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The PREFACE.

and Alterations. This laft was called the CounterProject; and was the Measure whereby the Duke of M h and my Lord T manded and Instructed to proceed, in Negotiating -d were Coma Treaty of Barrier with the States. I have added a Tranflation of this Counter-Project, in thofe Articles where it differs from the Barrier Treaty, that the Reader, by comparing them together, may judge how punctually thofe Negotiators obferved their Instructions. I have likewife fubjoined the Sentiments of Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Count de Sinzendorf, rela ting to this Treaty, written (I suppose) while it was negotiating. And lastly, I have added a Copy of the Reprefentation of the British Merchants at Bruges, fignifying what Inconveniencies. they already felt, and further apprehended, from this Barrier-Treaty.

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Some Remarks on the Barrier-Treaty.

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Magine a reasonable Perfon in China, were reading the following Treaty, and one who was ignorant of our Affairs, or our Geography; He would conceive their High Mightincffes the States-General, to be fome vaft powerful Common-wealth, like that of Rome, and Her Majesty to be a Petty Prince, like one of thofe to whom that Republick would fometimes fend a Diadem for a Prefent, when they behaved themfelves well; otherwise could depofe at pleafure, and place whom they thought fit in their ftead. Such a Man would think, that the States had taken our Prince and Us into their Protection; and in return honoured us fo far, as to make use of our Troops as fome fmall Affiftance in their Conquefts, and the enlargement of their Empire, or to prevent the Incurfions of Barbarians upon fome of their out-lying Provinces. But how muft it found in an European Ear, that Great Britain, after maintaining a War for fo many Years, with fo much Glory and Succefs, and fuch prodigious Expence; After faving the Empire, Holland, and Portugal, and almoft recovering Spain, fhould, towards the close of a War, enter into a Treaty with Seven Dutch Provinces, to fecure to them a Dominion larger than their own, which She had con

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quered for them; to undertake for a great deal more, without ftipulating the leaft Advantage for Her felf; and accept as an Equivalent, the mean Condition of those States affifting to preserve her Queen on the Throne, whom, by God's Affiftance, fhe is able to defend against all Her Majefty's Enemies and Allies put together?

Such a wild Bargain could never have been made for Us, if the States had not found it their Interest to ufe very powerful Motives to the chief Advisers, (I fay nothing of the Perfon immediately employ'd); and if a Party here at Home had not been refolved, for Ends and Purposes very well known, to continue the War as long as they had any occafion for it.

The Counter-Project of this Treaty, made here at London, was bad enough in all Confcience: I have faid fomething of it in the Preface: Her Majesty's Ministers were inftruted to proceed by it in their Negotiation. There was one Point in that Project which would have been of Confequence to Britain, and one or two more, where the Advantages of the States were not fo very exorbitant, and where fome Care was taken of the House of Auftria. Is it poffible that our good Allies and Friends could not be brought to any Terms with us, unless by ftriking out every Particular that might do Us any good, and adding ftill more to Them, where fo much was already granted? For instance, the Article about demolishing of Dunkirk, furely might have remained,

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remained, which was of fome Benefit to the States, as well as of mighty Advantage to Us, and which the French King has lately yielded in one of his Preliminaries, tho' clogged with the Demand of an Equivalent, which will owe its difficulty only to this Treaty.

But let me now confider the Treaty it felf: Among the one and twenty Articles of which it confifts, only two have any relation to Us, importing that the Dutch are to be Guarantees of our Succeffion, and are not to enter into any Treaty till the Queen is acknowledged by France. We know very well that it is in Confequence the Intereft of the States, as much as ours, that Britain fhould be governed by a Proteftant Prince. Befides, what is there more in this Guarantee, than in all common Leagues Offenfive and Defenfive between two Powers, where each is obliged to defend the other against any Invader with all their Strength? Such was the Grand Alliance between the Emperor, Britain and Holland, which was, or ought to have been, as good a Guarantee of our Succeffion, to all Intents and Purposes, as this in the Barrier-Treaty; and the mutual Engagements in fuch Alliances have been always reckoned fufficient, without any separate Benefit to either Party.

It is, no doubt, for the Intereft of Britain, that the States fhould have a fufficient Barrier against France: But their High Might ineffes, for fome few Years paft, have put a different

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Meaning upon the word Barrier, from what it formerly used to bear, when applied to Them. When the late King was Prince of Orange, and commanded their Armies againft France, it was never once imagined that any of the Towns taken, fhould belong to the Dutch they were all immediately delivered up to their lawful Monarch; and Flanders was only a Barrier to Holland, as it was in the Hands of Spain rather than France. So in the Grand Alliance of 1701, the feveral Powers promifing to endeavour to recover Flanders for a Barrier, was understood to be the recovering thofe Provinces to the King of Spain: But in this Treaty, the Style is wholly changed: Here are about twenty Towns and Forts of great Importance, with their Chatellanies and Dependencies (which Dependencies are likewife to be enlarged as much as poffible) and the whole Revenues of them, to be under the perpetual Military Government of the Dutch, by which that Republick will be entirely Mafters of the richelt Part of all Flanders. And upon any Appearance of War, they may put their Garrifons into any other Place of the Low-Countries; and further, the King of Spain is to give them a Revenue of four hundred thoufand Crowns a Year, to enable them to maintain thofe Garrisons.

Why fhould we wonder, that the Dutch are inclined to perpetuate the War, when, by an Article in this Treaty, the King of Spain is not to poffefs one fingle Town in the Low-Countries,

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