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to them were adopted. The Queen refolved to adhere to the engagements of the late King, and to prosecute, with vigour, a war undertaken to reprefs the ambition of France. This refolution was extremely agreeable to the nation. An alarm for the Proteftant religion, together with a national antipathy to France, rendered the English, in general, impatient for controlling the extenfion of her power over the monarchy of Spain, and the merchants and manufacturers were no less cordial in approving of the refolutions of the court, from a jealoufy of lofing one of the most lucrative branches of their commerce, fhould that kingdom fall under the dominion of the Houfe of Bourbon.

"The concurrence," fays the author, "of fo many interests, in favour of war, overruled a difpofition naturally mild and peaceable, and rendered her Majefty favourable to that fyftem of policy which was bequeathed by a predeceffor, to whose sentiments she was, in other points, but little partial. It can hardly be fuppofed that the Queen was ever cordially reconciled to the idea of excluding her own family from the throne; but she trembled at the apprehenfion of her own premature and violent degradation, which was affociated with her brother's fuccefs, under the aufpices of the French King. Nor, in judging of her conduct, would it be fair to exclude the influence of more honourable and confcientious motives. To the Proteftant intereft fhe was fervently devoted, and if fhe ever indulged any wish for devolving the fucceffion upon her natural heir, fhe certainly meant to accomplish it under fuch restrictions as fhe deemed ample fecurities for her favourite religion. But, to obtain them, it was neceffary that her brother fhould renounce the councils, and be feparated from the alliance, of a Prince, whofe intrigues were no lefs formidable to the religion than to the independence of England."

But the influence of the Earl and Countefs of Marlborough was one of the most powerful caufes which determined the Queen to embrace the confederacy. As these perfonages occupy fo important a part of the hiftory of Queen Anne, the author gives an account of the fource of their influence, and its ftate at the commencement of her reign:

"Of all the caufes which confpired to attach the Queen to the confederacy, none had a more powerful fway than the advice of Lord and Lady Churchill, who maintained an unrivalled afcendancy over her affections and conduct. In all the domeftic quarrels in which the Royal family had been embroiled during the preceding reign, Lord Churchill warmly efpoufed the interest of the Princefs, and facrificed immediate preferment to the profpect of ample compenfation from her future patronage. He was now about to enter upon the harvest of his hopes, when the juncture of events extended them beyond the utmost stretch of his early fpeculations. While the approach of a continental

continental war multiplied the channels of Royal munificence, his infinuating addrefs, his capacity for negociation, his matchless talents as a General, enfured a pre-eminence, to which he never could have afcended during the period of public tranquillity. Although Lord Churchill began his political career as a partizan of the Tories, yet the incidents of fortune, and a fympathy in difappointments, had often, during the late reign, induced him to concur with the measures of the Whigs, and to avail himfelf of their protection. At the acceffion of the Queen he flood on that ambiguous ground which encouraged both the contending parties to entertain hopes of appropriating to themfelves the decided advantage arifing from his influence with the court. While his first connections, and the prejudices of the Sovereign, avowed by her preferring the Tories in the new arrangements, infpired them with the affured confidence of engroffing the patronage of her favourite, the alliances which he had contracted with fome of the principal families of the Whigs, the declared attachment of his lady to their principles, and, above all, the complexion of political meafures, removed the dread of their being doomed to a complete and lafting profcription."

The Earl of Rochefter ftrenuously oppofed the refolution taken by the Privy Council for committing England as a principal in the continental war, but being fupported by a few of his friends in this opinion, his oppofition only proved the occafion of dividing them, and gradually paved the way for the returning credit and influence of the Whigs.

The Earl of Marlborough was appointed Captain General, and was fent, as Ambaffador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, to the Hague, to give her Majefty's fanction to the alliance concluded by King William, and to concert measures for opening the campaign. The import of the Earl's inftructions, and the addrefs and prudence with which he discharged his commission, re-animated the drooping fpirits of that party in Holland, which had always abetted the fchemes of King William, and feafonably counteracted the infidious artifices now employed by Barré, the French refident at the Hague, for distracting their councils, and alienating them from the friendship of England. A convention was held at the Hague on the 31st of March, 1702, in conformity to the terms of the grand alliance, when it was fettled that war fhould be declared against France, on the fame day, by the Queen of England, the Emperor, and the States."

Although the feries of public meafures, hitherto pursued, were confonant to the political fyftem of King William, yet fome incidents occurred which wounded the feelings of thofe who cherished a veneration for his character, and, at the fame time, brought a ftain upon the honour of the English nation.

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The popular joy, upon the Queen's acceffion, was accompanied with expreffions of contempt and infult towards the memory of her predeceffor. Publications were circulated, tending to the reproach of his government, and to the difparagement of thofe principles which formed the bafis of the revolution. While fuch indignities did not meet with that rebuke and chaflifement which they were thought by the Whigs to require, the court appeared to them remifs in thofe teftimonies of esteem and gratitude which they deemed due to the rank and character of one whom they confidered as the illuftrious inftrument of national deliverance. Although King William was not addicted to perfonal extravagance, yet the difcharge of confiderable arrears, arifing from the current expences of his houfehold, devolved upon the voluntary juftice of his fucceffor. With this new court many of his creditors remained clamorous and unfatisficd. As if it had been to apologize for the indifference with which the Queen tolerated thefe violations of decorum, the probity of her relation was arraigned; and it was confidently afferted, by perfons connected with the court, that he had formed a plan to bereave her of the fucceffion, by transferring it, immediately after his own demife, to the Elector of Hanover. The Houfe of Lords, with a laudable zeal for vindicating the honour of King William, appointed a committee to fearch his repofitories; and it having appeared from their report that the allegation was deftitute of any fhadow of proof, it was voted falfe and villainous; and her Majefty was requested to give directions for profecuting the authors and publishers of it. The Parliament was prorogued on the 25th of May, and diffolved a few weeks before its expiration, on the 2d of July.

The feveral declarations of war published by the courts of Vienna, England, and the States, were founded upon the French King's breach of faith, and their indifpenfible obligations, arifing from former treaties, and from their common intereft, to join their force for preferving the balance of power in Europe, endangered by his ufurpation of the Spanish monarchy. The acknowledgement of the right of the_fon of James to the crown of England was fpecified in the English declaration as a grofs indignity, on the part of Louis, to the Queen and the nation.

The Emperor complained of wrongs deeply affecting the intereft of all the branches of his family. The dominions of Spain, the juft inheritance of the Archduke Charles, had been feized in violation of the moft folemn treaties; and thofe countries in Italy, which were the patrimonial right of the archducal family, and the fiefs of the Emperor, had been invaded by the armies of France. Nor were even his German territories

territories fecure against the all-grafping ambition of Louis, who had provided Magazines, and erected forts, in Cologne and Liege, which he filled with his own troops.

The manifefto of the States reprefented, that their deftruction had been destined by the French King, from the moment of his affuming the reins of government; that he had made repeated attempts for carrying it into execution, by the invafion of their country; that he never had relinquished this defign, as appeared from his having violated all thofe articles of the treaty of Ryfwick, by which their fecurity was pro-. vided for; that, by diflodging the Dutch troops from the garrifons of the Netherlands, and fupplying their place with his own, the States were deprived of a fafe barrier, which they had purchased by two bloody and expensive wars; that the French King exercifed abfolute authority in the Netherlands, and was ftretching his power to a degree inconfiftent. with the independence of furrounding ftates; that, not fatiffied with the enlargement of his territorial empire, he was taking fteps for engroffing the commerce of Europe, by feizing all the harbours of Spain, Naples, Sicily, the Mediterranean iflands, and all the Spanish Indies, encroachments ruinous to the trade, the opulence, and the political existence of the United States.

Having exhibited general and fpecial reafons which induced the feveral members of the combination against France to enter into the grand alliance, he proceeds to a statement of the ftrength of the contending parties at the commencement of the conteft, gives a concife, but accurate, account of the operations of Marlborough's firft campaign, and of the naval operations of England; and a brief fketch of the conduct and progrefs of Prince Eugene, and inferior imperial leaders. Having conducted the armies and fleets to winter quarters, he proceeds to internal politics.

(To be continued.)

ART. II. Difcourfes of the Hon. and Rev. William Bromley Cadogan, A. M. late Rector of St. Luke's, Chelfea; Vicar of St. Giles's, Reading; and Chaplain to the Right Hon. Lord Cadogan. To which are now added, fhort Obfervations on the Lord's Prayer, and Letters to feveral of his Friends. The Whole collected into one Volume, with Memoirs of his Life. By Richard Cecil, A. M. Minifter of St. John's Chapel, Bedford Row. 8vo. Pp. 570. Price 75. Rivingtons, London, 1798.

SOME

minifters in this kingdom have, for many years, arrogated to themselves the peculiar title of GOSPEL

PREACHERS,

PREACHERS, as characteristic of the amazing efficacy of their doctrines to procure falvation for their followers. Thefe teachers pride themselves as being the only true members of the Church of England, who adopt the faith contained in her articles and her homilies, or confcientiously read the Book of Common Prayer, as by law established. To prove these affertions, we extract the fubfequent paffage from this publication, relative to the late Rev. WILLIAM ROMAINE, Rector of St. Andrew, Wardrobe, and St. Ann, Blackfriars :-

"When he first began, the number of those who PREACHED THE GOSPEL, and CHURCHES open to them, were few indeed; it might confift of UNITS, it increased afterwards to tens, and then to hundreds, and, before he died, he had a lift of above FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE,* for whom he could pray as FELLOW LABOURERS with himself, in the word and in doctrine. He conftantly remembered them in his prayers, and fet apart one day in the week, which he called his Litany-day, and which, I believe, was generally Friday, when he mentioned them every one by name before the throne of grace. The CHURCH of ENGLAND, then, has loft a great FRIEND, a steady and a praying friend, in Mr. Romaine; and you will do well to try your beft to make amends for his lofs, and to follow his faith in this particular. The prayer of faith availeth, and, waiting, as well as praying, faith did wonders for this excellent man; he lived to fee MANY DOORS OPENED to him, which were SHUT against him; and was not only himself ftablished, ftrengthened, fettled, after he had fuffered for a while, but placed in a most respectabie fituation, as Rector of this parish, in which he has difcharged his duty with great fidelity and usefulness, and, his work being ended, is gone out of the world with as much credit as ever man left it, to give an account of himself unto God."

This charge is precife, decifive, and clear. It is made by the leaders of thefe fchifmatics. It was written by Mr. Cadogan, delivered by him before the fociety, and is now printed under the fanétion of Mr. Cecil's name, and with his concurrence. It is unequivocally ftated, that the general body of the Clergy do not preach the gospel, and that they are not true members of the Church of England. We have long been acquainted with thefe circumstances, and have often heard fimilar affertions, and continual infinuations, to this purport, from the pulpits where Cecil, Newton, Forster, Gunn, and Goode, have spoken. But now, "Litera fcripta manet," they have publicly brought forward this heinous accufation,

Blafphemy, fince alluding to the witneffes of our Saviour's Refurrection.

+ Church doors.-REVIEWER.

and

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