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BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 1891 
 
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D I S C O U R S lE 
 
 ON r B El 
 
 CON D U C T 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 GOVERNMENT 
 
 O F 
 
 G R E A "T ^ E R I T A I N, 
 
 IN RESPECT TG 
 
 NEUTRAL NATIONS, 
 
 DURING THE 
 
 PRESENT WAR, 
 The SECOND EDITION, 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed for R, Griffiths in Pater-nofttr Retjs. M.DCC.LIX. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924005230457 
 
[3] 
 
 O N T H E 
 
 CONDUCT 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 Government of Great-Britain. 
 
 IT is unhappy for the Race of Mankind, that thofc 
 CoUedive Bodies, into which it is divided, fhould 
 be lubje<3: to the fame Paffions and Animofities, 
 as the Individuals, of which They are compofed, and 
 not have, like them, fome Vifible Superior Tribunal, 
 which might hear and compofe their DifTenfions : This 
 might perhaps prevent thofe Appeals, which are too fre- 
 quently made to the Sword, where the Events of War 
 alone decide the Caufe, and the Sentence, which pafleth 
 on the Tranfgreflbr, brings alfo to the injured Party a 
 large Share of Misfortunes, in the Execution of it. The 
 Welfare of Mankind however requires, that this necefTary 
 Evil fhould be confined within the narro weft Bounds ; and 
 that a Trial, where the Proceedings are fo deftriidive, 
 fhould "be made as fhort, and as equitable, as the Nature 
 iof it will admit: It is the duty therefore of thofe, who are 
 
 B 2 not 
 
C 4 T 
 2iot called upon by fome jufi: Motive to concern thems- 
 elves in the Difpute, to be extreamly attentive to their 
 GonduiS, that They may not thereby contribute to ren- 
 der the Conteft unequal: As far as- Man is concerned, it 
 is Force alone, on vv^hich the Decifion depends ; to add 
 therefore by any means to the Power of one Party,, is, 
 manifeft Injuftice to the Other, and befidcs is highly- 
 injurious to the reft of Mankind j fince it neceffarily: 
 tends to fpread Difcord among Nations, and from a fin- 
 gle Spark. of Contention to light up a general Flame. 
 
 It might be hoped, that a Duty like this, inforced: 
 by fuch. powerful Motives, would be univerfally oI>- 
 ferved; and that no private Inferior. Intereft could in- 
 duce any Power to tranfgrefs it: i£ fome little Profits'^ 
 the Objedl of greedy Individuls, fhould perhaps ariie 
 from the Violation of it ;, can a Nation in general reap 
 a Benefit; where . Public Juftice receives, a Wound? 
 To a6t in oppofition to This in hopes of fome prefent 
 Advantange, is, to eftablifh a dangerous Example, wJiick 
 may hereafter prove injurious fo Ourfelves ; it is to 
 untie, the only Band which, holdeth Nations happily- 
 together,, and to. banifh mutual Confidence fi-om the-- 
 \?arious.. Communities of. the Worlds. 
 
 SucE however hath been the miftaken Condu<a of 
 fome Neutral States during the prefent War. — France 
 aonfented to. the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappele, that Sh,e 
 
 might: 
 
[ 5 I 
 
 might the more fecurely purfue the Objedls of her 
 Ambition; and that under the Difguife of Peace She 
 might extend and fortify her Poffeflions in a Part of 
 the World, where her Arms in time of open War had 
 always, till then, been unfuccefsful :. For this Purpofe 
 She had artfully contrived, that the American Rights 
 jQiould not be determined by that Treaty, but be leffe 
 ta the Confideration of CommiffarieSy to whofe De- 
 cifions She never meant to pay any Regard. — Canada 
 was her Vulnerable Part : This therefore She refolved 
 firft to ftrengthen^ and then to enter again with more 
 Confidence into. War r while We were employed in^ 
 debating our Rights, She took more effe<9:ual Means to 
 end the Conteft in her Favour ; She fent frequent Sup- 
 plies to America -^ She feized and fbrtilied the Pafles 
 and Navigable Rivers of that Country,, drove the 
 Englifh from their Poffeflions, and built Forts on the 
 Dominions of Great-Britain t When the Delign was. 
 thus, far advanced, England -faw it in all its Terrors,^. 
 and with Spirit determined to fupport her jufl Rights: 
 Though forfaken now in her Diftrefs by thofe Allies^ 
 who owe their Independaney to her Protediony She 
 feared not in fuch a Caufe ta ftand alone againfl allS 
 the Efforts of France ; She fent forth her. Naval 
 Strength, but the Enemy foon rendered the Attempts 
 of that ineffe6tual> by refolving never to try. its Force r 
 In what Manner was She now ta employ it ?-^— One 
 only Objedl remained worthy of its AttentioRj and that 
 
 wa^- 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
 was to deftroy the Trade of the Enemy, and to in- 
 tercept the Succours, which She fent to her Dominions 
 in America.— -Though this would not crufh at once 
 the Evil, it woUld flop at leaft the Sources, that fed 
 it, and might in the End contribute to induce the 
 Enemy to confent to a reasonable Peace. 
 
 France endeavoured again to obviate this Stroke by 
 her Policy. She took off the Tax of 50 Sous per 
 Ton, which She always chufes to keep on Foreign 
 Freightage : She opened even her American Ports, and 
 admitted other Countries to that choice Part of her 
 Commerce, which by her Maritime Regulations She 
 hath at other times fo ftri<aly referved to herfelft 
 Neutral Nations feized at once on the Advantage, and 
 opened to the Enemy new Channels far the Convey- 
 ance of thofe Riches, by which the War was to be 
 nurfed and protraded : Under the Banner of Friendfliip 
 they thus ferved the Caufe of the Adverfary, whofe 
 Wealth Secured by that Proted;ion would have paffed 
 fafe and unmolefted through our Fleets; if Britain 
 again railing her l^irit, had not relblved that by this 
 means her Naval Power fhould not be rendered ufelefs, 
 and feized on the Property of the Enemy, which She found 
 on board Neutral Ships. — It is well known however, 
 that her Condud in this refped: hath not been Uni- 
 . verfally approved, and that fome Neutral Nations think, 
 they have a Right to carry in their Veffels unmokfted 
 
 the 
 
[ 7 J 
 the Property of our Adverfaries. — As I here differ witH 
 them in Sentiment, This is the Point, on which I in- 
 tend to difcourfe. 
 
 Great and wife Governments have always been Jea- 
 lous of National Glory: It is an Adtive Principle,, 
 which propeHy cultivated, operates in Virtuous Adiions 
 through every Member of the State ; To preferve this 
 therefore in its Purity, is, the Duty of every one, 
 who loves his Country. — Can it then be wondered,, 
 that the Native of a Kingdom, always celebrated for 
 its Public Spirit, and its upright Faith, at a time,, 
 when thefe are called in doubt, fhould Intereft himfelf 
 in its Defence? No Indecent Charges (hall here be 
 urged againft other Countries, it is meant only to vin- 
 dicate the Honour of our Own : It is to be lamented, 
 that the Neceflity of Affairs fhould at fuch a Seafon 
 have given Occafion to this Difpute, particularly, with 
 that Ancient Ally of England, who hath fo often fought 
 with her under the fame Banner, in fupport of the juft 
 Rights and Privileges of Mankind : The Zeal of any Go- 
 vernment to encourage the Induftry of its People, is, 
 what a Britifh Pen can never difapprove : The Principle 
 is Noble, and merits even our Applaufe ; I only mean 
 to fhew, that the prefent Objed: of it is not juft. 
 
 I fhall therefore examine the ^ight, which Neutral 
 Powers claim in this refped:, firft, according to the 
 
 Law 
 3 
 
■[8] 
 
 Law of Nations, that is, according to thofe Principlei 
 of Natural Law, which are relative to tlie Condudl of 
 Nations, fuch as are approved by the Ableft Writers, 
 and pradifed by States the moft Refined. — -I fhall then 
 Gonfider the Alterations, which have been made in 
 this Right by thofe Treaties^ which have been fuper- 
 added to the Law of Nations, and which Commu- 
 nities, for their mutual Benefit, have jeftabliflied a- 
 mong themfelves. 
 
 The Right of Protection then muft have its Foun- 
 dation in fomc Law, and, jwhen confidered in relation 
 to any particular Cafe, It muft be founded on that 
 Law, by which the Interefts of the Parties Concerned 
 are generally determined, and which hath Force in that 
 Place, where the Right of Protedion is claimed. Thus 
 in the prefent Cafe, if Neutral Nations have any Right 
 to proted: the Property of the Enemy, It muft take its 
 Rife from thoie Laws, which are the eftablifhed Rules 
 of Conduft between Nations, and particularly on that 
 Element, where this Right is fu.ppofed to be exerted. 
 No Civil or Municipal Inftitutions, and much lefs the 
 Privileges arifing from them, can here take place ; they 
 have no Force but under the Dominion of thofe, who 
 agreed to their Eftablifhment. The Queftion then is — 
 How far according to the Law of Nations doth this Right 
 €>f Protedion extend? — To anfwer this clearly, vyemuft 
 
 obierve, 
 
 4 
 
[ 9 ] 
 
 obferve, that Governments can have fucceedcd to no other 
 Rights, but fuch, as their refpedive Members enjoyed in 
 a State of Individuality ; and that one Nation is now 
 to another, as it were in a State of Nature, that is, in 
 the fame Condition, in w^hich Man was to Man, before 
 They entered into Society ; the Right therefore of Pro- 
 tedion, which Individuals would have enjoyed in fuch 
 a Situation, is the fame, which Governments can claim 
 at prefent: — An Individual then in a State of Nature, 
 would have had an undoubted Right to proteft his own 
 Perfon and Property againft any Attack ;--^But if I am 
 engaged in Contention with another, would He then 
 have had a Right to protedt Him againft me ? — moft 
 certainly not ; — fince He would thereby deprive me of 
 a Right, which the Law of Nature, for my own Secu- 
 rity, would in fuch a Cafe give me, of feizing the Pro- 
 fperty of this my Enemy, and deftroying His Perfon ; 
 If He thought my Condud: manifeftly injurious, fo as 
 to call for general Refentment, He would on that ac- 
 count become my 'Enemy himfelf j but as long as he calls 
 himfelf a Neuter, to ad in this manner againft me would 
 be no lefs abfurd than unjuft : — 'Such therefore and no 
 more is the Right of Protedion, which Governments en- 
 joy at prefent in thofe Places, to which their own. Do- 
 minion doth not extend ; They have fucceeded to the 
 Rights only ^f -their refpedive Members J and by con- 
 fequence Thefe alone They can proted. 
 
 But 
 
[ lO ] 
 
 But it will be afked, — From whence then arifes the 
 Right, which Governments always enjoy of proteding 
 the Property of the Enemy within the Precinds of their 
 own Country ? — It is a Confequence of the Right of 
 Dominion ; unlefs , therefore their Dominion extends 
 over the Ocean, the Right of Protedion cannot there 
 take place : Dominion gives a Right of enading Laws, 
 of eflabHfhingnew Jurifdidions, and of making all, 
 (whether its own Subjeds or thofe of other Countries) 
 fubmit to thefe, who come within the Pale of its Power : 
 Here then the Trial, which the Law of Nations gives^ 
 is, as it were, fuperfeded ; and any Proceedings upon 
 it would of courfe be unjuft ; But as foon as you are 
 out of the Verge of this particular Jurifdidion, thie 
 Laws thereof, and the Privileges which attend them, 
 ceafe at once, and the general Laws of Nations again 
 have their Force : Here the Property even of an Ally 
 hath no other Protedion than what thefe Laws allow 
 it ; being joined therefore to the Goods of an Enemy, 
 it cannot communicate its Protedion to thefe, fince the 
 fame Law, which gives Security to the firft, allows you 
 to feize and deftroy the Latter. Thefe Reafonings are 
 exemplified by a Common Fad ; — Within the Pre- 
 cinds of the Pominion of any Government, you are 
 not at Liberty to fearch the Ships of any Country ; but 
 is not this Liberty univerfally and immemorially prac- 
 tifed over all on the main Sea ? and wherefore is this 
 
 Search 
 
[" ] 
 
 Search made, but that, according to the Law of Nations, 
 all are here anfwerable for what 1-hey may convey ? 
 
 There is fomething analogous to this in moft Civil 
 Governments. Few Countries are without fome Places, 
 which enjoy a Right of Protedtion from the general Laws 
 of the State, fuch as Palaces, Houfes of Religion, and 
 the like ; and this Right generally arifes from fome 
 Pretence to an excludve Jurifdidion ; as long therefore 
 2& any particular Property remains within the Verge of 
 thefe, however juftly it may. be the Object of the Law, 
 it is not fubje(ft to the Power of it; but fuppofe it con- 
 veyed from hence into the Public Roads, beyond the 
 Precin£ls of this particular Palace, or Convent ; the 
 Protedion it received would vanifh at once, and the 
 general Laws of the Community would fully then have 
 Force upon it. Thus the Protedion, which Govern- 
 ments can give within their Dominions, extends not to 
 the Sea : The Ocean is the Public Road of the Uni- 
 verfe, the Law of which is the Law of Nations, and 
 all, that pafs thereon^ are fubjed to it without either 
 Privilege or Exemption. 
 
 If this Manner of realbning fliould not clearly efta- 
 blifh my Point, I can appeal in fupport of it to the 
 Ableft Writers on Public Law, who will be found to 
 have decided the Queftion in my Favour. 
 
 C 2 And 
 
[ 12] 
 
 And firft I will produce the Tefllmony of that 
 learned Native of Delft, who wrote fo nobly on the 
 Freedom of Navigation to ferve his Ungrateful Coun- 
 try. In one of the Paflages, which are now before me, 
 it is remarkable, how much lie labours to give the 
 greateft Extent to the Rights of Commerce ; and yet 
 with all his laudable Byas to this favourite Point, He 
 is clearly of Opinion, that the Ship of a Neutral Na- 
 tion cannot proted the Property of an Enemy : He 
 manifeftly Implies f , that the VefTels* even of Allies,, 
 are fubjedl to Condemnation, on account of the Ene- 
 mies Property, with which they are laden ; when it ap- 
 pears, that this Property was put on board them with 
 the Confent of the Owners of the VefTels, but not 
 otherwife. His words are, " Neque Amicorum Naves, 
 in prsedam veniunt ob res Hoftiles, nifi. confenfu id 
 fadium fit Dominorum Navis j" and producing feveral 
 Authorities in confirmation of this Opinion, he after- 
 wards adds, " Alioqui res ipfe folae in praedam veniunt ;'* 
 but if the Enemies Property lliould be found Laden on: 
 board a Neutral Veffel, without the Connivance of the 
 Ovi^ner, in fuch Cafe, *' That Property alone, is Lavv- 
 *' ful Prize :" And fpeaking aga:in ia another Place on. 
 this Point, he fays, that if the Wrong done me by my 
 Enemy is manifeftly unjuft, and that any one by afford- 
 ing him Succours fhould encourage him in his Enmity 
 
 againft 
 
 t Gxotius de Jure Belli & Pacis, Lib, 3. C. 6. Sec, 6. inNotis. 
 
 (C 
 
 2 
 

 [ '3 ] 
 
 againft Me, *' jam non tantum civiliter tenebitur de 
 damno, fed & criminaliter, ut IS, qui Judici Immi- 
 nenti Re\im Manifeilum eximit f ." A fine and 
 
 animated Manner of expreffion, which fhews how clear 
 
 the Opinion of this great Author was upon the 
 
 Queftion* 
 
 To the Teftimony of Grotius I fhall add that of 
 Bynkerfhoek, a Native alfo of Holland, and whofe 
 Sentiments in poiint of Maritime Jurifprudence Bar- 
 beyrac often prefers even to thofe of the former ; and 
 what rnakes his Opinion at this time of great Import- 
 ance, is, that He wrote principally for the Ufc of the 
 Courts and States of the United Provinces, and gene- 
 rally confirms, what He advances, by their Judgments 
 and Refolutions. He fpeaks exprefsly in favour of my 
 Point : " Ratione confulta," fays He :}:, " non fum 
 *' qui videam, cur non liceret capere Res Hoftilea 
 " quamvis in Navi Axnicsi repertas, id enim capioj^ 
 *' quod Hoftium eft, quodque jure belli Vi6tori cedit." 
 " Upon attending to all the Reafons, which occur ta 
 " me on this Point, I cannot difcover why it fhould 
 '* not be lawful to take the Property of an Enemy,, 
 " though found on board the Ship of a Friend j for 
 '* I take that only which belongs to the Enemy, and. 
 " which by the Rules of War, is always ceded to the 
 
 " Captor.'* 
 
 f Grotius de -Jure Belli & Pads, Lib. 3. cap. i. §. 4. 
 
 J Bynkerfhoek Queftionum Juris Publici^ Lib. i, cap- 14.. 
 
[ '+] 
 
 " Captor." He then afligns this Reafon alfo for his 
 Opinion, that as it is lawful to flop on the Ocean any 
 VeiTel, though She carry the Colours of a Neutral 
 Nation, and to examine by her Papers, to whom 
 She really belongs ; and in cafe She appear to be the 
 Property of an Enemy, to feize her as Lawful Prize ; 
 fo he can fee no Caufe, why this Jlule fhould not ex- 
 tend to the Effefts, which any Ship may have on- 
 board; and, if the Goods of an Enemy fhould lie 
 there concealed, why They alfo by the Right of War 
 ■fhould not be taken and condemned : He even declares 
 it to be his Opinion, that the Owner of the Neutral 
 VefTel fhould in fuch a Cafe lofe the Price of the 
 Freight ; a Severity, which the Englifh Courts of Ad- 
 miralty never pradife, where fome particular Circum- 
 ftance doth not require it. 
 
 I fhall add to thefe the Opinion of Albericus Genti- 
 lis, efteemed the ableft Writer on National Jurifpru- 
 dence, till Grotius bore the Palm from Him ; and His 
 Fame in this refped was fo great, that Philip the Third 
 of Spain, appointed him perpetual Advocate for his 
 Subjedls in all Caufes, which they might have depend- 
 ing in tlie Courts of England. This Author ftates a 
 Cafe, where the Tufcans had taken the Effeds of the 
 Turks, at that time then: Enemies, which they found on- 
 board fome Englifh Ships ; and He determines, that the 
 Turkifh Goods are Legal Prize, but that the Captor 
 
 mufl 
 
[is] 
 
 muft pay the Freight to the Englifh. '' Tranfeunt 
 " Res," fays He*, "cum fua Causa, Vidor fucce- 
 " dit in locum Vidi, Tenetur Etrufcus pro toto 
 " Naulo." The Property of the Enemy pafTeth to 
 the Captor, but all its Confequences attend it 3 the 
 Goods juftly belong to him, but he muft pay to the 
 Freighter all, which the Enemy would have paid, to 
 whofe Right He hath in every refped fucceeded. 
 
 To enter particularly into the Sentiments of any 
 more Writers on this Subjed, would be equally tedious 
 and unneceflary : It will be fufEcient to mention the 
 Names alone of fuch others, as are in favour of the 
 Queftion. — Among thefe I find Heineccius f, no lefs 
 famed for his Knowledge of Laws, than for his Learn- 
 ing in what are the beft Expositors of Laws, the An- 
 tiquities of Governments. — Zouch +, whp for many 
 years prefided in the Courts of Admiralty of this 
 Kingdom*: — Voetjl,' — Zuarius§, — and Loccenius**, all 
 of them Writers of Reputation, and whofe Opinions 
 are univerfally relied on by all, who treat on Public 
 Jurifprudence. 
 
 I might 
 
 * Albericus Gentilis De Advocatipne Hifpanica, Lib. i. cap. 28. 
 ■f Heineccius de Navibus ob Vefturam Vecicarum Mercium Com- 
 miffis, cap. 2. §. 9. 
 
 ^ Zouch de Judicio inter GenteSj Pars 2. §. 8. cap* 6. 
 
 II Voet de Jure Militari, cap. 5. N. 21. 
 
 § Zuariusde Ufu Maris, Confii. 11. N. 6. 
 
 ** Loccenius de Jure Maritimo, Lib. 2. cap. 4. N. it. 
 
[ i6 ] 
 
 I might indeed h'avc wholly omitted the Sentiment^ 
 of thefe learned Individuals, fince we fhall find, th^t 
 Great Communities themfelves have confirmed our 
 Opinion both by their Laws and by their. Pradice.-^ 
 It will not be proper on this Occafion to look far back 
 into the early Annals of the European States ; whtn 
 the Government of thefe Were yet in their Infancy, 
 the Advantages of Commerce were but little under- 
 flood, and of courfe the Rights of it were not fuffi- 
 ciently regarded ; War was then too much the Seafdfi 
 of Rapine, and They, who entered into it, meant lefs 
 to conquer, than to plunder. As foon however as 
 fonie better Order began to be introduced into thefe 
 Affairs, it then became ufual for each Parfy at the 
 "CdntmenteUient of 'tlie War to f>ubli{h a -Declaration, 
 therein he fpeciified, what kind of Trade he would 
 permit Neutral Nations, to carry on with his Enemy ; 
 and the Regulations of thefe were fometimes attended 
 to, and fometimes not, either as the Interefl: of the 
 Party Neutral inclined him to fubmit tb the Reftraiht, 
 or as the Power of the Party Belligerant^ enabled him 
 to inforce the Execution of it. True it is, that the 
 Prohibitions, which thefe Declarations contain, are va- 
 'rious, according to the Sentiments of the different 
 Governments, which made them ; and on that ac- 
 count, they are perhaps too unfteady a Foundation, 
 on which to '^ftablifh a Right : There plainly however 
 
 follows 
 
[ '7] 
 
 follows from hence one powerful Inference in our 
 Favour, that not one can be found amid all this- 
 Variety, which ever permitted Neutral Nations to pro- 
 ted; the Property of the. Enemy : This .Branch ^of 
 Freightage they all agree unaninioufly to prohibit. 
 
 Th^ Free States of Italy cultivated firft the Interefts 
 of Commerce ; before any VefTel had as yet pafled the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and a fhorter Paffage had been 
 difcovered to the Eaft-Indies, Venice and Genoa drove 
 the principal Trade of the Worldj and difperfed the 
 Manufactures of Afia to the different Parts of Europe ; 
 It naturally followed, that thefe two Commercial Re- 
 publics fooneft underftood and defined the juft Rights 
 of Navigation ; Their Maritime Conftitutions ftill re- 
 main ; colleded in the ,ConfolatO: del Mare ; and the 
 Reputation of thefe was fo great, that as the Laws of 
 Rhodes were once to the Romans, and the Laws of 
 Oleron to the Weftern Parts of Europe, fo thefe Italian 
 Laws became of force univerfally to all the Nations,' 
 which border on the Mediterranean Sea : Thefe have de- 
 termined the Point exprefsly in our Favour ; In one 
 of them it is afferted, .." Se la Nave o Navilio, che 
 
 pigliato fara,. fufle di amici e le Mercantie, che lui. 
 
 portera, faranno d'inimici, lo Armiraglio della navej 
 
 " b del navilio armata, puo forzare & conftringere 
 
 " quel Patrone di quella Nave o di quel Navilio, 
 
 " che lui Pigliato hayera, che lui conquella fua Nave gli 
 
 ' D " debba 
 
 
ft 
 c< 
 « 
 
 (C 
 
 <c 
 
 [ '8 ] 
 
 " debba portare, quello, che di fuoi inimici fara ;" " If 
 the Ship or Veffel, which fhall be taken, belong to an 
 Ally, and the Merchandife, which £he has on-board, 
 belong to an Enemy, the Captain of the Armed Ship 
 may force or conftrain the Mailer of the Ship or Vef- 
 fel, which He has taken, to carry into fome Port for 
 " his Account, the Effects of His Enemy, which are 
 « on-board;" and it is afterwards added, that the 
 Mafter of the Veflel muft be paid for the Freightage of 
 the Goods <^ the Enemy -f. — And fuch was not only 
 the conftant Purport of their Laws j but the Practice of 
 their Governments was always conformable to it. 
 Their Hiftorian $ tells Us, that in the War betw^n the 
 Venetians and the Genoefe, the Ships of Grecians, who 
 were Neuters, were always fearched, and the Enemies^ 
 who lay hid in them, were taken out, and made 
 Prifoners^ 
 
 It is unneceflary to dwell longer in ^ving a further 
 Detail of the Condud: of every Nation in this Relpeft ; I 
 will therefore confine myfelf to thofe, who are moft con- 
 cerned in the prefent Difpute ; and will fbew, that as 
 England claims no more at prefent, than what She always 
 enjoyed, (o France and HoUand have conftantlyfupported 
 the fame Opinion, whenever their Intereft required it. 
 
 It 
 
 t U Confolata del Marc, c. 273. | Niccp. Grogoras, Lib. 9, 
 
[ t9] 
 
 It was in the Heign of the firft Edward, a Prince, 
 who thoroughly underftood the Rights of his Crown, 
 and had a Spirit equai to the Support of theni, that 
 Philip the Fair of France, being engaged in a War 
 with the Duke of Burgundy, the French Admiral 
 took the Ships of feveral Neutral Nations, which were 
 paffing through the Britifli Chatmel into the Ports of 
 Flanders : Great Complaints were made on this head, 
 and Commiffioners were appointed to examine into 
 the Condud of the Admiral ; a Libel was there pre- 
 fented againft him by almoft every trading Nation of 
 Europe; the Record f of this is ftill • remaining ; and 
 if Neutral Nations had at that time pretended to enjoy 
 the Right of protecting the Property of the Enemy, 
 and that the EfFedts, which they carried on-board their 
 Ships, could in no Cafe, except in that of Contraband, 
 be made Lawful Prize j We might well expe^, that 
 this Right would here have been claimed and aflerted ; 
 Fear could not in this cafe have prevented it ; for all 
 the World, except France, was on one Side of the 
 Queftion ; but the Record contains no liich Claim : 
 The Injured demand their Right on a different Prin- 
 ciple, becaufe the Ships were taken on thbfe Seas, 
 ** where the Kings of England (faith the Record) have 
 ** time out of Mind been in peaceable Poffeflion of 
 ** the Sovereign Lordfliip, with Power of appointing 
 
 D 2 " Laws, 
 
 f Sir Edward Coke's Fourth Inft. chap. 22. 
 
: [t2o ] 
 
 " LaM^s, of prohibiting the Ufe of Arms, of giving 
 " Protedion, as Occafion {hould require, and ap- 
 " pointing ajl things necfifTary for the maintaining 
 *' Peace, Juftice, and Equitj, among alj, as- well 
 " Foreigners,, as Katives, who Navigate thofe Seas 1|." 
 Here then the Right of Protedionjs placed on that 
 Bafis, on which alone it can properly be founded, the 
 Right of Dominion ; no other Pfetencq:* is offered ; and 
 if 1 may be allowed to fum up the Evidence, as their 
 .Names are written in the Record, *' Genue, .Cate- 
 " Ipigncy Efp^gne, Alemaine, Seland, Hoy land, Frife, 
 *' Denmarch, Norway, & plufours aukres lieux del 
 " Empier," all join here in afferting the Principle, on 
 which I firft eftabliflied my Argument. 
 
 The Annals of Edward the Third afford ftill other 
 Fads in favour of my Opinion : This Prince added to his 
 Military Accomplilhments great Sagacity in the Science 
 of Laws, and uncommon Attention to the Commercial 
 Interefls of his Kingdoms : In the fecond Year of his 
 Reign He confirmed the Charter of Privileges, which 
 fome of his Predeccffors had before granted to Foreign 
 Merchants, and particularly to thofe of the Hanfe- 
 Towns f, who were at that time the greateft Freighters 
 of the Weftern Parts of Europe : This Inftrument may 
 well be confidered as a fort of Maritime Regulation, 
 
 by 
 
 a See all this more fully dated in the Record, 
 t Rymer's Fcedera, torn. 4, p. 3^61. 
 
[21 ] 
 
 by which England meant to dired her Conduft at that 
 time in Affairs of this Nature : In this, Liberty of 
 Navigation is fully confirmed ; Foreign Merchants are 
 allowed to carry their Goodsj whether.purchafed within 
 the Kingdom, or without, ^VQuocunque voluerint ;" 
 but with this Exception, " praeterquam ad Terras no- 
 ^ torio^uni & manifeftorum hoftium Regni noftri J;'* 
 and fome Qflfences being afterwards comniitted ^gairifl: 
 this Charter in the fucceeding Wars,; It was again re- 
 newed in the fame manner in the 6th Year of this 
 Reign: In both thefe Inftanqes the Exception is .ex- 
 prefs, th0;t no Trade whatfbever fhould be permitted 
 with the Enemy ; but this good King, perhaps through 
 a Principle of Juftice, and his ardent Love to Com- 
 merce, feerns to have pra£tifed this Right with more 
 Moderation, that is, in much the fame manner, in 
 which the Government of England claims it at prefent: 
 For in his Wars with Scotland, fome Ships of Great- 
 Yarmouth having taken feveral Veffels belonging to 
 the Burgefles of the Town of Bruges, " Pr^etendentes 
 " Bona in iifdem exiftentia fuiffe-hominum de Scotia ;" 
 he direded his Precept to the Sheriff of Norfolk f , 
 commanding him to fet at Liberty, and to caufe full 
 Reftitution to be made of the Ships, and of fuch of 
 the Goods, as belonged to the Merchants of Bruges ^ 
 and that he fhould detain only that Part of the Cargo, 
 which was the Property of the Scotch, his Enemies* 
 
 We 
 
 J Rymei's Fcedera, torn. 4. p. 516. t Ibid. p. 328. 
 
[ " ] 
 
 We fiad alfo, tHat when Queeii Elizal«th was engaged 
 in War with Spain, She feized feveral VefTels of the 
 Hanfe-'Towns, which were entering into the Port of 
 Lifbon; and She urged among other Arguments the 
 Charter above-mentioned in defence of her Ck>ndu<^ : 
 She was in this refpe£l fo fatisfied of the Juftice of Her 
 Caufe, that the Threats of the German Empire and 
 other Neutral Powers could not oblige Her to relia- 
 quifti Her Right ; and tho' She might perhaps on this 
 Occafion give too great Extent to it ; yet it is remark- 
 able, that Monfieur de Thou, who was himfelf a great 
 Lawyer, and had long fat in the firft Court of Judica- 
 ture in France, even, when he blames the Condudt of 
 the Queen in this Affair, pafTeth his Cenfure upon it 
 not as defective in JuAice, but only in Policy : " In 
 ** tarn alieno tempore," fays He -f-, " Rerum pruden- 
 ** tiores exiflimabant, imprudenter fadum efTe a Regi- 
 na & ab Anglis." 
 
 X( 
 
 We have as yet mentioned the Condud: alone of 
 thofe Englifh Princes, who knew how to aflert their 
 Rights, and who ruled their People with Glory ; but 
 we fhall find that even under a Weaker Government, 
 and in a Later Period, this Right of feizing the Pro- 
 perty of the Enemy found on-board Neutral Ships 
 hath been fully claimed and pra<Stifed : When Villiers 
 Duke of Buckingham prefided over the Naval Affairs 
 
 of 
 ■f Thuanus, Lib. 96. 
 
[ 23 ] 
 of England, and to gratify his own private Refentments 
 had engaged his Country in a War againft Spain, the 
 BritiQi Fleet under Pennington took feveral French 
 Veflels, to the Number of between Thirty and Forty, 
 which had Spanifh Effeds on-board ; They were 
 brought into the Ports of England, and our Courts o£ 
 Admiralty condemned the Goods of the ^aniards, as^ 
 Legal Prize, but ordered the Veffels of the French to 
 be releafed,, and the Freightage to be paid to them* 
 This ConduA was avowed by the Court of England,- 
 and a full Reprefentation of it tranfmitted by the Lord- 
 High- Admiral to the Adminiftration of France r About 
 fifteen Years after this,, when the Fienth themfeives- 
 were at War with Spain, the Navy of France took a 
 great many Englifli Ships, which were laden with, the: 
 Property of Spaniards ; and their Courts of Adiniralty. 
 condemned not only the Enemy's E&<as, but the 
 Englifli Ships,, which conveyed them r The Earl of 
 Leicefter, then Ambail^dor in France, made great 
 Complaints on this head; He was anfwered, that the 
 Englifli always adbed in the fame manner ;. and thi^ 
 Reply being tianfmitted to the Earl of Northumber- 
 land, at that time Loud High-Admiral, He confultedl 
 upon it Sir Henry Martin, the beft Engliih Civilian. o£ 
 that Age, and the moft verfed in Maritime Jurifdidtion ;; 
 and by his Advice he returned to Lord Eeiceffer the- 
 folio wir^ Anfwer, which at the fame time proves the* 
 confl:ant Opinion,, and fliews the Moderation* of the: 
 I Britiflii 
 
[ 24 ] 
 Biitifli Admiralty on this Point : " That," fays He f, 
 **^ which is alledged by the French to be pradifed in 
 " our Court of Admiralty, is abfolutely denied ; and 
 *' that neitlier the Law oor Praiftice hath ever befen 
 " here to confifcate the Goods of Friends for having 
 " Enemies Goods among them : We are fo far from 
 "doing any fuch A61: of Injuftice^ as when in time 
 ** of War we have met with any fuch Prizes, the 
 "Freight hath always been paid by the Taker for 
 " thofe Enemies Goods^ that He took, and thofe,' that 
 " belonged unto Friends, were duly reftored to them." 
 
 Thus much may fuffice to fhew the Condu(9: of the 
 People of England : — Hiftory will alfo prove to Us, 
 that Holland hath always exerted the fame Right : — 
 At the beginning almoft of that War, vvhich the 
 United Provinces fuftained in fiipport of their Liberties, 
 and even before their Sovereignty was as yet fully 
 eftabliflied, the People of Zealand fcrupled not to 
 carry into their Ports all fuch Neutraf VefTels J, as 
 were conveying the Effefts of the Enemy, under 
 pretended Names from Flanders into Spain ; and the 
 Courts of Admiralty of that Province adjudged the 
 Spanifli Property to be Legal Prize; and tho' they 
 
 releafed 
 
 t The Sidney Papers, Algernoon Earl of Nprthuniberland to Robert 
 Earl of Leicefter, Nov. 5, 1640. 
 
 X Hiftoria Belgica Metereni, Lib. 5. Cambdcn, Anno 1575. Zouch. 
 de Judicio inter Genfes, Pars 2. §. 8. c. 6. 
 
[ =5 ] 
 
 Teleafed the Neutral Ships, They made them no Com- 
 pcrifation for the Freightage ; among thefe there were 
 ibme'Englifh Veffels, and Queen Ehzabeth, angry that 
 So yoiing a State, and one, which had placed itfelf under 
 her Prbtedioh, fhould in any degree interrupt the 
 Commerce of her People, at firft fhewed the Effedls of 
 her Refentment, by feizing their ^ Ships, and impi-ifon- 
 ing their Merchants j the Zealanders upon this made 
 Reprifals ; feveral Englifli Veffels were detained, and 
 their Commanders put under Confinement : To en- 
 deavour at fome Settlement of this Affair, the Queen 
 ient over to Holland Mr. Robert Beal her Secretary j 
 and for the fame Purpofe the Prince of Orange dif- 
 patched a Minifter to London ; by thefe means the 
 Difpute at laft was compromifed ; the Ships and the 
 Prifoners Were on both Sides releafed ; but the Queen 
 never obtained the Reftitution of the Enemies Goods, 
 which were taken oh-board the Veflels of her Subjects : 
 This Fa6l is worthy of Obfervation, not only, as it 
 relates to the Condudt of Holland, but as it fhews, 
 how far a Pfincefs thought herfelf obliged in Equity 
 to yield,-\whom Hijftorians have always defcribed as 
 pofitive in her Temper, and, whenever her Right was 
 concerned, of a very tenacious Difpofition. 
 
 Holland, whenever She was engaged in War, almoft 
 conftantly purfued the fame Condud : She fometimes 
 -even -prohibited the Commerce of Neutral Nations 
 
 E beyond 
 
{ 26 ] 
 
 |)eyo£kd all Juflice and Moderation. In the year § 1 59^, 
 when the Government of Spain firft prohibited the 
 Subjeds of the United Provinces from trading to the 
 Ports of that Kingdom, a Liberty, which had. unac- 
 countably been allowed them, from the Commence- 
 ment of their Revolt to that Period ; the States Gene- 
 ral, in Revenge, publifhed a Placart, forbidding the 
 People of all Nations to carry any kind of Merehan- 
 dife into. Spain; the Words of Grotms, in the Rela- 
 tion He has given of this Affair in his Belgic Hiftory^ 
 are very full and exprefs, " Per Edidum (fays He) ve- 
 ^* tant Populos quofcunque ullos Comraeatus refve alias 
 " in Hifpaniam ferre ; fi qui fecus faxint, ut Hoftibus 
 ** faventes vice Hoftium futuros :" This Plaeart They 
 publiekly noti£ed to all Kings and Nations, for this 
 Reafon, as the Hiflorian expreffes it *' ne quis Infci- 
 " tiam excufaret." The Confequences of this Notifi- 
 cation deferve alfb our Attention j the Hiftorian cbnti^ 
 nues, *' Paruit Rex. Gallise, ac fi quis fuorum fex in-?- 
 " tra Menfes in Hifpaniam navigaret,. profeiTus eft pri- 
 " vatum Periculum fore." Henry the Fourth, at that- 
 time King of France,, though delivered, then from all; 
 his Diftreffes,, and arrived; at the Summit, o£ all His 
 Power, fcrupled not to fubmit to this Plaeart,, and gave 
 up the Interefts of all His Subjeds, who fhould attempt: 
 within fix Months to tranfgrefs it ; the Hiftorian con- 
 eludes, " Caeteri. (Reges) filentio trarifmifere ;" the 
 
 othec 
 
 § GrOtii. Hiftoriarum, Lib, S*. 
 
[ 27 ] 
 bthet Powers of Europe made no Clamorous Complaints 
 againit this Meafure of the States ; in Silence They 
 pai^d it over : How unlike was this Condud to that of 
 Holland at prefent ! — Charles the Second, in a Letter to 
 the States, General, of Odober 4, 1 666, charges them 
 alfb with a remarkable Violence of the fame Nature r 
 Being at War with fome Afiatic Princes in the Eaft- 
 Indies, they feized all the Ships and Goods of the 
 EngliiK Merchants, which were trading to thofe Coun- 
 tries ; and the Dutch Governors fcrupled not openly 
 to profefs in their Declarations, " Qu' ayant depuis 
 ^' peu annonce la Guerre 'aux Princes, avec qui ils 
 " avoient deflein de trafiquer, cette Guerre devoit 
 ** par confequent leur interdire tout Commerce avec 
 *' les dits Princes f." 
 
 I omit citing many other Inftances of their Conduct 
 in this particular, left I fhould appear tedious, efpe- 
 cially as one Fa6l ftill remains, which is alone fuffi- 
 cient to evince the'Opinidn of Holland on this. Point ; 
 and the which I the rather chufe to mention, as it 
 happened ^ven after the Dutch had by their Nego- 
 tiations, endeavoured to eftablifh, as a general Maxim 
 among Nations, that the Goods of an Enemy under 
 a Neutral Banner fhould pafs unmolefted.-^At th«- 
 Comjnencement of that War, which broke out im- 
 mediately after the Revolution, when the firft. Grand 
 
 E 2 Alliance 
 
 f Charles the Second's Letter to the States General, Oft. 4, 1666. 
 
[ 2» 3 
 
 ADiance was formed againft France, Holland entereci 
 into a Convention f with England to prohibit totally 
 the Commerce of Neutral Powers with the Enemy : 
 In the Preamble of this, They affign publickly theic 
 Reafons for it ; they fay, " that having declared War 
 *' againft the moft Chriftian King, it behoves them 
 " to do as much Damage, as poflible, to the common 
 *' Enemy, in order to bring him. to ag^ee to fuch 
 *' Conditions, as may reftore the Repofe of Chriften- 
 t* dom ; and that for this End it was neceffary to in- 
 *' terrupt all Trade and Commerce with the Subjeds 
 .*' of the faid King ; and that to effedl this. They had 
 " ordered their Fleets to block up. all the Ports and 
 *.* Havens of France;" and afterwards, in the- Second 
 and Third Articles of this Convention, it is agreed", 
 that they would take any VefTel, whatever King or 
 State it may belong to, that fhall be found failing 
 ** into or out of the Ports of France, and condemn 
 " both VefTel and Merchandife as Legal Prize ; and 
 *' that this Refolution fhould be notified to all Neu- 
 *' tral States." Such therefore was at this time the 
 avowed Opinion of Holland, and England was induced 
 to join with Her in this Convention, exceeding thereby 
 thofe Bounds of Equity and Moderation, which She 
 had almoft always pra(9ifed in. this Point before, and; 
 which She will, I hope, moft faithfully obferve for the 
 Future. The Northern Crowns^ who. were particu- 
 
 larly 
 t Convemioa concluded at London*, Auguft 22, 16S9. 
 
 (C 
 
In 'J affeded by this Prohibition, contended very vehe- 
 mently againft it : In anfwer to their Objedions were 
 urged, the Circumftances of Affairs, the Danger of 
 Europe, and the Mighty Strength of that Ambitious 
 Power • which, if fbme extraordinary Effort was not 
 made, would bring Mankind under its SubjeAion. It 
 is remarkable, that Puffendorf f, who owed his For- 
 tune and Employments to one of thefe Northern 
 Crowns, was of Opinion in this Cafe againft them ; 
 and thought that the Convention might be juftified. 
 It is not meant here at prefent, either to cenfure or to 
 commend it: Circumftances may fometimes make a 
 Thing to be lawful, which confidered by itfelf, would 
 be unjuft ; but fuch Times are truly unhappy, when 
 Neceflity muft be pleaded in fupport of a Right. 
 
 It remains, that I now enquire into the Conduct of 
 France : My Priaofs || on this Head will be clear i 
 They are indeed nothing lefs than the Public Laws of 
 that Kingdom : By fome very old French Ordinances 
 it is declared, not only, that the Enemies Goods fhall 
 be adjudged to be lawful Prize, but that the Neutral 
 Yeffel which carries them, or the Property of any Ally, 
 which fhall be joined with them, fhall be joined alfo im 
 
 the 
 
 ■\: See a Letter of Puffendorf in Jo. Groningii Bibliotheca Univerfalis; 
 Librorum Juridicorum, p. 105. 
 
 It See the Ordinances of France, Francis 1. 1543. c. 4. 2 Henry Illd.- 
 1584. c. '69. 
 
t 30 ] 
 tlie Condemnation. It has always hem a Maxim of 
 the Courts of Maritirne Jurifdidion of France, ** Que 
 ^* la Robe d'Ami confifque celle d'Enemie ;*' and {& 
 clear wqre They in this Opinion, that th? Laws, which 
 eftablifl?ed it, were repeatedly enaded -in the Reigns 
 of two of their Kings, Francis L and Henry III. — 
 That the. Pradice of the French Marine hath in this 
 particular been, conforir^ablf to theirs, Laws, may b? 
 proved by a thoufand Inftancesi I fhall- feled one 
 upon the, Anthority of a Minister of Holland, which 
 will (hv^w, what their Condud; was in that Spani£h 
 War, whi9h preceded the, Pyrenean Treaty. In a 
 Letter, of Monfieur Boreel from Paris, to Monfieur 
 Pe Wit, December 26th, 1653, " On tient ici," 
 fays He, *' pour Maxime favorable a, leurs^ Interefts, 
 *' que leurs Enemies ne doivent recevoir ni Defenfe ni 
 " Service des Sujefts de leur^JE^* H. P. P. en trapfpor- 
 ** tant d&. ch^z. Eux quelques Merchandifes ou Corn*- 
 modites ou.d'autres, qui feroiej^it pour le Compte de 
 rEnen3.ie, fous pein^, au cas qu' lis les trouvent dans 
 les Batiments Hollandois, qu' 11^ feront de bonne 
 Prife^ & ^^'0^ J^s, puifTe e^i^ever d^s dits Bati- 
 *' ments.&.les Gonfifquer." 
 
 But it is not the Old Laws of France alone, that 
 thus determine this Point, their more Modern Regu- 
 lations confirm it : one of the laft and great;eft Ser- 
 vices, which Colbert perforpied to, his Country, v^as 
 4 the 
 
 
[3« ] 
 
 the Eftablifhmcnt of a Syftem of Naval Laws, the wifeft 
 and beft digefted, which the Spirit of Legiflation hath 
 ever yet produced ; it is obfervable, that although the 
 Ordinance, which contains thefe Laws, was regiftred in 
 i68r, feveral Years fubfequent to thofe Treaties, by 
 which France agreed, that Neutral Veffels fhould pro- 
 ted the Projierty of an Enemy, Yet it pays no Atten- 
 tion to them, and eflrablrflies the contrary Dodtrine. 
 This proVes how little Regard France always fliew'd to 
 that Article.— The Words of the Ordinance exprefly 
 edridemn not only the Enemies Goods, but the Neu- 
 tral Ship, which carries them : " All Ships (faith the' 
 " Law -f) which have Goods on board, that belong to 
 " the Enemy, fliall be good Prize."- — Thefe Laws con- 
 tinue ftill to be obferved in France : At the Gommence- 
 ment eVen of the prefent "War, the French Government 
 d'eliver'd to Monf. Berkenrode, the Dutch Minifter at 
 Paris, a Memorial, "Gontenant les Precautions" (as the 
 Title exprelles it) " que doivent prendre les Negociants 
 " Hollandois conformement a 1' Ordinance de la Marine 
 " & aux Reglements de la France, pour eviter queleurs 
 ** Navires foient declares de bonne Prife." In the Pre- 
 amble of This, the Words of the abovementioned Law 
 are repeated, and the fame Rule of Goncjemnation is 
 declared to be ffiU in Force : And the fevepth Article 
 of the Memorial lays even a greater Refl:ri(?tion on 
 Neutral Gommeree, than the Ordinance of j68i feems. 
 
 to.' 
 
 ■f Nival Ordinance of i68 r. Tide 9, Artie. 7.- 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
C3+] 
 ( Profit in doing this ; if however it is dtherwife unjufl:, 
 will that Confideration convert it into a Right ? — If 
 you mean that ydur own Commerce ought to be Free, 
 the Right is not in the leaft denied you ^ but if under 
 this Dilguife you intend to convey Freedom to the 
 Commerce of the Enemy, what PoHcy or what Juflrcfe 
 can require it ? What can Neutral Nations defire more, 
 than to remain amid the Ravages of War in the lame 
 happy Circumftahc^S', which the Tranquillity :of Peace 
 Would have aiJbrded them ? But can any Right frorn 
 hence 'arife, that you ihbuld ta^e Occafion from the 
 Warit]^lfto conftitute a 'new Species of Traffic, which 
 'in Peace you n^vef enjoyed, and whM '^hfe Iteilfiltjr 
 ""of 'One Party is obliged to grant you, tt> 'tht Detri- 
 ment, perhaps Deftru<ftion, of the Other ? If this'Right 
 was'admitted, it Would become the Intereft of all Com- 
 mercial States to promote Diffention among their Neigh- 
 bours ; the Quafrels "of 'others would be a Harveft to 
 Themfelves ; and from -the Contentions of others They 
 would gather Wealth and -Power.-^-But aftier^all, the 
 Rights of Commerce arc not the real Caufeof this Dif- 
 pute ; and Liberty of Navigation is only a fair Pretence, 
 which Ambition hath thought fit to hold forth, to in- 
 tereft the Trading States of the World in its Caufe, 
 and'tb draw down their Indignation upon England ; 
 Tftis^is not the firftUime, 'that a-Deceipt, like this, 
 hath been praftifed : When the Power of Spain was at 
 its gfcateft Height,, and Elizabeth -wri^eJy contended 
 ■' againft 
 
lis] 
 
 againft the mighty Defigns of Philip, the Capture of 
 fbme Vefieis -belcoging to the Hanfe Towns gav^ Oc- 
 eafion to a Conteft of this ''Naiure : But^hey; were the 
 Emiiraries of Phiiip, that then blew up the Fiame, 
 and pretending a Love to Commerce, pronjoted the 
 Amhitionfe P^oje<fts of their Mafter: 'The jQueea of 
 England pUbliiflied an Apok^y for jfaer Condiidl, and 
 This ^as anfwered in a virulent and' abufive Manner, 
 not from any of the Hanfe Towns, I^ut §-om Antwerp, 
 a City-u-rider the Dominion, of "Spain, and it feemed to 
 ■be written (fays- Thii^niis) ^' per hosrineoi ^Jiiiippi 
 Partibus addiiflum, nbn tatft^^O'Libertate ^^viga- 
 tionis et in Germanorum dausi^defetiidenda, quam 
 in Hilpanorum ^Gratiant, et ad iK^giraae N^omen pro- 
 **-'fcindendum :"'- l^he Interefts of Commerce were thp 
 pretended Caufe of thi« Difp«te, but the real Caufe 
 •was thelntereft of Philip ; the pretended '^Defign was 
 to pfeferve the Liberty of Navigation, but the real End 
 'Was to ferve the Caufe of Ambition, and to deftroy-the 
 Government of England; — -This? Gafe need not he 
 compared with our own'at prefent; The -Refemblance 
 is too'ObviouS'. *" 
 
 
 CV : 
 
 Here then we might reft our Gdufe, if the Law of 
 Nations was the only Foundation, on which thi« Point 
 could be argued; But the Bands of Equity havingcbeen 
 found alone too weak to hold the Natioils of the 
 World to their Duty; their Intereft taught them to 
 
 F 2 renew 
 
[36] 
 
 renew and confirm thefe by Contrads am»ng them- 
 felves, and frequently to add thereto certain mutual 
 Advantages, greater than what the Law of Nations 
 fingly would have allowed thern: — Let Us confider 
 therefore, what Influence Thefe may. have in the pre- 
 fent Cafej — Whatever they are, I^mean to give them 
 all the Force, which Reafon or, Juflice can require : If 
 our Anceftors have betrayed the In tdreft of their Coun- 
 try in granting any |*rivileges of this Nature, We, who 
 jhaye fucceeded to their Rights, are bound to abide by 
 their Conceffions ; It is theHappinefs of Great King- 
 doms,: whofe Power is qqud to the Support of their own 
 independency, to ^e, able .to. ^<3: up to thofe Principles^, 
 which. Neceflity hath often forced little States unhap- 
 tpily to abandon : Thofe fcandalous Maxima of Policy, 
 which have brought Difgrace both 0:n the Name and 
 the Profeflion, took their Rife from the Condudt of the 
 little Principalities of Italy, when, diftrefled by the fucr 
 cefllve Inv^fions, which Frai^ce and Spain rnadciupon 
 them. They broke or conformed to their Leagues, as 
 their ow;n ^Security obliged them; and their refined 
 Shifts and Evafions formed into Syftems by the Able 
 Dodors of their Councils, have compofed that Science, 
 which the World hath called Politics, a Science of 
 Fraud and Deceit ; by which Kingdoms are taught to 
 be governed on Principles, which Individuals would be 
 a{hamed to profefs j as if there coulfl be no Morality 
 among Nations, and that Mankindj being formed into 
 
 Civil 
 
[ 37 ] 
 
 Civil Societies, and coUedtively confidered, were fet free 
 from all Rules of Honour and Virtue : — Maxims lika 
 thefe I mean to avoid ; To follow them would bring 
 Difhonour on my Country. 
 
 It muft then be allowed, that there are Articles in 
 fome of our Maritime Treaties with other Nations, 
 which have ftipulated that, " All, which fhall be found 
 " on board the VelTels, belonging to the Subjedts of 
 *' thofe Countries, fhall be accounted Clear and Free, 
 " although the whole Lading or any Part thereof fhall, 
 " by juft Title of Property, belong to the Enemies of 
 " Great-Britain;" Such an Article is inferted in thofc 
 Maritime Treaties, which Great-Britain hath made 
 with France f and Holland X : It has alfo by Ibme 
 been fuppofed, that the Subjedls of the Crown of 
 Spain have a Right to enjoy a Privilege of the fame 
 Nature; Certain however it is, that no fuch, Article, 
 as that above-mentioned, can be found in the Maritimae 
 Treaties between that Country and Greatr Britain, and 
 particularly in that of Madrid of 1667, which is the 
 principal Maritime Treaty, at prefent in force be^ 
 tween the two Kingdoms ; but as a Miftake in this, 
 refpe6t may pofUbly have arifen from a falfe Interpre- 
 tation of two Articles in the Treaty of Madrid, which- 
 
 declare 
 
 • '■;:, . .. iO •.. . : . - 
 
 •f- T'rbsity between. Great-Britain and France, 24tb Febriiiaty,. 1677. 
 
 Art. 8. N". 1. in the Appendix. 
 
 ^ Treaty between Great-Britain and Holland, ift December,. 1674,. 
 
 Art. 8. N°» 2. in the Appendix. 
 
 I 
 
xt 
 
 declare in general H, that '* tbe Subjcds of the two 
 " Crowns refpedively fhall hare Liberty to traffic 
 *' throughout all Coiln'tries, cultivatin-g Peace, Amity, 
 *' or Neutrality with either of Th^m, and that the {md 
 Liberty fhall in no wife be interrupted by any Hin- 
 drance or Difturbartce whatfoevicr, by reafon of any 
 " Hoftility, which may be between either * of the 
 ** faid Crowns and any other Kingdoms;" and as tflie 
 Liberty here ftipulated ma:y by fome erroneoufly be 
 imagined to extend fo far, as to grant a Right to 
 carry freely the Effeds of the Enemj ; it will he pro- 
 per here to remove this Error, and to jftop a little to 
 iQiew the true Delign and Meaning of thefe Articles : 
 This Explanation is at prefent the more neceflary, as 
 it will tend to illuftrate the true Senfe of other Stipu- 
 lations of precifely the fame purport, which may be 
 found in feveral of our Commercial Treaties, and 
 particularly in the firft and fecond Articles of that with 
 Holland, of Deceniber ii, 1674: a wrong Inter- 
 pretation of which hath already given Occasion to 
 great Confufion and much falfe Reafoning upon the 
 prefent Queftion. 
 
 It cannot, I think, be doubted, that, according to 
 thofe Principles of Natural Equity, which conftitute 
 the Law of Nations, the People of every Country muft 
 always have a Right to trade in general to the Ports 
 
 of 
 I Treaty of Madrid, 1667* Art. 21 and 22. N*. 3.' Append. 
 
[39] 
 
 of any State, though it may happen to be engage^ in 
 War with another, provided it be with their own 
 Merchandife, or on their own Account j and, that 
 tmder this Pretence, They do not attempt to fcreen 
 from one Party the Effedls of the other ; and, on con- 
 dition alfo, that They carry not to either of Thepi any 
 Implements of War, or whatever elfe, according to 
 the Nature of their refpedive Situations, or the Cir- 
 cumftances of the Cafe, may be neoeflary to them for 
 their Defence. As clear as this Point may "be, h has 
 futfficientiy appeared i>y the Fads deduced above, that 
 amid the Irregularities of War, the Rules of Equity, 
 in this refpeft, were not .dlways enough j^egarded ; apd 
 that many Governments, in time of War, have often 
 moft licentiously difturbed, and fometisnes prohibited 
 totally, the Commerce of Neutral Nations with their 
 Enemies : About the middle therefore -qf the ,lafl: Cen- 
 tury, when the C6mmercia.l Regulations which at pre- 
 sent fubfift between the European Powers, firft began 
 to be formed, itibecame abfolutely neeeflaiy.to call 
 -back' the Attention of Governments to thofe Principles 
 of Natural Right, .from whence They had ftrayed; 
 and t to fix, and determine, what was the Lawof^Na- 
 tions, by the Articles of their refpedive jTreaties : 
 For this Purpofe, the Negotiators of that Age, inferted 
 in their Commercial Regulations, Articles f to the fame 
 
 Purport, 
 
 -j- Treaty of Commerce between France and Holland, 1662.' Art. 26 
 and 27. Treaty of Commerce beween England and Holland, Feb. 17, 
 
- [ +° ] 
 
 Purport, as Thofe above-mentioned, afTerting, in ge- 
 neral, a Right to trade unmolefted with the Enemies 
 of each other ; and thefe They ufually placed among 
 thofe Articles of general Import, which are commonly 
 firft laid down in Treaties, as the Bails, on which the 
 fubfequent Stipulations are founded : The Rule there- 
 fore of Equity in this Cafe being thus defined. They 
 came afterwards to ere&. upon it fuch Privileges, as that 
 Rule alone would not have allowed them ; and among 
 the reft, fome Nations, as their Intereft prompted them, 
 granted mutually to each other, by new and exprefs Arti- 
 cles, the Right of carrying freely the Property of their re- 
 Ipeftive Enemies. Thefe laft Articles therefore muft be 
 confidered as wholly diftind: in their Nature from thole 
 before-mentioned, and in their Meaning totally different: 
 The firft are in Affirmance of an old Rule; the laft create 
 a new Privilege; — Thofe only confirm a Right, which 
 was determined by the Law of Nations before ; Thefe make 
 an Exception to that Law:— If they both imply the fame 
 Senfe, why are both fo often found inferted in the fame 
 Treaties f ? Would the Repetition in fuch a Cafe have 
 been neceflary ? and to what Purpofe were new Ar- 
 ticles added to grant a Privilege, which was already in- 
 cluded in the Terms of the preceding ? The fame Ex- 
 ception 
 
 1 66?. Art. I and 2. Treaty of Commerce between England and Holland, 
 Dec. I, 1674. Art. 1 and 2. Treaty of Commerce between England and 
 France, Feb. 24, 1677. Art. i and 2. 
 t See the Treaties mentioned in the laft Note. 
 
[ 4i'] 
 ception alfo of Contraband Goods, is again repeated 
 in the laft Cafe, as well as in the former ; and fbews 
 clearly, that the Property, which is the Objeft of the 
 Exception in the different Articles, muft likewife in 
 its Nature be different ; the one relates to the ordi- 
 nary Means of Traffic, which every Nation enjoys, 
 its own Produce or Property : the other to the Proper- 
 ty of the Enemy. 
 
 But this Point is ftill more clearly explained by 
 the Aillftance of other Treaties, where Articles of the 
 fame Force, as the 21ft and 2 2d of the Treaty of Ma- 
 drid,- are inferted, and the Intention of them fully made 
 appear from the fubfequent Parts of the fame Treaties. 
 — In the Treaty of Commerce between Great-Britain 
 and Sweden, of the 2ifl: of Odober, 1661, it is ftipu- 
 lated, by the nth Article, that " it is by no means 
 " to be underftood, that the Subjeds of one Confede- 
 *' rate, who is not a Party in a War, fhall be retrained 
 *' in their Liberty of Trade and Navigation with the 
 ** Enemies of the other Confederate, who is involved 
 " in fuch War;" and then in the Article, which im- 
 mediately follows, the Meaning of thefe Words become 
 manifeft beyond a Doubt ; it is there fo far from being 
 fuppofed, that the Liberty here granted can be fo in- 
 terpreted, as to imply a Right of conveying the Effects 
 of an Enemy, that the very Attempt to pradife it un- 
 
 G der 
 
[42 ] 
 
 der Favour of this Liberty, is there called a f " Fraud;**' 
 and as a ** moft heinous Crime," is ordered *' to be: 
 «* moft feverely punifhed ;" and to prevent any Collu- 
 fion in this refped, the Veffels of both Parties are re- 
 quired to be furnifhed with PaiTports, ** fpecifying„ 
 " of what Nation th€ Proprietors are, to whom the 
 " Effeds on-board them belong." — ^And in the Treaty^ 
 of Commerce between Great-Britain^ and Denmark,, 
 of the nth of July, 1670, a Right of free Trade 
 with the Enemy is ftipulated in the i6th Article; 
 and afterwards, by the 20th Article, the Extent of 
 this Right is made apparent: Here the Means- are: 
 fet down to prevent the Defigns of thofe, who,, 
 under favour of this Stipulation,, fhould attempt tO' 
 prote<a the Effeds of the Enemy ; and the Illegality^ 
 of fuch a Pradice being fuppofed, as^ not neceffary 
 to be expreffed, the Article then declares,, *' but: 
 " left this Liberty of Navigation and Paffage for 
 ** one Ally, might, during a War., which the other 
 ** may be engaged in, by Sea or Land, with any 
 " other State, be of Prejudice to fuch other. Alty ;. 
 *' and the Goods belonging to the Enemy be fraudu- 
 lently concealed, under the colourable Pretence of 
 their being in Amity together; to prevent therefore 
 " all Fraud' of that fort,/ all Ships fliall be furniftied- 
 " with- Paffports;" the Form, of which is there {ct 
 
 down,, 
 
 t See the Treaty of Commerce between Great-Britain and Sweden, ,Od; 
 21, 1 66 1. Art, 12, and PaflTgort,. 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 
[43] 
 
 down, and is the fame as that mentioned above. 
 — ^From thefe Treaties then it manifeftly appears, that 
 by a general Stipulation in favour of Trade with the 
 Enemy of another Power, Negotiators never intended 
 to imply a Right, to carry freely the EfFe<3:s of that Ene- 
 my; but that to eftablifli fuch a Right, it is neceffary to 
 have it exprefly mentioned. The 21ft and 2 2d Articles 
 therefore of the Treaty of Madrid, in which Liberty 
 of Traffic to the Countries of the Enemies of Great* 
 Britain is thus in general ftipulated, can be explained 
 to grant to the Subjeds of the CroWn of Spain no 
 other Right but that of carrying on without any 
 injurious " Moleftation" or " Difturbance," fuch Traf- 
 fic, as would otherwife be Legal according to the Law 
 of Nations ; and by this Law, in time of War, it never, 
 could be Legal to protect the Effects of an Enemy ;— 
 a Privilege however like this Great-Britain hath con- 
 fented to grant in her Commercial Treaties with France 
 and Holland : The firft of thefe is put an end to by 
 the prefent War ; it remains therefore that I now dif- 
 courfe on this Privilege, as it is ftipulated in the Britifh 
 Treaties with Holland ; and I propofe to fhew that here 
 alfo it is extind. — But to give a fuller View of my 
 Subjeft, and to fhew the Origin and Intention of this 
 Privilege, it will be neceffary to enter a little into the 
 Hiftory of it, and to relate the manner, in which the 
 Article, that grants it, was firft admitted into Treaties. 
 
 G 2 When 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
[+6 ] 
 
 them contented with Small Profits, and enabled them 
 to carry the Mamnfa6tures of each Country, even cheaper, 
 than the Natives of it themfelves : With fuch happy 
 Circumftances in their Favour, They were fure of 
 making this Branch o£ Trade, wholly and perpetually 
 their own, if they could, by their Negotiations and 
 Policy, eftablifli two Points; — The firft was, that no 
 Nation fliould grant to its own Natives any Privileges 
 in relation to Freightage, which the People of Holland 
 fhould not equally «njoy.-— And as the Confequences 
 of War would otherwife frequently interrupt the Courfe 
 of this Traffic, They laboured to obtain, as their lecond 
 Point, that, whenever any other Nation was engaged in 
 War, They might then enjoy, as Neuters, the Right 
 of protedting the Property of its Enemies. — -Theie 
 Points, once obtained, would open a larger Field, on 
 which their Induftry might exert itfelf, than what 
 They could otherwife of right pretend to enjoy : They 
 were wife, however, in endeavouring to obtain it : No 
 Nation befides themfelves had more Shipping, than 
 what was equal to the Carriage of their own Manu- 
 fadures; They alone therefore could carry on the 
 Freightage of other Countries, and largely reap, when 
 their Neighbours were at War, the Advantages pro- 
 pofed. 
 
 The Regency of Holland laboured with great Per- 
 
 fevcT^nce for the Eftabliftlment of thefe two Points : 
 
 Their 
 S 
 
[47] 
 Their Great Mlmfter De Witt f, filled all his Inftruc- 
 tions and Difpatches with every Argurrient and Motive, 
 vdiich his adive Mind could invent, in fupport of thefe 
 favourite Maxims r They were willing to give up any 
 Temporary Advantage to gain that, which, once ac- 
 quired,, would prove for Ages an everflowing Spring; 
 of Wealth. By their Negotiations They earneftly la- 
 boured to induce France to comply with their Defires 
 m thefe Refpedrs ; but Here they were a long while: 
 unfuccefsful r In oppofltion to the firft Point of their 
 Pol icy ,^ Fouquet, while He was at the Head of the 
 French Marine and Finances, eftabliflied the Tax of - 
 50 Sous per Ton on all Foreign Shipping ; and en- 
 deavoured thereby to encourage and augment the: 
 Freightage of his own Country j and when, upon his 
 Dilgrace, Colbert fucceeded to his Employments^ this. 
 Tax of 50 Sous was almoft the only Part of tiie former's 
 Policy which the latter thought fit to- adopt.- It is. 
 amazing with what Zeal and Application the Minifters 
 ©f Holland contended for the Abolition of it : France 
 at length relaxed her Severity on thi^- Head, not fo 
 much to favour the Trade of the Dutch,, as in Com- 
 pliance with the Interefts of her own. Colbert's great 
 Schemes to improve the Manufad:ures of his Country 
 had met with better Succefs, than his Plans for the 
 Augmentation of its Marine ; and the frequent Wars,, 
 in. which his Ambitious Mafter involved His Kingdoms,. 
 
 gav^;^ 
 f, Lettres de Monfieur dc Witt paflTimi 
 
[ 4S ] 
 
 gave repeated Checks to the Freightage of his People. 
 France therefore at laft found it necefTary to give a 
 larger Vent to her Manufadures, hy opening her Ports 
 to Foreign Veffels ; and for this Purpofe, She took off 
 the Tax of 50 Sous, hy the Treaty of Ryfwick, as far 
 as it related to the Ships of Holland alone ; And fince 
 that time, She has regulated her Condudt in this Par- 
 ticularj as ,the Intereft of her Trade requires. — In time 
 of War, She always remits this Tax, as She is then 
 forced to make ufe of the Freiglitage of Neutral Na- 
 tions, Her Naval Power not being equal to the Protec- 
 tion of Her Own ;-rr*and in time of Peace, She pre- 
 ferves the Tax, or not, as the Incjreale or Diminution 
 of Her Shipping requires, always giving the greateft 
 Encouragement to her own Marine;, which is confiftent 
 ,with Jthe Prefervation of Her Manufadures. 
 
 France confented fooner to the other Point of Dutch 
 Policy, and, granted by Treaty, to the ydTels of Hol- 
 land) ,as. Neuters, the Right of proteding the Effeds 
 ^f an Enemy: Tiie Laws pf France indeed have con- 
 tinued always to determine againft this Right j and 
 in this refped therefore their Laws and Txeaties have 
 contradided e^ch other : Some very ancient Ordinanees 
 -of that Kingdom (as we have fhewn above) had adjudg- 
 .ed as Lawful Prize in. this Cafe, not only the Enemies 
 •Goods, but had joined alfo in the Condemnation, the 
 Neutral Veffel, which carried them j the laft however 
 
 of 
 S 
 
[ 49 ] 
 of thefe Points was remitted as early as 1646, by a 
 Temporary Treaty then made with Holland; the Neu- 
 tral Veffel, and all the EiFeds of a Friend found on- 
 board it, by this were ordered to be fpared : By a fub- 
 fequent Negotiation, Holland endeavoured to get this 
 Privilege farther confirmed and extended : It was one 
 great Part of Monfieur Boreel's Employment in his long 
 Embafly at Paris : At laft> however, in the memorable 
 Treaty of Defenfive Alliance between Holland and 
 France, of the 27th of April, 1662, this Favour was 
 obtained in its full Extent; by the 35th Arti- 
 tide -f , it is reciprocally agreed, that all which £hall 
 be found on-board the Veflels of either of the Con'» 
 trading Parties, " encore que la Charge ou Partie 
 *' d'icelle fut aux Enemies, fera libre et aiFranchie." 
 This Article was again renewed by the Marine Treaty 
 of 1678, and by feveral fubfequent Treaties ; the Ma- 
 rine Treaty of December the 21ft, 1739, was the laft 
 in which it was inferted : This continued in force during 
 part of the laft War, but in the Yeai: 1 745, the French 
 Government declared this Treaty void by an Ad of 
 Council ; and it hath never fince been renewed : 
 France, from the Condition of her Marine, could cer- 
 tainly reap no Advantage from the Infertion of this 
 Article in her own Treaties ; but it was wife in her to 
 endeavour to eftablifli the Point, as a general Maxim 
 
 H of 
 
 t See the Treaty in the Letters of D'Eftrade, torn, i; 
 
[so] 
 
 of National Law among other Countries; Experience 
 hath proved to her the Ufe of it in Time of War. 
 
 But Holland moft exerted her Policy to bring that 
 Nation to a Compliance with her Maxims, whom She 
 moft apprehended as her Rival in Trade : The fcan- 
 dalous Ignorance of the Englifli Minifters in point of 
 Commerce, and the little Attention, which they paid 
 to the Interefts of it, gave fuch Advantages for fome 
 time to the Dutch, that more Veffels of that Country 
 were feen in the Ports of our Colonies, than even of 
 our own ; The Shipping of England from the Reign 
 of Elizabeth had been in a conftant Decline ; We 
 fhould hardly have believed that in the Reign of Charles 
 the Ift, England could not have furnifhed more than 
 three Merchant Veffels of 300 Tuns, if Sir" Jofiah 
 Child had not affirmed it : The Time at length ar- 
 rived, when we were to be put in this xefped: on an 
 Equality with our Neighbours, and to vindicate (as it 
 were) the Advantages of our own Induftry and Produce 
 to Ourfelves ; In 1651, The Parliament of England 
 paffed into an Ordinance that Noble Strain of Com- 
 mercial Policy, called fince The Ad: of Navigation ; 
 Mr. St. John returning about this time from his Em- 
 baffy at the Hague, became the happy Inftrument, 
 whkh Providence made ufe of, to accomplifli this Great 
 Work t i refenting highly the Refufal, which had there 
 
 been 
 
 t Ludlow's Memoirs, Vol. I. Page 345. 
 
[5' ] 
 
 been given to his PropofaJs, and the Infults, which had 
 been offered to his Perfon, He warmly foHcited, and 
 at length induced the Council of State to move the 
 Parliament to pafs it ; the Committee fat five Days in 
 forming it ; and it was at lad publifhed by Order of 
 the Houfe with great Pomp and Ceremony at the Royal 
 Exchange : The Dutch were fo fenfibk of its Confe- 
 quences, that it was the principal Caufe of the enfuing 
 War ; They called it in a Manifefto f publiflied foon 
 after, " A Vile A&: and Order:" At the Negotiations 
 for that Peace, which put an end to the War, De Witt 
 laboured with his ufual Induftry and Acutenefs to pro- 
 cure the Abolition of it ; His^ Efforts were happily in 
 vain ; They, who made the Law, attended with Vi- 
 gour to the Execution of it j The Effeds of it were 
 immediately apparent : This A£t of Policy alone hath 
 fortunately outweighed all our other Follies and EX' 
 travagancies ; Though condemned by fome of our Hif- 
 torians, and unnoticed by others, it hath proved the 
 fertile Source of all our Naval Power ; It hath operated 
 infenlibly to our Prefervation, and hath been the Spring, 
 from whence hath flowed the Wealth and Greatnefs of 
 England. - - 
 
 Our Anceftors with equal Conftancy for fome time 
 withftood the other Maxim of Dutch Policy, and would 
 not permit their Veffels, as Neuters, to proted the Ef- 
 
 H 2 feds 
 
 t The Manifefto of Holland, 1652. 
 
[52] _ 
 
 feels of the Enemy : By a very ancient and remarkable 
 Treaty, made, when the Dukes of Burgundy were Sove- 
 reigns of the Low Countries, the contrary Opinion 
 had long been eftablifhed ; In that, it was determined -f, 
 " Quod Subditi Unius. Principum Prasdidorum" (that 
 is, Henry Vllth King of England, and Philip Duke of 
 Burgundy) " non adducent aut adduci facient per 
 *' Mare, fraudulofe, vel quocunque colore, aliqua Bona 
 *' feu Merchandizas Inimicorum alterius Eorundem 
 " Principum." And it farther ftipulated, that in cafe 
 the Mafter of the Neutral Veffel fhall endeavour by a 
 falfe Report, to defraud the Captor of any of his Ene- 
 mies Effedls, he fliall be obliged to make good the 
 Lofs fuftained thereby, by the Forfeiture of as much of 
 his Own : Frequent Applications were made before the 
 Reftoration, both to the Parliament and to the Protec- 
 tor, to alter the Courfe of proceeding in this refped: ; 
 but thofe Heads, which formed the A6t of Navigation, 
 were too wife to confent to this ; a particular Occafion 
 however at laft induced England to make the Conceflion • 
 by the Treaty of Commerce made at the Hague, 17th 
 of February, 1668, this Point was fully fettled to the 
 Satisfadion of Holland; by the loth Article + of 
 which it was mutually ftipulated, that the Ship- 
 ping of each Country fhould carry freely the Goods of 
 the Enemies of the other. The Circumftances of the 
 
 Time, 
 
 •\- Intercorfus Magnus in Rymei's Foedera, Vol. 12. Page 585. 
 See N°. 4. in the j^ppendix. 
 
[ S3 ] 
 Time, and the Situation of Affairs when this Article 
 was framed, account for its AdmifTion into this Treaty, 
 and very ftrongly apologize for the Authors of it; 
 Lewis the XlVth had then juft commenced the firft 
 Career of his Ambition, and England refolved with 
 Spirit to throw herfelf in his Way ; Holland was then 
 engaged in a ftrong Defenfive Alliance with France, 
 from whom it was neceffary to feparate Her, and to 
 make her join with England to fupport the Indepen- 
 dency of Europe : The Dutch Minifters feized this 
 fortunate Opportunity of obtaining from England the 
 fame Advantages which They had already acquired by 
 their Treaties with France. It hath been the Policy of 
 moft Republics never to enter into any Alliance, 
 where fome Benefit doth not accrue to Themfelves ; 
 and Holland could not be expe<9:ed to deviate from 
 this Maxim on the prefent Occafion, in , Compliment 
 to the King of England, who had always fliewn but 
 little AfFe6:ion to the States ; The War alfo with 
 that Monarch was but , lately ended, and the Wound 
 but weakly healed : The French Treaty of 1662, be- 
 fides its defenfive Stipulations, contained alfo feveral 
 Commercial .Regulations, the favourite Objed of Hol- 
 land ; thefe bad been, pro vilignally referred to a few 
 Months before at Bredah, with a Defign to prevent any 
 intermediate Difputes between England and Holland, 
 until a Treaty of Commerce, which was then under 
 Deliberation, was concluded j but unlefs thefe were 
 
 I . ...,.,, ,,v,.p..T.!;;: ' per- 
 
L 54 ] 
 perpetuated on tlie prefent Occafion, and formed into 
 a permanent National Treaty, to which England was 
 averfe -f-, the States were refblved not to join in the 
 Alliance propofed : Monf. de Witt expreflly told Sir 
 William Temple J " that the Treaty of Defenfive Al- 
 " liance muft, 'for a Bafis, have at the fame time an 
 *' Adjuftment of Matters of Commerce," and uniefs 
 this could be obtained, it was the avowed Opinion of 
 that Great Penfionary not to conclude : Influenced by 
 the Sentiments of theii* Minifter, the States perflfted in 
 the fame Refokti^Dn ; they forced at laft Sir William 
 Temple to yield- the Point ; apprehenlive of the leaft 
 Delay, and of the Uncertainties which would necef- 
 larily follow from it, He ventured to comply with their 
 DefireSj though he exceeded thereby His Inflrudions ; 
 a private Promife paf^d firft between Him and Monf. 
 de Witt, and in Confequence of that, a few Weeks 
 after, a Treaty of Commerce was concluded. We 
 have before obferved, that in the 35 th Article of the 
 Treaty of 1662, the French confented to grant the 
 Right of Protedion to Neutral Veflels ; This therefore 
 came of courfe to be inferted in our Commercial Trea- 
 ty of 1668 j and the Advantages, which would arile 
 from thence in favour of the Trade of Holland, were 
 the Conceflions, which England then chofe to make, 
 that She might obtain the Affiftance of that Republic 
 
 againft 
 
 ■f Sir William Temple, to Lord Arlington, Feb. 12, 1668. 
 $ Sir William Temple, to Lord Arlington, Jan. 24, 1668. 
 
[55] . 
 
 againft France.; To what other Purpofe could England 
 at this Time eftablifli a Rule of Commerce, which 
 She had before fo often refufed, and now fo reludant- 
 ly granted to the earneft Solicitations of the States ? 
 Any Benefit which the Britifh Trade might reap from 
 the mutual Stipulation of this Article, could never be 
 the Objed, which the Minifters of this Country had in 
 View : The Article, confidered by itfelf, is 6f the 
 moft fatal Confequence to the Power and Trade of 
 Great-Britain ; When She is at Peace, and her Neigh- 
 bours are at War, She cannot reap any Benefit from 
 it, as her own Shipping is not more than equal to the 
 Trade of Her People ; — and when on the other hand 
 Great-Britain is at War, and her Neijghboiirs at Peace, 
 it tends to defeat the beft Part of her Power, and to 
 render fruitlefs the Efforts of her Naval Force ; — while 
 at the fame time confidered as a General Maxim of 
 Right among other Nations, Great-Britain neither 
 wants the Ufe of it, as She is equal in time .of War to 
 the Protection of her own Shipping ; neither can her 
 Merchants enjoy the Advantage of it, as the Employ- 
 ment of Foreign Freightage is in moft relpefts diredly 
 contrary to her Laws. This Article was again renewed 
 and admitted into the Treaty of Commerce of 1674,, 
 in confequence of its having been before ftipulatcd in 
 that of 1668. The Treaty of 1674, is the Maritime 
 Regulation, which at prefent fubfifts between Great- 
 Britain and Holland. 
 
 I la 
 
[56] 
 
 In this Manner therefore the Article having obtained 
 Exiftence in thefe Treaties, we are now to confider, 
 whether it is ftill in Force. 
 
 Treaties of Alliance being nothing more, than Sti- 
 pulations of mutual Advantages between two Commu- 
 nities in favour of each other, ought to be confidered 
 in the Nature of a Bargain ; The Conditions of which 
 are always fuppofed to be equal, at leaft in the Opi- 
 nion of thofe, who make it : He therefore, who breaks 
 his Part of the Contract, deftroys the Equality or Ju- 
 ftice of it, and forfeits all pretence to thofe Benefits, 
 which the other Party had ftipulated in his favour : 
 '* Si Pars una (fays Grotius -f) Foedus violaverit, poterit 
 " altera a Foedere difcedere, nam Capita Foederis fin- 
 " gula Conditionis vim habent." And PufFendorf, 
 fpeaking of Conventions, fays J, " Nee Haec alterum 
 " obligant, ubi ab uno Legibus Conventionis non fu- 
 ** erit fatisfadum." 
 
 The next Queftion then is, — Hath Holland com- 
 plied with her Part of the Treaties or Contrads, to 
 which fhe is mutually bound with England ? — Hath 
 fhe performed all, that fhe hath ftipulated in our Fa- 
 vour? — Oi* hath fhe been deficient in the Execution 
 
 of 
 
 t Grodus de Jure Belli & Pads, L. 2. C. 15. Sec. 15. 
 
 ^ Puffendorf de Jure Natur. & Gentium, L. 3. C. 8. Sec. 8. 
 
[ 57 ] 
 of fome Article, in which the very Life of our Alliance 
 is contained ? — If fo material a Part fhould be extin- 
 guifhed, it would be unnatural to fuppofe, that any 
 lefler Limb of the Treaties fliould have Vigour ; Hol- 
 land in this Cafe could have no Pretence to require 
 the Execution of what may have been conceded in her 
 favour ; efpecially, if the Performance of it would ope- 
 rate to the Detriment of that Ally, whofe Friendship 
 She hath forfaken. 
 
 I doubt not, but my Reader hath already anfwered 
 in his own Mind the Queftion propofed ; — that the 
 Pojfleffions of the Crown of Great-Britain in Europe 
 have been attacked by the Armies of France j that in 
 confequence of this, on the 2d of Auguft, 1756, the 
 Britifh Government made to the States General in pro- 
 per Form, the neceflary Requiiition j — that in fuch 
 Cafe Holland is obliged by Treaties to grant immediate 
 Succours, and after a certain Time to join with Great- 
 Britain in open War ; — that She hath not performed 
 thele Conditions, and hath therefore forfeited all Title 
 to any Advantages, contained in thofe Treaties, and 
 above all to fuch, as may arife from the Nature of the 
 War itfelf ? 
 
 I fliall ftate however this Point fomething more par- 
 ticularly ; Holland is engaged in three different 
 
 Guaranties or Defenfive Treaties with Great-Britain: 
 
 I The 
 
[ 58] 
 The firft is tkat Ancient Original JPefenfis^e Alliance, 
 which hath been the Bafis of all the fubfequent Trea- 
 ties between the two Nations ; This Treaty was de- 
 figned to have been made immediately after the Triple 
 Alliance, but the unfteady Condud: of tke Minifters of 
 Charles the fecond, and the unfortunate Attachment of 
 that Monarch to the French Court, for fome Years de- 
 layed it ; It was at laft however concluded at Weffcmin- 
 fter the 3d of March 1678 : It is (except in two imma- 
 terial Alterations) an exa£t Copy of the twelve firft 
 Articles of the French Treaty of 1 66 2 ; and both were 
 negociated by the lame Minifter, Monfieur Van Beu- 
 ningcn. In the Preamble of this Treaty -f-, " the Pre- 
 *' iervation of each other's Dominions," is fet forth as 
 the Cauie of making it ; aad the Stipulations of it are J, 
 " a mutual Guaranty of all, They already enjoyed, or 
 *' might hereafter acquire, by Treaties df Peace, in 
 " Europeonly :" They farther guaranty, " all Trea- 
 *' ties, which were at tiiat time made, or might here- 
 " after conjointly be made with any other Power :" 
 They promife alfo, to || " defend and preferve each other 
 in the Poffeffion of all Towns or Fortrefles, which 
 did at that time belong, or fhall for the future be- 
 long to either of them ;" and for this purpofe it is 
 determined *, that " when either Nation is attacked or 
 
 " molefted, 
 
 + See the Treaty, Preamble. N", 5. Appen. 
 % Art. 2. II Art. 3. and 4.. 
 
 * Art. 5. and ift Separate Article. 
 
 (t 
 
[ 59 ] 
 
 * molefted, the Other fhall immediately fuccour it 
 
 ' with a certain Number of Troops and Men of War, 
 
 ' and fhall be obliged to break with the AggrefTor in 
 
 ' two Months, immediately after the Party, that is al- 
 
 ' ready at War, fhall require it ; and that they fhall 
 
 ' then a€t conjointly with all their Forces, to bring 
 
 ' the common Enemy to a reafonable Accommoda- 
 
 ' tion." 
 
 That Holland hath not complied with the Terms 
 of this Guaranty is evident j— Minorca, " a PofTefHon 
 *' of the Crown of Great-Britain," and which She 
 " acquired by Treaty," hath been attacked j This is 
 One Cafe of the Guaranty ; — by that Attack, " a Treaty 
 " that was naade in common Concert," The Treaty of 
 Utrecht hath been broken ; This is a Second Cafe of the 
 Guaranty ; — And by thefe Means, ^* England hath been 
 " deprived of a Poffefiion), which of Right belonged to 
 " her ;" This is sl Third Cafe of the Gmmhty ; — And 
 notwithftanding all this, Holland hath not as yet grant- 
 ed the Succours ftipulated ; And many more than two 
 Months have pafTed without her having enter'd into War 
 conjointly with England, as the Treaty requires. 
 
 The Second. Species of Defenfive Alliance, which 
 fubfifts between Great-Britain and Holland, i& that, 
 which was firft agreed to, in the Treaty of Barrier and 
 Succeflionof October the 29th, 1709, and again more 
 
 I 2 particularly 
 

 [ 60 3 
 
 particularly ftipulated in another Treaty to the fame pur- 
 pofeof January the 29th, 1 7 1 3: TheDefign of this Treaty 
 is the Guaranty of the Dutch Barrier on one Part, and 
 the Guaranty of the firmeft Barrier of Britifli Liberty, 
 the Proteftant Succeffion, on the other; The Stipu- 
 lations are |I, '' that in cafe either fhould be attacked, 
 " the other fhould furnifli at the Requifition of the 
 " Party Injured, but at his own Expence, certain Suc- 
 *' cours there expreffed ; and if the Danger fhould be 
 " fuch, as to require a greater Force, that He fhall be 
 " obliged to augment his Succours, and ultimately to 
 ad: with all his Power in open War again ft the Ag~ 
 greffor." I pretend not to make any ufe of this 
 Treaty in the prefent Cafe ; and only mention it to 
 give a fuller view of the Alliances, which fubfift be- 
 tween Us ; — Here however I will indulge a Wifh, that 
 the Cafe of this Guaranty, as far as it relates to the 
 Right of the Crown of Great-Britain, may never again 
 exift : I always, read with Sorrow, that there ever was 
 a Time, when the unfortunate Diffenfions of our Peo- 
 ple, in a Point, where the Whole of their Happinefs 
 was concerned, fhould have made it neceflary to add 
 any other Sandion to our own Laws, than fuch, as 
 our own Power can afford them ; Thefe Days however 
 of Shame now, I hope, are paffed ; More than Forty 
 Years Experience of the Mildeft Government muft 
 
 have 
 
 11 Art. 14. of the Treaty of Barrier and Succeffion of January 29th, 
 '7'3- 
 
[ 6. ] 
 
 have won the mofi: obdurate Heart to confefs the pre- 
 fent Felicity, and blefs the Hand, which beftows it : 
 When forgetting Ancient Errors, We are thus united 
 in Defence, the Affedions of his Majefty's Subjedsare 
 the Happieft Guaranty of His Right. , 
 
 I come now to the laft Species of Defenfive Alliance, 
 which fubfifts between Great-Britain and Holland ; 
 This was concluded at the Hague the 4th of January 
 1717; To this Treaty France was a Party : The In- 
 tention or View of it was J, " the Prefervation of 
 " each other reciprocally in the PofTeffion of their Do- 
 " minions, as eftabliihed by the Treaty of Utrecht ;" 
 and the Stipulations are, " to defend all and each of 
 '' the Articles of the faid Treaty, as far as they relate 
 " to the Contradting Parties relpedively,- or each of 
 " them in particular; and they guaranty all the King- 
 '* doms, Provinces, .States, Rights and Advantages, 
 '* which each of the Parties at the Signing of that 
 " Treaty poflefTed;" and in a Separate Article all this 
 is confined § to " Europe only :" The Succours ftipu- 
 lated in Support of this Guaranty, are much the fame 
 as thofe mentioned above, firft jl, " Interpofition of 
 *^' Good Offices," — then ' ' a Certain Number o( Forces," 
 — and laftly, '' Declaration of War." This Treaty 
 was renewed by the Quadruple Alliance of 171 8, and 
 again by the Acceffion of Holland to the Treaty ef 
 
 Hanover 
 ■f Art. 5. No. 6. Ap. §, Separate Article. fi Art, 5. and 6, 
 
[ 62 ] 
 
 Hanover of 1726, and laft of all by the 3d Article of 
 the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle. 
 
 Holland hath by no means executed the Terms of 
 this Guaranty, — Minorca, " a Poffeflion of the Crown 
 " of England in Europe, which She enjoyed at the 
 " iigning of this Treaty," hath been attacked ; this is 
 one Cafe x)f the Guaranty ; — By this Attack, " The 
 " Article of the "Treaty of Utrecht, by which that 
 " PofTefTion was ceded to England," hath been broken; 
 this is another Cafe of Guaranty: I need not again 
 obferve, that Holland, in conlequence of this, hath 
 neither granted the Succours, nor declared War, as 
 this Treaty alfo requires. 
 
 It will here, however, be objeded, ** that Great- 
 " Britain was the Aggreffor in the prefent War, and 
 " unlefs She had been firft attacked, the Cafe of the 
 " Guaranties doth not exift." — -True it is that the 
 Treaties, which contain thele Guaranties, are called 
 Defenfive Treaties only, but the Words of them, and 
 iparticularly of that of 1678, which is the Balis of all 
 the reft, by no means exprefs the Point clearly in the 
 Senfe of the Objedion ; They guaranty in general 
 *' all the Rights and Poffeffions" of both Parties a- 
 gainft *' all Kings, Princes, Republicks, and States :" 
 — fo that if either " fhall be attacked" or " molefted," 
 whether it be *' by Hoftile Ad: or open War" or "in 
 
 *' any 
 
 ' 2 
 
[63 ] 
 
 " any other manner whatfoever, diflurbed in the Pof^ 
 *' feflion of his Eftates, Territories, Rights, Iramu- 
 " nities, and Freedom of Commerce," it then de- 
 clares, what fhall be done in Defence of thefe Ob- 
 jeds of the Guaranty, by the Ally, who is not at War ; 
 but it is no where mentioned, as neceflary, that the 
 Attack of Thefe fhould be the iirft Injury or Attack : 
 Nor doth this loofe manner of Expreflion appear to 
 have been an Omiffion or Inaccuracy : They, who 
 framed thefe Guaranties, certainly chofe to leave this 
 Queftion without any farther Explanation, to that 
 Good Faith, which muft ultimately decide upon the 
 Execution of all Contrads made between Sovereign 
 States : It is not prefumed, They hereby meant, that 
 either Party jQiould be obliged to fupport every Ad: 
 of Violence or Injuftice, which His Ally might be 
 prompted to commit, through Views of Inter^ft or 
 Ambition : but, on the other Hand, They were 
 cautious- of affording too frequent Opportunities to 
 pretend, that the Caie of the Guaranties did not exift, 
 and of eluding thereby the principal Intention of the 
 Alliance ; Both thefe Inconveniencies were equally to 
 be avoided ; and they wifely thought fit to guard a- 
 gainfl the latter of thefe no lefs than the former : They 
 knew that in every War between Civilized Nations, 
 ■each Party always endeavours to throw upon the other, 
 the Odium and Guilt of the firfl Ad of Provocation 
 and AggrefTion, and that the worft of Caufes was ne- 
 ver 
 
1 64 ] 
 
 vcr without its Excufe : They forefaw, that this alone 
 would unavoidably give fufficient Occafion to endlefs 
 Cavils and Difputes, whenever the Infidelity of an Ally 
 inclined him to avail himfelf of Them : To have con- 
 fined, therefore, the Cafe of the Guaranty, by a more 
 minute Defcription of it, and under clofer Reftric- 
 tions of Form, would have fubjedled to ftill greater 
 Uncertainty a Point, which, from the Nature of the 
 Thing itfelf, was already too liable to Doubt ; They 
 were fenfible, that the Cafes would be infinitely va- 
 rious, that the Motives to Self-defence, though evi- 
 dently juft, might not always be univerfally apparent ; 
 that an artful Enemy might difguife the maft alarming 
 Preparations, and that an Injured Nation might be ne- 
 ceffitated to commit, even a preventive Hoftility, be- 
 fore the Danger, which caufed it, could be publickly 
 known ; Upon fuch Confiderations thefe Negotiators 
 wifely thought proper to give the greateft Latitude to 
 this Queftion, and to leave it open to a Fair and Li- 
 beral Conftrudlion ; fuch as might be expedled from 
 Friends, whofe Interefts thefe Treaties were fuppofed 
 to have for ever united, and fuch on the prefent Occa- 
 cafion Great Britain hath a Right to demand. 
 
 If however we fliould, for the prefent, wave this 
 Interpretation, and allow the Treaties to have all the 
 Meaning, which they, who make this Objedion, re- 
 quire, the Evidence of Fadts will fufficiently prove, 
 
 .that 
 
[65] 
 that Fmnce was the Aggreffor in the prefent War ; — 
 If we took to America, the prefent War there is little 
 more than a Continuation of tke laft ; repeated Ufur- 
 patioRs of the Pofleffions of Great-Rritain, have been 
 there the conftant Employment of France, almoft 
 from the Hour in which the Treaty of Aix was figned ; 
 and thefe were at laft followed by an avowed military 
 Attack upon a Fort belonging to the Crown of Great- 
 Britain, by regular Troops acting under a Commiffion 
 from the Court of France — ^If we eonlider America as 
 having no Concern in the prefent Queftion, the fame 
 ambitious Fbwier will alfo be found to have been the 
 Aggreflbr in the European War ; Franc!e early mani- 
 feftied her hofkile Intentions in E'urope ; in 1753, in 
 dire6t Oppofition to the exprefs Stipulations of * three 
 folemn Treaties^, fhe began to reftbre the Port of 
 Dunkirk ; and Holland then eonfidered this Adion in 
 fuch a Light as induced Her, in Conjundion with the 
 Britifh Government, to prefent a Memorial againft it : 
 France alfo gave another Proof of Her hoftile Intenti- 
 ons, by Her Defign to invade Great-Britain, avowed 
 by Her Minifters in every Court of Europe, and fuf- 
 ficiently manifeftfed by the Preparations which fhe pub- 
 lickly made for it. And thefe were likcwife followed 
 by an open Attack upon an European Ifland belonging 
 to Great-Britain, an Attack upon the Ifland of Minorca. 
 
 K It 
 
 * IXth Art. of the Treaty of Utrecht ; IVth Art. of the Treaty of 
 the Hague, 1717 ; and XVIIth Art. of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
 
[ 66 ] 
 
 It feems indeed allowed, by the Opinion of the Par- 
 ties concerned, that by the Attack of Minorca the 
 European War was firft compleatly open^ed ; notwith- 
 ftanding all which pafTed elfewhere, Propofals for an 
 Accommodation of the American Difputes were nevei- 
 difcontinued, nor the War confidered as univerfal, till 
 that Ifland was abfolutely invaded. — As for the Captures 
 at Sea, the avowed Caufe upon which thefe were taken^, 
 fufficiently evince that they undoubtedly belong, to the 
 American War ; They were made in Confequence 
 of the Hoftilities firft commenced in America, and were 
 feized as Reprifals for the Injuries there committed on 
 the Property of the People of England ; as fuch they 
 were always declared to be taken by the Minifters of 
 that Kingdom, and the Value of them to be, on that 
 account, retained*; and upon Application made to 
 Parliament foon after the Seizure of them, the Legiila- 
 ture exprefsly refufed to diftribute them among the 
 Captors, as they have done in refped; of all other Prizes 
 which have been made fince the War of Europe began; 
 but even if this Diftind:ion, which, puts the Queftion 
 out of all doubt, had not been made by the Minifters 
 of England, thefe Captures furely can never be looked 
 upon but as a Part of the American War: it will not 
 certainly be denied that fuch a .War may extend itfelf 
 to the Ocean, without having changed either its Na- 
 ture or Denomination ; what but Captures at Sea have 
 been the great conftituent Part of every American War 
 
 before 
 
 * See the Biitifh Declaration of War. 
 
[6?] 
 
 before the prefent ; as a War upon the American Con- 
 tinent, muft always' be fupported by Succours fent from 
 Europe, it is abfurd to fuppofe, that either Party in this 
 Cafe would not endeavour, as far as he was able, to 
 take and deftroy entirely the Shipping of His Enemy, 
 by which alone thofe Succours could be conveyed. 
 Countries which have very little internal Force within 
 themfelves, cannot be defended but by fuch Troops as 
 are thrown into them ; to defeat therefore the only 
 Means by which this Relief can be efFeded, muft be 
 efteemed as material a Part of fuch a War, as the Means 
 to inveft a Fortrefs are a material Part of a Siege. — But 
 after all, thefe Captures were fubfequent to the Refto- 
 ration of the Port of Dunkirk, or the * Preparations to 
 invade Great-Britain ; and thefe can never be confidered 
 but as undoubted A6ts of Aggreffion ; it is not the firft 
 military AAion alone, but Hoftile Preparations, where 
 the Defign is apparent f, the Ufurpation of another's 
 Rights, or the Denial of Juftice, which, in the Opi- 
 nion of the ableft Writers, denominate the AggrefTor ; 
 The Objeds of the Defenfive Treaties are, *' Rights, 
 " Immunities, and Liberties," ^no lefs than " Towns 
 " or Territories," and " the Difturbance" or " Mole- 
 
 K 2 " ftation" 
 
 * Undoubted Intelligenccwas received of This before the 27th of Au- 
 cruft, 1755, when general Orders were given to bring in French Veflels ; the 
 Lys and the Alcide were taken on the Coaft of America, and are therefore 
 in every Light a Part of that War. 
 
 ■f Quanquam & aliquando favor Defenfionis ab illiiis Partibus flrat, qui 
 prior Arma alteri infert, ut fi quis Hoftem Invafionis jam certum, per ce- 
 leritatem opprefferit, dum Ille adhuc in adparando bello eft occupatus. 
 PufFendorf de Jure Naturae & Gentium, Lib. 8. Cap. 6. Sec. 3. 
 
[ 68 ] 
 « ftation" of the former, as well as " the Attack" of the 
 latter, are exprefsly declared to be Cafes within the 
 Guaranties. 
 
 A more fubtle Objedion, will ftill perhaps be made, 
 to what has been faid : It will be urged, " that though 
 " France was the AggrefTor in Europe, yet that it 
 " was only in confequence of the Hoftilities com- 
 " menced before in America ; with which it is deter- 
 " mined by Treaties, that Holland is to have no con- 
 " cern ; and that the Rights contefted atprefent are 
 ** not contained in the Guaranties." — If the Reafoning, 
 on which this Objedion is founded, was admitted. It 
 would alone be fufficient to deftroy the EfFeds of every 
 Guaranty, and to extinguifh that Confidence, which 
 Nations mutually place in each other, on the Faith of 
 Defenfive Alliances : It points out to the Enemy a cer- 
 tain Method of avoiding the Inconvenience of fuch an 
 Alliance : It fhews him where He ought to begin his 
 Attack ; let only the firft Effort be made upon ibme 
 Place not included in the Guaranty, and after that, He 
 may purfue his Views aCgainft the very Objed of it, with- 
 out any Apprehenfions of the Confequence ; let France 
 firft attack fome little Spot belonging to Holland in 
 America, and Her Barrier would'be no longer guaran- 
 tied : To argue in this manner would be to trifle with 
 the moft folemn Engagements. The proper Objed oi 
 Guaranties is the Prefervation of fome particular Coun- 
 try in the Pofleifion of fome particular Power. The 
 
 Treaties 
 
[ 69 ] 
 
 Treaties above-mentioned, promiie the Defence of the 
 Dominions of each Party in Europe, fimply and abfo- 
 lutely, whenever they are " attacked" or " molefted." 
 If in the prefent War the firft Attack was made out of 
 Europe, it is manifeft, that long ago an Attack hath 
 alfo been made in Europe ; and that is beyond a Doubt 
 the Cafe of thefe Guaranties. 
 
 Let us try, however, if we cannot difcover, what hath 
 once been the Opinion of Holland on a Point of this 
 Nature. — It hath already been obferved, that the De- 
 fensive Alliance between England and Holland, of 
 1678, is but a Copy of the 12 firfl Articles of the 
 French Treaty of 1662 ; foon after Holland had con- 
 cluded this laft Alliance with France, She became en- 
 gaged in a War with England ; The Attack then firft 
 began, as in the prefent cafe, out of Europe, on theCoafl 
 of Guinea; and the Caufe of the War was alfo the fame,, 
 a difputed Right to certain Poffeflions out of the Bonnds 
 of Europe, ibme in Africa, and others in the Eaft- 
 Indies : Hoftilities having continued for Ibme time in 
 thofe Parts, They afterwards commenced alfo in Europe ; 
 immediately upon this, Holland declared, that the Cafe 
 of that Guaranty did exift ; and demanded the Suc- 
 cours, which were ftipulated : I need not produce the 
 Memorials of their Minifters to prove this ; Hiftory 
 fufficiently informs us, that France acknowledged the 
 Claim, granted, the Succours, and entered even into 
 open War in the Defence of her Ally : Here then we 
 
 have 
 
f 7° ] 
 have the Sentiments of Holland on the fame Article, 
 in a Cafe minutely parallel : France alfo pleads in fa- 
 vour of the fame Opinion, though her Conceflion in 
 this refpe(ft, checked at that time her Youthful Mo- 
 narch in the firft EfTay of his Ambition, delayed for 
 ■feveral Months his Entrance into the Spanifh Provinces, 
 and brought on him the Enmity of England. 
 
 If any Doubt can yet remain, about the Meaning 
 and Intent of this Article, it may farther be proved 
 from the Opinion of the Minifter, who made it : — 
 Immediately after Holland was engaged in the War 
 above-mentioned. She fcnt to the Court of France 
 Monfieur Van Beuningen, to prets the Execution of that 
 Guaranty, which He had himfelf concluded : It is re- 
 markable, that in his Converfations on this Subject with 
 Monfieur <le Lionne, the fame Objedion was debated, 
 againft which I now contend : Van Beuningen treated 
 it with great Contempt ; He alked Monfieur de Lionne -f, 
 If the Pretence of the European War being only a don- 
 tinuation of that of Africa, was, what the Englifh alone 
 alledged to deprive them of the Succours of France ; 
 or whether the French Miniftry laid any Strefs upon 
 it, as an Argument, at all to be fupported. De Lionne 
 at firft gave him to underftand, that He thought it of 
 fome Weight, " A quoi, Je repondis," fays Van Beu- 
 ningen, " que Je ne croyois pas, que cette Objedion 
 *' fut ferieufe, puis qu' II dit alors, que Celui, qui a 
 
 " com- 
 
 i" Lettre de Monfieur Van Beuningen a Monfieur De Witt, December 
 26, 1664. 
 
cc 
 
 [71 ] 
 
 «* commence la Guerre en Guinnee, & de la en Europe, 
 *' n'a pas commence de Guerre en Europe ; & ne pou- 
 voit paffer pour troubler la Paix & le Commerce en 
 Europe, parcequ' II I'avoit trouble ailleurs aupara- 
 " vant;" and then he adds, " Ce, que J'ajoutai a ce 
 ** Raifonnement pour refuter cette Objedion, refta fans 
 " replique." This was the fame Monfieur Van Beu- 
 ningen, who negotiated our Defenfive Treaty of 1678 ; 
 He made the Terms of both thefe Guaranties precifely 
 alike ; and We before fhewed, that our own Cafe, at 
 prefent, is exadly the fame as this, on which his Opi- 
 nion hatlx been produced^. 
 
 If however the Words of thefe Treaties had been 
 againft the Interpretation, which hath been given them, 
 I might juftly have appealed to the Spirit of them, as 
 alone a fufficient Foundation, on which to build my 
 Opinion r The whole Defign of all thefe our Alliances 
 with Holland is to form a Barrier againft the Power of 
 thole mighty Kingdoms, whofe Ambition might other- 
 wife induce them to deftroy the Independency of Eu- 
 rope : They are, in fad:, a regular Continuation of 
 that Policy, which gave Birth to the Triple Alliance, 
 when the dangerous Spirit of the French Councils- 
 firft began to appear. To anfwer this great End, they 
 guaranty the Pofteflions of thofe two Maritime Coun- 
 tries, who, from their Wealth, their Internal Strength, 
 and their Incapacity of having any ambitious Views 
 
 them^- 
 
[ 72 ] 
 tbeinfd\?es,. are tl^e bed Security, againit the Defigns of 
 others : But aj^ the Obligations of th^fe Guaranties, are 
 too confideraible to be made ufe o£ oa trifling Occa- 
 Cobs ;, for this purp-ofe, the Contrading Parties- have 
 xuade one. Exception : The Rights> o( the European 
 Kingdoms in the diftant Parts, of the World, and par- 
 ticularly in America,, are very, uncertain, and the Caufe 
 of frequent Dtffeations ; and it is well known, that 
 Wars have there fubfijfted for many Years^ between the 
 Trading Subjeds and Comuierjgial Campanies c^ the 
 fevtral Nations; while the Mother Countries have 
 lived, if not in Friendfhip, at leaft in Peace ; This then 
 is the Cafe, particularly excepted from the Guaranty ; 
 but this Exception muft always be fo interpreted, as to 
 be made confiftent with the pxincipal Intention; af the 
 Alliance : — If fome great Country out of Europe fhould 
 become of fo much Importance, that for the Intereft of 
 Europe, it ought to remain in the Hand& of the prefent 
 PofTeflbEs ; If the lame great Difturber of Mankind, 
 after many fruitlefs Attempts in his own Neighbour- 
 hood, fhould now turn his Thoughts another Way, 
 and fhould endeavour, by diftant Diverfions, to en- 
 feeble that Power, on whofe Conlideration the Safety 
 of the Public very much depends, and to deprive Her 
 of the Sources of her Wealth, which She hath always 
 fo largely expended in Support of the Common Caufe ; 
 Would a generous Friend, who attends to the Spirit of 
 his Engagements, fay, that the Cafe of the Guaranty 
 
 did 
 
I n ] 
 
 idid not then exift? and, when the Reafon of the Ex- 
 ception is vaniflied, Would He urge the Pretence of 
 it, as an Excufe, for giving up the principal Point, on 
 which the Alliance was conftrudled ? — But if to this 
 diftant Attempt, the Enemy fhould add an open and 
 avowed War in Europe, fhould threaten the Mother- 
 Country with Invafion, attack her Fortrefles, and take 
 occafion from thence to fpread his Armies over the 
 Continent ; Shall this pretended Exception ftill be 
 urged, when the literal Cafe of the Guaranty is now 
 become apparent ? On this weak Foundation, Shall a 
 wife People, under fuch Obligations, not only refufe 
 to grant their Affiftance, but not permit their forfaken 
 Ally to make a full Ufe of his Power ; holding back 
 in this manner his Arm, when they will not ftretch 
 forth their own ; and claiming from the very Con- 
 trads, they have broken, that Privilege, which they 
 turn to the Deftrudion of their Ally. The Abfur- 
 dity is Shocking ; fuch however is the prefent Cafe of 
 England : Unhappy in her Friendfhips ! She hath nei- 
 ther that Afliftance from Allies, which They are bound 
 by Treaty to give Her, neither is She allowed to exert 
 even her own Force, though abandoned to her own 
 Defence. 
 
 In this manner the Point might be determined on a 
 general View of thefe Treaties ; and This alone would 
 be fufficient ; — but it may further be proved, that the 
 
 L Article, 
 
I 74 ] 
 
 Articlie^ oil which HoWand founds Her Right of pro- 
 teding the Property of the Enemy, as far as it relates 
 to the prefcnt Cafe, hath been particularly repealed 
 long ago. The Treaty^ in which this Article was laft 
 inferted, was concluded the'ift of December, 1674: 
 Four Years after this, in 1678, was paft that Defen- 
 five Alliance f , in which it was ftipulated between 
 Holland and England, " that if cither Party fhould 
 *^ be attacked in 'Europe, the other fhould declare 
 ** War againft the Aggreffor, two Months after He is 
 *' required :" By this Treaty, therefore, two Months 
 after England is attacked by France in Europe, and the 
 proper Requifition hath been made, Holland mufl be- 
 come the Enemy of the latter, as well as England ; 
 iand to be the Enemy of another, means certainly to 
 diflrefs his Trade, and feize his Property j not, to pre^ 
 ferve the former, and protect the latter : If this there- 
 fore is the right Interpretation of the Word, Enemy, 
 this Article diredtly and pofitively declares, that two 
 Months after France has attacked the European Poflef- 
 fions of England, the Ships of Holland {hall not have a 
 Right to protect the Effeds of the French : This there- 
 fore is derogatory to the 8th Article of the Marine 
 Treaty of 1674, and as being pofterior to it, abfolutely 
 repeals it. In all Laws, (and fuch are Treaties, in re- 
 fpeft to Nations) the laft enaded always fets afide the 
 former, fo far as they difagree. Cicero fays :}:, it ought 
 
 to 
 
 + Pefenfive Alliance of 1678. 
 J Cicero de Inventione. 
 
[ 75 ] 
 
 to be coiifidered, " lltra Lex pofterius fit lata, nam po- 
 ** ftrema quaeque graviflima." 
 
 But this Maxim is not neceffary on the prefent Occa- 
 fion, fince the fame Article is again repealed by two 
 fubfequent Treaties, in Words as pofitive, as can be 
 ufed : For in that Treaty -f- , by which all the Old Alli- 
 ances between the Maritime Powers were renewed im- 
 mediately after the Revolution ; and alfo in that of 
 February 6, 1716, by which they were again renewed 
 Upon the Acceflion of the prefent Family to the Throne, 
 the Treaties of 1674 and 1678 are exprefsly mentioned, 
 and made of both a Fart ; and it is there declared, that 
 " They fliall have the fame Force and Effed, as if they- 
 «' had been inferted in thefe Treaties verbatim ; that 
 " is to fay, fo far as they do not differ, or are con- 
 " trary to one anothelr ; yet fo as whatever hath been 
 ** eftabliflied by any later Tteaty, fhall be underftood, 
 " and performed in the Senfe therein expreffed, with- 
 " out any regard had to any former Treaty :" Can it 
 then be doubted, that the Articles above mentioned 
 are " Contrary to one another," as much as Peace and 
 War, as much as Friendship and Enmity? Is not the 
 Defenfive Alliance of 1678, " a later Treaty," than 
 the Marine Regulatioti of 1674? And ought not 
 therefore, aceotdiiig to the Words of the Renewal, 
 
 L 2 "the 
 
 i" Treaty of Friendfhip and AlliaHce between England and Hollanfl, 
 Auguft 1689. 
 
[76] 
 
 " the Article of the Latter to be performed in the 
 ** Senfe therein expreffed, without any Regard being 
 " had to the Former." Since then, the Year 1689^ 
 this Article, as far as it relates to the prefent Cafe, 
 hath been twice repealed. — Thus much therefore may 
 fuffice ta fhew, that the Right of Holland in this re- 
 fped is extind. 
 
 There remains one more Claim to be confidered ; a 
 Claim, which, if Report had not averred, that fuch a 
 one had been formally offered, would by no means de- 
 ferve an- Anfwer. — The Northern Crowns, whofe Com- 
 mercial Treaties with Great-Britain contain not any Ar- 
 ticle, which gives them exprefsly a Right to carry the 
 Property of the Enemy, have endeavoured to deduce 
 this Right from a general Stipulation, which is ta be 
 found in fome of their Treaties, declaring, that " they 
 " fhall be treated in like manner as the moft favoured 
 " Nation :"^ If Great- Britain therefore hath granted by 
 Treaty to any other Nation, the Right, in time of War^ 
 of becoming the Carrier of Her Enemies ; They think 
 They are juftly entitled to be admitted to the fame Fa- 
 vour r Under this Pretence, They claim this Privilege 
 as ftipulated in the Dutch Treaty of 1674 : But it has- 
 been proved above, that the^ Treaty of 1674, as far as- 
 it relates to the prefent Cajfe, is no longer in force ; if 
 the Inference therefore was otherwife juft, the Founda- 
 tiiO» being thus, deftroyed, whatever, is built upon it,. 
 
 muft 
 
[77] 
 muft neceffarily fall with it. But this Stipulation of 
 equal Favour, from the very Nature of it, can relate to 
 nothing elfe, but fuch Advantages as may be granted to 
 Foreign Traders, by the Municipal Laws or Ordinances 
 of each Country ; fuch, as Equality of Cuftoms, Ex- 
 emption from the Rigour of ancient Laws, which 
 would aifedt them as Aliens, and the Privileges of 
 Judges-Confer vators, and Confuls ; Thefe are the. 
 proper Objefts of Favour ; and becaufe the whole De- 
 tail of thefe could not eafily be Specified in a Treaty, 
 for this Reafon they are thus comprehended in a gene- 
 ral Article : If the Rights conceded by Treaties were 
 the Objeds of this Stipulation, to what Purpofe were 
 any other Articles added, lince this would contain: 
 them all ; and would alone include every Privilege, 
 which paft or future Treaties could afford them ? and 
 can it be fuppofed, that any Nation meant in this man- 
 ner to preclude itfelf from the Power of exchangingj, 
 by Treaty with, fome particular Country, any great 
 Right of its own, in return for an equal Advantage ? 
 or that this Right fhould, in fuch cafe, be univerfally 
 forfeited to the People of every other Nation, who; 
 would thus reap the Benefit, without having been Pan- 
 ties to the Bargain ?. 
 
 >But this Point is made clear beyond a Doubt, from, 
 the Words of the Treaties themfelves, where this gene- 
 ral Equality is ftipulated. — In the Treaty of Commercej 
 
 2 between! 
 
[ 1^ 3 
 
 between Great-Britaiii and Sweden, of the 2 ift of Oc- 
 tober, i66r, the principal one at prefent in Force be- 
 tween the two Countries; the fourth Article f, which 
 contains this Stipulation, plainly makes it refer to fuch 
 Favours only, as may be enjoyed in matters of Traffic 
 within their l-efpedive Dominions ; The Treatment, 
 which the Contrading Parties {ball there give to the 
 Subjects of each other, is the principal Purport of the 
 Article ; it fpecifies many Particulars, and among the 
 reft, it flipulates that the People of both Countries 
 fhall have ** Liberty to import and export their Goods 
 " at Difcretion, the due Cuftoms being always paid, 
 <' and the Laws and Ordinances of both Kingdoms uni- 
 ** vcrfally obferved ;" and then, manifeftly connedling 
 this with what follows, it adds, " which Things being 
 " pre-fuppofed, They fhall hold fuch ample Privileges, 
 " Exemptions, Liberties, and Immunities, as any Fo- 
 " reigner whatfoever doth or fhall enjoy ;" the general 
 Equality therefore here f^ipukted, plainly relates to 
 thofe Places alone, where the Cuftoms of thefe King- 
 doms are to be duly paid, and the Laws and Ordinan- 
 ces of them are in Force, and, that is, only within 
 their refpedive Dominions : The Privileges here con- 
 ceded cannot pofTibly have any larger Extent ; and to 
 confine the Senfe of the Article flill more ftrongly to 
 the Explanation, which hath now been given of it, the 
 Words, " in the Dominions and Kingdoms of each 
 
 other," 
 t N°. Vll. Appendix. 3 
 
[ 79] 
 othef," are twice repeated, to determine clearly, where 
 that Trade muft be carried on, to which this Favour is 
 meant only to be granted ; if however any Doubt could 
 yet remain, in refpeft to this Interpretation, They who 
 made the Treaty have given the ftrongeft Proof, that 
 under this Article They never intended to imply a 
 Right of carrying the Property of an Enemy ; fince, by 
 the 1 2 th Article of this fame Treaty, an Attempt of 
 that nature is pronounced to be '* a heinous Crime," 
 and the ftrongeft Provifions are made to prevent it. — 
 In the Treaty of Commerce between Great-Britain and 
 Ruftia, of the 2d of December, 1734, this Stipulation 
 of equal Favour is inferted in feveral Articles -f- ; but 
 it appears in every one of them, to relate to nothing 
 elfe, but to the particular Privileges which the Subjefts 
 of each were to enjoy, while they were trading within 
 the Dominions of the other. — In the 2d Article, this 
 Equality is exprefsly faid to be granted " throughout 
 " the Dominions of the contrading Parties in Eu- 
 rope. — In the 3d, it relates only to " the favourable 
 " Reception of the Subjects of each other in the Ports 
 ** of their refpedtive Countries." — In the 14th, it 
 grants only an equal Freedom to import " fuch Mer- 
 chandife into each others Dominions, as is allowed to 
 the Subjects of any other Country ;" — and in the 28th, 
 it refers only to the *' Refpe<St and Treatment, which 
 " is to be given to the Subjeds of one Party, who 
 
 " come 
 
 t N°. VIII. Appendix. 
 
•(< 
 tc 
 
 (C 
 
 it 
 
 [ go ] 
 t' come into the Dominions of the other." — -In the 
 Treaty of Commerce between Great-Britain and Den- 
 mark, of the nth of July 1670, the lateft at prefent 
 in Force between the two Countries, the Stipulation of 
 equal Favour is infcrted in the 40th Article ; it is there 
 faid, " If the Hollanders, or any other Nation, hath, 
 or {hall obtain from his Majefty of Great-Britain, 
 any better Articles, Agreements, Exemptions, or 
 Privileges, than what are contained in this Treaty, 
 the fame and like Privileges, fhall be granted to the 
 King ©f Denmark, and his Subje6ts alfo, in moft 
 " full and effedual manner:" That thefe Privileges 
 relate only to Cuftoms and other Advantages of the 
 fame Kind, might be proved from the whole Tenor of 
 this Treaty ; but it will be fufEcient to fhew, that the 
 Right of carrying theProperty of the Enemy, cannot pof- 
 iibly be intended by it. Holland had obtained this Right 
 in i668, two Years before the Danifli Treaty was con- 
 cluded ; if therefore the Stipulation of equal Favour con- 
 tained in the 40th Article, could extend to an Advan- 
 tage of that Nature, the Merchants of Denmark would 
 have been immediately entitled to it, from the Hour 
 the Treaty was figned : the Minifters of that Kingdom 
 could not be ignorant of this ; and yet in the 20th 
 Article, They have politively forbid the Exertion of any 
 fuch Right. They have even expreffed the greateft 
 Apprehenflon left any Liberty conceded by this Treaty, 
 ihould be interpreted to tliat purpofe, " left fuch 
 
 " Freedom 
 
[8. ] 
 
 " Freedom of Navigation," fays the Article, " or 
 " Paflage of the one Ally, and his Subjeds and People 
 ** during the War, which the other may have by Sea 
 ** or Land with any other Country, may be to the 
 ** Prejudice of the other Ally, and that Goods and 
 ** Merchandifes belonging to the Enemy, may be frau- 
 ** dulently concealed under the Colour of being in 
 " Amity ; for preventing Fraud, and taking away all 
 ** Sufpicion, it is thought fit, the Ships, Goods, and 
 " Men, belonging to the other Ally, in Their Paflage 
 " and Voyage, be furnifhed with Letters of Paflport;'* 
 and in the Paflport the King of Denmark hath bound 
 Himfelf to declare that the Ship and the Goods with which 
 it is laden " belong to his Subjects, or to others having 
 " an Intereft therein, who are the Subjedis of Neutral 
 " Powers," and that "they do not appertain to either 
 " of the Parties now engaged in War." — — Nothing 
 more, I hope, need be faid, to refute this weakeft Pre- 
 tence to a Right of carrying freely the Property of the 
 Enemies of Great- Britain* 
 
 As there is no Article therefore, which grants a 
 Right of this Nature, at prefent in Force in any of 
 thefe Commercial Treaties, it is unneceflary to fhew,, 
 that moft of the Captures which England hath made 
 of the Veflels of Neutral Nations, ought not properly 
 to be referred to it, but may be juftified by another 
 
 M Part 
 
Part of the faid Treaties, where it is^eclare^-h, ^I'.tJiat 
 "all Goods are contrahand, which , are carried to 
 "Places blockaded ,or iuveOned.'' The Debate hfca 
 Wttfuld turn on the 'real, ^Ixifience of the Bk)jcttde,T-** 
 To evince this/ J 'might fHew what Oniniotn .-tba 
 Dci'tch had of a NaV^al ^locTcade in 1-630 *", wheraj 
 They pretepded to, have blocked up_ all the -Coajflr of 
 Flanders, and ,'op^nly avowed that They wcjul^ rake>- 
 and condemn all Neutral Ships, whicK.had ttie im©fl? 
 diftant Appearance of being bound to the Ports of" that 
 Country ; I riiight alfofhew their Opinion of the d(ame- 
 in i68g,; w^en TKey declared J publickly to Neutral 
 Nations, that They defigned to block up ali the' Ports 
 of France. — I might obferve, that as the Pofleffions of 
 the principal Avenues to .a Town, conftitutes a Blockade 
 by Land" ; and that it is not necefl^ry, for thi's purpofe, 
 to have rriade a complete Line of Circumvallation • fo 
 by keeping great Squadrons of Ships of War cruizing 
 conftarttly before the Ports of an Enemy, by defboying 
 in this Manner totally his Trade, and preventing his 
 Fleets of War from ever venturing out, except now 
 and then a Ship or two by Stealth, a Blockade ought 
 certainly to be confidered as completely eftahlifhpd by 
 Sea. — I might fartlier prove the Caufe from itsEifedts; 
 
 and 
 
 t Art 41. Tr€a,ty of 1674, between Great Britain and Holland. The 
 fame Article is found in every other Commercial Treatyi 
 * Convention between England and Holland, 1689. 
 :): Placart of June 26, 1630. 1 
 
[83 ] 
 
 and (Lew, that tHe American Illands at kafl have ex- 
 perienced all the Confequences of fuch a Situation; 
 where Want of Communication with the Mother- 
 Country, Diftrefs, and Famine, fully declare, that 
 They have been invefted. But as this Topic may not 
 perhaps relate to the Cafe of every Capture, and de- 
 pends on the particular State of a Variety of Fa<fls, I 
 fhall not dwell any longer upon it at prefent : The 
 Queftion hath here, I hope, fufEciently been argued on 
 Principles, which are plain and comprehenfive,, on 
 thofe equitable Regulations, which Nature hath efta- 
 blifhed among Nations, and on thofe particular Con- 
 trails, with which Communities have bound them- 
 felves : And as I before endeavoured to prove, that 
 Neutral Nations had no Right, by the former of thcfe 
 Obligations, to protedl the Property of the Enemy ; So 
 now it hath been fliewn, by what Policy the Dutch firfl: 
 obtained this Privilege ; — by what Treaties it hath fince 
 been takep from them; — and by what Condud; They 
 have lately forfeited^ whatever might remain of this 
 Right. It hath alfo, I flatter myfelf, appeared, with 
 how little Reafon other Neutral Powers, under Colour 
 of any Article in their Treaties of Commerce, hav 
 claimed the Enjoyment of fuch a Right — Upon the 
 whole, therefore, I will now beg Permiflion to con- 
 clude, that the Naval Power of England hath been 
 conduded, during the prefent War, with no lefs Jufliee 
 than Spirit j — that the Faith of our Sovereign is as 
 
 M z fpotlejfe 
 
[8+] ■ 
 
 fpotlefs as his Courage ; — and that the Honour of" our 
 Country is unblemifhed. 
 
 The Bafis of juft Complaint being thus removed, 
 thofe idle Clamours, which have been founded upon 
 it, by no means merit our Attention ; To charge Eng- 
 land with Ambition muft appear fo abfurd to all, who 
 underftand the Nature of Her Government, that at 
 the Bar of Reafon it ought to be treated rather as Ca- 
 lumny, than Accufation : PoffefTed of every Bleffing, 
 which Civil Government can produce. She is open to 
 no Temptation, with which Ambition might feducc 
 Her ; Purfuits of that Kind might poflibly operate to 
 the Deftrudion of Her Conftitution, and Her Syftem 
 of Happinefs might be fubverted by the Augmentation 
 of her Power ; It muft always be the Intereft of Eng- 
 land to protedl the juft Rights of Commerce, and to 
 fupport thofe Principles, which promote the Labours of 
 Mankind, fince She herfelf can only be Great from the 
 virtuous Induftry of Her People. To obtain the largeft 
 Extent for the Exertion of this, is the Point, to which 
 all her Policy fhould tend ; and if ever, forfaking thefe 
 Maxims, She fhould feek to enlarge her Power by any 
 Ads of Ambitious Injuftice, may She then, for the 
 Welfare of the Human Race, ceafe to be any longer 
 Great or Powerful ! Her Courts of Maritime Jurifdic- 
 tion are more wifely calculated to preferve the Free- 
 dom of Navigation, than thofe of any other Country ; 
 
 4 As 
 
[ S5 ] 
 As They are not fubjed to the Controul of Her Exe- 
 cutive Power, the Paflions of her Princes or Minifters 
 can never influence the Decifions of them ; and Fo- 
 reign Traders have in favour of their Property all the 
 Security, which the Nature of the Thing will admit, 
 the Confciences of wife Men determining upon Matters 
 of Right, whom the Threats of Power cannot affed:, 
 and who are fet free, as far as poflible, from all Bias 
 and Partiality ; and to the Honour of the Learned 
 Perfons, who at prefent prefide in thofe Courts, one 
 Impartial Teftimony fhall here be produced in their 
 favour ; Though Treaties have exprefly pointed out to 
 all, who may there think themfelves injured, a regular 
 Method of Redrefs before a Superior Tribunal, the 
 Merchants and Freighters of Holland have never ven- 
 tured, as yet, to bring to a Hearing, or even to put 
 into a way of Trial, any one of the Appeals, which 
 They have made from the Determinations of thefe 
 Judges, giving hereby caufe to prefume, that They 
 made them with no other Intention, but to delay the 
 Execution of the Sentences ; and confcious of the In- 
 validity of their Rights, They have in this Manner 
 plainly confefTed the real Equity of thofe Decifions, 
 which have been pafTed upon them. That amid the 
 Confufions of War fome Irregularities may be com- 
 mitted, is a Misfortune too true to be denied, but 
 which the Circumftances of the Cafe render impoflible 
 to be wholly prevented ; They are the Confequences 
 
 of 
 
[86] 
 
 of all Wars, not alone of the prefent ; To deftroy the 
 Trade of the Enemy, it is neceflary to employ Priva- 
 teers, which cannot always be kept under thole ftridl 
 Rules, to which a more regular Force is fubjed:; 
 Thefe Maritime HufTars may fometimes exceed their 
 Commiffions, and be guilty of Diforders, the Authors 
 of which cannot always be puniflied, becaple the Na- 
 ture of the Fad renders the Difcovery of them difEcult ; 
 But can the Crimes of Thefe be imputed to Minifters, 
 whole Ears are always open to Complaints, and who 
 labour, as much as poilible, to redrefs: Them ? The 
 Privateers of England are already made fubjedt to every 
 Reftraint, which Naval Policy hath as yet invented, to 
 force them to conform to. their Duty; If however 
 thefe are found infuifficient, and if any more fuccefsful 
 Means can be difcpvered, to prevent every unjyfl; I}c- 
 predation, by which the Evils of War m^y be dimi- 
 niflifd, confident I am, that Grjeatr Britain will 'be- the 
 firft. to adopt them ; let them be confiftent only with 
 the Ufe of her Naval Power, and conformable to 
 Juftice, the Britifh Legiflat.ure will ena^ fuch into a. 
 Law, and the Britilh Miniflry will attend moft jfteadily 
 to the Execution of them. 
 
 But aft^r all, the wifell Regulations, on Occafions, 
 like this,, carmot be exped:ed to anfwer fully the, End 
 propofed ; The Syftem of Humanity is no where per- 
 fed, but in refped to Nationa its Weaknefs is , moft 
 
 apparent ; 
 
[ 87 ] 
 
 apparent ; The fofter Ties of Natural Affedion among 
 thefe have Uttle Effect, and no Coercive Bands of Power 
 exift to regulate and controul their Paffions ; It is the 
 Virtue of Governments alone, on which the general 
 Profperity depends, and Treaties have no better Sanc- 
 tion, than what that Virtue can give them ; Thefe 
 were the Principles, from which I firft commenced my 
 Difcourfe ; By Thefe the Rulers of Communities are 
 inftruded, to amend, as far as poflible, by their Pru- 
 dence, what Nature hath left imperfedl ; Ambition or 
 Avarice will augment the Evil, Moderation may pre- 
 vent it ; Every little Inconvenience muft be patiently 
 fuffered, where a fuperior Right makes it neceffary ; 
 The Love of our Country fhould never induce us to 
 ad; contrary to that Love, which We ought to bear to 
 Mankind, fince the Interefts of both, if they are 
 rightly purfued, will always be found conliftent with 
 each other. 
 
 A P P E N- 
 
[89] 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 N*. I. Marine Treaty between the Crawns of Great- 
 Britain and France ; concluded at St. Germains^ the 
 2 ^th of February, 1676-7. 
 
 Art. VIII. T^yTERCHANDISES appertaining to the Subjeds of the 
 i-V-L '"oft Chriftian King, which fhall be found on-board Ships 
 belonging to the Enemies of the King of Great-Britain, Ihall be Hable to For- 
 feiture, tho' they are not contraband ; and on the contrary, the Goods of the 
 Enemies of the King of Great-Britain fhall not be taken or confifcated, if 
 they be found on board any Ships appertaining to the Subjedts of the moft 
 Chriftian King, altho' the faid Goods make up the beft Part of the whole 
 Lading of fuch Ships ; but ftill with an Exception of all contraband, which 
 when taken fhall be difpofed of in the Manner direfted by the preceding Ar- 
 ticles. In like manner, all Merchandifes belonging to the Subjefts of the 
 King of Great-Britain, which are found on-board any Ships belonging to the 
 Enemies of the moft Chriftian King, fhall be liable to Confifcation, tho" they 
 be not contraband ; and on the contrary, any Merchandiles of the Enemies of 
 the faid moft Chriftian King fhall not be taken or confifcated, if they are found 
 on-board any Ships appertaining to the Subje6ts ofthe King of Great-Britain, 
 tho' the faid Merchandifes make up the beft Part or the whole ofthe Lading 
 of the faid Ships ; but ftill with an Exception to contraband Goods. 
 
 N". II. Marine Treaty between Great-Britain and the United-Provinces^ 
 to be obferved by Land and by Sea, throughout all Countries and Parts of the 
 World ; concluded at London, December the iji, x 674. Renewed by a Treaty 
 of Alliance between the faid Powers, February the Sthy iyi§-6. 
 
 Art. VIII. Whatfoever fhall be found laden by his Majefly's Subject 
 upon any Ship whatfoever belonging to the Enemies of the Lords the 
 States, although the fame be not of the Quaiity of contraband Goods, 
 
 N may 
 
I 90 3 
 
 may be confifcated : But on the contrary, all that which {hall be found 
 put on-board Ships belonging to the Subjeds of the King of Great- 
 Bfitaifli fball be a6€««»|ed clear and free, akkaugh the whole Lading, or 
 any Part thereof, by juft Title of Property fhould belong to the Enemies 
 of the Lords the States j e_xcept always contraband Goods ; But io 
 cafe any fuch are intercepted, all Things fhall be done according to the 
 Meaning and Diredlion of the foregoing Articles ; and fo likewife, what- 
 foever fliall be found laden by the Subjects of the Lords the States in 
 any Ship whaffoever belonging; tp the Enemies of his Majffty, although 
 the fame be not of the Quality of contraband Goods, may be confifcated : 
 But on the other Side, all that which fhall be found put on-board Ships 
 belongi«g to the S^t^efts . of the Lerds the Stf^tes, fhajl b& accQUiye^ 
 clear and free, akhoQgh the whole Lading, or" any Part thereof, by jufl: 
 Title of PropeEty, flieuld bdong to the l^eaies of his Majefty j except 
 always contraband Goods. 
 
 N°. in. Treaty of i66y, between Great-Britain and Spain, included in 
 ■thfit ketip^ev the-foM Pimvers at Utrecht, pf Ne^.embf r .z8y 1713, a.n<f 
 renewed by thel. df 4ix-h-Ch0pJfle3 1748. 
 
 Art. XXI. The Subjedls and Inhabitants of the Kingdoms and Do- 
 minions under the Obediepce of the Kings pf Gfeat-Britain and Spain re- 
 fpeftively, may with all Security and Liberty navigate and traffic through- 
 out all the Kingdoms, States and Countries^ cultivating Peace, Amity of 
 Neutrality, with either of the faid Kings. 
 
 Art. XXII. The Ships or Subjefb of either of the faid Kings ffiall in- 
 no wife interrupt the faid Liberty' by any Hindrance or Difturbarvce what- 
 foever, by re^fon of ^ny ifoftility which now is or may be hereafter be- 
 tween either of the ^id Kings, and any other Kingdoms, Dominions and 
 States, being in.Friendfliip or Neutrality with the other Party. 
 
 N". IV. Marine Treaty between Great-Britain and the States-General i 
 cendiided at the Hague the. -r-f of February,, 1667-8. Renewed^ h ^ 
 Treaty ef jiiUimee ketween the faid Powers, February 6, 1715-16. 
 
 Art. X. Whatfoever Ihall be found laden by his Majdly's Subjefts 
 upon a Ship of the Enemies of the faid States, although the fame were 
 not contraband, fhall yet be confifeated, with all that fliall be found in 
 fach Ship, without Exception or Refervation : But on the other Side, all 
 that fhall be found in any Ships belonging to any Subjedts of the King of 
 Great-Britaia, fhall he free and difcharged, although the Lading or any- 
 P?irt thereof belong to the Epemies of the faid States, except contraband 
 Goods, in regard whereof fugh Rule fhall be obferved, as hath, been kid 
 down in the foregoing Articles^ 
 
 N^ 
 
[91 ] 
 
 N". V. A TKtATV ef a Befenfwe AlUamt between Charles II. king if 
 England^ and thi States-GenertU of the United Provinces of the Neth^- 
 lands -i concluded at ff^ejlminjler, March the ^d^ i6yy-i. Renewed by* 
 Treaty of Alliance between the faid Potoers^ February 6, iyi^-j6. 
 
 Art, II. Moreover, there Ihall be a ftrift Alliaftce and faithful Coinfe- 
 deracy between his Majefty and his SucceflorSj Kings of Great-Bricain, 
 and the faid Lofds the States-General, their Eftates and Territories, for 
 the mutual Support and Prefervation of each other in Tranquillity, Peace, 
 Amity, and Neutrality both by Sea and Land, in the Poffeffion of all the 
 Rights, Franchifes and the Liberties they do, or ought to enjoy, or which 
 they already, or may hereafter acquire by Treaties of Peace, Friendftiip 
 and Neutrality, which before have been made, and ma!f be for the time 
 to come, conjointly arid in common Concert with other Kings, Republics, 
 Princes and Cities, within the Bounds of Europe only, and no farther. 
 
 Art. III. And thus they promife and oblige' themfelves to be mutual 
 Guaranties, not only of all the Treaties which his Majefty and the faid 
 Lords the States -General have alrfeady made with other Kings, Republics, 
 Princes and States, which fliall be produced on either Side, before the 
 Exchange of the Ratifications -, but alfo all thofe that may be matle here- 
 after, conjointly and in common Contert ; and to defend, affift, and re- 
 ciprocally to preferve one another in Pofleflion of the Territories, Towns 
 and Places, which do at this time belong, and for the future fhall belong, 
 as well to his Majefty and his Siicceflfors, Kings of Great-Britain, as to 
 the faid Lords the States-General, by the faid Treaties, in what Part of 
 Europe foe^^er the faid Territories, Cities and Places fhall be fituated ; \h 
 cafe his faid Majefty, or the faid Lords the States-General, as aforefaid, 
 happen to be molefted or attacked by fome hoftile Aft or open War, by 
 br upon any Pretence whatfoever. 
 
 Art. IV". Th6 mutual Obligation of affifting and defending one aft- 
 other, is to be underftood, and doth extend to the Confervation and Main* 
 tenance of his Majefty and the faid Lcyrds the States-GenCral, their Coun- 
 tdes and Subjefts, in all their Rights, Pclfreflions, Immunities and Liber- 
 ties, as well in refpeft to Navigation as Commerce, and every thing elfe 
 both "by Sera arid Land, which ftiall be found to belong to them by com- 
 mon Right, or have been acquired by Treaties already made, or to fc*; 
 made in the Manner aforefaid, with arid againft all Kings and Princes, 
 Republics and States ; fo far forth, that if his Majefty, or the faid Ldrds 
 the States, in prejudice to the faid Tranquillity, Peace, Friendftiip, t9r 
 prefent or future Neutrality, ftia-ll hereafter be attacked, or in axiy-oth^ 
 Manner whatfoever difturbed in the Pofleflion and Enjoyment of their 
 Eftates, Territories, Towns, Places, Rights, Immunities, -and Freedom 
 
 N 2 of 
 
[ 92 ] 
 
 ©f Commerce,. "Navigation, or any thing elfe, which his Majefty or the feid 
 iLords'the States-General do now enjoy, or fhall hereafter enjoy by common 
 Right, orby Treaties already made, or that may be m|de as aforefaid ; hi^ 
 Majefty and the faid Lords the States-General, as foon'as they are informed 
 of it, or required thereto by each other, fhall do all they poffibly can, con- 
 jointly to terminate the Trcftibles or Hoftilities, and procure Reparation to 
 be made for the Lofs or Injuries done to one of the Allies. 
 
 Art. V. And in cafe the faid Attempt or Trouble be feconded with any 
 open Rupture, that Party of the two Allies who is not attacked, Ihall be 
 obliged to break with the AggrefTor in two Months, immediately after the 
 Party that is already ata Ruptur^ (hall require it ; during which time he (hall 
 ufe all his Endeavours by his Ambafladors and other Minifters to mediate a 
 jiift Accommodation between the ^Aggreflbr and Difturber, and the Party 
 firft attacked or molefted ; and yet fhall in the faid time give powerful Aflift- 
 ance to his Ally, fuch as Ihall be agreed on by the feparate Articles between 
 his Majefty and the faid Lords the States General ; the which, though there 
 had been no Mention made of them in this Article, fliall be kept and ob- 
 ferved, as if they had been inferted and fet down therein ; it being already 
 left to the Choice of that Party of the Allies that Ihall be at Rupture, to 
 continue to enjoy the Benefit of the fame Succours, in cafe the Conjundure 
 of the Times and the State of his Affairs fhall make him prefer the Effedt 
 thereof before an open Rupture of his Ally with the Aggreflbr. 
 
 Art. VL The mutual Guaranty being in this Manner promifed and 
 eftablifhed, when either of the Allies comes to be attacked or molefted, if the 
 States-General of the United Provinces happen to be in, or find themfelves 
 obliged to enter into an openWar ; his Majefty fhall in like manner be obliged, 
 to break with the AggrefTor or Difturber, and to make ufe of all his Power, 
 and his whole Forces both by Sea and Land, and to join them with thofe of 
 the Lords the States-General, when it fhall be thought expedient, in order 
 to bring the common Enemy to a reafonable, firm, and equitable Accom- 
 modation with the King of Great-Britain and the faid United Provinces. 
 
 Art. VII. And in this cafe the Forces of his Britannic Majefty, and of 
 the faid Lords the States -General, fhall aft conjointly or feparately, as they 
 his faid Majefty and the faid Lords the States- General fhall then more par- 
 tkularly concert Affairs between them : they being to advife and confult to- 
 gether about the moft proper Methods to annoy the common Enemy, whe- 
 ther by way of Diverfion or otherwife, to the end he may fooner be brought 
 to an Accommodation as aforefaid. 
 
 Art. YIII. The faid Lords the States are to perform the fame that i^ 
 contained in the two Articles immediately foregoing, in cafe the King of 
 (Great-BiiUam (hall be attacked or cqolefted in. the Manner aforefaid. 
 
[93 ] 
 
 N». VL Treaty of Befenjive Alliance between Great-Britain, France and 
 Holland, concluded at the Hague the ^.th of "January 1 7 1 7 ; renewed by 
 the ^adruple Alliance of ly 18 ; in the Accejfion of Holland to the Treaty of 
 Hanover in 1726; and by the Treaty of Aix4a-Chapelle. 
 
 Art. V. As the End and genuine Defign of this -Alliance between the faid 
 Kings and States-General, is, to preferve mutually the Peace and Tranquil- 
 lity of their refpedtive Kingdoms, States and Provinces, which was eftablifh- 
 ed by the laft Treaties of Peace between the moft Serene Queen of Great- 
 Britain, the moft Serene moft Chriftian King, and the faid High and 
 Mighty Lords the States-General of the United Provinces, concluded and 
 figned at Utrecht on the nth Day of April, in the Year of our Lord 1713* 
 it is agreed and concluded, that all and fingular the Articles of the faid 
 Treaties of Peace, fo far as they relate to the Interefts of the faid three Pow- 
 ers refpeftively and each of them in particular, as alfo the Succefiions to the 
 Crown of Great-Britain in the Proteftant Line, and to the Crown of France, 
 according to the faid Treaties, fhall have their full Force and EfFeft ; and 
 the faid moft Serene Kings, and the Lords the States-General, promife their 
 mutual Guaranty for the intire Execution of all that is ftipulated in the faid 
 Articles, fo far as they relate (as is aforefaid) to the Succeffions and Interefts 
 of the faid Kingdoms and Provinces ; as alfo for the maintaining and defend- 
 ing of all the Kingdoms, Provinces, Territories, Rights, Immunities, or Ad- 
 vantages which each of the faid Allies refpedtively fhall aftually poflTefs at 
 the time of figning this Alliance : For which end the faid Kings and States- 
 General have confented and agreed, that if any one of the faid Allies ftiall 
 be hoftilely attacked by any Prince or State whatfoever, the other Allies ftiall 
 immediately interpofe their good Offices with the Aggreflbr, to procure Right 
 to be done to the Party injured, and to induce the faid Aggreflbr to abftain. 
 intirely from all farther Hoftility. 
 
 Art. VI. But if thefe friendly Offices ftiould not have the defired Effeft, 
 by reconciling both Parties, and obtaining Satisfadtion and Reparation of 
 Damages within the Space of two Months ; then thofe of the Parties con- 
 trafting who fhall not be attacked, fhall be obliged to affift their Ally with- 
 out Delay, and fhall furnifh. the Party attacked with the Succours here-under 
 fpecified, that is to fay. 
 
 The King of Great-Britain 8000 Foot, and 2000 Horfe., 
 
 The moft Chriftian King 8000 Foot, and 2000 Horfe. 
 
 The States-General 4000 Foot, and 1000 Horfe. 
 
 But if the Ally, who fhall be engaged in War, in the Manner afbrefajid, 
 fhall deftre to have AfTiftance by Sea, or fhall chufe Money rather than Land- 
 er Sea-Forces, it fhall be freely at his Option ;. the Subfidies to be furnifhed 
 bearing always proportion to the Forces above fpecified.. 
 
 And 
 
[9+1 
 
 And that no Difpute may arife hereupon, it is agreed, that looo Foot 
 ihall be computed at 1 0,000 Guilders, Dutch Moneyi a Month ; and 
 likewife 1000 Horfe, at go,ooO Guilders of the lame Money a Month, 
 reckoning Twelve Months to the Year-, the Naval Succours to be viltied 
 in the like Proportion. 
 
 Separate Article* Whereas in the Treaty of Alliance this Day 
 concluded, between the moft Serene and moft Potent King of Great- 
 Britain, and the moft Chriftian iCing, and the High and Mighty Lords 
 ihe States-General of the United Netherknds, there is among other things 
 a Stipulation concerning the Succours or Affiftance with which the Allies 
 are obliged thutually to help each other, in cafe one or other of them 
 ihould be hofiilely attacked : Left any Doubt Ihould hereafter arife tbuch- 
 ing the Number of the fajd Succours or Affiftance, by reafon of the Alli- 
 ances now fubfifting between the Crown of Great-Britain and the Republic 
 •of the United Netherlands, the under-written Ambaflador Extraordinary 
 and Plenipotentiary of the King of Great-Britain, and Deputies and Ple- 
 nipotentiaries of the Lords the States -General, have judged it neceflary to 
 declare, as they do declare by this Separate Article, which is to have the 
 fame Force as if it had been inferted in the Principal Treaty, that the 
 former Treaties and Alliances between the Crown of Great-Britain and the 
 United Netherlands ftiall have full Effedl in all their Articles, but efpe- 
 cially in thofe which relate to the Succours or Affiftance to be mutually 
 fbrnilhed according to the Proportions ftipulated in the faid Treaties or 
 Alliances ; which Articles fhall not only remain in Force, but are con- 
 firmed by this Separate Article, and the faid Proportions ftipulated by the 
 former Alliances, as to the Succours or Affiftance mutually to be fur- 
 niftied, fhall be always and exadly obferved^ even when the above-faid 
 Succours fhall be required by virtue of the Treaty this Day figned : Anji 
 that as well the King of Great-Britain, as the Lords the States- General, 
 Jhall, if the Cafe happen, have a Right to require the Succoursj either 
 by virtue of the former Treaties, or by virtue of the Alliance this Day 
 concluded ; yet fo, that if the Succours fliould be furniflied by virtue of 
 the former Treaties, neither Party ihall be intitled to afk further Affiftance 
 by virtue of this Alliance. And whereas the faid Succours, as alfo the 
 Guaranty mentioned in the Fifth Article of the faid Treaty concluded this 
 Day, are, by a certain Separate Article fettled between the m&ft Chriftian 
 King and the States-General, reftrained and limited to Europe -, fo like- 
 wife the fame Succours and Guaranty between the King of Great-Britain 
 and the Lords the States-General, are by virtue of this Article reftrained 
 tnd limited to Europe. In, Witnefs whereof, (^c, 
 
 m 
 
[95 ] 
 
 N°. VII. Triat* »f Alliance and Commerce between Great-Britain and 
 
 Sweden, %ift OSiobery 1661. 
 
 Art. IV. It fhall be free for either of the faid Confederates, and rfieir 
 Inhabitants and Subjedts, to enter by Land or Sea into the Kingdoms, 
 Countries, Provinces, Territories, Iflands, Cities, Villages, Towns walled 
 or unwalled, fortified or unfortified, Harbours, Dominions or Jurifdidliona 
 whatfoever of the other, freely and fecurely, without any Licence or ^fe 
 Condudl, general or fpecial ; and there to pafs and repafs, to refide therein,, 
 or to travel through the fame, and in the mean time to buy Provifions 
 and all NecelTaries ; and they fhall be treated with all manner of Civility : 
 It fhall be lawfgl alfb for both the Confederates and their Subjefts, Citi- 
 zens and Inhabitants, to trade, traffic, and carry on Commerce in all 
 Places where Commerce has been at any Time hitherto ufed, and in what- 
 foever Goods and Merchandife they pleafe, provided they are not contra- 
 band ; and they fhall have Liberty to import and export them at Difcre- 
 tion, tlie due Cnftoms being always paid, and the Laws and Ordinances- 
 of both Kingdoms, whether relating to Merchandife, or to any other 
 Right, always obferved : Which Things being pre-fuppofed, the People,, 
 Subjefts and Inhabitants of one Confederate fhall have and hold in the 
 Countries, Lands, Dominions and Kingdoms of the other, fuch full and 
 ample Privileges, Exemptions, Liberties and Immunities, as any Foreigner 
 whatfoever doth or fhall enjoy in the faid Dominions and Kingdoms on 
 both Sides. 
 
 Art. XI. Altho' the foregoing Articles of this Treaty, and the Laws of 
 Fr^endfhip do forbid, that either of the Confederates fhall furnifh any Aid 
 or Supplies to the Enemies of the other, yet it is by no means to be under- 
 ftood that either Confederate, with his Subjedts- and Inhabitants, who is not 
 a Party in a War, fhall be reftrained the Liberty of Trade and Navigation, 
 with the Enemies of the other Confederate,, who is involved in fuch War j 
 provided only that no Goods called contraband, and efpeciaMy Money, Pro- 
 vifions, Arms, Bombs, with their Fuzees and other Appurtenances, Fire- 
 balls, Gunpowder, Matches, Cannon-'ball, Spears, Swords, Lances, Pikes,. 
 Halberts, Guns,, Mortars, Petards, Grenadoes, Mufket-refts, Bandaliers,. 
 Saltpetre, Mufkets, Mufjcet-bullets, Helmets, Head-pieces, Breaft-plates, 
 Coats of Mails commonly called Cuiraffis, and the like kind of Arms r 
 Soldiers, Horfes with their Furniture, nor Piftqls, Belts, or any other In- 
 ftruments of War ; nor Ships of War and Guard-fhips, be carried to the 
 Enemies of the other Confederate, on the Penalty of being made Prize: 
 without hopes of Redemption, if they are feized by the other Confederate :: 
 Nor fhall either Confederate permit that the Rebels or Enemies of the other 
 be affifled by any of his Subjects, or that any Ships be fold or lent to, or 
 
 in. 
 
[ 96 ] 
 
 in any manner made ufe of by the Enemies or Rebels of the other to his 
 Difadvantage or Detriment : But it fhall be lawful for either of the Confe- 
 derates, and his People or Subjeds, to trade with the Enemies of the other, 
 and to carry them any Merchandife whatfoever, not above excepted, with- 
 out any Impediment ; provided they are not carried to thofe Ports or Places 
 which are befieged by the other ; in which cafe they fhall have free Leave 
 either to fell their Goods to the Befiegers, or to repair with them to any 
 other Port which is not befieged. 
 
 Art. XII. But left fuch Freedom of Navigation and Paflage of the one 
 Confederate might be of Detriment to the other, while engaged in War by 
 Sea or Land with other Nations, by concealing and conveying the Goods 
 and Merchandifes of the Enemies of the Confederate fo engaged in War, 
 under the Name of a Friend and Ally ; for the avoiding of all Sufpicion and 
 Fraud of fuch fort, it is agreed, that all Ships, Carriages, Wares and Men 
 belonging to the other Confederate, fhall be furnifhed in their Journies and 
 Voyages with fafe Condudls commonly called PafTports and Certificates, 
 fuch as are under- written verbatim, figned and fubfcribed by the chief Ma- 
 giftrate of that Province and City, or by the chief Com miffioners of the 
 Cuftoms and Duties, and fpecifying the true Names of the Ships, Car- 
 riages, Goods, and Mailers of the VefTels, as alfo the exad: Dates, without 
 any Fraud or Collufion, together with fuch other Defcriptions of that fort, 
 as are exprefTed in the following Form of a Safe-condu6t and Certificate. 
 Wherefore if any Perfon fhall affirm upon the Oath by which he is bound 
 to his King, State or City, that he has given in true Accounts, and be 
 afterwards convifted on fufHcient Proof of any wilful Fraud therein, he fhall 
 •be feverely punifhed, and incur the Penalties of Perjury. [^Here follows the 
 Pajfport.'] 
 
 Therefore when the Goods, Ships, or Men of either Confederate, or his 
 Subjedts and Inhabitants, fhall meet in the open Sea, or in any PortSj Ha- 
 vens, Countries or Places whatfoever, with any Ships of War or Privateers, 
 or any Subjedts and Inhabitants of the other Confederate, after producing 
 their Letters of Safe-Conduft and Certificates aforefaid, nothing farther 
 fhall be demanded of them, nor any Enquiry whatfoever made with refpe<St 
 to the Goods, Ships or Men, much lefs fhall they be injured, damaged or 
 molefted, but they fhall be fuffered freely to profecute their Voyage and 
 Purpofe. But in cafe that the faid folemn and ftated Form of a Certificate 
 be not produced, or there be any other juft and ftrong Caufe of Sufpicion, 
 why a Ship ought to be fearched, which fhall only be deemed juftifiable in 
 fuch Cafe, and not otherwife ; if the Goods of an Enemy are then found 
 in fuch Ship of the Confederate, that Part only wjiich belongs to the Enemy 
 Shall be made Prize, and what belongs to the Confederate fhall be imme- 
 diately reftored : The fame Rule fliall likewife be obferved, if the Goods of 
 the other Confederate are found on-board a Ship of an Enemy : If any 
 thing be done by either Party contrary to the genuine Senfe of this Article, 
 
 both 
 
r 97 ] 
 
 6oth Confederates fliall take Care, that the fevereft Puniihments, dae for 
 the moft heinous Crimes, be infiifted on fuch of their Subjefts and Inhabi- 
 tants as fhall offend herein, for their Contempt and Tranfgreflion of the 
 Royal Commands ; and chat full and immediate Satisfaftion be made to 
 the injured Party for all Damage and Expences (of which the moft fun> 
 maryFroofihaH be admitted) by the other Confederate, or his Subjefts 
 land Inhabitants, without any intricate Niceties of Law. 
 
 N". Vlli. Tke/ity of. Amity, Commerce and Navigation, Betimen Greats 
 Britain and Ruffia^ %d of Ikctmber, 1 734. 
 
 Art. 11. There Ihall be an entire Freedom of Navigation and Com- 
 inerce throughout all the Dominions of the two Gontra«9ing Parties in Eu- 
 rope, where Navigation and Commerce are at this Time permitted, or 
 fliall be permitted- hereafter by the contrafting Parties to the Subjeds of 
 any other Natiom 
 
 ■ Art. III. The Siibjefts of both contrafting Parties may tnisx at alL 
 Times into all the Ports, Places or Towns of either of the contra6ling, 
 Parties, with their Ships, VeiTels and Carriages^ laden or unladen, into, 
 which the Subjefts of any other Nation are permitted to enter, to trade or 
 abide there-, and the Mariners, Paffingsrs and Veflelsi whether Ruffian or 
 Englifti, even though, there ihould be any Subjedlis of any other ftrange 
 Nation amotig the Crew, fliall be received and treated in like manner as 
 the moft favoured Nation, and the Mariners and Paflengers Ihall not be 
 forced to enter into the Service of either of the contraAing Parties, which' 
 may have Occ^fioa for their Service ; and the Subjefts of both contrafting. 
 Parties may buy all Kind of Neceflaries, which they fball ftand in Need 
 of, at the current Price ; and repair and refit their Ships, Veflels. or Car- 
 riage?* and furnifii thiemfelveS^ with all Manner ©f Provifibfis. for their Sub- 
 flftence and Voyage, abide and depart at their' Pleafore, without Molefta- 
 tion or Impediment ; provided they conform themfelves to the Laws and; 
 Ordinances of the reJpecStive States of the faid contrafldng Powers^ where 
 they fliall fo arrive or continue.. 
 
 Art. XIV. The Subjefts of Great-Britain may bring by Sea or by- 
 Land into all. or aay ef the Dominions of RmfTia, wherein the Subjects of 
 any other Nation are permitted to trade, all Sorts of Goads and Merchan- 
 dizes^ whereof the Ihiportatioa and Traffick are not prohibited j. and \m. 
 like Manner the Subjefts of Ruffia may bring into all or any of the Do- 
 minions of Great-Britain^ wherein the Subjefts of any other Nation are al- 
 lowed to traffick, all Sorts of Mercbandizses of the Produce or Manufac- 
 ture of the Dominions of Ruflia, whereof the Ifnportation and Traffick are;' 
 not prohibited, and likewife all Merchandizes erf the Produce or Manu*-- 
 &dure of Afia j. provided that it is not adtually prohibited I^ aay Lavs?> 
 
 O- now 
 
t ^8 I 
 
 now in Force in Great-Britain ; and they may buy and export out of the 
 Dominions of Great-Britain, all Manner of Goods and Merchandizes, which 
 the Subjedls of any other Nation may buy therein and export from thence, 
 and particularly Gold and , Silver ^yrought or unwroUght, excepting the' 
 Silver coined Money of Great-Britain. 
 
 Art. XXVIII. The Subjedts of both Parties fliall he refpefted and treated 
 in their refpedliveDominions in like Manner as the moft favoured Nation, and 
 the Subjefts of Ruflia which fliall come into England in order to.Iearn Arts 
 and Commerce there, fhall be prote<5ted, favoured and inftrudled : Like? 
 wife if any Ruffian Veflels i(hall be met with out at Sea by any Englifh 
 Veffels, they fhall :in no wife be hindred or molefted by them, provided 
 they comport themfelves in the Britilh Seas in the accuftomed Manner -, but 
 on the contrary they fliall be favoured by them, and have all poflible Af- 
 fiftance given them, and that in the very Ports or Havens belonging to 
 thevDominions of Great-Britarn. 
 
 N". IX. Treaty -of Alliance and Commerce between 'Gr^at-Britain and 
 Denmark, concluded at Copenhagen , iithpfJuly,i6'jo. 
 
 Art. XVI. It fhall be lawful for either of the Confederates, and their Sub- 
 jefts or People, to trade with the Enemies of the other, and to carry to thera, 
 or furnilh them with all Kinds of Merchandifes, (except only prohibited 
 Goods, which are called contraband,) without any Impediment, unlefs in 
 Ports and Places Ijefieged by the other.; which neverthelefe if they fhall do, 
 it fhall be free for them either to fell their Goods to the Befiegers, or go to 
 any other Port or Place not befieged. 
 
 Art. XX. But, left fuch Freedom dfiSTavigation, orPaf&ge, of the- one 
 Ally, and his Subjefts and People, during the War, which the other may 
 have by Sea or by Land with any other Country, may be to the Prejudice 
 of the other Ally, and that Goods and Merchandizes,: belonging to the Ene- 
 my, may be fraudulently concealed under the Colour of being in Amity ; for 
 preventing Fraud, and taking away all Sujipicion, it is thought fit, that the 
 Ships, Goods and Men, belonging to the other Ally, in their PafTage and 
 Voyages, be furnifhed with Letters of Paflports and Certificates,. the Forms 
 whereof ought to be as follow. [Here follows ^ihe Pq/fport.l 
 
 When therefore the Merchandize, Goods, Ships, or Men of cither of the 
 Allies, and their Subjefts and People, fhall meet in open Sea, Straits, Ports, 
 Havens, Lands, and Places whatever, the Ships of War, whether public or 
 private, or the Men, Subjects and People of the other Ally, upon exhibiting 
 only the aforefaid Letters of Safe condud and Certificates, nothing more 
 fhall be required of them-, nor fhall Search be made after the Goods, Ships, 
 or Men ; nor fhall they be any other way molefted or troubled, but fhall be 
 fuffered with all Freedom to purfue their intended Voyage. But if this fo- 
 
 4 lemn 
 
' I 99 ] 
 
 'lemn and fet Form of Paflport and Certificate Is not exhibited, or there. is any 
 'Other juft or Urgent Caufe of Sufpicion, then fhall the Ship be fearched, which 
 is neverthelefs underftood to te permitted in this Cafe only. And, if any 
 thing ftiallbe committed, contrary to the true Ji^eaning of this Article,againft 
 either of the Allies, each of the faid ATfies Ihall caufe his Subjedts, and People 
 offending, to befeverely punifhed, and full and intire Satisfadion to be forth- 
 with given, and without Delay, to the Party injured, and his Subjefts and 
 People, for their whole Lofs and Expences. 
 
 Art. XL. Alfo it is agreed, that, if the Hollanders, or any Other Nation 
 whatever, (.the Swediih Nation only excepted) hath obtained already, or Ihall 
 hereafter obtain any better Articles, Agreements, Exemptions or Privi- 
 leges, than what are contained in this Treaty, from the King of Denmark, 
 the fame and like Privileges fhall be likewife granted to the KingofGreat- 
 ;Britain and his Subjefts, effedtually and fully to aU Intents and Purpofes. 
 And on the other Side, if the Hollanders, or any other Nation whatever, hath 
 or fhall obtain from His Majefty of Great-Britain any better Articles, Agree- 
 ments, Exemptions or Privileges, than what are contained in this Treaty, the 
 fame and like Privileges fhall be granted to the King of Pejlraark and his 
 Subjefts alfo, in moft full and effeftual Manner. 
 
 / I N I S. 
 
Cornell University Library 
 JX5360.L78 1759 
 
 A discourse on the conduct of the govern 
 
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