"First, the demolition of the harbour of Dun"kirk. Secondly, that Great Britain and France "would heartily join against the exorbitant power "of the Duke of Lorrain, and force the pretend"er from his affylum at Bar le Duc. Lastly, that 66 "his Electoral Highness of Hanover would be fo "grateful to fignify to all the world the perfect good understanding he hath with the court of England, in as plain terms as her Majefty was "pleafed to declare fhe had with that houfe on her part." 66 As to the first of thefe demands, I will venture to undertake it fhall be granted; but then Mr. Steele and his brother male-contents must promife to believe the thing is done, after thofe employed have made their report; or elfe bring vouchers to difprove it. Upon the fecond, I cannot tell whether her Majefty will engage in a war against the Duke of Lorrain to force him to remove the pretender; but I believe if the parliament fhould think it neceffary to addrefs upon fuch an occafion, the Queen. will move that prince to fend him away. His laft demand, offered under the title of a wish, is of so infolent and feditious a ftrain, that I care not to touch it. Here he directly chargeth her Majefty with delivering a falfehood to her parliament from the throne; and declares he will not believe her, until the Elector of Hanover himfelf thall vouch for the truth of what the hath fo folemnly af firmed. I agree with this writer, that it is an idle thing in his antagonists to trouble themfelves upon the articles of his birth, education, or fortune; for whoever writes at this rate of his fovereign, to whom he owes fo many perfonal obligations, I fhould ne-ver inquire whether he be a GENTLEMAN BORN, but whether he be a HUMAN CREATURE. The The Conduct of the ALLIES, and of the LATE MINISTRY, in beginning and carrying on the prefent war *. Written in the year 1712. Partem tibi Gallia noftri Eripuit partem duris Hifpania bellis : Odimus accipitrem quia femper vivit in armis. I PREFACE. Cannot fufficiently admire the industry of a fort of men, wholly out of favour with the prince and people, and openly profeffing a feparate intereft from the bulk of the landed men, who yet able to raise at this juncture fo great a clamour are To this tract and the Examiners, which make vol. 5. of the Irish edition, there is a preface in the name of the publisher, which Lord O.rery afcribes to Swift for no other apparent reafon, than to accufe him of praifing himself. But, befides the incorrectnefs of the ftyle, which his Lordship fuppofes to be affected, there is an ffertion, that these papers produced the change in the Queen's miniftry, which even in his Lordship's opinion they were written to defend, and to which they appear by their date as well as tenor to be fubfequent; an abfurdity of which Swift even in the character of a publisher, cannot be fuppofed to have been guilty. againft against a peace, without offering one fingle reafon, but what we find in their ballads. I lay it down for a maxim, That no reasonable man, whether Whig or Tory, (fince it is neceffary to use those foolish terms), can be of opinion for continuing the war upon the foot it .now is, unless he be a gainer by it, or hopes it may occafion fome new turn of affairs at home to the advantage of his party; or, laftly, unless he be very ignorant of the kingdom's condition, and by what means we have been reduced to it. Upon the two firft cafes, where interest is concerned, I have nothing to fay; but as to the laft, I think it highly neceffary that the public fhould be freely and impartially told what circumftances they are in, after what manner they have been treated by thofe whom they trufted fo many years with the difpofal of their blood and treafure, and what the confequences of this management are like to be upon themfelves and their pofterity. Thofe who, either by writing or discourse, have undertaken to defend the proceedings of the late miniftry in the management of the war, and of the treaty at Gertruydenburg, have spent time in celebrating the conduct and valour of our leaders and their troops, in fumming up the victories they have gained, and the towns they have taken. Then they tell us what high articles were infifted on by our minifters and thofe of the confederates, and what pains both were at in perfuading France to accept them. But nothing of this can give the least fatisfaction to the juft complaints of the kingdom. As to the war, our grievances are, that a greater load has been laid on us than was either just or neceffary, or than we have been able to bear; that the groffeft impofitions have been fubmitted to for the advancement of private wealth and power, or in order to forward the more dangerous defigns of a faction, to both which a peace would have put an an end; and that the part of the war which was chiefly our province, which would have been moft beneficial to us, and deftructive to the enemy, was wholly neglected. As to a peace, we may complain of being deluded by a mock-treaty, in which thofe who negotiated took care to make fuch demands as they knew were impoffible to be complied with; and therefore might fecurely prefs every article as if they were in earnest. 'These are some of the points I design to treat of in the following difcourfe; with feveral others which I thought it neceffary at this time for the kingdom to be informed of. I think I am not miftaken in those facts I mention; at least not in any circumftance fo material as to weaken the confequences I draw from them. After ten years wars with perpetual fuccefs, to tell us it is yet impoffible to have a good peace, is very furprising, and feems fo different from what hath ever happened in the world before, that a man of any party may be allowed fufpecting, that we have been either ill used, or have not made the moft of our victories, and might therefore defire to know where the difficulty lay. Then it is natural to inquire into our prefent condition; how long we shall be able to go on at this rate; what the confequences may be upon the prefent and future ages; and whether a peace without that impracti cable point, which fome people do fo much infist on, be really ruinous in itfelf, or equally fo with the continuance of the war. The The Conduct of the ALLIES, &c. THE HE motives that may engage a wife prince or state in war, I take to be one or more of thefe : either to check the overgrown power of fome ambitious neighbour; to recover what hath been un. justly taken from them; to revenge fome injury they have received (which all political cafuifts allow); to affift some ally in a just quarrel, or, laftly to defend themselves when they are invaded. In all these cafes the writers upon politics admit a war to be justly undertaken. The laft is what hath been ufually called pro aris et focis; where no expence or endeavour can be too great, becaufe all we have is at stake, and confequently our utmost force to be exerted; and the difpute is foon determined either in fafety or utter deftruction. But in the other four, I believe it will be found, that no monarch or commonwealth did ever engage beyond a certain degree; never proceeding fo far as to exhauft the ftrength and fubftance of their country by anticipations and loans, which in a few years must put them in a worfe condition, than any they could This was written preparatory to the peace which the minifters were then concerting, and which was afterwards perfected at Utrecht. It begins by reflections on war in general, and then particularly men. tions the feveral civil wars in our kingdom.-Unhappy country! torn to pieces by her own fons: a wretched mother of vultures, for whom, like Tityus, the produces new intrails only to be devoured. Orrery, This tract, and remarks on the barrier-treaty contain the principal facts which the author of John Bull has thrown into allegory and greatly illuftrates that piece, of which indeed it is poffible they were the ground-work. VOL. II. reafor |