CHAPTER IX.

Or the peace of Utrecht there were the greatest complaints; for the ministers had sacrificed the true interests of England to those of France, in allowing the Bourbons of France to retain the whole Spanish monarchy, instead of the half, as designed by the Partition Treaty of William III.: thus giving a preponderance to the Popish party in Europe over the combined influence of Protestantism: a thing much to be deplored by the well-wishers to the vitality of Protestantism in Europe, as a barrier to the encroachments of Papistry, and the strangling, by religious usurpations, all freedom of thought; and, with it, all civil and religious liberty.

The peace of Utrecht, De Foe deplored-as much as any Englishman could deplore, the increase thus given to the strengthening of the aggressive power of the French monarchy; but what could he do more? He was not minister, neither was he connected with the ministry, beyond giving his opinion on a free-trade treaty of commerce with France; after the treaty of Utrecht had been disposed of altogether. If De Foe had been prime minister of England, he could not have received more of the malignity of the Whig party, than he did receive; and this when neither Swift nor Pope knew the man by his name; beyond the fellow who had had his ears cut off; or who had stood in the pillory. Never was man so basely used as Daniel De Foe; his talent was made the scapegoat for all talent which could not at once be fixed upon its real owner; and this, too, for the greater portion of his life. He had to stand responsible for all the anonymous talent of his age. Steele, Davenant, and others, might write, and write what they pleased too; and yet, with a little caution on their parts, in concealing their names, the productions of the pen, however offensive, or however debasing, could be fathered upon the ready wit of Daniel De Foe.

In his Appeal to Honour and Justice, p. 23, he thus writes:"This was the peace I always argued for, pursuant to the design of King William in the Treaty of Partition; and to that article of the grand alliance which was directed by the same glorious hand, at the beginning of this last war; viz., that all we should conquer in the Spanish West Indies should be our own. This was with a true design that England and Holland should have turned their naval power, which was eminently superior to that of France, to the conquest of the Spanish West Indies; by which the channel of trade and return of bullion, which now enriches the enemies of both, had been ours; and as the wealth, so the strength, of the world had been in Protestant hands. Spain, whoever had it, must then have been dependent upon us. The house of Bourbon would have found it so poor without us, as to be scarce worth fighting for; and the people so averse to them, for want of this commerce, as not to make it ever likely that France could keep it.

"This was the foundation I ever acted upon with relation to the peace. It is true, that when it was made, and could not be otherwise, I thought our business was to make the best of it; and rather to inquire what improvements were to be made of it, than to be continually exclaiming at those who made it; and where the objection lies against this part, I cannot see. While I spoke in this manner, I bore infinite reproaches from clamouring pens, of being in the French interest, being hired and bribed to defend a bad peace, and the like; and most of this was upon a supposition of my writing, or being the author of, abundance of pamphlets, which came out every day, and which I had no hand in. And indeed, as I shall observe again, this was one of the greatest pieces of injustice that could be done me, and which I labour still under, without any redress: that, whenever any piece comes out which is not liked, I am immediately charged with being the author; and very often the first knowledge I have had of a book being published, has been from seeing myself abused for being the author, in some other pamphlet, published in answer to it."

This being the state of things at this time (1713), De Foe gave up writing altogether, except in his Review; but not, I think, till

after he had written-1. "An Answer to the Question that Nobody thinks of, viz., But what if the Queen should die? London, printed for J. Baker, 1713: pp. 44."-2. "Reasons against the Succession of the House of Hanover; with an Inquiry how far the Abdication of King James, supposing it to be legal, ought to affect the Person of the Pretender. Si populus vult decipi, decipiatur. London, printed for J. Baker, 1713: pp. 45."-3. "And what if the Pretender should come? or, some Considerations of the Advantages and real Consequences of the Pretender's possessing the Crown of Great Britain. London, printed for J. Baker, 1713: 8vo."

From a very careful perusal of two of these most important tracts, "An Answer to a Question that Nobody thinks of, viz., But what if the Queen should die?" and "Reasons against the Succession of the House of Hanover," I have arrived at the conclusion that De Foe's object was not only honest, but truly patriotic, in writing those two pamphlets. I mention the two only, because the third I have not seen; for be it remembered, that many of De Foe's more exciting small productions of the pen have been destroyed; so that it is very difficult to obtain a sight of them on any terms. His object was to arouse the people of England to a sense of their danger; in the event of the death of the Queen. This was done only a very few months before the Queen did die; and at a time when her Majesty's health was in a very precarious condition; and all the world were running mad with jure-divino and passiveobedience doctrines, enunciated from the pulpit and the press.

As a Mr. William Benson started an impeachment, and as one of our judges stated in open court, that De Foe had subjected himself to be hanged, drawn, and quartered as a traitor; and as I believe De Foe to have been a truly honest man, and fearless patriot, I am compelled to give a larger amount of extract from these books than I otherwise should have given; to prove the honesty as well as disinterested patriotism of the writer. Mind! De Foe in Newgate on a charge of high treason is my defence for long extracts; feeling, as I do, that short ones would not do justice to an honest man, and a great patriot.

"That we are to have a peace; or that the peace is made

[Utrecht]; what sort of peace; or how it has been brought about; these are questions the world begins to have done with; they have been so much, so often, and to so little purpose, bandied about, and tossed like a shuttlecock from one party to another, the parties themselves begin to want breath to rail and throw scandal. Roper and Ridpath throw dirt at one another so long, and grope into so many jakes up to their elbows to find it, that they stink now in the nostrils of their own party. They are become perfectly nauseous to read; the nation is surfeited of them; and the people begin to be tired with ill using one another. Would any tolerable face appear upon things, we might expect the people would be inclined to be easy; and were the eyes of some great men open, they may see this was the opportunity they never had before; to make the nation easy, and themselves safe. The main thing which agitates the minds of men now, is the Protestant succession and the Pretender. Much pains have been taken on both sides, to amuse the world about this remaining dispute: one side to make us believe it is safe, and the other to convince us it is in danger. Neither side hath been able to expatiate upon the part they affirm. Those who say the Protestant succession is secure, have not yet shown us any step taken since these new transactions, for its particular security. Those who say it is in danger, have not so clearly determined, even among themselves, from what particular head of public management that danger chiefly proceeds. Both these uncertainties serve to perplex us, and to leave the thing more undetermined than consists with the public ease of the people's minds. To contribute something to that ease, and bring those whose place it is to consider of ways to make the people easy in this case, this work is made public.

"Is there any real danger of the Protestant succession? Is there any danger that the Pretender shall be brought in upon us? Is there any danger of Popery and tyranny by restoring the son, as they call him, of abdicated King James? It is well known that there are some people among us, who are so far from allowing that there is any such danger as the said question mentions, that they will have it to be a token of disaffection to the government to put

the question; and are for loading whoever shall offer to start such a question, with characters and party marks odious to good men; such as incendiary, promoter of discontent, raiser of faction, divider of the people, and the like: names which the writer of these sheets, at the same time, both contemns and abhors. He cannot see that he is any enemy to the Queen in inquiring, as diligently as possible, whether there are any attempts to depose her, or dangerous prospects of bringing in the hated rival of her glory and dominion. It is so far from that, that it is apparently the duty of every true subject of her Majesty to inquire seriously, whether the public peace, the Queen's safety, her throne, or her person is in any danger from the wicked design of her and her people's enemies. Wherefore, and for the joint concern every Protestant Briton has in this thing, I shall make no difficulty, plainly and seriously to state, and to answer this previous question, viz., whether there is any danger of the Protestant succession from the present measures, and from the present people concerned? I am not ignorant of what has been said by some, to prove that the present ministry cannot be suspected of having any view to the Pretender in any of their measures. The best reason which I have seen given upon that subject is, that it is not their interest; and that, as we have not found them fools that are blind to their own interest, so neither have we found them to be such fools as not to understand or pursue it. This we find handled sundry ways, by sundry authors, and very much insisted upon as a foundation for us to build upon. We shall give our thoughts upon it with plainness, and without fear or favour.

“Good manners requires we should speak of the ministry with all due regard to their character and persons. This is a tract designed to inquire seriously of a weighty and essential, not a trifling thing which requires but a trifling examination; nor shall it be handled here with satire and scurrility. We approve neither of the flatteries of one side, nor the insultings of the other. We shall readily and most willingly join with those who are of opinion, that it is not the interest of the ministry to be for the Pretender; and that the ministry are not blind to or careless of their own interest; and, consequently, that the ministry cannot be for the Pretender.