they thought must fucceed. They no longer applied therefore for peace, but sent out a fleet with all imagi. nable diligence. Cromwell, for his part was not behindhand with them in his preparations, but gave

them such a reception, by his admirals, as they did not expect : so that after a long and bloody engagement; in which the English loft little besides their admiral Dean, the Dutch were obliged to shelter themselves behind the sands between Calais and Dunkirk, to prevent.the destruction of their whole fleet. This made the ftates sue again for peace, in the most submisfive manner: to which Cromwell was not averse, but would allow of no cessation till it was actually concluded. Both parties therefore got ready again for an engagement, the Dutch having no less than 125 fail.

They came forth with great confidence of success ; but still found the English an over match: for after a fight for two days, in which Van Tromp-was killed, and about thirty of their ships fired or funk, they made all the fail they could towards the Texel. This victory tho it cost the English dear, was so acceptable to Cromwell and his parliament, that a day of thanksgiving was appointed for it; and gold chains, with fine medals representing a fea-fight, were given to the admirals for their good services. On the other hand it put the Hollanders into the utmost confusion, and occasioned some dangerous insurrections of the common people. The states applied themselves therefore to Cromwell's parliament and council; who would grant them no other terms, than the taking a lease, and paying an annual rent for the fiberty of fishing in the English seas.

But this parliament and council having furrendered up their powers to the lord protector, they made a fresh application to him alone ; who at last, when he saw no greater advantages could be expected, granted them a peace upon the following conditions. 1. That they should not permit any of the king's party to relide within their dominions.

3. That

2. That they should never suffer the prince of Orange to be itadtholder, general, or admiral. they should restore the island of Polerone in the EastIndies, which they had taken from the English in the reign of king James the firft. 4. That they should pay 300,000 l. for the barbarities formerly exercised on the English at Amboyna. 5. That they should never dispute the rights of the English flag Glorious conditions for the protector ! and such as none of our monarchs could procure before him, tho' the terms of the third and fourth articles had been often contested.

$. 3. The greatest difficulty the protector met with, in relation to foreign affairs, was, which side to chufe in the war between France and Spain. Great application was made to him from both sides. Spain, says bishop Burnet, ordered their ambassador de Cardenas, a great and able man, to compliment him, and to engage, that in case he would join with them, they would pay him 100,000 crowns per month, and 200,000 crowns by way of advance, and not make peace till Calais was again recovered to the English, which had now been lost about an hundred years. 'The prince of Conté likewise, who was then in hoftility with France, and supported by Spain, offered to turn proteftant, and, upon Cromwell's affisting him, to make a descent in Guienne, where he doubted not but the protestants would join him, and enable him so to distress France, as to obtain for themselves, and for England, what conditions the protector pleased to dictate. But that prince's pretentions, upon farther enquiry, were found to be ill-grounded and vain. Mazarine, on the other hand, endeavoured to outbid Spain, by offering to aslift him to take Dunkirk, then in the Spaniards hands, and a place of much more importance than Calais; and at the same time infinuated, that in case he joined with Spain, an army of Huguenots, headed by the king or his brother, should make a descent on England; which, at that time, might be of dangerous confequence to Cromwell, considering how many enemies he had at home.

This, the bishop assures us, was the thing that de. termined him to join with the French ; and in consequence of the treaty, which was concluded soon after. the king and duke were dismissed the kingdom of France with many excuses, some money, and abundance of promises. The prelate mentions another thing, which, he says, had great weight with the protector, while he was yet balancing in his mind about this alliance. One Gage, formerly a priest,comingover from the West-Indies, informed him how weak and how wealthy the Spaniards were there ; which made him conclude, that it would be both a great and an easy conquest to seize their dominions. And this he thought would supply him with such a treasure, as would thoroughly establish his government,

It has been a question much disputed, whether Cromwell, in joining with France against Spain, did really act confiftently with the true interest of his country Most people have maintained the negative; but I think with very little reason. The condition of France, at that time, was far different from what we have seen it in our days. The king was a minor, and the royal family divided among themselves, which had reduced the constitution to a languishing state. Whereas the house of Austria was then united and powerful ; and the king of Spain, in particular, was possessed of the Netherlands, just in our neighbourhood, which rendered him formidable, and made it the interest of England to support France against him. Cromwell then, notwithstanding what has been said, might have, and I believe had, more general and national views in this alliance, than have hitherto been ascribed to him,

$. 4. But to put this matter beyond all dispute, and to shew that the Spaniards before Cromwell's time were too much like what we have found them fince,

which made it next to impossible for a man of his fpi. rit not to resent their insults and depredations on his countrymen, we need only read the manifesto penned in Latin by the immortal Milton, and published by the protector while his fleet was in America, to thew 6 the justice of the cause of this commonwealth against the Spaniards." I fall fet down a few pafsages of it, in order to recommend the perusal of the whole, a translation of which was lately printed *.

After setting forth the state of affairs for many years between the two kingdoms, and fhewing how much the two late kings, James and Charles I, had suffered themselves and their subjects to be insulted by the Spaniards, it proceeds: " But as to the disputes that have arisen in the West-Indies, though we, both in the continent itself, and in the islands, have plantations as well as they; and have as good, nay a bet. ter right to possess them, than the Spaniards have to poffefs theirs ; and though we have a right to trade in those feas, equally good with theirs ; yet, with out any reason, or any damage fuftained, and that when there was not the least dispute about commerce, they have been continually invading our colonies in a hoftile way, killing our men, taking our ships, robbing us of our goods, laying waste our houses and fields, imprisoning and enslaving our people : this they have been doing all along till these present times, wherein we have of late engaged in an expedition against them. For which reason, contrary to what used to be done formerly in the like case, they have detained our fips and merchants, and confiscated their goods almost every where through the Spanish dominions : so that whether we turn our eyes to America or Europe, they alone are undoubtedly to be confidered as the authors of the war."

It then sets forth the barbarous treatment of many of our merchants and sailors, giving a long list of particular instances; and goes on thus. By these,

and

For A. Millar in the Strand.

and many more examples of the same kind, too long to be reckoned up, 'tis abundantly evident, that the king of Spain and his subjects think they are no way bound, by any condition of peace to be performed to us on their part, in these places ; since they have habitually exercised all sorts of hoftilities against us, nay have even done such things as are more unsuitable, and more grievous than open acts of hoftility ; and since that cruelty with which they usually treat the English in America, is so contrary to the articles of peace, that it does not so much as seem suitable to the laws of the most bloody war.

But the king of Spain seems to be convinced, that the sacred bonds of friendship have been first broken on his fide : which thing is so clear and manifeft, that our adverfaries in the controversy are ashamed to deny the fact, and chufe rather to dispute with us concerning the right of poffeffion.-They pretend to have a double title, one found upon the pope's gift, and another upon their having first discovered those places. As to the first, we know the pope has always been very liberal in his gifts of kingdoms and countries ; but in the mean time we cannot but think, that in so doing, he acts in a very different manner from him, whose vicar he profeffes himself, who would not so much as allow himself to be appointed a judge in the dividing of inheritances.--But we deny his being vested with any such authority, nor do we think there is any nation so void of understanding, as to think that so great power is lodged in him that the Spaniards would believe this, or acquiesce in it, if he should require them to yield up as much as he has bestowed.

Nor is the other title of any greater weight ; as if the Spaniards, in consequence of their having first discovered fome few parts of America, and given names to some islands, rivers, and promontories, had for this reason lawfully acquired the government and dominion of that new world. But such an imaginary title, founded on such a filly pretence, without be

ing

; or