Amendments of the Ma­rine Treaty should be pursued. And ac­cordingly I have since fallen into the De­bate [Page 2] of that Affair, with Monsieur de Witt, in all its Particulars; and the Differences between us are not great, and some of his Exceptions seem so reasonable, that I must be furnisht with Arguments to maintain the Points against him, if they must be in­sisted on; For, I confess, I can find none of my own.

Upon the first, He consents to the change of the Form of Certificates, and will accept of such as we shall draw up, so they mean equal on both sides, mutati [...] mutandi [...]: But to that which the East-India Company say, of their desire that Trade may rather be carried on without any Certificate at all, he says, He does not see how that can be, or to what purpose in that case, all the Articles are about Contraband Goods, since it is by the Cer­tificate whereby it is known what the Ship is, and what the Goods are she carries, and thereby all further trouble of search is avoided. He says, He should be content, and the Advantage would be theirs to have all Trade free, and none to ask at Sea what another Ship was; Whether it went, or what it carry'd: But since that cannot be, there is no way of avoiding Disputes, besides that of Certificates. And indeed, I doubt the Merchants in that err, or rather, consider'd not the main end of the whole Regulation, which was to avoid Quarrels between the Nations, but only their own private Interest, in saving the [Page 3] trouble and Charge of Certificates; which made them likewise desire it might be from the Magistrates of the Ports from whence the Ships parted, not from the Admi­ralty.

Upon the second, He consents to the Proposal in the Margin, with only the lea­ving out these two Words, Of India; so as the Rule may be generally to all places, and not confin'd to the Indies; which I had nothing to say against, believing those Words fell in only by the Matter's coming from the East-India Company, without notice of any other Traders▪

Upon these two Points I had given your Lordship the Account formerly of my ha­ving at several Discourses gain'd his Con­sent; and I do not find that any thing he excepts, as in them, is different from what we mean our selves.

For the other Points which are wholly new, and Additions to the Treaty, they cost us a great deal more Debate, which I shall not trouble your Lordships with, but only the Result at least of the Opinion he gave me leave to write to your Lordships, as his upon them; tho' the first, second, and fourth were all of more difficult Dige­stion, and such as, I doubt, would have given some Work to the Commissioners in pursuance of the Breda Treaty, so much as to have toucht; for the Truth is, our Trade in the Indies being so little, and theirs so much, all Equalities [Page 4] of this kind are gains to us, and loss to them.

For the first of the four Particulars not provided for in the Marine Treaty; He consents to one half of the Period, ending with the Word Government. But for the other, allowing liberty to pass any River, or Pass, leading to any place of Trade, al­though the other Company have a Fort, or Castle, upon the said River, or Pass, he says, it cannot possibly be; nor would it ever be executed, tho' the States should consent to it: For in those Passes, the very End of either Companies Building a Fort, or Castle, was to secure the Trade of such a Country to themselves, so as they would by this Article loose all the benefit of the Expence they had been at; That if to such Nations there were any other way found, not under the reach of their Cannon, that Passage should be free; But under a Fort built to the aforesaid Ends, he did not be­lieve any Orders would compel those in it, either of our Nation, or theirs, to see the Trade they had secured to themselves, drawn away to the other Nation, by a free Passage.

The second Particular I got wholly a­greed to, tho' with much Difficulty, as im­porting, I suppose, more Advantage to us than any of the rest, considering how many more Nations the Dutch trade with than we, by virtue of such Agree­ments.

[Page 5]The third was without difficulty, im­porting, as we both conceived, no more than was before provided by the Marine Treaty, and more particularly.

For the fourth, He could not consent it should extend further than to Ships belong­ing to either Company, or to any Nati­ons, or People, subject to either Compa­ny, and consequently under Protection of the said Company; For the making it now in the Words of our Article, [ To any Nati­ons with whom either Company shall Trade, and not in Enmity with the other Company;] would occasion only either Companies sel­ling their Passports to all the Nations that would buy them; leaving it afterwards to dispute upon any Accident that should ar­rive, whether such Nation were in Enmity with the other Company, or no, the Natives maintaining the Negative, and perhaps the Company the Affirmative; And it may be upon pretence of some new Injury which had lately given the occasion of the Enmi­ty; and where such Disputes should be de­termin'd, was difficult to find. Besides, He argued from common use of Nations, that Passports operated only towards those who were subject to such as granted the Passport, or else by Alliance and Accord between Nations, to such as were one anothers Sub­jects, and under their Protection; But how it should extend to other Nations, because they were not in Enmity with our Ally, he could not see any reason, nor had heard any [Page 6] Example: But on the other side, it was e­ver to be supposed, that there would be no need at all of Passports from the one, to such as were not in Enmity with the other Nations; being to be esteemed as Just in their Actions, and not likely to disturb, or seize another, without, at least, pretence of Enmity, which would be a sort of Pi­racy at Sea, or Robbery at Land; but in case such a thing should happen, no other Nation concern'd themselves in it, unless it was offer'd to their Subjects, and conse­quently to Persons under their Prote­ction.

I thought his reasoning seem'd good; and besides, I imagin'd the thing was not of weight; for wherever one Company found a Nation not in actual Enmity with the other, and had a mind to protect their Navigation, they might do it by receiving that Nation into their Protection, and their giving them Passports as Subjects to them; But where Nations will not submit to such a Subjection, they must protect themselves. And this was the Result of our Conference, which came to no sort of Agreement on either side; since I neither had power to do it from His Majesty, nor he from the States; So that we can only represent on each side what past; and at­tend our Orders upon them, and he in the mean time dispose the States to his Opini­on, when we meet to treat and conclude formally upon them.

[Page 7]When I receive Instructions, I suppose it will be necessary to know the Manner as well as the Matter we are to agree on; that is, whether a new Marine Treaty to be made with these Particulars to be digested into the Body of it; Or else these to be per­fected in an Instrument by themselves as ad­ditions to the Marine Treaty. For the do­ing it with or without Commissioners, I can say nothing, since so great Authors are on both sides; but if both seem neces­sary, one to the Substance, and the other to the Form, I was thinking whether two or more might not be joyn'd in Commission with me to treat, and conclude it with Commissioners of theirs, and those to be acquainted beforehand with what was to be expected upon this Matter: But I know not how our expectation of having the Commissioners meet at London, would be satisfied by their meeting at the Hague, nor how Forms go in joyning Commissioners to an Ambassador for a particular Business, and so I leave it.

The Account your Lordship expects from me of the new Governour in Flanders, will be very lame, Men disagreeing much in his Character. The common Voice making it very low in those Qualities themselves, which are most essential to his doing well; but the Baron d'Isola, in his Letters hither, running it very high as to his Abilities; the Appearance of which must needs have great Disadvantages from his Arrival in a [Page 8] strange Country, without one word of any Language besides Spanish, without Cloaths, or Retinue, or hitherto the Show of a Go­vernour, the Marquess having not yet (at least till within this Day or two) given up the Charge.

He is a Person of about Forty Years old, little and lean, with long black Hair, and a Face that the Dutch call Ill-favour'd; of few words, prerending to come in blind Obedience to the Queens Orders, which found him a Hunting, and sent him away in the same Cloaths, and with the same Retinue, which are about eight or nine Persons, among whom a Natural Son (for he never was Married) and a Secretary, said to be a very able Man. How four Women came to be a Hunting with him, I know not; but it seems so many came with him too, and went to Zealand upon his first Arrival. He intends, they say, to stay at Mecklyn till the Plague ceases, or at least abates at Brussels, and perhaps Don Este­van intends to be Minister of State; for he tells me the Constable has sent very ear­nestly for him, and away he is gone this Day.

The Prince of Orange is expected to Day or to Morrow in Town. Monsieur Odijck▪ tells me, His Highness is much concerned in the Attempts of removing the Scotch Sta­ple from Teweet to Dort, that it will be twelve Thousand Guilders a Year out of his way; That those of Tewe [...]t offer all that [Page 9] can be ask'd, and more than those of Dort; That His Highness has written to His Maje­sty about it, and hopes He will not allow it, being a thing, as he says, of Sir William Davison's only contrivance, and in the de­sire whereof the Scotch Merchants are no way agreed.

I have sent this Post, a Bottle of Juni­per-Water for His Majesty, which he plea­sed to tell my Wife he desired: It goes by Mr. Bucke, a Gentleman belonging to the Duke of Ormond. If the King likes it, I shall endeavour to get more, and should have said this to my Wife rather than your Lordship, but that I hear His Majesty will be out of Town. I am ever,

I Have since my last received your Lord­ships of the 18th past, and you will have already found, that the King's Com­mands in it, concerning my Procedure up­on the East-India Propositions, are obeyed. Upon my next Conference with Monsieur de Witt, I shall press the Reference of the Guinea Business to Commissioners, and let the other rest where it is, till I have an An­swer upon my last.

I must likewise expect Instructions how to proceed upon the Concert desired be­tween us, Holland, and Sweden, for the Guaranty of the Peace, both upon the pre­sent State of Affairs between the two Crowns, and in case of the King of Spain's Death; For I hardly know how to begin, or what to propose, till I know how far Spain will comply with the Swedish Pay­ments, or how Sweden will digest, or re­sent the delay or want of Satisfaction; be­sides neither French, nor Spaniard, make any mention of the Guaranty; and these [Page 11] States have resolved not to give it Spain, without the Satisfaction of the Swedish Sub­sidies.

I know not whether it will be seasonable to press it here, without further Conjun­ctures, or at least, some Occasions given me from hence: But of this my Lord Keeper in your Lordships Absence, pro­mised I should receive further Directions, and I may have some light given me from the Marquess Castel Rodrigo, if he passes this way, as I hear he intends, having com­manded a Friend of mine at Brussels, to tell me, Ie l'embrasseray devray que partir on Espagne. Don Est [...]van told me, That in his last Letters from Spain, they told him, they were dispos'd to pay the Swedish Sub­sidies as much as we could wish them, Pero que stavan impossibili [...]ados.

The Prince of Orange is not return'd as was expected from Breda, but is gone into Guelderlandt to Hunt, as his Friends say; but the common Talk will have it, That 'tis upon some such other Chase as his last in Zealand; the Effects of which are now no more talk'd of, nor will be, unless renew­ed by some other such Adventure, or by his coming back hither, which they now talk of on Monday or Tuesday.

I need not write here what Particulars, I know you hear by other Papers, as of Monsieur d'Estrades▪ leaving his Embassage here, and Monsieur Pompone's coming in his room, and all such Matters which come to [Page 12] your Lordship from another Hand, which I would be glad to know how you are satis­fied with.

When I hear the Perfection of Sir Iohn Trevor's good Fortunes, I shall give him Joy of them; In the mean time I give it your Lordship, upon your having brought about what I saw you had long desir'd, and upon your having a Friend of so great Merit, and so generally avowed both by the King, and I suppose, by the Commissio­ners of the Treasury; For they will have it here, that the King lays down 8000l. to bring this about, which is a good Bar­gain for both him that comes in, and him that goes of. God send they may think I deserve my Bread while I am abroad, and that I may be able to eat it when I come Home, which will very much depend upon them I am sure. Pero lo mucho se guasta, y el poco basta; at least it will to me when­ever the King gives me no Necessity of Li­ving, as I am sure, I do now to every Body, rather than to my self. I am ever as be­comes me,

I forgot to tell your Lordship last time, and know not whether it be worth telling you now, That the Resignation of the Po­lish Crown was made on the 16th of last Month; That the King retires to Avignon, and that the Regalities will continue in the Primate, Archbishop of Gnesna, till the Con­vention of the States, which is appointed in Ianuary: But being to be made in the open Field by the Customs of that Nation, it is not thought likely to be till March. The Competition seems to lie between the Duke of Neuburgh, and Duke Charles of [...]o [...]rain; His Majesty knows whether it will be fit to make any Compliment to the Duke of Neuburgh, or to interpose his Offices in this Election, as well as other Kings.

HAving by this last Post received the knowledge from my Lord Arlington, of His Majesty's having called you into a share of His nearest Trust; and there­by done Justice, both to His own Affairs, and your Merits: I could not omit re­joycing with you upon so Happy an Oc­casion, and telling you the part I take in all encreases of your good Fortunes and Honours, which I wish you may ad­vance by the same Ways you have be­gun them, which I reckon to have been your avowed Usefulness to His Majesties, and the Kingdoms Service.

I hope you will esteem it a Duty of your Charge to receive poor Ministers Abroad into your Protection, of which Number, some of our Friends will take care that I shall be one; and in it there is nothing so troublesome, as that all [Page 15] should come from one Hand, and not so much as allow some variety in a Man's Ill Fortunes. However, mine shall never trouble me, so much as the Good Ones of my Friends shall please me; and yet I will not allow yours to add any thing to the Professions I have already made of being,

WHEN I have acknowledged the Fa­vour of yours of the 8th, I will make no other Return to the great Civili­ties of it, since there is no sort of Equality in that Commerce between us; All I can say upon that Subject being but what is due from me to your Office as well as to your Person; Whereas the least Advances you please to make in that kind, are more than I can pretend to, and so carry the weight of Obligations with them; and therefore if you please, having acquitted my self of the Ceremonies due to the change of your Station in my last, I shall in this pay what I owe to that charge of Affairs, which my Lord Arlington told me, was left upon your Hands in his Absence.

I know not whether the Business of the Marine Treaty be forgotten, or no; But I never heard one word of it since I trans­mitted Monsieur de Witt's Reflections up­on it to my Lord Arlington, who sent me word it was left to your care. I am of [Page 17] Opinion that since it is stirr'd, and the Dutch see we are unsatisfied with the first, the sooner this Matter is agreed, the bet­ter, that they may not continue long in doubt how far our Complaints are like to reach, nor fear our improving them upon the Advances they make to our nearer Confidence and Friendship.

For the Business of the General Guaran­ty, I am glad I consented not to have the Proposition of it given to the Swedish En­voy here, since I hear my Lord Keeper and you are scrupulous in it. That which is proposed were certainly better, for each to pay a Third, if we may do it in our manner, and afterwards to compre­hend Spain in our Alliance upon such Terms of advantage as we can gain from them. And this was given me in my Instructions, and I often advanc'd it here at my first coming as an Expedient, in case Spain should refuse the Satisfaction; But the Dutch would never hear of it, and especially Monsieur de Witt believing the Sum accorded to Sweden, to have been out of proportion: And tho' he would be content Spain should pay whatever we can induce them to; yet he will by no means consent to Holland's satisfying any part; so that I never yet thought sit to mention to Monsieur Appleboom, the way in which we pretended to pay our Share, not foreseeing the Affair at all likely to take that Train. On the other side, since [Page 18] the Queen of Spain's Refusal, the Swedes seem not concerned in what Spain does upon this Matter, pretending we and Hol­land are to take care of their Satisfacti­on, and that they are to look no further, as you will see in this enclosed Paper; and Monsieur Appleboom upon all occasions pres­ses us to advance the whole Sum to Sweden, and seek our Satisfaction of Spain after­terwards. In the mean time, our care was, that neither Spain nor Sweden should fall into any Counsels disagreeing with the Ends of our Triple Alliance, the one by disappointment of the Subsidies promised, and the other upon being prest to Pay­ments upon Treaties where they had no share, and by which they were to re­ceive no benefit, since the Guaranty of the Peace of Aix, was promised them, upon their giving Orders to the Baron Bergeyck to Sign it.

Upon these Considerations Monsieur de Witt and I fell into those Thoughts which you will find exprest in his Paper sent by last Post, and by which we hoped Spain might be induced to make good the whole Satisfaction since Holland would take no share in it, unless for the future in case of Action upon the Guaranty. That which leads me to those Conceptions (besides the necessity, since no other occurred) was that by the very Articles of the Peace of Aix, ratifying that of the Pireneaes, if we give Guaranty for one, we do it actually for t'o­ther [Page 19] too; And besides, I could not think there were any hazard for the King in what posture of Affairs soever to enter into Action against France upon the pur­suit of their Greatness, when He did it jointly with Spain, Sweden, and Holland; for with that Circumstance I imagin'd the occasion of doing it, was ever rather to be sought than avoided.

However I shall go on to Sound and Press Monsieur de Witt yet farther, whe­ther taking upon them a part of the Swe­dish Satisfaction▪ will go down here, or no; and if I find any hopes of it, I shall then likewise Sound Monsieur Appleboom, whether our way of paying one Share will be accepted in Sweden, which perhaps may be as doubtful as t'other. In the mean time I should be very loath we should give the Dutch any grounds to suspect, that ha­ving brought them to make bolder Paces against France, then they were inclin'd to (only upon Confidence of our Company) we should begin to make our Paces upon the same way with more Reserve, and Caution; which to say truth, is a scru­ple has been in many of their Heads, and very often consest to me by seve­ral here: And if it should encrease far upon this occasion, and at the same time a stop be given to some agreement upon the Marine Treaty, whereby we should own our Satisfaction in that Matter, I doubt it might be of ill consequence, since any [Page 20] change of Dispositions would be, I think, for the worse; their present ones running the High Road to loose all sort of Consi­dence, or Dependance upon France; and consequently having it upon us, in which I presume, it is our Interest not to fail them.

However, I suppose, all are of Opini­on, that the gaining full Powers this way, both from Spain and Sweden, towards a general Concert in this Affair, is to be de­sired, and that is my chief care to bring a­bout; and I hope it will be so too in Eng­land.

My Lord Keeper's Illness, and my Lord Arlington's Absence, make me save their trouble this Post; and therefore I desire you will please to communicate to them what falls to your share, with the enclosed from Sweden, tho' I cannot hear that Ne­gotiation is yet advanced any farther than Letters. I am ever with very much Rea­son, and very much Truth,

SINCE a very long one to my Lord Ar­lington, with the Account of my late Conference with Monsieur de Witt; I have the Honour of yours of the 13th, with an Instruction, tho' not in form, for my car­riage in the present Affair, concerning the Swedish Subsidies. I have neither Time left, nor shall I have occasion to say much upon it, but hope the want of form in that Instruction will be supplied; and for the Substance, I shall make it my utmost En­deavour here to bring it about, tho' I can promise nothing as to the Success of it yet, having ever found them resolved against it.

I shall say no more, but that you put me here upon very hard Parts; my whole Business having been hitherto, since the first step I made last Year into this Coun­try, to engage Holland into as bold and forward Paces against France, and for the Defence of Spain, as we were content to make our selves; and they remember [Page 22] very well the Proposal I made them last Winter, of an Offensive and Defensive League to that purpose. How far beyond Hopes I have succeeded in this pursuit, I need not tell you after the Paper Mon­sieur de Witt drew up as an Expedient for the Swedish Satisfaction. The Province you give me now, is to temper them in this warmth upon this occasion, and yet to sa­tisfie them that His Majesty's backward­ness to accompany them in it, as far as they are willing to go, proceeds not from any change of Measures, or Temper in us; tho' to avoid it, we are content to lay down a good Sum of Money for Sweden, which they think is a Commodity we cannot spare, but upon a very great Oc­casion. I that know the King a little, and His Ministers a great deal, believe this perfectly, but doubt it will not be with­out difficulty to make every Body else be­lieve it; especially at a time when all Mouths here are full of Monsieur Col­bert, and his Negotiations: However, I will go as far in it as I can, and doubt not to go as far as any Man else shall do, by the Credit of my Plainness and Truth among them here, and by their belief that when the King falls into other Mea­sures, he will use some other Hand here, and not mine; which, I hope, you will be of Opinion to do as my Lord Ar­lington promis'd me he would. In the mean time to help me in this Pass, I wish [Page 23] I might have something given me to say about the Marine Treaty, and that the Imprisonment of this poor Man at Har­wich, were out of the way, unless we are sure we have Right of our side; and such a Right as we are resolv'd to make out, upon every occasion, for upon a less than this, I think we cannot do it.

I will presume to say, That you have now sufficient Testimonies of what I al­ways perswaded my self concerning Mon­sieur de Witt's being a perfect Hollander, and no more a Frenchman than any thing else: I will now tell you my further Opinion of him; which is, That if we think to make use of any Advances he may have made against France, past re­treat, towards the gaining any Points, or Advantages of the States, which he esteems not reasonable or fit, he is a Man to venture all, rather then suffer, or consent to it, this Maxime running through his whole Frame; That a State is at an end, when they are brought to grant the smallest Matter out of Fear, or to offer at purchasing any Alliances, otherwise than by Mutual Interests, and Reciprocal Advantages. I say this, be­cause Actions spring much from Men's Dispositions, who are in the Head of them; and there is nothing so necessary towards Treating, as knowing the Per­sons with whom they are to Treat. By [Page 24] the next I hope to give some account, what progress I am likely to make upon my last Instruction.

I beg your Favour in excusing me this Post to my Lord Keeper, from whom I received one at the same time with yours, and your Justice in esteeming me what I am always,

SINCE my last, I have made the best use I could of the very good Arguments you were pleased to furnish me with in yours of the 13th, for disposing them here towards your Expedient of sharing the Swedish Subsi­dies, and satisfying them of our fair In­tentions in waving that other of the General Guaranty proposed here.

I have in a long Letter to my Lord Arlington, given an Account of that Con­ference, to which I must beg leave to refer you, as containing the Answer both of what came to me from your Hands in that of the 13th, and like­wise in another of the 16th, which I receive just upon the close of this Pac­quet, containing the pursuit of the same Counsels you were pleased to transmit to me in your last.

[Page 26]Though I have time left to do no more, yet I would not omit to acknow­ledge it by this Post, and to continue the Assurances of my being ever as becomes me,

I Am to acknowledge one from you of the 1st past, with a Command from His Majesty to complain of an Insolence committed by one Brackel, a Dutch Cap­tain in the Mediterranean, and to demand Reparation in His Majesty's Name, which I shall not fail to do by a Memorial to the States at their next Sitting, and send you an Account of it by the next Post.

Upon the last I gave them in Major Ban­nister's behalf, they immediately order'd Letters to be written to the States of Zea­land for his Liberty, which, I doubt not, he has by this tme; having had Assurances gi­ven me by some of the Lords of Zealand, that it should be done before any Orders came from the States-General to that pur­pose: And I have taken this occasion to discourse with Monsieur de Witt concern­ing the Liberty of all English Transporting themselves and their Estates from that Co­lony, which at last he seem'd to think rea­sonable, notwithstanding any Oaths they [Page 28] may have taken: The only Difficulty which I foresee in it, will be about their Lands and Immoveable Goods, for which, I see not how they will get Satisfaction, in case the Dutch that remain combine together, either not to buy at all, or to do it at the most Inconsiderable Pri­zes.

I am very glad to know of any Minister from His Majesty, being▪ on his Way to Brussels, for all our great Business lies now at the Spaniards Door: And they have here a Minister, I doubt, very unlikely to bring it to any Conclusion, and yet Jea­lous of seeing it pass through any other's Hands, and so unsatisfied with the Talk of the Baron d'Isola's going to Hamburgh, or coming hither. God send us a good Issue in this Negotiation, which, I confess, I something apprehend, and that the Spring should find our Triple Alliance as loose as the Summer left it, which our Neigh­bours, I doubt, will not fail to make the best Advantage of.

I must acknowledge your Favour in the Offers of taking care of me, upon the re­view of the Establishments for Ambassa­dors; For if it were my Talent either to ask or complain, I doubt I should have as much reason as another Man, in a place where by all Mens consent, the same Train of Living will cost a full third part more than either at Paris, or London: And for the necessity of appearing, the late Am­bassadors [Page 29] of France, Spain, Sweden, and Portugal, have brought it as high, as in any other Court, by the Number of Li­veries, and keeping Publick Tables; Whereas Sir Dudley Carleton, the last En­glish Ambassador here, keept no Page, and but two Footmen, and one Coach and four Horses; And had his House allow'd him by the States, which is to cost me 200 l. a Year. And yet upon the Establishment of those Times, and the Count d'Estrades here, mine was fix'd; whereas the Count, tho▪ he had but Ten Thousand Crowns a Year for his Ambassage, yet had Sixty five Thou­sand Francs a Year of the King His Master's Money, for his Governments and Ambas­sage together: Besides a Regiment here in Holland, which made him live at a Rate that will cost his Successors dear, unless by common consent we can all agree to re­duce it; Which, I am sure I should be as glad of for the Ease, as the Parsimony of it. Unless we can do this, I resolve to live on, as I thought it was necessary, for the King's Honour I should begin, for the rest of one Year, and lie at the King's Mercy for it, as well as I do for having had my whole Train of Ambassador to Aix upon my Hands two Months, by his Majesty's Commands, without one Penny's Allow­ance for it. And therefore I shall not trou­ble you with any Complaints concerning my Establishment, having once said, That since the King thought such Retrenchments [Page 30] necessary, I was content to give the Exam­ple, and would go through with it, so long as my own Fortune would bear me out without Ruine: But in case the Esta­blishment be broken for other Persons, I will not believe the King will break the Absolute Promise he made me (as the Com­missioners likewise did) that I should share with them to the full in the Advantage of it, which is all the Pretension I will recom­mend to my Friends Justice and Favour. For in such a Distinction, the Dishonour of it will be yet more sensible, than the Dis­advantage. I know not how to excuse this Trouble, but that the obliging Advances you were pleased to make me upon this Subject, were the occasions of drawing it all upon you from,

I Have since my last, had the Honour of two from you of the 23d and 26th past; And must refer you for Answer to all Points in the first, to this Nights Di­spatch to my Lord Arlington; and likewise to the first part of your second, having va­lued that strain of His Majesty's Confi­dence with the States, as far as I could; And I hope, upon the whole, to keep all in good Temper here, whilst no change of Temper happens among their Neigh­bours.

I sent immediately your Letter to Mon­sieur Van Benninghen, but doubt I shall not receive much Assistance from him, in di­sposing the States to the sharing of the Swedish Subsidies; Against which, he seems as much bent as Monsieur de Witt; And more upon promoting the other Expedient of Inviting Spain to the whole Payment, by a General Gua­ranty.

[Page 32]I expect your Resolutions there upon the Marine Treaty; For though I am not called upon for them here, yet they would be glad to see an end of all, up­on which they foresee Disputes may a­rise.

For the second part of your last Letter, I have particularly informed my self, and find, that the Military and Oeconomical parts, have ever been perfectly distinct in the Administration of the Admiralty of these Countries; And that no Prince of O­range ever had any thing to do in the Dis­position of the last, nor any of the Lieu­tenant-Admirals since; as Tromp, Opdam, or Ruyter; The course of that Admini­stration being subordinately in the several Admiralties, but supreamly in the States themselves, as the Military part is now, since the Death of the last Prince of O­range.

There are five several Admiralties un­der these States; The first of Rotterdam, the second of Amsterdam, which bears a double Share with the rest, the third of Zealand, the fourth of North-Holland, the fifth of Friezland. In the Time of Peace, the Ships maintained by the States, are on­ly for Convoys; And towards their de­fraying, the Customs upon all Merchant Ships, are payed in to the respective Ad­miralties [Page 33] where they come in; And all that Revenue is, by these Admiralties, im­ployed in the maintaining of Convoys for their Merchants. In Time of War, the States resolve what Number of Ships they will set out, and send for Commissioners from each Admiralty, to consult with, con­cerning the Sizes of them, to be furnish­ed by the several Admiralties: And like­wise concerning the Charge of Equip­ping, Victualling, and Maintaining them. When this is agreed by the States, with the Commissioners of the several Admi­ralties, the Moneys are assigned by them accordingly, to the Admiralties, by whom the whole Care is taken of apply­ing it, according to the Proportions agreed on.

The Benefit of the Admiral, and Lieu­tenant Admirals, consists chiefly in the Share they have of all Prizes taken; The Prince of Orange having had no particu­lar Pension as Admiral, but One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Guilders a Year, as Captain General and Admiral; And de Ruyter, at present, not having above Five Thousand Guilders a Year, as Lieu­tenant Admiral. Upon setting out any Ships, the several Admiralties named two Captains, of which, the Admiral chose one, which the States do now, since the last Prince's Death; And the Lieutenant Admiral has only Power to supply pro­visionally [Page 34] any void place when he is at Sea.

If you desire to be satisfied in any Par­ticulars I have not touch'd, you need but repeat them in any new Commands; Which shall be Obeyed by,

I Have this Day received the Honour of one from you of the 13th Current, and doubt not you will before this ar­rives, have received the Account I gave in my last, of the great Satisfaction Monsieur de Witt exprest upon the last Paper trans­mitted me, in answer to his Memorial, and upon the whole Business now in agitation, which will now run on with joynt Motions, as well as Intentions; And the Issue of them must be expected from Spain, which makes it very doubtful to me, considering the posture of their Affairs, and course of their Councils, and the great Dissatisfacti­on they express with the delay of our Gua­ranty, and the refusal of entring into a Defensive Alliance with them.

Our want of Ministers in Spain, and their want of such here, as are very proper▪ for the present Conjuncture, are very great Maims in this Business.

My Lord▪ Arlington has all I can yet say upon the Marine Treaty; And I am very [Page 36] much of your Opinion, That since this is begun, it will be better to end it, before we pursue that of Guiny any further: Tho▪ I omitted not to pursue that as far as I could, with the Informations and Instructions I had upon it; And signified to my Lord Arlington, in my last upon that Subject, what further Pieces would be necessary for any further prosecution of that Matter.

I shall put in a Memorial to Morrow for the Liberty of Major Bannister; Which, I believe▪ I had before obtain'd from the States of Zealand, in particular, without troubling His Majesty about it, had one of my Friends been as diligent in that Matter as he promised me. I send you enclosed, the Charge upon which he was sent from Surin [...]m; And for as much as I can hear of the Business, I am of Opinion his Case is hard, tho' Monsieur Meerman says, It is in Dispute, whether the inhabitants there not going away, as was at first permitted, but staying and taking the Oath of Fidelity to the Dutch, became not their Subjects. I enclose a Letter I lately received from Major Bannister, and doubt not of Satis­faction to His Majesty, in what concerns him. I am ever with very much Passion and Truth, tho' at this time, with very much haste,

I Am to acknowledge one from you of the 24th past; Whereby I find that the Agreement fallen into, concerning the Guaranty, was as wellcome in England, as it was here; And I doubt not but there will be the same Concurrence on both sides, in the way of pursuing it, tho' I can yet give no further Account of that Matter, having been so Indisposed, since my last, with an extream Cold, that I have been forced to keep my Chamber. I cannot tell whether Monsieur Beverning, or Van [...]en­ninghen, will be pitch'd upon to go to Brus­sels, nor in what Quality they will go: Whether as deputed from the States, or without Character, but it is certain what you observe, That if I go, it cannot be as an Ambassador, but Incognito; And for my Letters of Credence, or Powers, they must be according to what His Majesty shall think of to be Treated there: I sup­pose the Point will be the Accom [...]li [...]h [...]t of our Guaranty, upon their Satisfa [...]t [...] [Page 38] of the Swedish Subsidies, and for the Offers which will be prest by the Spaniards, of à Defensive League. I suppose the Intention is to let them draw no further than into such Discourse as may sound the bottom of those Advantages they may carry with them. But to the main End proposed, next to that of the Subsidies, by these States in this Negotiation, is to possess Spain, all that can be, with the Assurance of the same Support to Flanders, they will give to any of their own Provinces: So to raise the Confidence both of Spain, and the Government in Flanders, and keep them from any thoughts of Treating with France; or abandoning the utmost Defence of those Provinces. I doubt there is another, Point where [...]n the States will prove some­thing forwarde [...] than His Majesty, as well as they seemed so in the Guaranty of the Pyrenoean Treaty, which is in a concert of doing our jo [...]t Offices to dispose France to some assurance of not breaking this Peace, as far as it touches Flanders, even upon the King of Spain's Death; Which is a Point, that tho' I had the first Orders to Sound them in, yet I know not whether we are disposed to keep pace with them now in it, but should be glad to know His Majesty's Thoughts, for my own Government upon [...]cca [...]on.

There is another Point likewise, where­in I should be glad to be instructed; which is in case we succeed in inducing [Page 39] the Spaniards to reason upon our Guaran­ty; Yet I am confident they will [...]st▪ as the Marquess ever did, u [...] ou [...] entring into a particular concert with them, upon the Specification of Means and Forces▪ by which every one should [...] [...]iged to main­tain the Peace, in case of a Rupt [...]e from France; In which concert, [...] should be likewise comprehended [...]s well a [...] we.

For the second particular of your Letter, which concerns Major Bannister, there need nothing more be said to prove the Reason his Majesty had to demand his Liberty, which, I will hope, he has already, hav­ing never heard from him since the last Assurance I had from the Lords of Zealand, there should be no difficulty in it.

I cannot yet give any further Account concerning the Marine Treaty, but shall press it on upon my very first stirring out of my Chamber. This I cannot but re­mark upon it; That notwithstanding those high and violent Exclamations that were made by some, (and as they said, the City) against the Marine Treaty, as it was [...] ▪ greed to by his Majesty last Winter upon so great Motives from the Conjuncture of other more publick Interests at that [...]; Yet all that Noise produced only two Ex­ceptions against any thing contained in that Treaty, and already agreed by the Treaty of Breda, with the Term of a Pro­visional, that differ'd little or nothing from a Perpetual. That having induced the [Page 40] Dutch to give His Majesty intire satisfacti­on upon those two Exceptions. I do not find we think any thing considerable gained by it, unless we gain likewise every one of five or six new Propositions made by the East-India Company upon that Subject; and such, as I doubt, whether Sir George Downing would have given any hopes of before the War, tho' the End of that can­not be supposed to have given us any great Advantage in our Negotiations here. I said every one of our Propositions, because I find by your last Letter, nothing will be thought done without that Point of passing by their Forts, which▪ I know, will be of more Difficulty than all the rest; And up­on which, I desired to be furnisht with Ar­guments from President and Practise in the Indies, as well as from Reason grounded upon the Ius Gentium here in Europe; The whole course of things being, as Monsieur de Witt says, quite different in the Indies, from what it is any where else; And disa­greeing with all common Rules of Justice and Right observed in other places, as he was, I remember, very large in instancing upon our forbidding all to Traffick in our Colonies.

I observe, you say this of passing by Forts, was never denied before the Dutch began it; Whereas I remember one of Monsieur Van Benninghen's Arguments up­on it was, That it would be d'introduire une noveaute; For all Nations had done it, [Page 41] from the very first of the Spaniands Disco­veries in the Indies; That the first Footing used to be made by any European Nation in those Parts, was only upon Coasts and Ri­vers; Where being fixed, they propaga­ted their Commerce and Plantations by degrees into the Country; And did it chiefly by forbidding all other Nations to come, or Trade into those Parts, whose Passes were first seated by their Forts. Be­sides, he said it was observ'd indistinctly to all, as well as by all, that if they gave this Liberty to us, it would be immediately de­manded likewise by the French, and other Nations their Allies, to whom it was equal­ly now denied as well as to us.

I remember Monsieur de Wit went fur­ther into the History of those Parts, and the Transactions there, and told me, That our Interest in the Indies, lay chiefly in Co­lonies, and theirs chiefly in Forts upon large Coasts, and Agreements with the Natives for sole Commerce; That in the first, our Interest was much greater than theirs, but in the last, theirs very much greater than ours; So that tho' those Points carried the Face of being Reciprocal, yet the Disadvantage and Loss was single to them, whilst we forbid their Traffick to our Colonies, which was the main of our Interest, and they suffered ours under their Forts, and to the Nations in Contract with them, which was the main of theirs. I repeat these Discourses to the Ends I may be fur­nish'd [Page 42] with Reasons upon them at our fur­ther Conferences, in case they continue to insist upon theirs. It seems further, by your constant m [...]ntion of the East-Indies alone upon this Subject, you intend not the Rules agreed upon, should reach only to them; Whereas if they grant any thing hard to [...]em there, I suppose they will in­sist upon its being general to West, as well as East.

I beg my Excuses may go here to my Lord Arlington, having nothing to communicate this Post, but what was due in Answer to the Particulars of yours, nor received any from his Lordship these four last Posts. Having nothing more to add to this Trou­ble, I Kiss your Hands and remain,

THough I have so ill a Head still with my Cold, that I could hardly hold [...] in my Letter to my Lord Arlington; [...] I cannot omit the Acknowledgment of [...]rs of the 27th past, with the enclosed [...]ter of Credence to the Constable, and [...]py of it.

[...] cannot yet tell how soon I shall make [...] of it, since it must be in concert with [...] States: Nor do I know whether it will [...] first be necessary for me to have Pow­ [...] as well as Credence.

[...] forgot to tell my Lord, that the Prince Orange came to me last Night to let me [...]w, that hearing the [...] were en­ [...]g into s [...]me Neg [...]iati [...] with Spain, [...]ad put up a Memorial to desi [...] the Sa­ [...]ction due to H [...]s [...] [...] [...]he P [...]ce Munster, might be [...] it [...]nd [...]esired me I would [...] [...] M [...]je [...]y wise to instruct any Minister [...] [...] to [...] purpose.

[Page 44]I will believe Major Banister is by this time with you, and has waked People at the Exchange, out of their Dreams upon that occasion: For I have assurance from the States of his Liberty, and hear not one Word from him. I am with that Du­ty as becomes me,

I Am to acknowledge the Honour of one from you newly arriv'd, of the 4th Current, with enclosed Copies of Monsieur Boreel's Memorial, and His Majesty's in­tended Answer upon the Detention of the Dutch Captain, and shall not fail to make the Explication as fair as I can, when occasion is given me: But I am yet in doubt, whe­ther we having done our selves Right so fully in this Matter, it will be my part to make the first Complaints, or expect theirs, and return mine in Satisfaction of them; which Doubt I was more confirmed in, by a Clause of my Lord Arlington's Letter, that bids me, in case it falls out so, that I hear of the Captains being gone away, then I should make few words of this Matter, contenting my self with a positive Demand of the Prisoner Iones; So that I shall let two or three Days pass in expectation of hearing what becomes of the Captain, or how the States resent it.

[Page 46]I hope Major Bannister will get away with this Pacquet, who doubts of Iones his coming to Surinam about any fair Errand▪ He will be the best able of any Man, to give His Majesty an Account of those Plantations; And you will find by them, our Countrymen there are not in Chains, as they would have it upon the Exchange All the End of either good or bad Usage towards them from the Dutch, proceed­ing, as I suppose, only from their Desire [...] to induce them to an Willingness of continuing there; To which, I do not conceive bad Usage a common Motive. On the other side Major Bannister has had from them all the Offers he could wish o [...] Advantage; and twice among others, that of being Governour there. I think the Man may be of much use to the King in those Parts where he has spent, in a man­ner, his whole Life, and is (as he says of himself) a meer Indian: And I judge it so far, as to believe him without the Artifi­cial Vices of Europe, as well as without their Fashions and Manners; And there­fore it will be necessary, if you intend to make use of him, to give him a little Countenance, till he gets into some Ac­quaintance, having none at all in Eng­land.

I will save you the Trouble of repeating what I have written to my Lord Arlington, concerning the Marine Treaty, and can yet say nothing of my Journey to Brussels▪ [Page 47] neither Monsieur Van Benninghen, nor Be­verning, having accepted of the Commissi­on; Though Monsieur de Witt tells me, The States will lose no time in it, but he judges it necessary for us, both to have Powers, as well as Credentials to produce, since the Constable has so. I Kiss your Hands, and am always,

I Have this Day received the Honour of Two from you of the 8th and 11th current; Whereby I understand the Re­lease of the Captain of the Dutch Vessel, at the Isle of Wight, so as there is nothing left for me to endeavour in that Matter, but Mr. Iones his Liberty, which I have no reason to doubt of; Having gain'd As­surances last Saturday from the several De­puties of Zealand here, as well as from Monsieur de Witt, the Day before; That they would upon my Memorial to the States, use their Interest pour adoucir [...] ▪Affaire, in the Terms it was then un­derstood, and dispose the States to write away to the States of Zealand, to give Orders to their Captain, for the speedy Release of his Prisoner; Of which, I doubt not, you will suddenly receive a good Account.

[Page 49]I shall be glad to be furnish'd by the next with the Replies you are pleased to promise me to the several Arguments used here a­gainst that single Proposition of the East-India Company, upon which I see the whole strength is put to gain there, and to defend here, which is sufficient demonstra­tion of the Importance of it, and that, and the King's Pleasure, sure Argument's e­nough to me, for the inciting all my Dili­gence and Zeal towards the effecting your Desires upon them.

But I cannot yet say any thing of the Success, though I shall think you make a ve­ry great step towards it, if you send me very sound and fair Answers to those se­veral and particular Arguments used here against it, which I sent you in two of mine, [...]oing, I think, all I had met with; But [...]ome of them of such seeming force a­gainst a Man unarm'd in the Point, and un­ [...]erst in the Field, that, I confess, all my Retreat was to the Interest the Dutch had to satisfie us, (transcendent to the Consi­derations of Traffick) and to the unlike­ [...]hood I saw of their doing it without [...]ompliance to us in this point, though it [...]ould be, as they say, new in Practice of [...]he World, and draw on the Consequence [...]f the same Indulgences to all their other [...]llies, or of Disputes amongst the Offi­ [...]ers and Traders in those Parts.

I can add nothing to what I have for­ [...]erly said of my Brussels Journey, the [Page 50] Thoughts of that, or any thing else, be­ing not like to be resumed till after the Holydays of this Week, which Monsieur de Witt is gone to pass at Amsterdam, and all the Deputies of the States, into their se­veral Towns, and intend not to be back till the End of the Week. I believe be­fore they resolve to send to Brussels, they are willing to see what may be the End of the Baron d'Isola's Journey hither; Who has been now several Days expected: But upon what Errand, or whether with or without particular Character, or Commis­sion, is not known.

I have nothing to add to this, but to wish you a Merry Christmas, and to assure you of my being always,

I Have this Day the Honour of two from you of the 5th and 18th, with two Pa­pers enclosed in the first concerning the East-India Propositions, and one in the last about the English Company at Dort. I am very glad to be possest of the several Arguments given me both in the first Pa­pers, and yours of the 18th, to support the Reason of your Demands, and instan­ces upon the Point of passing their Forts; And, I suppose, the Issue of it will lie chiefly upon that Particular, wherein I am glad to find all your Assertions so positive, that is▪ the Newness of their Practice to the contrary, limited to the Seven Years last past, which, if well grounded, make the thing clear on our side, in my Opini­on, and I shall endeavour to make it clear to them; That as their Hardships to us, in this Indian Commerce, have already given the occasion to one War, so the continu­ance of them, must of necessity do it in time to another, which must make the [Page 52] force of all our Arguments, though some­thing weaker, for the Ill Success of the last: But considering their Constitution, and that of their East-India Company, whose Strength is grown to be, in a great degree, that of the State, and whose In­terests are infused through all the Parts and Members of it, it must be great Respects here that draw them to any in those parts, where, I doubt, they are too strong to be argued with, but with Reasons from hence. I resolve against our next Conference, to digest the force of all your Reasons and Answers to theirs, into a Paper in French, and leave it with the Commissioners to re­flect upon, after I have discours'd the Mat­ter to them: For I cannot expect their Resolution, as you seem to hope, at their next sitting, and without report to their Principals. In this pursuit I shall loose no time, Monsieur de Witt being expected back from Amsterdam this Night: Mon­sieur Van Benninghen returned Yesterday, as most others will do suddenly after, ha­ving past the Holydays in their respective Towns.

I shall likewise, upon occasion, assist those of the English Company of Dort, in pursuance of his Majesty's Commands, which I did as well as I could before, only upon the Name of a National Thing: And in­deed, without my appearing in it, the Thing had been resolved by the States, to the Companies prejudice, some Weeks [Page 53] since; For it is a Matter all the Towns in Holland, except Dort, are bent up­on.

I send you enclosed, the Resolution of the States, upon my Memorial in behalf of Mr. Iones his Liberty, which I doubt not of, but wonder very much to hear nothing yet of Major Bannister's Arrival in England. I have nothing left but to wish you a Mer­ry Christmas, and continue the assured Professions of my being,

THE last Post brought me your Lord­ships of the 22d past, with the en­closed Copies of the Instruments given to the Count de Dona, concerning the Swedish Subsidies, and the Method of obtaining them; Which Pieces had not been before Communicated to me from your Lordship, or any of your Officers: But I thought it necess [...]ry at my coming hither, to see them, and so procured a Copy from Mon­sieur [...]e Witt, by which I learn'd what he maintain'd; That we had no Obligation to Sweden, besides that of our Offices to Spain; And at the same time, I confess, wonder'd to see the Guaranty promis'd to Spain, upon their Signing the Peace, and an Engagement made to Sweden, not to perform the Effect of it without the Pay­ment of their Subsidies, which was no Condition in our promise to Spain. All that I can think of to reconcile this Con­tradiction, is the Necessity we found of [Page 55] engaging Sweden, and the Uncertainty we were in of the Peace being effected after our Promise of the Guaranty was given, which was some few Days before my go­ing to Aix. If we had any other Reflecti­ons in this Negotiation, I should be glad to know them, being like to have use of them in treating with the Spaniards, at least if their Ambassador here be instruct­ed in their Intentions. For two Days since, he was upon these Discourses, de­claiming hard against the Dutch, for im­posing first an Unjust Peace upon them, and afterwards such a Sum granted to the Swedes for their good Pleasure; Since if the Swedish Troops had been kept up, it was at the Desire of the Dutch, not of the Spa­niards, who made the Peace upon assurance in ours and Holland's Guaranty: And whatsoever Sums were promised Sweden by the Triple Alliance, were, as he alledged, after the Peace concluded. Though he mention'd the Dutch only in his Com­plaints, yet I knew he forgot not their Partners in the course of that Action: But I thought it not necessary to enter into the Defence of it, by the exact Computation o [...] the Dates of the Instruments, or any thing besides the necessity of keeping Swe­den from engaging with France, and asked him, Whether i [...] they could have a Gene­ral Guaranty of their Dominions from the Triple-Alliance, he thought it not cheap bought at Five hundred Thousand Crowns. [Page 56] He said, that was promised by us at the Signing of the Peace, that if they had it from Sweden it was enough to pay what they expected upon the Execution of it for the time to come; That if it were necessary to do it for the Time past, they would come in for their share, and with that fell into Passion against Monsieur de Witt; Who, h [...] said, hindred them from being received into the Triple-Alliance, Par un, Politique qui le tromperoit à la [...]in; That for fear of offending France, which they could not do more than they had done already, they would force Spain to Counsels they had no mind to, and much more to this purpose.

In the mean time the Swedish Ministers here, are not impower'd to joyn with us in a General Guaranty, and make many Diffi­culties in their Discourses upon it, as to the extent of it beyond the Defence of Flanders, and to the more open and direct shocking of France; But all this from them seems to tend towards the obtaining further Annual Subsidies from Spain, se­cured to them by us and Holland, as well as ascertaining the sudden Satisfaction of what is already promised; So that be­tween the Weakness of the Spanish Trea­sures and Councils, and the Swedes hard­ness in bargaining, and selling the very found of his Name at so dear a rate, I doubt much, as I have done long, to find this Matter of a difficult Issue, but the first Pace [Page 57] that I see is to be made in it is, since the Pow­ers are in the Constables Hands, to make a short Tryal of the utmost Spain will do; And procure if we can at least the Promi­ses of Satisfaction to Sweden, and value them to Sweden, as far as we can towards continuing them in the Alliance, upon Hopes, if not present Performances from Spain: And this, I shall endeavour, if ei­ther the Baron d'Isola comes hither, which, they say, has been delayed by his Illness; Or if upon the Arrival of His Majesties Powers and Instructions, a Person from hence be ready to accompany me in a Jour­ney to Brussels. For the States have not yet engaged any Person towards it, and have this Quality of all other States, to be very slow in their Resolutions, unless when they are prest by some instant Necessity.

I cannot yet meet with my Commissio­ners upon the Marine Treaty; The first of them▪ Monsieur Huygens, being but come Yesterday to Town since the Holydays; And Monsieur Meerman, who is the se­cond, being but this Day expected. In the mean while I loose no time in advancing it by Conferences with the particular Persons among them; Who assure me, and Mon­sieur Van Benninghen expresly for his Town of Amsterdam, that if it be, as we repre­sent it, either the Redress of a late Inno­vation, or the prevention of one we fear, that those we have hitherto called their Forts, prove but their Ware-Houses built [Page 58] in other Princes Territories; We shall have all the Satisfaction we can wish in it, and may assure our selves they intend not any juggling with us, or disputing upon any thing that is fair and reasonable; But declare, it for his Opinion, That in all these Matters of Commerce between us, they should not only give us what is reasona­ble, but something more, if it be necessa­ry to the fortifying of our Alliance: He assures me, that since my last Conference with Monsieur de Witt, he has sent to Am­sterdam for a more particular State of this Matter, in order to our Satisfaction: But they both desire we would be likewise more particular in naming the Places we are most concern'd in, that thereby they may come to know exactly the nature of our Demand.

I know not any thing I can add to what I have said already concerning Instructions and Powers to be sent me for Brussels, tho' your Lordship is pleased to desire it from me. His Majesty knows how far he would have me go, and by what steps, and ac­cordingly my Instructions must be drawn, and the Powers upon them either general, or referring particularly to the Guaranty intended. But, I suppose, in both Instru­ctions and Powers, there will be a Clause obliging me to do all in conjunction with the Holland Minister. And I should be glad to know likewise whether in case up­on the arrival of my Instructions, I am [Page 59] prest both by the Dutch, and the Season, to make this Journey before I shall have ended the main Negotiation; I am to leave this last imperfect, till my return: For as this seems to be laid to Heart in Eng­land, I should be loath, without express Orders, to leave it for any other Occasion. The Portugal Ambassadour is every Day expected, upon whose Arrival, I shall not fail to pursue your Lordships Commands, in valuing His Majesties Offices as far as I can, towards that Conclusion, as well as endeavour to continue the Baron de Bow­stetten's good Offices in Switzerland. I am ever as becomes me,

MY last Dispatches to my Lord Arling­ton, will, I hope, excuse my not having then (as I ought) acknowledged yours of the 22th past, and given you the best Account I could of what it chiefly con­cern'd, which was the Progress upon the remaining Point of the Ma [...]ine Treaty; Wherein I have confidence of succeeding, if upon your Specification of particular places, they are found to be of the same Nature you have defined them in general▪ That is, Magazines fortified, or small Forts built for security of their Merchan­dizes, in the Territories of other Princes; Or else such Forts by which we have usu­ally passed without interruption, till of late Years.

My Lord Arlington was pleased in his last, to promise me this Specification, which is all that remains towards bringing the whole Matter to an Issue: And till that arrives, I think there is not much lost by [Page 61] the delay of our Conference, though I have sent every Day to the first Commissi­oner according to the Form, to know whether they are ready, that I might ap­point an Hour for it: But he has been so re­gular a Man the remainder of these Holy­days, that what with his being at Dinner sometimes at eight at Night, and in Bed o­ther times at eleven in the Morning, he has not yet brought it to pass, tho' made me now expect he will to Morrow:

Concerning the Business of the Mer­chants Company at Dort, I have not recei­ved any new Complaints from them, or Fears, since His▪ Majesty's Order to inter­pose in that Business; Which, to say truth, I had stopt the last Assembly of the States of Holland, wholly by Monsieur de Witt's Address; Who being of the Town of D [...]rt, I [...]ind is no Enemy to the Com­pany, but for that very reason is tender of appearing in a thing upon which all the other Towns of Holland are bent.

I have endeavour'd against this next Ses­sion of the States of Holland, to engage Monsieur Van Benninghen, to temper his Town of Amsterdam in that Matter, but find him difficult in it: His chief Reasons are,

First, It was a voluntary thing of the States, at the time of their greatest de­pendance upon England, while they had our Money and Men, and we their Towns.

[Page 62]Secondly, That they had then the same Priviledge granted to their Merchants at London.

Thirdly, That it was granted with a Clause of the States revoking i [...] at any time at three Months warning given the Mer­chants.

And Lastly, That the raising our Cu­stoms upon their Commodities, since those Times, has been so exorhitant, that if the King expects the continuance of this Com­pany here, the States have reason to hope he will come to some Moderation towards their Trassick there; Since if the Priviledges of this Company should be taken away, our Merchants would be only brought to the same Payments that theirs are, upon the Importation of our Cloaths, and con­sequently would not [...]ay a fourth part so much Custom for a whole Piece of our Cloath, as we have laid upon every Yard of theirs.

After all these Reasons, I believe the whole Matter was both rais'd and revived by the Town of Rotterdam, upon the Re­moval of the Company some Years since, from thence to Dort; And now upon the Removal of the Scotch Staple to the sam [...] place, from Terveur, and Sir William Davison's having sent Orders to all the Scotch Traders at Rotterdam, to remove from thence to Dort. So that there seems to be more of Envy in it from the other Towns of Holland and Zealand against [Page 63] Dort, for having engrost the two Sta­ples, then of Peek, against the English Company. But since His Majesty has commanded me, I shall watch the Motions of this Matter the best I can, and thought it necessary for once, to give you this Ge­neral Account of the State of it.

You will have found, that the Alarm you mention in your Letter given by the Report of the Commissioners at Lis [...]e being parted without any Agreement, was ra­ther a Presage than a Truth: For I have not met any Person here, that has had from the beginning, any hopes of a Con­clusion there. The French are certainly resolved to keep that Door open, and so have the Time when to fall in, left at their own choice. It will be our parts, I sup­pose, to delay it all we can, as well as to hind [...]r it at last, as far as we are able, And if the Returns of their Complements to us of late, will do any thing towards it, I wish we had an Ambassadour already in France, though I am apt to think it must be by bold and firm, rather than civil Pa­ces, that they must be induced to give over this Design, which we might make per­haps safely and quietly enough, if we were fallen into a right concert upon our Tri­ple-Alliance; I mean such, wherein both Spain and Sweden would find their Satisfa­ction: And if we had once diverted France from the suddain Violence of their Pro­ceedings, we might imploy our Offices to­wards [Page 64] a Treaty of convenience by some Exchanges between the two Crowns; For in the Posture those Countries now lie, I do not think it possible they can be long preserved, but that either the Nobility, or the Cities would throw them into the French Hands, or the difficulty of guarding them invite the Spaniards to do it them­selves.

I hear nothing yet of the Baron d'Isola's arrival, and doubt whether it may not be delayed by these Frosts, which till they are old enough to bear, make all impassable between this and Antwerp.

Monsieur Silvercrown, the new Swedish Commissioner, was with me lately, and seems a more understanding Man, and of more Credit with the chief Ministers at his Court, than Monsieur Appleboom. He gives me assurance of the Swedish Intentions to observe the Triple-Alliance, and hopes that if Spain can be perswaded to pay their Sub­sidies, though at some reasonable Terms, Sweden will be contented.

He makes Difficulties upon the General Guaranty, or at least, makes it fit to be given with a Temper of all the Civility that can be to France, and precedent En­deavours of making them satisfied with it: I told him, the last would certainly be a vain Endeavour, but the first, I thought the King and States both well enough in­clined to, and resolved to make the Offer equally to both Crowns.

[Page 65]He advises us first to bring Spain to what Issue we can upon the Point of the Subsidies, and afterwards to Negotiate what we desire in Sweden by the Dutch Am­bassador in that Court, (who, he says, is very Grateful there) and joyntly by ours, if he arrive in time, which, I suppose, is to tell us that we are not to expect Powers to be sent from Sweden hither. I know no­thing more worth your Trouble at pre­sent, and therefore shall end this with the Profession of my being always,

I Hope my Letter last Post to my Lord Arlington, will excuse my not having that Busie Day acknowledged the Ho­nour of two I received from you since my last, of the 1st and 5th; The first of them will have received its Answer by my last Dispatch upon the Marine Affair, with the Article as I have hopes to pass it here, in case it be approved in England; The last containing only the Promise of my In­structions, and your Complements to Monsieur Van Benninghen, will need no re­turn: For I shall acquit my self of them at his Return from Amsterdam, where, I hope, he will do us Service in our Marine Busi­ness: But I can assure by Advance, that he is much your Servant, and upon all oc­casions does you Justice, which is as much as you need desire, and more then falls to every Man's Share from his Friends.

[Page 67]I mention'd in my last, to my Lord Ar­lington, a Writing sent hither from Swe­den, to prove us and the Dutch obliged to pay their Subsidies, which is long, and di­gested by Civil Lawyers rather than Statesmen, or Merchants; And therefore I trouble you not with sending a Tran­script of it, but have copied out in the en­closed Paper, the Parts that I most reflect­ed upon, not so much for their Strength of Argument, but for an Indication of the Temper with which it was written. For as to the first, I think all may be answer'd in two Words; First, that we never pro­mised it, and then, That we never intend­ed it. Nor is it very fair to say, The King has so interpreted it, because he was once content to pay his Share in case of dividing the Sum, nor in the course of the Writing to make themselves pass for the only Prin­cipal that was of weight to make the Peace, for which they draw into Argument, Expressions we have used to that purpose, with intention only to oblige Spain to do them the Reason we desire.

I have since discoursed this to Monsieur Silvercrown, and told him, I thought it better this Paper might not be avowed by any Authority in Sweden, while we were in hopes of obtaining their Satisfaction from Spain, and upon the pursuit of it, [Page 68] as we are at present; And upon his pressing the necessity of finding some speedy way to satisfie them, for fear they should be indu­ced to take their Measures with France: I told him I would not suspect that, knowing they were engaged in this Alliance by other Considerations than that of such Sums of Money; That however, such Ar­guments might be used to Holland, but not to us; For if by Sweden's, or Holland's fault the Business of our Triple-Alliance should break, and each Party be left to take their own Measures with France, we could very well give both of them the start of us in that Pursuit, and yet come sooner and best to the End: For we understood our selves so well as to know we were more considerable to France, either for or against them, then not only they, or Holland▪ but then all the Nations of Christendom besides; And if we were at any time to be bought, there would be more given for us, than for them all.

He confest it, and assur'd me of all his Endeavours to temper and represent Mat­ters so in Sweden, as to bring all to a good Issue, if Spain proves any thing reasona­ble: And, in pursuit of that, I assur'd him of His Majesty's utmost Endeavours, and of my having received the most pres­sing Commands.

[Page 69]Well, I hope our turn will yet one Day come, of speaking as boldly in our Negoti­ations, as any of our Neighbour Kings; For what has been may be again. The French give us a good Example, and will in time, I suppose, come with the Roman Ambassador to draw a Circle about the Prince they Treat with, and command an Ay, or No, before they stir out. they are great Designs to be driven on all at a time, to have a Fleet of a Hundred Men of War, with all Brass Guns, to Esta­blish a Trade in the Indies, to value their own Manufactures by Exclusion of all o­thers, to resume all the Domain of the Crown, to suppress utterly all those of the Religion in France, to conquer Flanders, and to be the sole and positive Arbiter of all Differences among his Neighbours. Unto the Issue of all these, must go a great deal of Time and good Fortune, and Neg­ligence or Ill Counsels of other Princes and States.

In Spain, I doubt not, they will find e­nough of both, but if what the Baron d'Isola promises be true, I hope not enough to hinder the Effect of our Triple-Alli­ance; Though I am, I confess, better sa­tisfied of the Parts, than the Plainness, and Sincerity of that Minister: Other­wise he makes us believe there will be [Page 70] Two hundred Thousand Dollars ready to advance upon the Swedish Subsidies, and gives hope of the rest at easie Terms, in case they like the Project of our Gua­ranty.

I have nothing to encrease this Trou­ble, beyond the Assurances of my being always,

I Have since my last received both yours of the 8th and 12th; The first accom­panied by my Powers and Instructions, which are full, and clear to those Ends we have lately had in our Eye. I shall use them to my best Endeavours, according to His Majesty's Intentions, particularly the last Article, and see not any thing at present to make me despair of Success, in case the natural quickness of Counsels in France, and slowness in Holland, suffer what we are about, to be effected in time.

The State of this Matter, according to the present Dispositions I meet with here, I have entertain'd my Lord Arlington with, more at large this Post, and so shall for­bear your trouble in the Repetition.

I am glad, in the mean time, to find you so positive; That if Spain perform [Page 72] on their part, you shall prevail with Swe­den to go as far with us as the Guaranty of the Peace at Aix, in its extent; For of that I can yet draw no confident Hopes from the Swedish Ministers here, though they are both inclin'd to it.

I was very sorry to give my Lord Ar­lington an Account in my last, of a new unlook'd for Stop given my former hopes of concluding suddenly the only Article which remains disputed in our Marine Pro­positions: Monsieur de Witt has since en­tertain'd me with a larger Account of the Jealousies raised upon that Matter among the Indian Directors at Amsterdam, com­ing likewise from Monsieur Van Benning­her; But I find nothing new in it, beyond the Suspicions they have conceived of our intending something they think not of, by desiring a General Article for prevention only of an Inconvenience, which we have not yet suffer'd, or at least before we think fit to give any one Instance of it, to instruct them only in the Nature of the Grievance we apprehend: But I shall en­large no further upon it, since Monsieur de Witt tells me, That Monsieur Van Ben­ninghen resolves to give you a large Ac­count from Amsterdam of all that is sug­gested there upon this Subject. For the Pensioner, he seems to have no other Re­flections yet upon it, then that such a [Page 73] Clause, if we, that is, our Merchants, have any reserved Meaning in it, should upon change of Ministers, or Conjunctures, be made the occasion of new Disputes be­tween us, as he says Sir George Downing's Interpretation of those Words in the Treaty of 62, Litem inceptam prosequi, or de poursuivre leur procez entamè; Drawing that which was intended for a legal Decisi­on before the Judges where it was begun, to a political Decision between the King's Ministers and the States, was, in short, the Ground of the last War: How truly he says this, I know not, but, I believe, he truly means to prevent all occasions of fu­ture Quarrels between us, while we are of that mind: And therefore I am still in hopes of his Endeavours to pass this Arti­cle, if that Suspition may be taken away▪ Which, perhaps, one or two Instances ei­ther of what we have suffer'd, or what we apprehend, would do. In the mean time I cannot perswade him to what you seem to agree in declaring, That without this Point they yield us nothing in all the rest: For they think it is a very great Matter they yield in the Description of une ville bloquèe ou assiegè [...], to be both by Land, as well as Sea, which cannot be done there: so that he says, we gain the Liberty of Trading with all Nations, with whom they may be at War, and lie before their Havens with their Fleets, which was a [Page 74] Point could never be gain'd of them in Cromwell's Time. They think likewise they yield a great deal in that of the case where one Company has contracted for the sole buying up any Commodity of any Nation: But I have no reason to think you are very well pleased with my repre­senting their Arguments or Discourses up­on this Subject, no more than they are with yours, tho' both, perhaps, be neces­sary; And therefore I shall not enlarge this Trouble beyond the Assurances of my being always,

[...] Have since my last, the Honour of yours of the 15th past; Whereby I find [...]ou expected my next would be from Brus­ [...]ls, after the Receipt of my Powers and [...]structions some Days before arrived; But [...]e great Business of our Adjustment with [...]pain, upon the Swedish Subsidies, being, as [...]e hope, come to an Issue here by full [...]owers to the Spanish Ambassador, I know [...]ot whether that Journey will hold, or [...].

Monsieur de Witt thinks it may still be [...]cessary, if it be but to give Heart to the [...]eople there who need it much, and to [...]ake some Entrances with the Constable, [...]on the best Ways and Methods of setling [...]at Countrey in a posture of not falling [...]der another Surprize from France: But I [...]all have time to consider whether that be [...]rand enough for such a Journey, when I [...]ar the States Resolutions about it; For [...]therto it is only Monsieur de Witt's pri­ [...]ate Opinion. And they not having pro­ceeded [Page 76] so far as to engage any Person in it, when there was more occasion, 'tis possible they may now desist from the present Thoughts of it.

I can give no further Account of our Marine Treaty, expecting your Answers to their Desires of some Instances, when we either had felt, or apprehended the Grie­vance in that only Article which remains. I find Monsieur Van Benninghen has been very large upon that Subject in a Letter to you from Amsterdam, which Monsieur d [...] Witt shew'd me a Copy of, and would have had me transmitted, for fear of the Originals miscarrying: But I thought it not necessary, both in regard of the Safety of all Letters in their usual course; and to say truth, because I found not the Argu­ments very weighty, and a Byass in the [...] towards the leaving out that whole Arti­cle, or at least confining it to particular places, of which instance should be made. Whereas Monsieur de Witt had always de­clar'd, That the Instances were desir'd on­ly for Information in the nature of our De­mand, and not to insert in the Article.

I am apt to believe, that 'tis only Jea­lousie on both sides, which makes this point so much insisted on by us, and so much ap­prehended by them, at least if we can give no particular Instances of the Grie­vance: For they are positive, that with the knowledge of the Directors, no such thing is practised. However some Expe­dient [Page 77] must be found out to agree it: If you [...]urnish me with Instances, that will be some Assistance to me; If you cannot do that, I was thinking whether it might not be an Expedient to add to the Article, as I trans­mitted it, some such Words, that this should be done in the same manner as was [...]sually practised between the two Compa­nies, before such a Year, naming two or three Years before the War, since you af­ [...]rm before that time no such thing was [...]retended or exercised by them: But I have mentioned nothing of any such Ex­ [...]edient here; nor shall till I have answer [...]f my last, and your result upon it, after having communicated it to those who are [...]ost concerned to understand it.

I know not whether I thought it worth [...]aking notice of, that the Admiral of Den­ [...]ark came hither some Days since, about [...]e long debated Difference between that King and these States, upon certain Sums [...]f Money, and likewise about agreeing [...]pon the Measures of Ships that pass the [...]ound. I am always,

I Am to acknowledge the Honour of o [...] from you of the 26th past, approvin [...] the State of our Affair with Spain, whi [...] you will since find is drawn to a Head▪ And in case His Majesty approves of t [...] Form of the Guaranty, we have nothi [...] left to transact in this Matter, but wit [...] Sweden; Towards which my Lord C [...] ­lisle's Journey, if so sudden, as we here be­lieve, will much contribute.

I doubt Monsieur Boreel has but a col [...] Scent in his Pursuit of the Zealand Preten [...] ­ons at Surinam; But the truth is, that i [...] [...]ase the English Planters all remove toge­ther from that place, the Plantation is as good as wholly lost to the Dutch, their Numbers there being wholly inconsidera­ble, and their Nation not at all fit for that Business of Planting, which makes them never like to grow considerable in the West-Indies: But otherwise for the Reason of the thing, I never saw the least colour o [...] [Page 79] it on their side, nor find that Monsieur de Witt offers at maintaining it, when upon occasion, I have fallen into the Discourse of it with him. So that I should think my self happy, if I had no greater Difficulties upon my Hands here than what are likely to arise in that Affair when it comes in play: Tho', I think, you judge very pru­dently, that the Time for it will be rather after we shall have come to some Issue in our Marine Treaty than at present, that so we may have but one Knot to untie at a time.

How I shall succeed in the last, I am yet to learn from my farther Conferences here upon the Papers last sent me, which I have newly received, and are Translating, that I may upon occasion use them here; I mean the Arguments as well as the Arti­cles: That which troubles me, is to see I am of late gone back on both sides, for what Monsieur de Witt and I had agreed on, is strongly opposed by those of Am­sterdam, and being at first approved in England by the East-India Company them­selves, as my Lord Arlington wrote me word, they have since, as I now find, al­ter'd their Minds, and propose to have the Passage free under all Forts, tho seated in Countreys that are absolutely under the Dutch Occupancy and Subjection, which is a new Point, and that which I am sure in several of your Letters you have said di­stinctly, was never aimed at. But since [Page 80] this is now in my Hands, you may be assu­red, that it shall go as far as it is possible to pursue it by any Cares and Endeavours of mine. I am sorry I am not made acquaint­ed with the Particulars of the Case at Iuc­catra, which, it seems, is alledged as the only occasion of this Apprehension and Proposal from our Merchants; For as to that of the Fort upon the River of Iambre, Monsieur de Witt, I remember, alleadg'd that as an unreasonable thing, if they should pretend it, where the River was so broad, that the Ships were not under the certain unavoidable danger of their Canon, which he would have had the measure of the free Passage: But of these Proceedings you will be troubled hereafter with farther Ac­counts from,

I Am to acknowledge two I have recei­ved from you since my last of the 5th and 9th current, which came together to my Hands, with one for Monsieur Van Benninghen, which I this Day delivered, and fell into the longest Debate that I have ever had with him upon the Subject of it, but with so little success, that I shall have no Pleasure in repeating it; And yet I ve­rily believe we do not disagree in our Meaning, tho' we cannot come to agree in ways of expressing it.

They insist still upon some Instance of what we complain of, and are the less sa­tisfied at every new pursuit I make, without producing what they have from the first demanded: They protest their East-India Company knows not what ours means by saying they might Instance in Iacatra, and think I do not deal sincerely with them, in suppressing the Particulars of the Fact as it past there, which is the only place we have mention'd, as giving occasion for this Ap­prehension [Page 82] of ours, and Demand upon it.

Mons. Van Benninghen swears to me in the solemnest manner that can be, and which is not usual with him, that his Heart is more bent upon finding out a way to satis­fie us in this point, than to satisfie either the Estates, or East-India Company here, and that upon any occasion we shall pro­duce of Complaint, both he, and all the rest of the States, know they ought to give us all Satisfaction that Reason shall re­quire, and even beyond reason in things that are not of the last importance to them; As he says, they have shewed in a­greeing to that Article about defining a Town bloque ou investie, which has raised such a Clamour among those of the East-India Company here, against the Commis­sioners who treated it with me, That they know no way of satisfying them, but by the absolute Will of the States-General, and representing to them how much they ought to give towards our Satisfaction in this Conjuncture. He says, that all Sir George Downing could find to complain of in the Indies, was the stopping of our Ships by their Fleets that lay before Cochin and Ca­nanor, which is provided against in that a­foresaid Article: And if there had been any Innovation in Matter of Passage by one ano­thers Territories, as we intimate there be­gan to be, on their side about two Year be­fore the War, 'tis impossible but they must [Page 83] have heard of it at a time when all things were ript up. That if we can mention a­ny such Innovation differing from what has been the antient, constant, and general Practice, in both India, and Africa, by our Nation as well as all other Europaean Nati­ons that have had any thing to do there, they will be the readiest in the World to redress it: But at the same time he profes­ses to think it absolutely impossible to make any Draught of an Article concerning pas­sing of Forts, which may not be made use of Pour bouleverser toutes les Affairs des In­des; And that as much as he can see into it, may not be of the same consequence as if we should demand of them absolutely to break their East-India Company. The many large and various Instances he used to prove this you will better have from his Hand than mine, and therefore I shall omit the rest of his Discourses, which ended in bewailing our falling so earnestly upon such a Point as this, in which it was so im­possible for them to agree with us, and not at the same time to lay the Foundation of a certain Breach hereafter, by the Disputes which must arise upon it. That the ill Ef­fect upon which he made his chiefest Re­flections, was the Interpretation I told them was made of it in England, to the Disadvantage of their Intentions and Dis­positions of living well with us in point of Commerce; That on the other side very many here interpreted this Demand as a [Page 84] Mark of our Resolutions not live well long with them, in point of our Alliances, and so made them think of ballancing still be­tween us and France, till they could find with whom they were like to meet with the most present Safety, and leave future Times to future Councils▪ That for his part, and all the most foreseeing Heads a­mong them, they were of another mind, and thought the only bottom they had left was upon our Friendship. But on both sides, the continuance of such Jealousies as were apt to arise from our Disputes upon this Point, could not be without ill Ef­fect.

And upon all this I concluded it would be necessary for him to make a step over in­to England, and try whether the King's Ministers there, and he could understand one another better than we had done here, which he seemed to think not unnecessary; And for my part, I think it the only thing left to be done in this Matter.

Since my last, some Commissioners have been with me from the States, to acquaint me with the Letter which goes this Night to His Majesty from them, upon the Busi­ness of Surinam, wherein you will find they are come off from the Disputes they formerly engaged in, of the English Plant­ers there having forfeited the Right to the first Articles of Surrender, by which they had liberty to remove, and that the Mat­ter lies now in this compass here, that such [Page 85] of the English there as either have now, or shall have hereafter a desire to leave that Plantation, shall not only have Leave, but Assistance from the Dutch Governour, to­wards their Removal, but that on the o­ther side His Majesty shall not send any Commands to them to remove, nor Threats in case of their Stay there; as they say has been practised by my Lord Willoughby: So that all which will be left, if this be agreed to, will be only to find out a way of know­ing what Inhabitants, at their own Motion, have a desire to Stay, and what to Re­move.

I told them I could not say any thing of the King's Resolution therein, but should signifie what I understood of their Mean­ing to His Ministers by this Post, which carries their Letter to His Majesty. Ma­jor Scott, who came lately from England, and is seeking Imployment here, tol [...] me, some of them were considering whether they might not deal with the Dutch in the New Netherlands, as we do with the En­glish at Surinam; But that, I suppose, de­pends upon the Articles of each Places Surrender. Now I Name Major Scott, tho a Man wholly unknown to me, I can­not but confess, that having since his com­ing hither, talk'd a great deal with him, seen his Maps, and a long Preface to the Book of them he intended to set out, I cannot but be sorry, he should have met so much Discouragement in England, as to seek [Page 86] Service in other Nations: For, I cannot think but the Man must of necessity signifie a good deal of good or ill to us in those Ports as he is made use of by us, or other People.

If His Majesty have the same Thoughts, and that He is worth the retrieving, I should be glad to know it, and shall in the mean time have some Eye upon his Progress here. The Necessity of these Troubles, will, I hope, excuse the length of them from,

I Was very sorry to find by yours of the 12th past, any News of your Indisposi­tion, and will hope by the next to meet with that of your Recovery, and in the mean time give you as little Trouble as I can, and no more upon the Marine Arti­cle, than to acknowledge the Receipt of the last East-India Companies Paper enclo­sed in yours, which I have already com­municated here, and shall pursue at a Con­ference to Morrow.

The States of Holland, at their last break­ing up, past a Resolution for taking away the Exemptions of the English Company at Dort, from the usual Customs, which are one Florin upon a Piece (or thirty six Yards) of English Cloth; Which as soon as I heard of, I put in a Memorial to the States-General, to desire they would not proceed upon that Business, without entring into Conference with me upon it, which they have resolved, and the Particulars among them would perswade me, that it is a Mat­ter [Page 88] so far from prejudicing, that it will ra­ther encrease the Export of our Manufa­ctures, and which they have proceeded up­on only for the Peace of their Towns, all the rest of Holland mutinying against Dort in this Matter. And to say the Truth, I think this has been now wholly renewed by that Resolution, which I never under­stood, of His Majesty's removing the Scotch Company from Zealand to Dort, at Sir William Davison's sole pursuit, for ought I hear: For thereby the Prince of Orange has been very much injur'd, as he says, to the value of 1 [...]00l. Sterling a Year; And which perhaps he lays more to Heart, the Province of Zealand, which is his chief Friend and Dependant here, has been apt to interpret it a mark of His Majesty's ha­ving no consideration for the Prince: Seve­ral Scotch Merchants here seem'd unsatisfied with it, and others divided in the Point; and Sir William Davison upon his removal from Amsterdam to Dort, when the Com­pany removed from Zealand, sent Letters to the Scotch Inhabitants at Roterdam (as the Deputies of Roterdam alledge) charging them to remove from that Town to Dort, and threatning them in case of their Non­complyance. Upon this the Town of Roter­dam, who had some Years past lost the En­glish Company, being new netled, set this Matter on foot, and all the other Towns of Holland, seeing Dort possessed of two Companies, fell in warmly upon the Scent, [Page 89] and Zealand sensible of what they have lost, is of the same Mind; And Monsieur de Witt, though he has upon his Countrymen's Instances (I mean those of Dort) delayed it for one Assembly of the States of Holland, yet he could put it off no longer, and durst not openly appear, where the Interest of his Town seem'd cross to that of all the rest of his Province: So that what will be the Issue of it, I know not, till we fall into Conference about it.

Sir Peter Wych past this way on Wednes­day, and went after one Nights stay in pursuit of my Lord Carlisle, who parted from Amsterdam for Swoll, on Munday last. I am always,

I Am to ask your pardon for not acknow­ledging one from you of the 19th past, by the last Ordinary, and I this day find my Debt encreased by the Honour of one of the 23d, by which I am glad to hope there will be some facility given on their side, as well as it is pursued here by all my Endeavours, towards the Composure of the Points we differ in upon the Article of the Marine Treaty that has broken our Heads so much and so long. The Deputies, de­sign'd to be sent hither from the East-India Company, instructed in that Business, are expected here this Week, and till we see the Overtures that will be made, or Argu­ments that will be used by them, I must su­spend my Judgment of what the Issue will be; God send me out of this Bryar, and I never hope to fall into such another.

Monsieur de Witt, and the rest here, will be very well pleased, if the King think sit to let Monsieur Sylvius pass by Lunenburgh; and I shall make them sensible, that if it [Page 91] be so resolved, it is wholly in complyance with them.

They would have been glad likewise if my Lord Carlisle had had leave to call at Denmark, though upon a private Visit, in confidence that would have drawn on a Di­spatch from that Court to England, and consequently a Composure of those Un­kindnesses, which France makes use of to the engaging that Crown more intirely to themselves: But these People though per­haps the best Judges of Interest, are the worst of Honour and of all the Punctillio's that depend upon it.

I hear nothing of my Lord Carlisle, since he parted from Amsterdam▪ but expect Mr. Thynn here every Day, who, I hear, intended to meet him at Hamburgh, and then come straight hither.

I will not trouble you with the Repeti­tion of any thing I have written in other Letters this Post, which I kn [...]w you will have your share of, nor with enlarging upon the Professions of my being,

SInce my last I have received yours of the 5th current, with the enclosed Pacquet for Sir Gabriel Sylvius, which he is possest of; And in order to his Journey towards Lunenburgh, has begun to take his leave, where it was due here. I have put the Com­pliment of these Dispatches from His Ma­jesty, wholly upon Monsieur de Witt, who seems to take it, as he ought to do, and to be satisfied with all he hears of the course of His Majesty's present Counsels, both from Monsieur Boreel, and all other Hands. He tells me his Letters from their Ambas­sador in Sweden, give him a very good Account of the Dispositions of that Court, which agreeing with what I hear both from Monsieur Appleboom, and Sylvercrown here, makes me hope all we wish in their Resolution upon the Projects of the Gua­ranty and Subsidies lately sent them over.

[Page 93]The Duke of Lunemgburgh's Minister here is of Opinion Sir Gabriel Sylvius will find those Princes likewise in the same Di­spositions, and obliged by this Compli­ment from His Majesty: I doubt of two Difficulties in the engaging them: First, that they will expect to be admitted as Principals in our Alliance; And then that they will insist upon some Money by Swe­den's Example

The enclosed I have newly received from the Baron Bonstetten, by which you will find the Negotiations in Switzerland to­wards the common Alliance, proceed but slowly; That which they would perswade this State, is to allure them by setling con­stant Pension upon the small Catholick Can­tons, where they perswade him about fifty Thousand Franc's a Year, would do the Bu­ness▪ And among the Protestant Cantons, there is nothing of that kind admitted (as they say) and so nothing needed, but Mon­sieur de Witt is averse from this Counsel, arguing, that where things are wholly Venial, and at so small Rates, there can be no certainty; and that 50 from hence may serve turn, only till 60 be offer'd from some other Hand. He is in the mean time extreamly glad to hear we are like to fall into a good Correspondence with Den­mark, and hopes the Hold of France will wear off in that Court, as ours grows on.

[Page 94]Considering how weary you must needs be of so much as has been written of late upon the Subject of passing those enchanted Forts, I suppose you will be content I trou­ble you with nothing in that Matter by this Ordinary, the States having not yet sig­nified any thing to me of what has been, or is ready to be represented to them by the Deputies of the East-India Company, who have been three Days in Town, and I hear were prepar'd to entertain them with long Reasonings upon it. I am of Opinion, that without producing Instances of what gave us the Apprehension at least, if not the Danger of new Practises, which we desire to prevent, or without shewing that the mention of Porcat and Iacatra, (which is all has yet been spoken of) is to the pur­pose of this Complaint; It will be hopeless to do any thing in this Matter, the Jealou­sies of our reach in it are grown so great, and now they have started a new one, which is, That this Proposition, (nor any thing towards it) was never made by us in any time of our hardest Demands (even by Cromwell's) but only in the last Paper of Sir George Downing, so as they will have it, that he has cast it in, as une pie [...]e d'achope­ment entre les d [...]ux Nations, knowing by his Transactions, and the Constitutions here, it was a thing could never be yielded: But I must expect the next Conference, to be a­ble to give a further Judgment upon the whole success.

[Page 95]I cannot end this without acknowledg­ing very sensibly the obliging Expressions at the end of your last, concerning your favour to me in my Wife's present Solici­tations of the Performance in what His Majesty was pleased to promise me at my coming away, as to equality with his other Ministers. Monsieur de Witt had heard the King had granted it, and came to make me a Complement Yesterday upon it, as­suring me he had several times spoken of it among his Friends here with Trouble; That he knew in the Train I lived, 'twas impossible to hold out upon what I had be­fore from the King, which from so frugal a Man, is perhaps as good a Testimony, as what I hear some Persons, who have no more to do in it than he, take great pains in representing to the contrary. I am ever with very much Reason and Truth,

I Have received yours of the 9th, with the enclosed Answer to the Dutch Am­bassador's Memorial upon the Affair of Surinam, upon which I cannot mark any seeming difference in the Pretensions of His Majesty and these States, concerning the execution of those Articles of Surren­der, unless there should arise a Difficulty upon the ways of Transporting such of our Planters, as have a desire to remove: For the Dutch, according to the Article, pretend their Governour is alone to have that Charge and Care, but they fear His Majesty will think of sending Ships of his own to that purpose, which they think would have an Influence upon the Disposi­tions of the English Planters there, and up­on the Peace of the Colony. When Mon­sieur Boreel arrives, I may, perhaps, have occasion to enter farther into this Matter, and am glad to be so well informed.

Sir Gabriel Sylvius began his Journey last Night towards Lunemburgh; and I hear [Page 97] there are Letters this Morning arrived here from Lubec, which left my Lord Car­lisle upon the Point of Embarking there di­rectly for Stockholm the same Day the Post parted, so that I doubt neither of the Pac­quets dispatch'd after His Lordship, had reached him time enough to turn his Jour­ney through Denmark but some other Hand will, I hope, be found in those parts to supply that turn before it cools.

I have heard nothing from the States upon our Marine Article, since the Arrival of the Deputies from Amsterdam, which made me resolve to put in this enclosed Memorial Yesterday, to press them to a short Conclusion; Wherein, as in all our Conferences, I endeavour'd to make the firmness of our Alliance depend much upon our Satisfaction in this Point, being an Argument will always hold good, how much soever the others may be disputed. I cannot guess more by much Discourse I have lately had with Monsieur Van Benning­hen, than that if we are content with the Ancient Practice for the time preceding 62, or 63, in which Years we say our Com­plaints, or Apprehensions began, we may be assured of it, but I shall never talk three Words upon this Matter with any of them, without being prest upon giving Instances. I hope you and Monsieur Van Benninghen, will have the Honour of ending this Af­fair, which I should have been very glad of, but doubt it will be denied me. How­ever, [Page 98] so it be done to our Satisfaction, I shall not repine. I am of Opinion, at last the States will send him over, and consider­ing your Acquaintance so well contracted already, his Dispositions so warm in all Points tending to the good of our Alli­ance, and the great Influence he has upon the Town of Amsterdam, and, indeed, through the whole Province, I am confi­dent 'twill be of good Effect, and much Use may be made of it to the Advantage of our Concerns here.

The Deputies of the States of Zealand, have this Day made their Harangue to the States of Holland, representing the occasi­on of their coming, to be for settling such a [...] Union between the two Provinces, as they may henceforth appear but one in all that regards them; But they descended to no Particulars, only desiring Commissio­ners.

The Point they will begin with, is tha [...] of the Judicature, and setling it [...]o be o [...] and the same for both the Provinces; [...] they agree in that, I believe this Meeting will not pass without some Proposition [...] concerning the Prince: The present Di­spositions on both sides, seem to be no [...] very distant. Zealand, perhaps, with the Prince's Contentment, will consent to the Abolishment of the charge of Stadtholder provided the Prince may be at the sam [...] time admitted to the Charge of Captai [...] General, with Session in the Council o [...] [Page 99] State, and a considerable Pension: Holland would fain have their consent to the first, upon a Decree of those Conditions to the Prince, at the one or two and twentieth Year of his Age: What the Issue will be I know not, but find many of the Province of Holland, in the mind, that some end must be found in this Affair of the Prince, for the general Quiet of the Provinces. Discourses have of late been set on Foot about his Highnesses Marriage, and some German Princesses named, but this Talk is yet in the Air. I am ever,

I Have received yours of the 12th, with the inclosed Article both in French and English, and a Paper from the East-In­dia Company, with Reflections upon the Arguments used here against our long pur­suit of that Article, but they being newly come to my Hand, I cannot answer for the Effect they will produce: I think I may for Monsieur d [...] Witt's inclination towards it, not discerning much in it different from the Concept which he proposed to Monsieur Van Benninghen. But as he ever gave me that Proposition, or intended I should send it into England, and three Days after he had communicated it to me, let me know that the Directors of the East-India Com­pany, and Monsieur Van Benninghen had sent to desire him not to proceed in that Matter, till the Arrival of the Deputies here, so I have no hold upon him for the States agrecing to it, besides the old Ar­guments joyned with these new ones, I have received to induce them; of all which [Page 101] I shall make the best use that I can possibly towards obtaining our Ends, and am pret­ty confident, if I had brought over such an Article as this with me, and proposed it before so much Dust had been raised a­bout this Matter, I had passed it among the rest; But the East-India Company here are now grown so Jealous, that there is no dealing with them in this Point. I have had long Discourses since my last, with Monsieur Valkeneer, the chief of the Dire­ctors, and who has the greatest Influence upon the Town of Amsterdam; And he says, That since we can complain of no­thing past in reference to passing of Forts, he wonders that of all other Times, we should choose this to apprehend new Inju­ries, when we know as well as they, that how strong soever they may be in the In­dies, the Consideration in which we are to them here, will of it self prevent any such, and remedy and punish them where we can prove they have been committed. He says, he is confident they mean all that our Mini­sters desire, and would be ready to do it in any Particulars we should instance▪ but the variety of Forts, Possessions, Occupa­tions, Subjections, Passes, and manner of Trassick, is so Infinite in those parts, that none can know what they do in passing a general Article of this Nature. And this was the Sum of his Reasoning, besides all those Arguments you have so often had al­ready from the other Ministers here. So [Page 102] soon as the East-India Paper is Translated into French, I shall enter once more upon it with Monsieur de Witt, and by him shall be able to guess what we may hope for in Issue of all this Debate.

The Fears given here by the King of Spain's late Illness, and the Disorders ar­rived since in Spain, upon Don Iohn's occa­sion, give very much matter of Discourse here, and Visions of ill Accidents, for which they see no remedy. They apprehend twenty things without other reason than their own Fears, and, I hope, one among the rest is, That the Spaniards grow diffi­cult upon the Point of paying the Sub­sidies; That they are Treating with France, and will at length Sacrifice Flanders for the safety of the rest. I hear this only from the common Noise as yet, which, perhaps, proceeds from their Unquietness here, whenever they think of the Accession of Flanders to France, but I wish it proves always a needless fear; For so busie as they are in France, and so idle as they are Flanders, must, I doubt, come to ill in time. The French Ambassador is much scandaliz'd at the liberty of Talk used by every one here upon this occasion: He tells me, for ought he sees, all his Business here will be to take the Air, and that all the Interests and Supports that this Country had so long with France, are now plainly turn'd to us; and that he knows they are endeavouring to find Measures with us and [Page 103] Sweden, against his Master, in case of the Spanish King's Death, which, I find, is the thing he lays most to Heart: But I assure him, the King has no such early Thoughts; And what he will have when such a case arrives, I am very little able to tell, so far am I from being instructed in them.

The Portugal Ambassador made his En­try Yesterday, but finds some new Diffi­culties in his Business here.

Your Commands about the last enclosed to Mr. Thynn, shall be punctually obeyed, as all others you please to lay upon,

SInce my last I have had a Conference with Monsieur de Witt, upon the Sub­ject of the last Papers transmitted to me from the East-India Company, the new Project of the Proposition for passing the Forts, and your Letter which came with them, and serv'd much to clear our mean­ing in both the former.

As to the first, Monsieur de Witt said, he could not judge of the greatest part of those Instances, by being a Stranger to most of the Names, as well as Transacti­ons in those parts; That of about five or six of them which he had been acquainted with, there was not one which touch'd in any manner this Point of passing the Forts: That for the others he would endeavour to inform himself, being desirous of nothing so much as to know one Instance of a Fort, by which we thought we had right to pass, and had been hinder'd, and desir'd now to have that Right preserved to us by this proposed Article. For all the other In­stances [Page 105] whereby we averr'd the Wrongs which had been done us in that Trade, he said, it was the same thing as to rip up the occasions of the late War, wherein each Party still maintain'd they had wrong done them by the other; And so in those Instances which he was acquainted with of these mention'd in the last Paper, they could not yield we had those Wrongs done us which we pretended.

As to the Isle of Ceylon, he said, he knew not the State of it, but if it were as we related it, they should be very unrea­sonable to exclude us from the Trade of those parts of it where they had no Forts, nor Dominion, and he should be the first to condemn them; And he thought the same of the other case whenever it should happen of their building any Fort to hin­der our Passage to any place where we had our Traffick already establish'd.

For the Proposition, he presently obser­ved it was drawn upon that which he had sent in his Letter to Monsieur Van Benning­hen, and said, He doubted I had sent that into England, which he had only communi­cated to me before he dispatch'd it to Am­sterdam. I confest it, and that in the time his Secretary had left it with me to peruse, I had taken a Copy of it, and sent it over to the end our Ministers might see his Thoughts upon it, and at least be satisfied of his good Intentions. He said it was a thing that he could not own further than [Page 106] having sent it to Monsieur Van Benninghen, that since he and the Directors had return­ed him their Opinion, that it was impra­cticable to digest any general Article in this Point, he could not press on any such Proposition, how agreeable soever to his own Thoughts. But for the Draught it self, he observed several material Diffe­rences from what he had sent to Amsterdam; As first, that those words relating to the ancient constant Practise de longues annees, (which were put in on purpose to salve the Jealousie of the East-India Company here, that we aimed at nothing new, but what had always been used between us till about the Years 62, or 63) were in this Paper wholly left out. That the Words, à cet [...]ffet, speaking of Houses, or Forts, to be built for hindring our Passage to Places where our Traffick was already establish'd, were likewise left out; So as whatever Wrongs they should suffer from any Nati­on, they should be hindred from subduing them, and subjecting them by Forts, ac­cording to their Custom in those Parts. And Lastly, That to the Words of Forts that should be hereafter Erected, we had added, or already Built, without yet instancing particularly in any such Fort as was alrea­dy built, to hinder our Passage, and where we desired redress; So that if what we de­sire be as we seem to mean, only for pre­vention, we need not add, Already Built; If there be any such, we could not do fairer [Page 107] than to name them. Upon the whole, he advised I would not communicate this Proposition to the Commissioners: First, Because they would see by it, that his Pro­position to Monsieur Van Benninghen had been sent into England, which they might believe was with his consent, and think he did not deal fairly to do that without their Communication. And Secondly, Because it would encrease very much the Jealousie of those concerned in the East-India Com­pany, to see that those Word▪ were left out which confin'd the manner of passing Forts to the ancient and constant practise between▪ the Nations, by which they would conclude, our aim was at some In­novations, and where that might end as to Pretences and Disputes, none could tell. I gave him Thanks for his Advice, but de­sired to be excused, for since the Propo­sition was sent me over to be communicated here, I could not suppress it, but must pro­pose it to the Commissioners at our next Conference, and know their Sense and Re­solution upon it, since this, I supposed, was the last they were like to receive from us. He then desired that I would at the time of proposing it, let the Commissioners know how his came to be sent over into England, and that I would give him a Copy of those parts of your Letter, which seem­ed to clear our meaning in this Matter, the Expressions seeming to him very clear and fair; And he assured me he would make [Page 108] good use of them: To both these I con­sented, and so upon it we are to have a Conference, I suppose, within very few Days, at least as soon as the present Busi­ness in the States of Holland will give their Deputies leisure, which, I doubt not, will be some time this Week.

They have yet given me no account of the Deputies of the East-India Company, ar­rived last Week from Amsterdam, and I am not forward in calling for it, hearing they have put in a very long Paper to prove the impossibility of framing any ge­neral Article upon this Matter: Besides, I believe the Intention goes on of dispatching Monsieur Van Benninghen suddenly into England, upon this Point and some others of more general consequence; And that he went last Friday to Amsterdam with Mon­sieur Valkeneer, to try whether that Town would give him leave to make this Jour­ney.

Monsieur Boreel is here arrived, and gave the States an Account Yesterday of his Ambassage, to their Satisfaction. He is the most pleased that can be with His Majesty's, and His Ministers Carriage to­wards him, and their Dispositions towards these States, only I find the Italian Abbot, lately come out of France, will not, out of his little Head, and the Circumstances that cause his Jealousie, are as pleasant as those of Lovers.

[Page 109]The Matter of Judicature which lies be­tween Holland and Zealand, is like to draw out in length▪ and will end, I doubt, ra­ther in the Separation, than Re-union of the Provinces upon it. Nothing is yet mention'd between them concerning the Prince of Orange.

They continue much in pain about the King of Spain's Health, and the Disorders of Madrid; Nor does the French Ambassa­dor satisfie them, in saying, they need not trouble themselves about the Accession of Spain to France; For if the King of Spain should Die too Morrow, 'tis out of all que­stion Don John would be Crowned the Day after.

I hear nothing further as yet from the Swedish Ministers, nor any thing worth the encrease of your present Trouble from,

I Am to acknowledge yours of the 19th past, which furnished me with Reflecti­ons of very great moment towards prevail­ing with the Dutch for our Satisfaction in the Point so much contested between us; And whenever I receive Commands to use them in the Conferences I have with the Commissioners, to the end they may be re­ported to the States, as grounded upon my Instructions, I shall do it to the full: Whereas I have hitherto contented my self upon all those Occasions, to go no further, than to tell them with much Constancy and Plain­ness, That they cannot reckon upon the firmness and continuance of our Alliance, but by doing us right in the point of Com­merce, and reducing it to equality, and particularly in this Article, without which our Merchants will not be perswaded they can be secure in their Indian Trade, but shall, in a little time, be wholly beaten out of it, which the Nation will never endure; And that to make an Alliance perpetual, it must be grounded in the Genius of the People, as well as in the King's Personal Dispositions, who would always be so wise [Page 111] as to comply in a great measure with what the People thought their Interest.

Thus far I have gone with the Commis­sioners upon several Conferences, and still left them with Protestations, as being as sensible of all I said, as I could wish them; And that there is nothing we could de­mand without ruine to their Establishments, or without giving greater occasions for fu­ture Disputes and Quarrels, which they would not readily consent to; discoursing upon their Interest to preserve our Alli­ance as far as I can do my self, and the most serious among them ever put most weight upon the last Consideration, of leaving a Door open for perpetual Disputes by a ge­neral Article, which mentions all Forts that are or shall be erected, and all Nations not in the Occupancy and Subjection of either Company: Whereas the Nature of Forts, and Subjections, they say, are so various in those parts, that room will be left for our Merchants to quarrel every Day, upon pre­tensions to be grounded on such an Article.

I have since your last, in my private Vi­sits to some of them hinted the ill Conse­quences you there mention, and how France that grasps at all, and has a mind to grow in the Indies as well as here, will not fail, in such a conjuncture of offering us all the Advantages we can ask upon a Conjunction with us for beating the Dutch out of the In­dies, as we and they together did formerly the Portuguese: But this they will not believe [Page 112] we can hear of, while they offer us to re­dress any Complaints we can make against their present Practises there. But however, all Considerations together, have made them already fall upon the Proposition in the States of Holland, of sending some able Minister over into England, till an Ambassador in Ordinary be sent to reside there. In the mean time I am to have a Conference with the Commissioners to Mor­row upon your last Proposition, which I tell them, is the last they are like to re­ceive; By the next you will have the Issue of it. Monsieur Groote, that is now in Swe­den, is at length resolved upon to be sent Ambassador into France.

Though the States have been something perplext with the Relations of their Am­bassador at Madrid, concerning some Dis­courses made him by Count Pignoranda up­on the Unreasonableness of their paying the Swedish Subsidies in the time of a full Peace, instead of reserving them to engage that Crown when a War begins; Yet the Spa­nish Ambassador will not own any Difficul­ty likely to be made on their part in that matter, provided Sweden consent to what has been proposed, of which we yet hear no further Account. I am always with much Passion and Truth,

I gave you no trouble by last Post ha­ving nothing to bear me out, besides a short account of my last Conference with the Commissioners, which I sent in one to My Lord Arlington. I have since seen Mounsieur de Witt and others of the chief Persons here, and once more talked all the matter of that Article to the Grave, I fear; for though they will not come to any po­sitive denial, yet by several Circumstances, and the Manner and Style of their Dis­courses, I am of Opinion it will prove a desperate pursuit. For they now say, it is a matter that cannot be argued fairly with the Kings Ministers in England, by my Representations from hence of what they say, but must be opened and cleared, viva voce, by some Ministers of theirs in England; but at the same time they say, 'tis a hard thing to press a State to any Contract, which they think will be rui­nous to them, that the performance of all Contracts which are enter'd into, may be [Page 114] prest reasonably, whatever they import, but in making new ones, each party uses to find their Account. That the danger of Interpretations to be rais'd upon any Arti­cles, how clearly soever penned, they have sufficiently felt, by Sir George Downing's sense given upon the words, Litem incep­tam prosequi, which was the occasion of the War; and now by our interpreting the Articles of Surrendring Surinam to import a liberty for the King to send and com­mand all the English there to remove, with threats of Loss and Ignominy, in case of their remaining there, which was (as they say) by the Articles left to their own choice. And this, Mounsieur Boreel tells them, is maintained in England, tho' it be not directly exprest in the Kings last Answer. But this of passing Forts and Lands not in Occupation of either Com­pany, is, they say, a thing so little under­stood at these distances, that they con­clude it impossible to frame any Article upon it, which will not in a Years time engage them in quarrels with us, or in the ruine of their present Establishments in the Indies. At the same time they press me very much to conclude the rest of the Articles, while the States seem disposed to pass them, though some of them, as they pretend, are of very hard Digestion, and would leave this of the Forts to further light and satisfaction, but with assurance of Redressing any Complaints we can ex­hibit [Page 115] of particular Grievances, contrary to the ancient and constant practices, and writing severe Letters to all the Officers of the East-India Company in those parts, to be sure to give us no such occasion, and to desist immediately, if any such has hap­pened. By all these Discourses, and the whole course of this matter from the first, I cannot but judge it will prove a business out of my reach here, and that we may take our Measures upon that con­clusion, how tender soever they are of letting it come to a direct Refusal. And as I gave my Lord Keeper such a hint near two Months since, so now seeing the several offers which have been since made at new Expedients, takes no effect, I can­not but again repeat it, that we may not be deceived in what Reckonings we make upon this matter. And yet 'tis possible than if Monsieur Van Beninghen goes over, he and our Merchants may come to understand one another better, then they have done at this distance.

The States have yet taken no Resolution in that point, by reason of his being so deep ingaged in pursuing a proposition, up­on which the Town of Amsterdam is very warm; which is, for taking away a consi­derable part of the Customs upon the En­try of the Ships, which they think of ve­ry great Importance, to the conserving and encreasing the Trade of these Countries: [Page 116] But the Admiralties maintain the necessi­ty of keeping up the Tax to find Money for Convoy's, and the safety of their Ships abroad. I do not hear either this matter, or those between Holland and Zea­land, are like to be decided this Session of the States of Holland, which will end the beginning of next week.

Monsieur de Witt tells me, that by their President's Letters from Copenhagen, they find my Lord Carlisle's passage that way and Complement, has been so well taken, that the King of Denmark will make no difficulty of sending an Ambas­sage into England; and further, that there is an entire disposition in that Court, to grant us equal priviledges with any of his Nation in our Commerce there, which Monsieur de Witt professes to be very glad of.

He tells me, the French Ambassador is very earnest with him, to make his De­mands apart from us and Sweden, of what they desire from his Master, to quit their Jealousies and Apprehensions upon the bu­siness of Flanders, and to restore the confi­dence betwixt them. That his Master is resolved to satisfie them, if they will make their Demands apart, but that the manner of doing it by an Alliance of se­veral States, is too Choquant, Et contre [...] honneur de Son Maistre, & ce qu' un Roy [Page 117] jeune & brave & puissant ne peut pas trou­ver bonne. He tells me that he answered him positively, that this State would ab­solutely proceed in conjunction with us and Sweden, in what ever should be trans­acted upon this Subject, and no otherwise; and that since the same thing would satis­fie us all, it would be much better for France at the same time, to satisfie three then one. Monsier Appleboom sent me word this day, that Monsieur Mareshal is Arrived here, being joyn'd in Commissi­on with him, for Transacting the matters of the Guarantee, Subsidies, and what else concerns the joynt Alliance, and that they expect▪ every day, that Secretary which was with the Count Dhona in England, to Arrive here with full Instructions upon the whole business.

I received a Letter from you lately by the Kings Command, in favour of Cap­tain Hooper. His pretensions I find are of a different Nature, one for Arms he bought, and the other to be restor'd to the pension he enjoy'd before the Wars. I have spoken again to Monsieur de Witt, and Meerman about him, which I had done several times at the Captains being here; they say the first is reasonable, and will be satisfied, but that the other cannot be done, because it draws in consequence the pretensions of all other English Officers, who lost their Pen­sions upon the same occasion, of which [Page 118] they name several that the States would be very willing to oblige out of particu­lar Esteem, were it not for the general consequence of it. I kiss your Hands, and am ever,

I did not intend any thing I had written, should give you the trouble of so much Reflexion, as you are pleas'd to make in yours of the 30th past, upon the passage of your former Letter, which carryed so much Truth, and so much Prudence in the Considerations you had furnished me, that I had often made use of them in all pri­vate Discourses with the chief Persons here, as those which were likely to have the greatest effect. But as yet nothing has past farther in that matter; the Commis­sioners having not renewed our Conference, nor given me any account of the States Resolution upon our last, in that endless Affair of the Marine Article: Though they will by no means agree with me so much as in that Appellation, but say they have consented to all his Majesties desires, in what can be said to touch a Marine Trea­ty; but in this, make only a difficulty in what concerns the Trade with Nations at Land, as well as the passage of Forts [Page 120] upon Rivers. In short, nothing hits in this matter, though Monsieur Meerman assures me, both he and Monsieur de Witt are of Opinion, that it draws not to so great con­sequence as those of the East-India Com­pany are possest, who think their Compa­ny were absolutely broken, if any such Article were framed, or else that we should fall into a War upon it. And he says Monsieur de Witt told him plainly, he durst not proceed further in it, for fear of drawing so great an envy and clamour upon him, as that of a Company which is spread so far and so deep through the whole State. And yet the Company them­selves would fain perswade me as well as the States, that for Redress of any par­ticular injuries or hardships that we can complain to have suffered already, or shall at any time hereafter, contrary to the ancient and constant practice of all Nations in those parts; they will be rea­dy at all times to give the serverest Or­ders we can desire to those in the Indies, and be as severe in seeing them executed: And this is the Sum of the Discourses I have had upon this Subject, since my last, with Addition, that they must commit it to a Minister of theirs in England, pour tascher de venir aux plus grand Esclair­cissement, upon which I suppose, some Resolution may possibly be taken in the States of Holland before they part, which will be to morrow or next day.

[Page 121]For the business of Surinam in which I received your Commands, I have there­upon Discoursed with Monsieur Boreel, and the Pensionary of Zealand, who as­sures me, that the States there will be content, Orders should be sent for intire Liberty to be given to all our English Plan­ters, who have a mind to remove from that Colony, to do it with their Fami­lies, and to sell their Estates; according as he says is agreed by the Article to that purpose, in which they compre­hend their Slaves. I suppose the words of the Original Articles must decide that point, which they have promi­sed to send me, having never yet been Transmitted to me from England. He says farther, that if I will signifie the Names of any particular Families that have testified their desire to Remove, the Orders shall go not only for Liberty, but Assistance in the Transportation at the u­sual Rates, according to the Article, at least he declares this as his Opinion, and what he shall endeavour to perswade the States to: For I have sufficiently beat them out of all Cavil, upon the Validity or Performance of the Articles. But they seem much unsatisfied with all the first part of the Kings last Answer, which justifies all my Lord Willou [...]by's proceed­ings, and seems to revoke all Orders for­merly given for Reparations in that point. So that they say, it will come in among [Page 122] the other Expences, which his Lordship has forced them to; that their Ships will have gone to the Barbados with the Kings Orders, for sending back the 200 Slaves, and will be forced to return with­out effect. They seem to wonder like­wise, that his Majesty has not thought fit to take any notice of the Letter sent by the States-General upon this mat­ter.

I shall expect the Letter of His Ma­jesties, you promise me, concerning the Merchant Adventurers, though if His Majesty gives me leave, I shall make use of it or not as I see occasion; and as those of the English Company of Dort think will be most for the benefit of their Affair, which yet sleeps, and while it does so, they are well, and I suppose it will not be our part to wake it.

Monsieur Mareschall who is joyn'd in the powers Sent to Monsieur Apple­boom from Sweden, upon the Affairs of the Tripple Alliance, has been with me, and though the Secretary they expect with the last Orders, be not yet arrived, they are ready, they say, howe­ver to begin a Conference, which may possibly be on Thursday. The chief of his Discourse with me was in General, upon that Crowns esteem of His Ma­jesties Alliance, and Disposition to com­ply with his Counsels and Resolutions in this Affair, which was the occasion [Page 123] of his Orders to see me first upon his Ar­rival. That which I could gather out of the rest, was that they would be wil­ling to proceed as tenderly as they could towards France, in either offering the Gua­ranty at the same time to both, or rather giving it particularly to neither, but only in general against him that shall break the Peace. Next, that they would have nothing to do with Spain, but only with us in the whole Affair of Subsidies, and leave us to order all that concerns us with Spain; And Lastly, that they would have the last Term of eight Months for the last portion either taken away wholly, or else shortned. But I suppose I shall know more plainly what they will be at, upon our next meeting; for this Morning they sent me word they had received the Letters they expected, with farther Instructions, though not the last which come by the Secretary. I have nothing to bear me out in the encrease of this Trouble, from

I am to acknowledge yours of the 2d current, with an enclosed from His Ma­jesty to the States, upon the Subject of our Merchant Adventurers at Dort, to whom I shall give notice of it, and make use of this Letter, as they judge, will be most for their Advantage. It is certain as you say, that this Attempt of the States of Holland has been very unseasonable, and upon that Argument alone, I had the good fortune to stop the current hitherto, which was very strong, by a Confluence of all the Towns of Holland, except that of Dort: But I do not think there was ever any thing in­tended, of what it seems the Merchants represented to the Council, that the States did it with a design of laying such Cu­stoms upon our Woollen Manufactures, as might wholly discourage the Transporta­tion of them; for all which those of the Company save, is but a Guilder on eve­ry piece of Cloath, besides the Privi­ledges [Page 125] as to the Expence and Living of the particular Merchants; and I look upon the Trade of coarse Cloths, to be a thing which can never fail us, since no other Nation can make them so strong and cheap as we, so that the Dutch knowing they will ever find a Market abroad, will rather aim at drawing them always through this Country, that so they may be the Retailers of them to other Nati­ons, than endeavour to Discourage their Importation, which will but divert their current through Flanders by Emden, and other parts of Germany, where they are chiefly vented.

The Pensionary of Zealand has been ve­ry earnest with me, to endeavour the re­storing of the Scotch Staple to Treveur, which will be of good consequence to the English Company, much satisfie the Prince of Orange, and the States of Hol­land too I believe, and indeed, how a thing that was of 200 years standing, came to be alter'd without great change of Cir­cumstances, I could never tell. I wrote about it lately upon the Princes parti­cular desire, but received no answer upon it.

The States of Holland are retired, and the Deputies of Zealand likewise, having concluded nothing more upon their Dif­ferences, then only to meet again about the beginning of May, so that in their Conferences hitherto, there has been no [Page 126] occasion of mentioning the Princes inte­rest, which must fall into debate, I sup­pose, before the other ends. I hear the Province of Zealand has much distracted the Intentions, of sending Monsieur Van Benninghen over, as believing it a design in those of Holland, to alter the Ancient Disposition of that Ambassy, which has been appropriated to Zealand, as also to compose the business of the East-Indies, though at the cost of the other difference about Surinam, in which Holland is little concern'd, as Zealand is in the other.

Yesterday I had a Conference with the Ministers of Sweden, and the Deputies of the States, upon the Acts of the Guaran­ty and Subsidies, where after some offers by the Swedish Ministers, at the change of any Expressions that might seem hard towards France, and the reading over the Act of Guaranty, wherein they could six upon nothing that could bear much of that Interpretation; they at length con­sented to it in the very Terms which were Transmitted over to his Majesty, and ap­proved by him, as well as by the States. They debated likewise the Terms of the Subsidies, but at last concluded it either necessary to have the whole Sum paid, or else good caution given for the two last Terms, upon which they might (as I ga­ther.) hope with small loss to raise the Sum, and leave those they deal with, for the advance to any further Risque, and in [Page 127] these points they desire our further Inter­position with the Spanish Ministers, pro­fessing to have nothing to do with Spain in the end, no more than the beginning of this Affair; and declaring upon all occasi­ons with great Nicety, that their Master was content to give the Guaranty, only in pursuit of his part in the Tripple Alliance, and his publick regards towards the Re­pose of Christendon, and not induced by any consideration of Gain or Advantage, which might be pretended to be made them by the Subsidies, which were grounded upon a particular promise of ours and Holland, after the Tripple Alliance was concluded.

As for the Instrument about the concert of Forces for Support of the Peace, the Swedish Ministers say, they are not yet instructed in it, and that their Master is of the mind, I told them in private, the King was off, not to let it accompany the Guaranty, but follow afterwards as an Act between those of the Tripple Alliance, and not to be given Spain as the other was; And joyning our Strengths in this matter, we had the less Resistance from the Dutch Commissioners, though they at first began to press us hard, for the finish­ing that at the same time; So as it was concluded, I and two of the Commissio­ners should go to Morrow to the Spanish Ambassador, and let him know, that up­on Agreement, the three several parts of [Page 128] the Triple Alliance were now content to give the Guaranty which had been desi­red by Spain, and in the Terms which had been communicated before to their Mini­sters; provided they were ready to satisfie what had been so long desired upon the matters of the Swedish Subsidies: And thereupon to press him to the whole pay­ment, or to the caution of particular Men in these Countries, empowered to it by their Correspondents in the Spanish Dominions. In the first point we shall have no Success, and I know not whether the Dutch desire it in the second, or have much reason to do so: For they had rather, I suppose, have this Tie last still for 16 Months longer up on Sweden, than cease by such caution, as will immediately raise the Money, which is that the Swedes would be at, and stick not to argue from their Apprehension of Disorders in Spain, which may hereafter disappoint them, which cannot happen, but at the same time they must render useless the further effects of the Triple Alli­ance.

I apprehend the Spanish Ambassador will stand upon the Conclusion, and at least Communication of the third Instru­ment for concert of Forces, and that he will be privately encouraged to it by the Dutch Ministers, who are very earnest up­on the finishing that Transaction, and the Swedes seem not unwilling, having upon the Dutch pressing it upon the Conference, [Page 129] declared, that though they were not yet impowr'd as to that particular, yet their Master understood that should be likewise concluded before their Commissioners en­ded, or Monsieur Marshall parted from thence. In this point I desire further In­structions of his Majesties pleasure, how I am to carry it if I think my self prest on all sides upon it, for hitherto I have diverted it as dexterously as I could, but doubt, I may be brought to a direct point in it.

I have had since my last no further dis­course about the Marine Article, but only of the breaking up the last Conference. Monsieur de Witt told me, he must come next Week and talk with me about it. I am ever as becomes me,

UPon Saturday last I and the Deputies of this State, gave the Spanish Am­bassador an account of our Conference with the Swedish Ministers, and of our being all ready to give Spain the Guaran­ty desired, upon their Satisfaction of the Subsidies to Sweden. He would fain have per­swaded us to the addition of some words, as in one place that mentions the French's Contravention to the Peace, he would have inserted Directement or Indirectement, and upon the mention of warranting the Peace of Aix, he would have added et celle des Pirc [...]èés d'autants qu'ell 'est con­firm [...]è par cette derniere. The Dutch made not much difficulty upon either, but I said absolutely, I could not change a Sillable of the Act Transmitted into England, with­out first communicating it to his Majesty, and I believe the Swedish Ministers were under the same Restrictions, which the Spanish Ambassador resolved to try and [Page 131] sound it so; and that I suppose will put an end to his further Niceties.

Upon the whole, his Answer was, that when we Signed other Acts of Guaranty, he would Sign that for payment of the Subsidies; and when the Ratification arri­ved from Sweden, the Money of the first payment should be ready at Amsterdam, though he says it is yet at Sevill. For the caution we demanded for the two latter Terms to be given of Burgers in Amster­dam; He said, he would write to the Con­stable, and I find has a design of satisfy­ing it by some Tolls upon the Meuse, which lies in an open Country, and will be first exposed to the War.

By further and freer Conference with Monsieur Marshal, I find that the difficul­ty made by Sweden hitherto of entring into the particular concert at the same time with the Guaranty (as both Spain and Holland desire) proceeds from an ima­gination they have of inducing, at least Holland and Spain, if not us, to contri­bute towards the maintaining constantly even in time of Peace, a Swedish Army on foot in the Dutchy of Bremen, which I doubt will not succeed on any side: How­ever knowing his Majesties unwillingness to enter at present into that Concert, I make use of the Swedes to cover me, when [Page 132] I am prest upon it, either by Spain or Hol­land; saying, his Majesty is first resolv'd to know the Swedes mind, and afterwards that his Majesties Answer is but a business of ten days.

The Spanish Ambassador has lately put in a Memorial here full of the Alarms in Flanders, that the French would make an Attempt upon Conde, or some other of the pretended places; upon which the Con­stable had received orders from the Queen, that in case of any such Action, though pretended only upon those places, he should look upon it as an opening the War in all parts, and proceed accordingly, being re­solved rather to lose all they possess there in the Field, than to suffer any new In­dignity.

My Lord Carlisle assures me by one from aboard the Ship which was carrying him from Coppenhagen to Stockholme, that the Orders were given to open the Trade for our English Merchants in those Domini­ons, according to the Treaty of 60, in which that King desired only that the 3d Article might be alter'd. And that the Viceroy of Norway was appointed for the Ambassy into England. They tell me he's that young Gabel, who is now in France, Son to the Stadtholder Gabel, that shall be joyned with him.

[Page 133]The Devotion or Leasure of these Holy days, has suffered no business here since my last, and so given no occasion for tho encrease of this Trouble; from,

THough I was sorry for the occasion given us of new Jealousies by the Arrival of our East-India Ships, yet I was glad to receive by yours of the 9th current, any new Arguments to pursue the difficult point I am here engaged in. I could not but communicate to Monsieur de Witt such parts of the Letter as I thought to my purpose; because I could add nothing to the strength of the Motives, nor the Terms. He said upon it, that this was all general, but he hoped that upon the Arri­val of these Ships and Letters with so fresh Intelligence, you would be at the trouble of sending me some particular Complaints, to the end the States might give order for their immediate Redress, and come to understand the nature of the Grievances we feared. He said, that which he should be glad to see, was an Informa­tion that at such a time (since we say the occasion of our jealousies began) such a Ship was hinder'd by such a Fort from ma­king [Page 135] a passage, which had been formerly permitted us, or such a new Fort was erect­ed, and had blockt up a passage which was formerly free, or that at such a time the Dutch Company had made War upon such a Nation, where our Trade was be­fore Establisht, and possest themselves of it, that so the States might examine the grounds of such Actions, to the end both of Remedying and preventing them. And he hoped such Instances might be given with­out mingling them with former matters, which had been liquidated between the Nations by former Negotiations, in some of which we appear'd to have had reason, and had receiv'd Reparation, and in others upon Examination, we had prov'd to be ill informed. From this we fell into large debates about the necessity of fra­ming some Article upon it, and the ill consequences of failing in it, whether it were by direct or tacite refusal: But I did not find that either of us could say much upon this beaten Theam, which had not been said before. He allows all that I can say upon the ill consequences of any dissatisfaction between the Nations, and the necessity of our Alliance to them in this Conjuncture, and that he has thought of it more than of any matter that has been a great while upon his hands, but cannot yet find any disposition in the Directors, to believe it possible to frame any Article upon it, without incurring the danger we [Page 136] would avoid of Disputes between us. He said, he hoped we would not take it ill, that they made difficulty of entring into a new Contract with us, since in all Allian­ces, Reparations were necessary, but new Contracts were always voluntary. Howe­ver, he desir'd me that I would give him a Copy of those parts of their Letter which I had read to him, which he would send away that very night to Amsterdam, and make the best use of it he could, ei­ther to dispose Monsieur Van Benninghen to go suddenly into England, or to think of some new Expedient in this matter: For he was of Opinion, that one or other of them was necessary; but having been al­ready disavowed in two Draughts, he had proposed to the Directors, he durst not offer at it again alone. He confest, that by the Dissatisfaction of the Province of Zealand, and particularly of Monsieur Bo­reel, upon the Discourse of Monsieur Van Benninghen's going over, and by Dome­stick Affairs of his own, and others of his Son, he had been of late wholly discou­raged from undertaking the Journey, how much soever he had once resolved it, and been since prest upon it by several of the States, but that he would shortly give me an account of the effect, at his next dispatch to Amsterdam, with which our Discourse ended.

For the business of Surinam, he has as­sur'd me of his endeavours to bring it to [Page 137] what we desire, as is so clearly exprest in your last Letter; and I doubt not but the Resolutions of those of Zealand upon it, will be brought hither by their Deputies about the beginning of next Month, in which the Pensionary of Zealand promi­sed to imploy himself at his return thi­ther.

The Swedish Ministers press still to have caution to the two last Terms, which may be as good as Money, and upon which they may raise it presently without much loss; and withal, they are very earnest to have the first payment made upon their Signing the Guaranty, without staying for the Satisfaction. I doubt very much of the Spanish Ministers being induced to either of these, and all that I and the Dutch can do in it, is to assure the Swedes of the same Offices from his Majesty and the States towards Spain for compleat­ing, as for beginning their Satisfacti­on.

I find by Monsieur Marshall since my last, that in case of this Affair's being well ended, which I see little doubt of, they have Orders to consent to the Fra­ming and Signing a project of Concert between those of the Alliance, as to the number and quantity of Forces, which each of them shall furnish; but without any sort of Specification concerning the manner of acting, or without particula­rizing the Assistance of one King or ano­ther, [Page 138] but the Forces to be imployed a­gainst that King that shall break the Peace; and they will be content with their proportion at Twelve thousand Men. I have nothing to encrease this Trouble, beyond the professions of my be­ing always,

Just upon the closing of this Letter, the Spanish Ambassador brings me the enclosed Copy of the Answer arrived from the Constable, to the account given him of what past here in our Conferences the last Week, about the Guaranty offer'd, and the caution demanded by the Swedes.

I am not yet able to make any particu­lar answer to the several parts of your Letter of the 13th, but doubt not to gain an Order from the States, in consequence of the Surinam Articles, for Liberty and Assistance of those that desire to remove, to which end I shall have a Conference with the Commissioners on Munday next, and have before▪hand Monsieur de Witt's promise of Assistance in that mat­ter, which I resolv'd to defer no longer, though the Deputies of Zealand are to be here on the 14th Current, who pro­mised to bring the Resolutions of their Province with them.

Monsieur Marshall has been out of Town since my last, so that we have yet no Result from him or Monsieur Apple­boom concerning the Guaranty, nor whe­ther they intend to Sign it without parti­ticular [Page 140] caution for the remainder of the Subsidies: But the last sent me word this Morning, that he expected the other in Town to morrow, after whose return they would suddenly acquaint us how far they could proceed in all the matters that are before them; though I shall divert their coming to any Resolution in that of the concert of Forces, as long as I can, and to be sure come to none my self upon it, till I know his Majesties further plea­sure.

Monsieur de Witt tells me, that Mon­sieur Van Benninghen had a large Confe­rence with the Directors at Amsterdam upon the subject of your Letter, some parts whereof concerning the new Com­plaints, arrived by our last Ships, I had communicated to him; and that they promis'd him a further consideration of it, and that they would Transmit the Result of all they should deliberate upon that Subject, in a Letter hither, which they say I may expect next Week. Monsieur de Witt is very desirous that Monsieur Van Benninghen would go over upon this occasion, and has desired me to en­deavour the disposing him to it, which I doubt will be difficult. He alledges many considerations of his Town and Charge, and has others of his own, I suppose; among which, one that he [Page 141] never mentions, I doubt, may have some weight; which is, that he is in the midst of a Building here that he began last Summer, and intends to finish this, and seems a little fond of the care of it. I am ever as becomes me,

I have received your last of the 23 [...] past, and was sorry you had occasion to put me again in mind of the Orde [...] about Surinam. I gave in a Memori [...] concerning it again, the beginning of th [...] Week; but Monsieur de Witt has been o [...] of Town ever since Munday Night, a [...] for that reason I have not yet prest to h [...] my Conference, fearing in case it happe [...] in his absence, either nothing would [...] done, as it commonly happens; or el [...] the Learned Deputies might give so [...] stop to the way of doing it, which M [...] sieur de Witt has declared his Satisfacti [...] in. But if he comes back to morrow, [...] hope to see the dispatch of it before th [...] next Post.

Since my last, the Act of Guaranty h [...] been Signed by all parties in the form, whic [...] goes here enclosed, and differs from wh [...] [Page 143] I sent before, only in the omission of two words of no moment, and which came I suppose rather by chance then on purpose. They are only the words Respectivement, and Voysias; but the omission has happen­ed to run through all three Instruments. They are all in my possession, and like­wise the Spanish Ambassador's Act for pay­ment of the Subsidies, there by consent to remain till the Money on one side, and the Ratification on the other side Arrive. But yet he is so Punctillious, that he will not be satisfied, unless the word Ratifier be put in at the latter end in stead of Procu­rer; which as I conceive▪ cannot be as it now runs, without Nonsense, since it refers to the Trois Originaux, before mentioned to be Signed by the two Kings and the States, which are in effect the same with Ratifications, and so we should oblige our selves to make a Ratification be Ratified. But yet this old Ambassador will not un­derstand it, and I doubt will put us to the trouble of Signing new Instruments, unless Monsieur de Witt at his return can satisfie him better than I. But I suppose this change of the last Lines, if it should be made, will signifie nothing to the Instrument which the King Signs; and which if it be an Original, and not a Ratification, will end at those words, De la cause qui en te▪ cas deviendra commune. I know not whe ther the Spanish Ambassador was more Ar tificial [Page 144] or no, in another change he made in his Instrument of Subsidies, where he has put in, qu' ayant traittè et adjustè avec la triple allyance touchant la Gua­rentie et le payement de subsides, he promi­sed. But I told him plainly the Swedes would never consent to any such Clause, nor own that they had ever treated with any Minister of Spain, touching either Gua­ranty or Money, which they pretend to give and receive only in pursuit of their Al­liance with us and Holland to that purpose: And the Spanish Ambassador has promis'd me, to send me another Instrument with­out that Clause, though with much ado. Between so much Delicacy on both sides, I have had trouble enough to bring Peo­ple together, that have not yet seen one another, and they make me much acknow­ledgment of it on both sides, by which means I have the luck to be in both their confidence; and to find that however they are come to agree at last, yet they are but very little satisfied with one anothers manner of proceeding.

Monsieur Mareschal has once more pro­mised me, that they will excuse them­selves from falling upon the particular concert, till the first payment be made, and that when they do, they will go no further than Generals, and against the Vi­olator of the Peace, without specifying one thing more than another, so as it may [Page 145] be only a concert between our selves, and not to be given to Spain as was design'd, by that Grown and this State. All which, I suppose, is exactly agreeable with the Kings intentions, as I find them exprest in your last, that is, in case it cannot be defer'd without disagreeing from the two other principals; but I shall be sure to bring nothing to an issue, without first ac­quainting you with what passes in that particular, and receiving his Majesties commands upon it. I can say nothing more of the Marine Article since my last, having not heard of Monsicur de Witt or Van Benninghen since.

They will not be so consident in Flanders, as I see, we are in England of this Summer's passing without▪ Acti­on, but take great▪ alarm at the noise of the French Kings coming to Mary­mon [...] the end of this Month, with those Troops which they call [...]a M [...]i [...]n de Roy, and they say consist of 12000 choice Men. The States have lately had some Letters, which make several of them jealous of M [...]str [...] like­wise, in case of the French Troops ga­thering in Flanders: But I hope all their designs in France this Summer, will lie towards Candia, since you say those Suc­cours proceed, though I find by several Letters from Italy, they much doubt in [Page 146] those parts, whether the French Inten­tions that way, are sincere or not, and whether that King will not yet find some pretext to delay them till the Town be taken, which is now said to be in much danger. I am always,

I was taken up with such long Confe­rences, upon the Marine and Surinam Affairs with the Deputies of Amsterdam and Zealand, that I had not time to give you the trouble of them, when the last post went away, which I should have been sorry for, if my Success had been likely to please you: The Sum of all Monsieur Van Benninghen's Reasonings who was the mouth of the rest, run'd upon those two points so often toucht, that we demand new methods to pre­vent a Disease; but will not say when or where we have felt it, or any Symp­toms of it, whereas let them but know in particular what we ask, and we may be sure of this States doing all that can be for the Kings Satisfaction. The other was, that we understand our selves too [Page 148] well, and the present conjuncture to fear any injuries from them in the Indies, who have no other support here, besides our Alliance, and upon that point, said as much as I could have done my self, though with­out any conclusion to our purpose, nor has he yet sent me a Copy of Monsieur Val­keneer's Letter, or the Expedient proposed in it, which I mention'd about a fortnight since. So jealous are those of Amsterdam in this matter, that they cannot fall upon any sort of Proposition, but they present­ly imagine twenty Interpretations we may raise upon it, beyond their meaning; and I believe they fear it more now, then if our Friendship were less necessary to them. Monsieur Van Benninghen promises every day to send to Monsieur Valkeneer, to pro­pose his Expedient, and Monsieur de Witt says, if we cannot agree upon it here, Monsieur Boreel shall be instructed upon his going into England, either to give or receive Satisfaction in it; and this is all I can yet get from them, and know not how to help my self.

The Pensionary of Zealand was harder in his Arguments about Surinam, main­taining first, that after the conclusion of the Peace, the King had no further right to interest himself in any thing that past in that Colony, no more then they in the New Netherlands, or Spain in the Burse, [Page 149] or Breda, or all their other Towns surren­der'd upon Articles, but whose Soveraign­ty by the Peace, was given up to them. That if Articles were not observ'd, the Inhabitants might complain, but to them only who were by the Peace become their Soveraign, and not to any other Prince. But though they wav'd that in complyance to his Majesty, yet they had reason to wonder why we should press so far for satisfaction in this matter, without giving it in the wrongs, they had received from my Lord Willoughby, after such perempto­ry commands from the King in their be­half, and that if the Kings O [...]ficers would not obey him, we had reason to fear the same from theirs, and here I was to hear a long deduction of my Lord Willoughby's A­ction, with all the aggravation that could be, but having weather'd these two points, we fell upon the Articles themselves after his having profest that they should be observ'd, and upon the fifth he argued, that the words [together with their Estates,] could mean only the product of their Estates sold; because after mention of power to sell their Estate, it is said im­mediately after. [And the Governor in that case shall promise, that he be Trans­ported,] 2dly, That this appear'd to be the meaning, and not that they should have liberty to carry away their Slaves, because there was another express Article [Page 150] which was the 19th, to give that liberty particularly to those who would go off with the Fleet that was there, and which would have been needless, if it had been comprehended by the former Article. 3dly, That if this were so meant, they would have a priviledge more than either they had while they were his Majesties Subjects, or than any of theirs; for in none of our or their Plantations is it (as he says) permitted, that any Inhabitant who removes, shall carry away his Slaves, but he is to sell them there, because they are an essential part of the fruits of the Land, and without which, the Soil is nothing worth. These were his main Arguments, and I used the best I could to maintain my point, and we parted with assurance of his utmost endeavours, to give his Majesty satisfaction without the ruine of the Colony. The other Deputies have promised me the same, but I doubt it is only with intention, to ascertain the satisfaction of those that remove, for such of their Slaves as are necessary to the Lands there, at the current price of Slaves in those parts, for this I hear is whisper'd among them, as an expedient in the busi­ness. But I cannot yet get their Resoluti­on, which I doubt is something delay'd, by the present Affairs between Holland and Zealand, which are every day in agitati­on, though a day passes not without cal­ling [Page 151] upon them about it, which is always answer'd with promise of dispatch.

Since the writing of this, I have yours of the 11th, which signi [...]ies his Majesties satisfaction in the Negotiations here about the Guaranty and Subsidies, and intentions to dispatch suddenly the Ratification of the first. I was surpriz'd this Morning, when Monsieur Marcschal came to me, and shew'd me the Swedish Ratification, which was just then arrived, and could wish the Spaniards had made as much hast with their Money, of which I can yet hear no News from the Spanish Ambassa­dors, and wish, that after all these pains that have been taken to make this party, it be not broken at last by the extream Negligence, or Disorder of the Spanish Court, and Counsels; for their spoiling all their own Affairs, and ruining them­selves, are things that, I think, God alone can help. In the mean time I know not whether the Count de Molinas being made sensible of this particular, Will contribute any thing towards it.

Sir Tho. Higgons parted from hence on Saturday for An [...]werp, and gave me the same assurance, I see you have received, of the German Princes disposition in the pre­sent Affairs of our Alliance, which you would have reason to be firm in, if the [Page 152] French Ambassador had any in the long Discourses and Applauses he has been ma­king this Afternoon upon this point, that never any King had in any Negotiation given such a Coup de Maistre, and just af­ter a War, made Holland depend more upon him, then he could have done by a Conquest. Que [...]d' avoir trou [...]è le def [...]t de [...]èes et poussè son coup a [...] co­rur; and th [...]n, Ne [...] pas le modeste là dessi [...], car vous s [...]ez qu' ils sont a vous, et le premier pas que nous serons j [...]is [...]n Flandres, v [...]us disposerez de la Hollande comm' d' [...]ne de vos provinces, and twenty Strains of this kind, in which I shewed him how much he mistook, since in 8 Months time I could not make an end of one Marine Article, nor compass the execution of those of Surinam, which were Arguments enough, of the little in­fluence we had here, or of my unsuccess­ful Negotiations. For the rest, he turns all the fears of the Spaniards, en ridicule, says, the French King has not above 6000 Men in the Camp, has sent 7000 ef­fective to the Relief of Candia, has no present Application, but to finish the For­tifications of the Conquer'd places, and without the death of the King of Spain, has no thoughts but of Peace and De­vertisement. He laughs at the Counsels here about encreasing their Forces, and at their Alarms of the Bishop of Munster's [Page 153] arming and providing Ammunition, and if all be true, his Master has the sport of of being quiet himself, and yet troubling every body else. I am always as becomes me,

At this Instant, Monsieur de Witt sent to excuse the delay of the business of Su­rinam, upon the Affairs between the two Provinces, which have wholly taken them up for some days; but promises me an end of it before this week passes.

I omitted to acknowledge by the last Post, one I had then received from you of the 13th past, because I could then add nothing to what I writ to my Lord Ar­lington, having not communicated the pa­pers you were pleas'd to send me, upon the Subject of the Dutch Peace at Macas­sar. I have since done it, and discoursed with Monsieur de Witt upon them, who has taken them into his hands, to com­municate with the East-India Company, and receive their Answer, which I thought best to attend, before I put in any Memo­rial to the States, and so made it publick; because I find great use is made by the French, of the matters depending between us and the Dutch to possess other Princes, and especially those in Germany, with an Opinion of the unsteddiness of our com­mon Counsels, in the pursuit of the Trip­ple Alliance, which may be of ill conse­quence to the general Affairs of this con­juncture: For unless we are forced to fall [Page 55] out, it will more than any thing, conduce to the present Peace of Christendom, so much desired by us both, that we be thought very good friends, whether we are so or no. I am sure we should be so, if it were not for the East-India Affairs, but what they may produce in time, God knows; for I take it for an ill presage to find upon all those matters, not only our Merchants, but our Ministers on both sides have Opinions strangely different, as to what is Reason and Equity between us. For I have both my Lord Arlington's and your Opinion upon this Action at Macas­sar, in terms which make me see it is res­sented in England; and in the Paper of the East-India Company, which is sent me over as the ground of my demands, one point absolutely insisted upon, is Repara­tion of the Damages sustained there about four Months after the Treaty Signed at Breda. When I read the whole thing to Monsieur de Witt, he would very hardly believe those papers had been perused by our Ministers, but that they came imme­diately from our Merchants, and made it very strange we should complain of any Hostilities that had been done there, when we were as much in War as we had been a year before, unless we could prove the hard usage of Prisoners, which he said was a thing not to be countenanced or suf­fer'd by them. For the demand of Repa­ration, he desired me only to read the 7th [Page 156] Article of the Treaty at Breda, which gives 8 Months time on the other side the Equinoctial, for notification of the Peace; and says, that all Merchandise or Movea­bles taken within that time, shall remain to the possessors without any exception, or any regard had to the making Restitu­tion, or Compensation. I must confess, I was at a stand in both these points, but will believe it came from the inequality of the match between Monsieur de Witt and me, in the point of Reasoning; and therefore I must desire to be fortisied from better hands. That which occurs to me upon this matter, is, that we cannot com­plain of them for what past in the War, but that in pursuit of our pretence upon the Marine Article, for passing Forts, we may demand that no Progress of their Conquests in the Indies, should be made use of to deprive us of a Trade we had before establisht in the Countries of any Indian Princes, nor no Treaties be made with any of them, to exclude us from such Trade: And this I tell Monsieur de Witt and all of them, upon all occasions will be absolutely necessary, if they in­tend to live long in good intelligence with us, and in good humour between the Na­tions. And after all their Arguments from Justice or Practice, I tell them, that whether it be by means just or unjust, usual or un­usual, we shall never endure to see our Trade in the East-Indies devolve every [Page 157] year by degrees into their hands, so as to give us apprehensions of our total Loss, and their absolute acquisition of it. I will add nothing more upon this Argument, (for all that is said upon it, would be endless) but expect their Answers upon those Papers, and what they promise of Proposals towards some expedient in the Marine Article from Amsterdam, for from thence it must come, Monsieur de Witt protesting, it is a thing he dares not med­dle in, but by orders from thence, which I have some reason to believe.

I have expected all this day the Resolu­tions about Surinam, having been assured I should have them, but it grows so late, I begin to doubt it; and the rather, be­cause these two days have been all in dis­order with the Prince's Feasts to the De­puties of Zealand, and the States to the French Ambassador. The Affair between the two Provinces, is like to come to an issue, by an Expedient lately proposed, of the Zealanders quitting their Session in the Courts of Justice, but having the same share in the Supream Court of Appeals, which they had before in the other; and I do not find this is like to bring on any sud­den mention of the Prince between them.

The Bishop of Munster makes a good deal of talk here, as I am sure, you know, by the common News. The truth of his business is, that his Troops in Garrison are encreased to about five or six Thousand, [Page 158] and that he has about ten Thousand of his Peasants listed in Companies, who are paid at the rate of a Crown a Month, but which seems to be done with intention of drawing them into Service, though he pro­fesses no intentions of any designs, but only to guard himself, in case the Dutch, now they are every where in Peace, should think of revenging themselves for his last adventure. It is not yet resolved, whe­ther these Alarms will produce the Aug­mentation of the Troops here, which hath been so often spoken off.

The paper mention'd in yours of the 18th will be very welcome, being much enquir'd after by the Swedes; I mean, his Majesties Answer upon their Propositions. I advise them to go as far as they can with Holland, with confidence his Majesties concurrence will not fail them, but they would have our Assistance too. I know nothing to encrease your trouble, beyond the professions of my being always,

I have this day received yours of the 26th past, and am like to make you a bad return, by answering it both in ill health, and ill humour: For I shall soon grow weary of my imployment here, when I find I cannot be useful in the degree which is desired by his Majesty, as well as by my self, and I doubt it will prove true, what I often tell the Ministers here, tho' they take it in jest, that my Star is past, and in stead of that lucky one which in­fluenced my former Negotiations, I have met another that crosses me in all I now engage in. I find by your last as well as by the former, what I am to insist upon in the business of Surinam, and did it to the utmost in those Conferences I gave you the account of, and have since expected the States Resolutions thereupon, which have been so often promised me, and yet I am not possest of them, though they tell me I shall before the closing of this Pac­quet. But I am not so impatient to see [Page 160] them, since a Visit I received last night from the Pensionary of Zealand, who be­gun with his having defer'd it some days, because he would not come without giv­ing me the certainty of those Resolutions having past the States, and in such form, as he doubted not I would be satisfied with: For they had done all that could be in com­pliance to his Majesty, though they knew very well he had no right to interpose in this matter, any more then they did in the behalf of the Dutch in the new Nea­therlands, upon which point of all Right ceasing, after a Cession made of the Sove­raignty by the Peace, he at large insisted. He would not pretend to tell me the par­ticulars of the Resolutions, which he said should not fail to be in my hands to day, but as far as I can gather, they amount no more than to orders for their Gover­nor, that Proclamation shall be made to declare liberty given to all that desire to remove; that they come and given in their Names within a certain time, and shall have another convenient time allotted them to sell their Estates; and if they cannot find a Ghapman in that time, the States will buy them at the usual prices, and the Slaves at the same prices they cost, and after that they shall by the Go­vernor be furnisht with convenient Ship­ping, and at usual Rates to Transport them to such parts as they desire.

[Page 161]The debate I fell into with him upon the point of carrying off our Slaves, ad­mitted nothing new, that I remember, be­sides what I related to you from our for­mer Conferences; but upon the other point of their Orders, or the Duplicates being carryed thither by one of the Kings Ships, which Monsieur de Witt, and the other Commissioners in our former Conference, had not seemed at last very averse to, I found this Gentleman in quite another lan­guage, and nettled at the Advice, it seems, he had received, that the King intended to send Major Bannister thither, and im­ploy him and a Ship of our own in this Removal. He fell into long Discourses of the mischiefs the Major had practised a­gainst them there, and of the Reasons there had been for the States of Zealand's Sentence against him, and particularly that part, that he should never return thither, which he was sure they would be resolute in, and after that of the little appearance, they should suffer any of our Ships to come thither, when none of their were suffered to touch at any of our Colonies in those parts; but so far from it, that they had now a complaint to make about an En­glish Ship from Guiney with Slaves, that was by stress of Weather forced lately in­to Surinam, and selling their Slaves there, had freighted themselves with a sort of Wood, that was necessary for those of the Barbadoes, where as soon as this Ship ar­rived, [Page 162] all the wood was immediately con­siscated, because it was upon the account of some of the Inhabitants of Surinam. Upon these points, we talkt our selves out of breath, and into very ill humour, which he would have ended, by saying, he did not doubt but when I saw the Resolutions of the States, I would be satisfied with them, though I have no belief of it at this time. In all these Discourses, I ever wave answering the long and bitter com­plaints they fall into against my Lord Wil­loughby, and the demands of Reparation, so that I doubt Monsieur Boreel will be very ill company upon that Subject, when he goes over, which is intended within a fortnight or three weeks.

I heard about ten days since, that Mr. St. Iohns, that was chief Justice in Crom­well's time, was come to some place, not far from Utrecht, and a Son of his with him, who was lately at Amsterdam. I took no notice of it, because I suppose he is free to go where he pleases; and I know not whether I had reason to make any re­flection upon a great many English land­ing at Rotterdam, from several Vessels, and passing by this place towards Amsterdam, and I suppose with design of going to vi­sit Mr. St. Iohns. One of them was Mr. Walter St. Iohns, with his Lady, another was Sir Foulke Howe; there was a Sir Iames too with them, whose Name I could not be assured off, though the Person I im­ploy'd [Page 163] told me, he heard him once call'd by it, and thought it was some such Name as Sir Iames Bagg, and that there was a­nother whom he had often seen go in and out of the Parliament House. There are about 30 in all, as I hear, with Women and Servants: But passing in several com­panies, lodging in Dutch Houses, and seem­ing to do it with a design of being private, this made me curious to enquire more of them, and send to Rotterdam, to enquire how they came over. With much adoe I found the House they lodged in there, and that they came part in the Dutch Paquet­boat, and part in a Vessel from a small Creek in Essex or Suffolk, and two Gen­tlemen in a Ship from Weymouth in Dor­setshire; that they were Visited at Rotter­dam by Desborough, Helsey, one Major White, and Bolsprit a Merchant, all Men of the same Strain, who were lock'd up in a room with them five or six hours, and White and Helsey went away with them upon their Journey towards Amsterdam. I have engaged one to follow them, and give me a further account of them, if he ran, though I know not at all what such Persons, their Journies, or Meetings can signifie: However, I thought it fit to give you notice of it, because you may by com­paring Circumstances, unknown to me, make perhaps other Reflections.

Of the Medals you mention, I can hear [...]othing here further, than what Mr. Per­wick [Page 164] wrote me last Post from France, that there were such Medals made there, and disperst on purpose to peak us against the Dutch.

For Sir Samuel Morland's Cypher, we have the Key of it here, but my Secreta­ry tells me, there is something alter'd by you in the rule and use of it, since last year, so that he has been out in something. Mr. Perwick wrote from France for a Try­al between us; therefore I should be glad you would please to send your exact Rule, as you now use it, with a good quantity of the ruled papers, by some safe hand.

Persons of all Nations here, take part in the hopes given us by the Queen, and es­pecially the Dutch, whose chief Ministers seem to me very much concern'd in it, so that I can assure her Majesty, it will be ve­ry ill taken abroad, if she disappoint us I am ever as becomes me,

I sent my Packet open as long as i [...] was possible, in a place where the times ar [...] [Page 165] so exact; and just at this instant, the States Resolution is brought me in Dutch, with a message, that the Commissioners will come to morrow or next day, to confer with me upon it▪ Tis long, and I am not Dutchman enough to understand it well, nor have time to get it Translated, so as you will have it at full by the next.

I have since my last, received the Ratifi­cation of the Guaranty, with the Pa­per concerning the Swedish demands in a Letter from you, which came to me by my Wife; with a large Testimony she has given me, of the favour and assistance she received from you, in the pursuit of her business, f [...]r which I make you my acknow­ledgments; and should do it with more cir­cumstance, but that I see you are willing to have me in your debt, and I am desirous to come out of it, by some better way.

I shall observe the Directions I receive concerning the Swedish pretentions, when they come again in play, which they have not done lately, Monsieur Mareschal ha­ving been above ten days out of Town, in hopes to hear of the first payment arri­ving from Spain, before his return; for upon that performance, the rest of our Negotiations in that business will very much depend, which makes me sorry to see [Page 167] nothing yet effected in it, for I doubt the Sw [...]des within a little time, will grow weary of being entertained only with the cheap hopes and promises given them for a Month or two by the Spanish Am­bassador.

I have likewise received lately one from you of Iune 1st, with large reflecti­ons upon the ill returns of the States in both the Affairs of the East Indies and Su­rinam, and shall take the freedom you give me, of making use of those discour­ses to Monsieur de Witt, to which purpose they are now Translating. In the mean time I had not neglected discoursing with Monsieur Van Benninghen upon both those Subjects, though he will hardly allow that of Surinam, to be worth speaking of, I suppose, because neither the Town of Am­sterdam, nor the Province of Holland, are concerned in it. For the other, I prest him upon the necessity of the general Ar­ticle, with all the Warmth and Arguments I could possibly draw, from the conside­rations of the present conjuncture. He fell to the old defences, the danger of new and greater disputes upon the inter­pretation of any general Article, the con­sequences such an agreement with us, might have to open their Trade to all the rest of their Allies, the offers of Re­dress in all particulars that could happen, when-ever we could give the instances. Upon all which, I took him at the advan­tage, [Page 168] and told him none of all those three considerations could be alledged against the particular satisfaction we demanded in the business of Macassar, having a parti­cular instance, wherein we were aggrieved, and the redress whereof, could admit no danger of interpretations, nor draw conse­quences to any other Nation, since no o­ther had any Trade establisht there. He defended himself with Arguments, Mon­sicur de Witt had used, of this Treaty for sole commerce being the sole fruits of a long and dangerous War, and of vast ex­pence, of every King or Government ha­ving power to dispose of their own com­modities, as Sweden might contract to sell them all their Copper, or Portugal all their Salt; and that the Article of Breda, does not oblige us to comprehend one another in all such particular Con­tracts, concerning Commerce, but in those of Alliance and Defence: That if they made a War purposely to destroy our Trade, it ought to be disown'd and redrest; but if upon injuries from an Indian King, they were forced to a War, and they succeeded to have a Conquest in their pow­er, they might use it as they pleased. I told him, all this ended in a Declaration, that they could neither give us our Gene­ral Article for the future, nor particular redress for what was past, which was too much at a time, or between those that in­tend long to be friends; and prest him so [Page 169] home, that at last he interrupted me, and askt me brusquement, whether, if they would restore us to our Trade at Macas­sar, I would conclude the Treaty: For tho' it would lose all the fruits of their Victo­ry; yet they could tell what that would cost, but what a general Article might im­port, no body could compute. He said fur­ther, that if this would content us, he would endeavour it. I told him I had Commission to ask no less then that Resti­tution, and the general Article too, but when they could resolve what to propose to me, I would transmit it to his Majesty. He promised to consider of it, and desired we might have a joynt Conference with Monsieur de Witt upon it, at his return to Town, which is this day expected. He concluded, that though he could not pro­mise for the rest, yet he would assure me of his Endeavours, and that he hoped, his journey into England was reserved for some greater occasion. In the mean time, I thought it necessary to acquaint you with this overture, and know your Reflections upon it. I confess, I could not but be in­wardly pleased with it, because it lookt like something, in stead of nothing, be­cause a redress of this kind, may bea [...] a construction to imply all others as due hereafter, in cases of the like nature; but chiefly, because in one of your Letters, you mentioned this business of Macassar, as of more importance than what injuries [Page 170] we could apprehend by Forts and Passages: And though I cannot yet reckon upon any thing certain from this Overture, yet I count it some advantage to have divided my Enemies. For Monsieur de Witt, that stands firmly upon the Justice of their Trea­ty of Macassar, as an acquisition of War with that King, declares he will endeavour the composure of some general Article, tho' he is in pain how to restrain it from possi­bility of Interpretations; and Monsieur Van Benninghen, who ever declar'd the most against this last, yet offers to endea­vour the Restitution at Macassar. If this be thought worthy his Majesties Reflecti­ons, it may be considered how far it would extend towards our Satisfaction, to have such an Article for Restoring our Trade at Macassar, inserted in the very Treaty of Commerce, with some such Introduction; Que pour saire voir les intentions mutuelles de Pune et de Pautre Nation d [...]'empieter pas sur le commerce Pun de Pautre, en quelque quartier des Indes qu' il soit Esta­bli, ou sous aucun pretexte de Traitez, avec auc [...]n Roys ou Gouvernements, [...]y d' empescher le commerce Pun de Pautre avec quelques Nations qui [...]e sont pas dans Po [...]upation de Pautre compagn [...]è, il est ac­cordè, &c. And if we can give Instances of any particular Fort, by which we have been of late years aggriev'd, contrary to the usual practise, the Redress in that, may at the same time be insisted on, and [Page 171] to the words, Sous aucun pretexte de tra­ittez, ny des Forts, may be added. And such a pursuit would I suppose walk upon a firmer foot, then the other of a general Article, which they say is in the Air, while it is not grounded upon particular instan­ces; and therefore so apprehended among them, that I very much doubt succeeding in it, to any other effect, then the preten­ces of quarrelling with them, when we find occasion.

But these are sudden and undigested no­tions of mine, which I leave to your ri­per Considerations, and offer them only out of an impatient desire, I have of find­ing some issue out of this Affair, which has mortified me so long, by not being able to effect his Majesties desire, and is particularly unlucky to me, in being for­ced to represent all the Reasons they can here raise against it, by my Letters into England, wherein I take no care of enlar­ging upon those Arguments I use here to maintain it; since it would be a Repetiti­on of what I have chiefly been furnisht with out of England; and I know this makes it look, as if in my Letters I plea­ded their Cause, and not our own. But till they have a Minister in England, I know not how to help it.

I doubt the Zealanders have a mind, Monsieur Bor [...]l should have the honour of Negotiating the Affair of Surinam, ra­ther than I: However, I desire to know [Page 172] whether his Majesty resolves I shall put in another Memorial to the States, upon their last Answer, and upon what particu­lars I shall Positively insist; for that you mention at large in your▪ last, of Major Bannisters Person, or of his Majesties send­ing a Ship purposely for the Transportati­on of the Inhabitants, has been yet men­tion'd only in our private Discourses, and not o [...] publick papers; and you will I hope, make that use of the failing laid to my charge, in the Merchants paper of de­mands, to judge it necessary that my Or­ders should be distinct. I am ever,

I have this day received one from you of the 8th current, and shall as you give me leave, make the best use I can of it here, and you need not fear that the Dutch Ministers want being Entertained by me, in the same Style you have used in both your last Letters, and in some others before. I had yesterday a large Confe­rence with Monsieur de Witt, concerning the East-India Business, wherein, though he endeavour'd to maintain, they had no obli­gation in Justice, to restore our Trade at Macassar, yet he said, he was very glad that Monsieur Van Benninghen had made me such an overture, and though he fear'd much, he would find difficulty in making it good; yet he assur'd me, he should have all his help in it. After all we could say of both sides, I desired him to take these two Maxims with him, as those that would never fail him in all his Negotiati­ons with us: First, that the good or ill quarter we had with them in the East-In­dies, [Page 174] would ever have a great influence upon our Alliances, and good or ill intel­ligence with them in Europe, since we o­vermatch them here, as much as they did us in the Indies, and so must necessarily ballance one by the other. And to make this good the second Maxim I gave him, was, that how luckily soever they had es­caped the danger of our last War, yet whenever a King of England should fall in frankly with the current humour of his People, for the understanding and mana­ging any War, wherein both should take their Honour and Interest to be equally concerned, there was nothing which our Crown was not capable of, atchieving, since the true strength of all Kingdoms and States, consisted in the number of good and warlike Bodies of Men, that are their Native Subjects; in which I believed no King in Christendom could equal his Ma­jesty, considering the number and natural courage of the Subjects in his several King­doms, hesides the general Riches of En­gland, whenever they meet an occasion that would make them willing to open their purses, to any degree near what all their Neighbours were forced to do every day. Monsieur de Witt acknowledged both these to be true, and upon the last, said, he be­lieved France had more Men than we, but we had more good Men then they, and upon that Subject, he fell upon extolling the bravery of our Nation by many Exam­ples, [Page 175] and to a degree, that no English Man could have said more: And for the other point, he said we might be sure by our being so much stronger here then they were, that we should never want fair quarter with them in the Indies; but he hoped we would not press them upon things that they could not grant, without endangering the ruine of all their Esta­blishments, or their Alliance with us. To say Truth upon all Discourses of this kind, or the necessity of their preserving our Al­liance in this conjuncture, both Monsieur de Witt, and the rest of their Ministers ever yielded all I can say: But on the o­ther side, what they think is reason, they hold they must perish▪ with it, and that when a Nation once yields that point in their Negotiations with any other, they must ever after treat rather as a Province, then as an equal State. And therefore I doubt the fault is in me, that have not yet been able to make them acknowledge, that we have reason in what we demand, though I am not yet out of hopes, to bring our East-India business to something, as far as I can ground by Monsieur de Witt, and Van Benninghen's last Discourses. And to that purpose, I resolve next week to make one step more than I have yet done, by a Journey to Amsterdam, which they both advise me to; and I hear those of that Town, have a good while expected it, as it seems other Ambassadors have used to [Page 176] make them a visit in less time; and then I shall confer with the Directors all toge­ther, and the chief of the Company be­sides, and know what I am to trust to.

The day before yesterday, I conferr'd with the Pensionary of Zealand, who drew up the States last Answer about Surinam, and read him that part of your former long Letter which concerned that matter. He pretended to hope, when his Majesty had seen their Answer, he would be bet­ter satisfied, but I soon beat him from that post, and pursued it so far, as to read him the last words of your Discourse, up­on both the Subjects of the Marine and Surinam, concerning the ill consequences they were like to have, and that such as were friends to our Alliance, would not be long able to resist them. He answer'd me very gravely; First for our warranting my Lord Willoughby's Actions by the 7th Article, he would reason no more upon it, if the 6th▪ Article would not convince us by those words [shall be restored, bona fide, in the same state and condition where­in they shall be found to be at the time, when▪ ever it shall be known in those pla­ces, that the Peace is made.] He alledged likewise, the words in the 7th Article, [taken or gotten in Places and Coasts far distant after the Peace is concluded, and before it be notified unto those places,] and said, my Lord Willoughby's Actions were not only after he knew of the Peace, [Page 177] but after he had received orders from his Majesty, for restoring that Colony accor­ding to the Articles of the Peace. He ended, that though in compliance to his Majesty, they had given the last Answer; yet they could never allow the English at Surinam, to be his Majesties Subjects, as I called them, after that Colony was deli­vered to them, according to the Articles of Breda, [with plenary right of Sove­raignty and Propriety] Et que si sa Ma­jesté estoit resolve de prendre c [...]lle petite affaire si [...]aut, Il [...]alloit avoir patience.

I had several times resolv'd, never any more to write you back any of the Rea­sons used here against the demands I pro­pose, and Arguments I use to make them good; because I have long sound, that it is taken by many in England, to be a pleading of their Cause; and therefore I thought never to send you any thing in this kind, but what they gave you in wri­ting: Yet I have Transgress'd again for this time, because in your last, you seem to desire to know, what reply they make against my Lord Willoughby's being justi­fied by the Treaty of Breda, which I had omitted hitherto to acquaint you with, because it was not directly a thing under my hands, though I have ever ob­served, that the States General, as well as those of Zealand were as unsatisfied as could be, with all that part of the Kings last Answer to Monsieur Boreel, which [Page 178] concern'd my Lord Willoughby. Besides I consider, that though it be the part of a good Courtier to offer nothing to his Prince, but what is like to please him; yet perhaps 'tis the part of a good Mini­ster upon all Disputes, to be faithful in relating the Reasons that are given him, and thereby to lay all fair for a judgment to be made, that so his Ma­jesty may be sure to ground his Resoluti­ons upon clear and evident Reason, which is of infinite advantage to any Cause. If the King would have me do otherwise, I can much easier obey him, and perhaps much better for,

IT is sit to give you some respite this Post from the frequent troubles you have, of late received upon the Subject of the Marine and Surinam, I attend his Maje­sties Orders upon the last, and shall per­form them. If we must fall out with the Dutch, we can never do it in more nor in better company; for I know not whether we are more dissatisfied with them at this time, then France and Spain, and Sweden, and the Bishops of Collen and Munster, the two last for particular Affairs, where­in as far as I can see, the Dutch use them something hardly, and might have spar'd it in this conjuncture. Sweden, for refu­sing to secure any part of their Subsidies, and Spain for pressing them to secure the whole by a Aypotheque of the upper quar­ter of Gelderland. But these and several other Re [...]entments of the two last, are supprest by their publick Interests and En­gagements: [Page 180] What those of the Bishop of Munster will be, I know not, nor what credit is to be given to the noise he makes. I hear the States will this week fall into the consideration of giving him some satis­faction about the Tussle of the Countess of Benthem, and the Duties levyed by them upon his Boats of Provisions passing through the Princess of Ostrizes Country, which I am sure you have heard of some Months since, in the common papers of Occuriences, and which are the only pre­tences he can have for breaking a Peace made at our Coast, and warranted by al­most all the Princes of the Empire. Yet it is agreed, the Bishop has so far pro­ceeded in his Levies of late, that he is a­ble to bring 13 or 14 thousand Men into the Field, though the greatest part is of his own peasants. However, these A­larms have not yet prevail'd with the States, to make the Recruits so long spo­ken of, nor will, I believe, unless the dan­ger grows nearer.

The Letters this Post from Madrid, bring no very good account of the Disor­ders between the Queen and Don Iohn, but say, the last was resolv'd to come to Madrid in a few days, if all was not accor­ded, so as by next Post, some issue is ex­pected.

[Page 181]From Poland we are assured, that Senate has been forced by the Equestrian Order, to pass a Deeree for Exclusion of the Prince of Condè, and with so much heat, that one Person who had the confidence to speak for him, escaped very hardly with his Life; so as the Candidates are [...]ow but two, and the last Letters from Warsaw, pretended not to judge which way the ba­lance inclines, but seem to apprehend, least the Assembly may fall into some great Disorders, and break up without any E­lection.

I received Letters this Morning from the Baron Bonstetten, who assures me of the Cantons having been much satisfied with the Communication of my Letters to him, Qu' a la diete de Seigniors a Baden, Ils l [...]y donneront une responce, [...]t qu' ils sont tous a s [...]its incliner a tesmoigner leurs respects a sa Majestè en tout sort des ren­contres, which is all his Letter brings me, referring me for other particulars, to the correspondent given him here by Monsieur de Witt, who tells me, that he assures them very positively, the Cantons of Baden, Berne, Lucerne, Solerne, and two more, are disposed to enter into the Tripple Alli­ance, and that a Spanish Envoy was arri­ved there with Money, to invite the seven lesser Cantons: So that upon the whole, he gives great hopes of that strength being added to the Alliance, which if it should [Page 182] happen, would so surround France on all sides, that I suppose they might thereby be induced to leave the World some time in quiet.

I hold my Resolutions of going to Am­sterdam, and making my attempt there to­wards the issue of our Marine Affairs, but would be very glad, first to see your▪ thoughts upon the overture made by Mon­sieur Van Benninghen concerning Macas­sar. I am always as becomes me,

HAving not been able to return from Amsterdam, so quietly nor so spee­dily as I went, by reason of the undeniable invitations I received from the Towns of Harlem and Leyden; I am return'd only in time, to acknowledge a Letter I met of yours here the 18th past, with an en­closed paper of Arguments, in both the points of the East-Indies and Surinam, which I shall not fail to make the best use of I can.

I have had reason to believe, from my Reception in the several Towns, and Con­versation with their chief Magistrates, that they all understand their interest in our Alliances, as they ought, and value it as it deserves, having had it upon all oc­casions, exprest to me by them all equally in their Discourses: But in other Demon­strations, more by the Town of Harlem, [Page 184] (who are the most averse to the Princes interest) then the rest; and whose meet­ing me with all the Militia of their Town in great Gallantry, and with great expense of powder, as I hear, was taken ill by the other Towns, as an excess they ought not to have made upon any Princes Ar­rival, without having it first concerted by the States of Holland. I thank God, the trouble of this Journey is is well over, by which the chief thing I have learnt, is, that when they are Drunk, and when they are Sober, they seem still of a mind, in what concerns us and our Alli­ance.

I left them at Amsterdam, in the same mind you are in your Letter, that 'tis time to make an end of this Marine business, and Monsieur Van Benniaghen assur'd me, that upon his coming to Town here next week, he would to his utmost endeavour it, and that in the business of Macassar, we should have Satisfaction. For the General Article, I can yet Discover no disposition to it, unless it should be with such Restricti­ons, as I doubt will not answer our Merchants ends; as for Example, in that of Trading with Nations not in Subjection, they say 'tis a thing of so common Right, that we have no rea­son to demand any particular Article, but if such a thing be adjusted, it must [Page 185] be with a Clause, that it shall not be adjudged to prejudice any Rights, that one or other may have acqui­red by their Arms, or by Trea­ties with any Princes or People in those parts. You can best judge, whether this be what our Merchants mean. For my part, I am very confident that these here mean no such thing, as to endeavour our exclusion from the Trade of the Indies, nor to deny us the Re­dress of any particular injuries we can complain of; and that if we desired Orders to their Officers in the Indies to make no Innovations, which may be to our prejudice, but to carry all mat­ters there that concerns us, in the most friendly manner that has been used be­tween the Nations, we should not be denyed them, though they are so stanch upon this General Article; believing it will be made the ground of future de­mands, which we will not now spe­cifie: And all this Opinion of mine, is not raised by the professions they make, nor by Monsieur Van Benning­hen's protesting, they are so far from doing us injuries, that they tremble at the very thoughts of it, and a great deal more of that kind; but it comes from my belief, that they are a State which very well understands their own Interests, and knows they [Page 186] can never take any good measures, but with us; and that if necessity drives them to any other, they are such as must fail, and ruine them at last. I am always,

I ask your Lordships pardon, for not ac­knowledging by the last Post, one of Iune 18, which was then newly come to my hands, with an enclosed for the Prince of Tuscany, which I find was ve­ry welcome to him, by one I received yesterday from Monsieur Castilioni.

We have now some reason to believe, the 200 Dollars from Spain will at length appear; for besides the assurance given me of it by the Spanish Agent at Amsterdam, and since by the Ambassador here, I have had one Coymans a Merchant with me, who is the chief of the Part­ners that have contracted in Spain, for re­mitting that Money; and who assures me, that he had News by the last Spanish Post, of the Contracts being perfected by his Correspondent there, with the Spanish Ministers, and that they were Negotiating likewise with them, for remitting the two following Terms as they should grow due; and he says we are not like to attend the [Page 188] Arrival of the Plate, which is to be Im­barkt at Cadiz, for all that, is to run upon the Merchants hazard, who by the Con­tract, are upon Receipt of the value there, to draw Bills upon these of Amsterdam, payable at Sight. So as I hope there will soon be an end of this long busi­ness.

As for the Concert, subsequent to the Guaranty, I hope it is in such a posture, as his Majesty will be pleased with; for upon my last Conference with the Swe­dish Minister, since my last return from Amsterdam, we agreed, that we would neither of us begin the motion of it any further; that if I were prest to it either by Spain or Sweden, I should say, his Majesty was content to enter into it, when ever the Crown of Sweden were so too; that if by either of the said parties, the Swe­dish Ministers shall be Sollicited, they shall Answer, that they are ready to enter into it, when ever either Spain or Holland shall propose the ways of assuring the Monthly Subsidies designed them, in case of a War breaking out, for as for those spoken of in time of Peace, I think the pretence will cease.

I send your Lordship enclosed, all the fruits of my troublesom Journey to Am­sterdam, and of my Conferences since with Monsieur de Witt, and Van Benninghen: For having absolutely declared, that the Restitution of our Trade at Macassar, [Page 189] would not serve turn, without a General Article; they at length consented there should be one, which they pretend is pur­suant to the meaning exprest by our Mini­sters, though not by our Merchants, which is, that nothing desired, should tend to the breaking the former Usages and Establish­ments, but only to prevent new injuries, especially since we have given them no o­ther particular Instances, as they say, of our Complaints, besides this of Macas­sar. The enclosed form of all the addi­tional Articles, is what they will consent to. The last about Trade with free Nati­ons, goes in Latin, to avoid the Translati­on which the other must undergo upon perfecting the Treaty: They pretend the latter part of the Article, which says, Illibata maneant quae in usu commerciorum, armorum jure aut pactorum vi acquisita sunt, secures us in any place where our Trade is already Establisht, from Injuries either by Treaties or Forts. With all this, I have not exprest any Satisfaction, further then my promises of Transmitting all for his Majesties Judgment and Reso­lution: I only struck out the word they much insisted upon, after Gentibus liberis, which were, Non dependentibus, as capa­ble of any Interpretation, and so have left the Definition of gentes liberae, as strict as we our selves desired it. I understood likewise by our Conference, and their Proposition yesterday; that the words be­fore [Page 190] mentioned should run; Illibata man­eant quae usu commerciorum, armorum, &c. and not in usu; as they have put it in the enclosed, which comes but just now to my hands; and I think it would be stron­ger for us, to have that preserv'd untoucht, which we have acquired, usu commercio­rum, as well as armorum jure, or pacto­rum vi. If you can content your Mer­chants with the Treaty, as it runs here, you may have it perfected, and your Trade at Macassar and factories restored, which I think I may say considently, though Mon­sieur de Witt, and Van Benninghen, only promise their endeavours in it, and would make us believe, 'tis something very ex­traordinary they do for his Majesties Sa­tisfaction, that those of the East-India Com­pany would sooner part with a Million of Money, then yield the 2d Article about defining a Besieged place; which they say, will end all further Conquests of theirs in the Indies, since they cannot Besiege them by Land, and they may be relieved by Sea. They say besides, that the Resti­tution of Macassar, will be such a Presi­dent for Redress of any Injuries that we can ever receive, and justly complain of, that it imports much more then any Ge­neral Article could have done without it; of all which, I leave the Judgment be­fore you.

Letters this day from the Baron de Bon­stetten, give great appearance of the Swit­zers [Page 191] Aversion to engage in the French In­terest, and assure the Spanish Ministers, of their being provided with Money, which together with their Inclinations, he thinks, may make some change in their Counsels, to the advantage of those ends proposed by the Tripple Alliance.

We hear France is very ill satisfied with the late Revolution in Poland, and with Don Iohn's growing so powerful in their Neighbourhood. Having none of Mr. Se­cretary's now to answer, with the Debt I was in to your Lordship, has excused his trouble this Post, and been the occasion of drawing it upon your Lordship, from,

THE contrary Winds have kept yours of the 26th past, some days longer upon the way, then is usual in this Sea­son; but I shall not fail to Morrow, to deliver his Majesties Letter to the States, which is, as you observe, in a Style which shows that the King demands nothing but his Right, and seeks no occasions of un­kindness, or weakning his Alliance with this State, as some were apt to believe. Monsieur de Witt seem'd satisfied in a great measure, with the last paper you sent me over, of Replies to their Arguments up­on the business of Surinam, and says, the difficulty in Colonel Willoughby's case, must be cleared by matter of Fact; for if the Slaves he took away, were only such as belonged to his own Person, he allows he had right to do it; but not if they belong'd to any of the Works upon the [Page 193] Colony, of which in that case, he says, they were apart, and so ought to be left in the State it was found at the notice of the Peace. I am extream glad, his Ma­jesty has made so fair and distinct a De­mand by way of Letter, which takes it off from my hands, though I shall not omit all my endeavours among the Mini­sters, to procure a good Answer to it; which the Satisfaction offer'd, in case of any breach of Articles by Colonel Wil­loughby, should methinks very much ad­vance.

I am glad to find you are of the Opini­on, that their restoring us to Macassar, will signifie something towards defending us from any future injuries by Treaties or Forts; and this I can assure you, that tho' Monsieur de Witt desends the Action up­on its being done in time of War, and thereby would make the Restitution pass rather for an Act of Friendship and Com­pliance, then of Justice; yet I have not heard him, or any else among them, of­fer to justifie any such Action, that should be done in time of Peace; and where we had a Trade establisht by preceding Con­tracts. And by all I can observe here, I do not believe, we are likely to be much troubled about any Accidents likely to happen upon their future Conquests in those parts, for all the prudent Men a­mong them, confess they have more al­ready in their hands, then they can ma­nage [Page 194] with so small a Stock of Men, as their Government consists of, which will be ever a hinderance to any great Enlarge­ments by Conquest or Colonies, in any part of the World. Besides, the Trade of the East-India is now grown so large, and so open, that 'tis almost impossible those Commodities should not grow to be arrant Drugs, in five or six years time! For the Riches of the Trade formerly grew by the dearness, and that by the scarcity of the Commodities brought from thence: Whereas now the Dutch Compa­ny, as I am assured, have left behind them in their Stores, full as much as they have brought away this year; and yet 'tis a question among the Merchants, whether they have not brought enough to glut the Market, while besides us and Portugal, now of late Sweden, Denmark, and Ham­burgh, as well as France, are falling into the Trade. At least I was assured at Am­sterdam, that the East-India Actions (as the several Shares are call'd) fell twenty in the hundred, even after the News of their Fleets being safe, and near their Ar­rival. But these are only my Conjectures, from the lights I can gather in various Conversation, and ought not to hinder us in the pursuit of our Rights, or preven­tion of any injuries we have reason to apprehend. I sent my Lord Arlington last Post, the Result of their late Conferen­ces with me upon this matter, in the Re­stitution [Page 195] of Macassar, and the projects of a General Article, upon which I can pro­ceed no further, till I receive new Directi­ons from you.

I hope the matters of the Tripple Alli­ance, will prove firm by the sudden pay­ment of the Swedish Subsidies; but by my last Conference with the Spanish Am­bassador, and Monsieur Mareschall, I fear I shall be prest again upon the point of the concert. For the Spanish Ambassador offers an Act for securing 30 M. of Crowns a Month to the Swedes during a War, if it breaks out; and the Swedish Ministers I find, expect from us and Holland, a pro­mise of paying them the other 30 M. in that case, whilst Spain engages, (as they are content) to Reimburse us. What Holland will resolve to do in this case, without a Hypotheque, as they have hitherto insisted, I know not yet; If they refuse, I am not like to be prest upon any answer; but if they should consent, it will be necessary for me to know his Ma­jesties pleasure. So soon as this matter ends, Monsieur Mareschall has orders to go to the Prince of Lunenburgh, to make them an Invitation from the Swedish Crown, conformable to that which has already been made them by his Majesty, and this State, which shews the Dis­position of that Crown, to be both sted­dy and forward towards the ends of [Page 196] our Alliance; and I think his Majesty may be confident in this present Con­juncture, they will keep close to the measures that shall be taken by him in the Publick Concernments of Christen­dom. I am always,

I am sorry to find by yours of Iuly 6th, as well as by a latter from my Lord Arlington, that all my endeavours to­wards an issue in the East-India business, are like to be never the nearer it; For I very much doubt, if the words you men­tion, which they put in for security a­gainst our grounding Innovations, in the course of that Trasick upon this Article, (though we have not yet pretended it, as I remember) should be left out, it would but encrease their Suspicions, and leave the matter where it was. But I think the best will be, rather to make a new Project, the fairest our Merchants can afford; and such an one, as can leave nothing that is past in dispute: But if we find any Grievances already practised, be­sides Macassar, to Name them, and de­mand Redress. This I think will be bet­ter, then to accept their Article, and strike out those words (for the reason afore­mentioned) [Page 198] though they often argue, that the desire coming wholly from us, and no Nation pretending right to force a­nother to a new Treaty, the wording of the Article ought to be allowed them.

I wish some of our East-India Mer­chants had been at our Conferences; for I will be bound to say, this thing has been debated to the very Grave, and no­thing left that can be said in it, though we pretend on either side, not to be un­derstood aright in it, what we would have. But that you may once for all, know what they go upon here, to the end of ground­ing your Proposition the better; I will tell you; First, that they are firmly per­swaded, our Merchants chief aim in this Article, is to give occasions of entring into new disputes with them, when they shall see a good Conjuncture, even upon things establisht by long use, and mutual practise in the Indies; and against which, they will not now put in their Exceptions, and Com­plaints. And therefore I do not think they will ever admit an Article, which shall be understood to alter the present state of things there, (since they offer, if there be any occasion, to do that upon our Complaints and Instances in the particu­lars) but only to prevent Innovations for the future, contrary to what has been, or is now practised by mutual consent or [Page 199] allowance. As for Example, they will not admit of an Article, which shall im­port freedom of Commerce with all free Nations, unlimited by the use Establisht, and the Treaties acquired, unless first we tell them, what those Nations are which we count free, and where notwithstand­ing we are by the Dutch, forbidden to Trade; for they say, the nature of Sub­jection is so various, especially in those Countries, that upon such an Article, we may hereafter pretend to Trade in many places, where we never thought or offer'd at it before. And the same in point of Forts and Passes too.

That which Monsieur Van Benninghen went upon, for a foundation in the of­fer of this Article; was, first that we de­sir'd no Innovation in the Ancient usual and mutual practice of Commerce in the Indies, but rather the hindring any such Innovations, that may be offer'd by them. Secondly, That we pretended not by it a Reddress of Injuries, already offer'd a­gainst such practise, but a prevention of them for the future, and of the jealousies we had conceived of their intentions. And this they reckon upon, because they have from the beginning, ever desir'd instances of our Grievances, to the end they might redress the particulars, and understand the general aim; but we have not thought fit to give them any besides [Page 200] that of Macassar, in which they are ready to do us reason. They ground it besides, upon the several Discourses I have held them, upon those two points, wherein I am sure I have never gone farther, then what I received from my Lord Keeper, my Lord Arlington or your self, in your Letters that I have by me. And upon this Subject, I confess it is new to me, what you say in your last; that to put in that Clause, Illibat [...] maneant quae in usu commercii, armorum vi, aut pactorum jure acquisita sunt, would confirm upon us, not only all the injuries we have com­plain'd of by Forts and Passes, but even of Treaties too; and that of Macassar, which they offer to Abrogate. Now I must confess, I remember not any of those particular injuries we have complained of, or desir'd Redress in, besides that of Ma­cassar. But very well, that after my pressing several times for such instances, the Merchants sent me a large paper, with very many Recapitulations of what had been, and of what might be, to which the Dutch replyed, that they only raked into former times and actions that had been debated, and ended in former Treaties, and desired to know of us, which of those instances we thought appliable to the pre­sent question: To which I received an An­swer, that what we desired, was more for prevention, than remedies: And in short, have not been furnisht with other [Page 201] particular Instances, than of Cochin and Ca­nanor, which the Dutch say was wholly of a different nature, and regulated by the Article, that defines a besieged place.

And now you have all before you, that I can think to put you in mind off, I should be glad to receive, as I said before, the fairest Proposition our Merchants can afford of their own (for I am sure it will never be ended by any from hence) and if I fail of their consent here to it, I think it will be time for me to despair of it; and I am very glad that upon that Sub­ject, you talk of bringing it to a meeting of Commissioners, which is all the way I know will be left, besides breaking it off unkindly; the effects of which I doubt not, but both sides understand, and will cast up before they come to it. I must Rectifie one thing, which I think you have not right understood me in; which is, that by such an Article as they propose, we should buy the Abrogation of their Trea­ty at Macassar too dear, establishing at the same time, a right of doing the same against us for ever. For the Article can­not be understood to establish future Trea­ties, but only the Past. Nor do the Dutch impose the Article, as a price of what we demand at Macassar, but are willing to Re-establish us there, without any such Article at all, but finishing the Treaty up­on those already agreed to.

[Page 202]The illness of the King of Spain is a­gain much spoken off here, though not owned by the Spanish Ambassadors. The Zealanders having sent the Ratification of the last Agreement with their Province, the Prince expects very shortly, to enter into the Council of State. The Swedish Subsidies are every day expected, and I believe will not fail in a very little time. I shall fail at no time of being,

THis last Post brought me yours of the 13th, with his Majesties pleasure concerning the Guaranty, and Concert of Forces; which you will find by my late Letters, to have perfectly agreed with all I had before Transacted in those matters. Spain has the good luck here at this time, that though we see none of their Money, yet we believe it sure; and thereupon the Swedish Ministers seem better contented, than we had reason to expect, after so long delays. For the concert, I suppose it must sleep a while, till some noise from France awake it; for Spain seems not at all inclin'd to treat with the Dutch, about the Engagement of the places in Geldre, for securing the Money to be paid to the Swedes, and the Dutch without such se­curity, will not engage in any kind, to advance any part of the Swedish Subsi­dies, unless it be joyntly with his Ma­jesty.

[Page 204]I have spoken this very day with Mon­sieur de Witt, about the business of Suri­nam; who tells me, the Kings last Letter was put into Commissioners hands, who have not yet made their Report upon it, by reason of the States of Holland sitting till within these two or three days In the mean time he desires much to see the Answer, you promise to his last Paper, which I find they think here, grounded upon unanswerable Reasons; and there­fore finding this business drawn into slow Expostulations, I have cast about for ano­ther way of ending it, by entring into new Discourses about our buying that Co­lony of the Zealanders; which I mentio­ned to my Lord Keeper several Months since, and had then commands from his Lordship, not to let the Overture fall; But the hand it was then in, gave me no encouragement to pursue it; and I had some hopes the matter in dispute, would come to some issue between us. Since the heat and difficulty of our Debates, I have put another upon the proposal, who tells me this day, he has had Letters from the principal Persons in that Province, to make him confident of a good disposition towards it there, in case his Majesty did think fit, and will come to any reasonable Terms: But before I proceeded any further in this matter, I thought sit to acquaint you with it, that I might know your thoughts upon it, and direct my self by them: In the [Page 205] mean time this private Overture shall not hinder my pursuit of the publick satisfa­ction we demand, with all the earnestness I can, though I see nothing yet to make me confident of Success, in the manner and time we expect.

I attend your Proposals on the Marine Treaty, and am still of Opinion, that they will go very far here to satisfie us in an Article which will cut off Disputes, by deciding things particularly described; but will never be brought to conclude one, which by general words may draw on new Disputes or Pretentions, and break into their present Establishments, and course of Trafick; before we have made them understand by instances, what the cases are, we find our selves aggriev'd in. I am always as becomes me,

I was extream glad to find by yours of the 20th past, that you understood so perfectly, what I had represented to you of their intentions here as to the Marine Ar­ticle; that is, the General Article to se­cure us from all injuries by any new pra­ctises to disturb our Trade, and for any present injuries we lie under, they will re­lieve us upon our instances in particular, as now in that of Macassar; and so in any other, wherein we shall have the Ju­stice on our side, which was so directly my meaning, and theirs as I understood it, that I have repeated it in your own words; and am pretty confident, if you keep close to that Method, we shall yet see this bu­siness come to an issue: Though Monsieur de Witt wishes often, the words last sent from the Town of Amsterdam, might be accepted; because he says, they are so jea­lous of our implicite meaning▪ and reach at something that may make a general [Page 207] Breach upon their past Establishments, that every new word, gives them new and un­necessary Reflections, at least in his Opini­on; for he often says, that he is confident he should have ended this business with me in two hours.

I cannot yet make any further step in the business of Surinam, the State re­serving their Final considerations upon it, in answer to his Majesties last Letter, till the Deputies of Zealands Arrival, which was expected ten days since; but has been hindered by the Tumult happened in the Town of Terveer, upon occasion of their protecting L'abadie, a true Fanatick Preach­er, against the positive Orders of the States for his Banishment, having gather'd a Congregation of 5 or 600 People in that Island, who are it seems more at his Devotion, then at the States: But we look for the Deputies every day, and then I shall press this matter to a sudden issue, one way or other. In the mean time Mon­sieur de Witt desires to see the Answers promised to his last Writing, not he says, that they shall make any difficulty to perform the Articles given to the Colony, as they understand to be the Ge­nuine sense of them; but because he thinks the reasons in those Papers so clear, that his Majesty will accept of what they do upon his instances in it, as a Respect and Compliance to his Majesty, and not as a [Page 208] thing of Right, which they owe to any other, but those which are now their own Subjects.

He was with me on Sunday, upon a message of formal Thanks from the States to me, for the good issue I had brought the Portugal Treaty to, which is now Signed; and he said, would have hardly ever been brought to an end, without the peremptory Sentence I gave in it: I told him, I was glad I could do my Friends business here, but sorry I could not do my own; and that ever since I came last over, consi­dering what had past between Spain and Sweden, I was just like a man that could get Children abroad, and none at home, and took that occasion, to fall into all the complaints, that could be of my hard for­tune: That having finisht a Treaty of the greatest Importance with them in five days before, I could not end any one business with them now, in ten Months. He com­forted me all he could, with the assurance of the States doing all that was possible for his Majesties satisfaction, even beyond Reason, where the prejudices and conse­quences were not too great, I wish I see the proofs of it.

I have at present the consolation, to see the other Ambassadors more unsatisfied than I am, for the Spanish is in a Rage, and I doubt with some reason, at their ha­ving [Page 209] seized in Zealand 8 or 900 pounds, which the Constable sent thither t'other day, to be laid out in the Equipage of three Spanish Men of War, which had been brought in thither by way of Repri­zal, for some Merchant Ships pretended to have been seized in Spain: And besides, he is very angry that they will not yet here understand the French Consiscation of the Spanish Subjects Estates within their quarters, to be a contravention of the Peace.

The French Ambassador is unsatisfied in the difficulties made here upon the French Settlement of the Post through Flanders, which are come to that pass, that for a fortnight past, no Letters come or go be­tween this and France, but by Express. The truth is, what has past in this matter, makes a very pleasant Story. Monsieur Lovois makes a late agreement with Count Taxis for carrying all French Letters by Lisle, in stead of Brussels, and those in this Country by French Posts, and twice a week, without taking any notice of these People in the matter, till all was done, and then sends a Monsieur hither, who told the Ministers, that Monseigneur de Louvois l'avoit envoyè pour voir Messieurs les Estates, et leur dire l'accord qu' il avoit fait avec le Comte Taxis; and how they should receive no manner of prejudice by it, &c. The States refer'd it to Monsieur [Page 210] Van Benninghen, with some other Com­missioners, who were pursued every day, for three or four days together, by this En­voy, with the necessity of dispatching him immediately, Car Monseigneur de Louvois l'avoit ordon [...]è de faire tout l' expedition possible, while Monsieur Van Benninghen told him, they had sent to inform them­selves in this business, of the Merchants, and such other things. But at last being at no rest, when he prest for an Answer, he askt him, Monsieur, Est ti la premiere fois que vous avez estè en Hollande? the Frenchman said, yes, Et bien, dit Mr. V. Benninghen, C'est un fort beau pais, et les estrangers viennent touts les jours le voir par curiositè: Nos villes sont belles et as­sez près l [...]une de l'autre; Vous ferez bien de vous promener huit ou dix jours; [...]car en ce temps vous les verrez toutes, et nous se rons peut estre informèz en vostre affaire. The Frenchman made a short Leg, and went out, and told all his Friends, Que Monsieur V. Benninghen, l'avoit envoyè promener▪ and so he would be gone; and if they would have their Letters, they should send for them, and so went his way.

Monsieur de Witt finding the Amster­dam Merchants much unsatisfied with this new Order of Monsieur Lovois in the Packets, and resolv'd among other things, against having their Letters twice a week, sent to know of them, who would be most pre­judiced [Page 211] by the interruption of the Posts, the Merchants of these Countries, or those of Paris? they answer'd those of Paris: Upon which he advis'd them, de tenir firme, and so the matter lies without any correspondence going. I tell you this Sto­ry, for want of something better, and likewise because it gives you quelques traits of the Negotiations with these People, and of the way of their two chief Ministers. I kiss your hands, and am,

I understand that Mr. d'Avaux, hath a­gain by a late Memorial, press'd the Bishop of Liege's concern in the Magi­stracy of Mastreicht; but I do not hear that the States have yet given him any Answer.

[Page 212]I find that the Imperial and Danish Mi­nisters here, are inclin'd to believe, that the French Equipage is design'd against England, and that, from information which they both have, but particularly the latter; that the Fleet is Victuall'd but for six Weeks, which is too little for an Expedi­tion into the Baltick, and that the Ships are of the greater Rates, and such as can­not enter into Kattegat. They make an Argument besides, of the Garrisons which came out of the evacuated Spanish Towns, being all disposed about Dunkirk and Graveline, and suppose the French King's Journey that way, finding no preparations made for it in Alsatia, or the Neighbour­ing parts.

The Elector of Brandenburgh having sent some Privateers into the Elbe, to satisfie himself for quarters assigned him upon Hamburg, of which the D. of Zell having had the benefit, hath undertaken to dis­charge them. That D. hath written to the States, to complain, that whereas he hath by their Example and Desire of the pub­lick quiet, made his Peace, and included the Town of Hamburg in it; their Subjects not­withstanding taking Forreign Commissions, disturb the Commerce of that Town, which he desires they will give effectual orders to prevent. I hear that the Bishop of Munster by his Treaty with Sweden, is to retain Wildshausen, till the Swedes have paid him 100000 Rixdollars in the Hamburg Bank, [Page 213] and the possession besides, of all other pla­ces to be restored, till the Swedes are able to put sufficient Garrisons into them.

The Princess of Orange having had a sit of her Ague on Wednesday, but much gent­ler then the former ones, was well and chearful all yesterday, and this morning; but towards one this Afternoon, the cold fit came upon her again: But having not last­ed above a quarter of an hour, and with little shaking, she was fallen a sleep with the beginning of the hot fit. Their R. High­nesses are expected here this night, or too morrow, upon▪ a visit to the Princess. The Prince is also expected to morrow.

Monsieur Odijke arriv'd last night at this place.

The Mareschal d'Estrades returned on Wednesday from Amsterdam, towards Nim­megen. Some give out here, that the design of his Journey was to make a Match for his Grandson, with a very rich Fortune, Daughter to a Merchant there.

I am here to acknowledge several suc­cessive favours from you, the last be­ing of the 28th past; but I must withal let you know, that the Superscription both of [Page 214] that, and another before of the 14th, was misplaced to me, the Letters being design­ed to Monsieur Chaumont, who I suppose, hath those you intended for me, which I shall claim of him, and send him his for them. I cannot but luy to heart, the unhappy constitution of Affairs in England, and should be extreamly glad, if you could think fit to give me your Opinion, whether the matter of my Lord Treasurers', to Mr. Mountague, be the chief ground of the offence taken by the Commons against him. Here are Reports, I know not what to make of, that his Royal Highness is design­ing to remove from Brassels to Breda. I have nothing of it from Sir R. Bulstrode, or other hands (from which I have Letters) about his Highness. Whatever his usage be, or is like to prove, We believe the D. of Villa Hermosa's stay at Ghent, is for the return of an Express he hath sent to Ma­drid for instructions, which will determine it. I am with Truth and Respect,

MY last Letters from England tell me, that it hath been confidently re­ported at my Lord Treasurer's Table, that I am dead; which Report I observe, un­luckily to happen about the end of a quar­ter; and it is much, that it should be so long before they are in the right, when I consider my great Age, my little Health, my being put unnecessarily upon a long Winter's Journey, into a very cold Coun­try, where I have been separated from my Baggage, during the greatest part of a ve­ry hard Winter, by the Ice; and at last cannot cover my Head under a 1000 l. by the year: To all which, I may truly add, that I have spent 7000 l. in this Im­ployment of my own Money's, or rather my Wives and Childrens. And to compleat all, when Sir Ellis Leighton was convicted of Misdemeanors, and would have cast some of his faults upon me: The Malice of some Men to me have been so deep, or their Capacities so shallow, as to believe, or pretend to believe a Criminal in his own Case, to the prejudice of an innocent Man. I hear likewise, that his Majesty is inform'd, that he (Sir Ellis Leighton) hath [Page 216] made bargains in France in my Name, and with my Knowledge, then which nothing is more false, and doth touch me in a ve­ry tender part: And now I leave it to your consideration, whether there be much need of poyson or poignards, to dispatch a poor old Man thus handled. I had al­most forgot to tell you, that I have been forced to pawn my Plate for 500 l. and do owe little less in this Town; so that if my Lord Treasurer would dispatch my ex­traordinaries, and my 5 ^th quarter, he would do nothing contrary to his Majesties Ho­nour and Service, in my poor Opinion: I humbly beseech you to do me the favour, to mind his Lordship of it; and to par­don this Trouble, from him that is with much deference and respect,