such as are infinitely greater than He lay under before and such as loudly tell the World He never will venture to fight the whole Confederacy again Viz. The Multitude of strong Towns Cities which he surrendred to the Confederates which are a sufficient Guarâ—â—tâ—e of the Peace and the Different Case of the Emperor who is more than ' twice what he was the last War by his Peace with the Turks 3. If He should make the Duke D' Anjou King France would really get nothing by the Bargain for in one Age the Race would be all Spaniards again Nay in a few Years Property woul'd prevail and he woul'd no more let his Brother the Duke of Burgundy when King of France encroach upon him than the late King of Spain woul'd the present King of France We do not want Instances in the World that Interest banishes all the Ties of Nation and Kindred when the Duke D'Anjou had been King of Spain some time he would look upon Spain to be his Own his Native his Peculiar and be as far from subjecting himself to France because he was born there as if he had never seen it Possibly he might be willing to join Interest with France and it may be join Forces upon Occasion ' but it must be where the Interest of the two Nations did not clash then and that is almost no where but if ever France encroach upon him she wou'd find him King of Spain not Duke D'Anjou So that all the King of France cou'd get by accepting the Crown of Spain would be a little present Satisfaction to see a Son of the House of Bâ—urbon on the Spanish Throne but as King of France he wou'd not be One Farthing the beter for it But this would not be all as is before noted but whenever the present Duke of Burgundy comes to Enjoy the Crown of France it will in all Probability be an Eternal Cause of Contention between them For if the Family of France has any Title to Spain 't is in the Eldesâ— Son of the Family and there can be no Colour of a Title in the Second Son while the Eldest is alive but what is founded either in the Gift of the One King or the Other As to the Gift of the Dauphin to his Second Son the first being alive it cannot be valid for he has no Power to give away what is his Son 's by Inheritance nor can no more give the Crown of Spain from him than the Crown of France if Gift could be pleaded the Grandfather gave it away from them all before they were born Nay if the Duke of Burgundy should consent to it His Children if ever he has any will declare he had nothing to do to give away their Right any more than the present King of France had Power to give away the Right of the Dauphin for since the Deficiency of that Action in its own Nature is the whole Ground of the Dauphin's Title now it will directly destroy the Title of the Duke D'Anjou for what is a good Argument for him cannot be a bad One against him As to the Gift of the Defunct King of Spain I see nothing in it to build a Pretence of Right on If He had bequeath'd it to the Right Heir I presume he wou'd not have thought his Title one jot the better for it And if he had bequeath'd it to the Grand Seignior the King of France wou'd not have thought his Title the worse for it So that it signifies just nothing at all We come now to the grand Question proposed Quest 2. What Measures the English ought to take in this Juncture The Answer must be in Two Parts 1. Supposing the French King adheres to the Partition agreed upon by the League before mentioned 2. Supposing the French King for Reasons which we know not should think fit to quit the Treaty and push for the whole on the Pretence of a Will made by the King of Spain 'T is confess'd England since her Troops are broke and her People more divided in Temper than 't was hop'd they wou'd have been under so mild and gentle a Government makes but a very mean Figure abroad and were any King at the Head of her Councils as well as Forces but King William hardly any Nation would trouble their Heads to confederate with her But all the World does not yet see our weak Side and the Reputation of the King makes us more formidable a great deal than we really are But we are to act according to the Knowledge we have of what our Circumstances really are not what other Nations may believe them lest we let them know our Weakness at the Price of our Destruction However I 'll for the present suppose what all good Men wish That we were in the same good Posture as the War left us united in Council and ready for Action and willing to preserve the Character we had then in the World And First Supposing the King of France adheres to the Partition of the Spanish Monarchy If so without Question England ought to put her self into such a posture as to be able in Conjunction with the Dutch to force the Emperor and Princes of Italy to comply with the Conditions At the same time so to maintain the Banllance in the Partition as to oblige the King of France to accept of and rest contented with the Particulars stipulated in their respective Leagues without farther Encroachment and to make themselves Trustees for the rest in Behaâ—â— of the Heir It is already started as a Query what if the King oâ— France does accept of the Partition and the Emperoâ— shou'd continue to stand out the King of France is therâ— at Liberty to take the whole if he can get it No such Matter I do not pretend to have been privy to the Debates or of the Council in the contriving this League nor to be acquainted with what Provision is made in case the Emperor refuses to come in but in order to give a Judgment as near as can be done without Doors as we call it I shall briefly state the Reasons which in my Opinion should move the English and Dutch to form this League And the great Reason which as I conceive gave Birth to the first Project of this League setting aside private Reasons of State was the maintaining the Ballance of Power in Europe This has been the Foundation of all the Wars in our Age against the French and in the last Ages against the Spaniards and the Emperor A just Ballance of Power is the Life of Peace I question whether it be in the Humane Nature to set Bounds to its own Ambition and whether the best Man on Earth wou'd not be King over all the rest if he could Every King in the World would be the Universal Monarch if he might and nothing restrains but the Power of Neighbours and if one Neighbour is not strong enough for another he gets another Neighbour to join
in the Ocean Flanders and America but upon some Expectation to get more the Consederates therefore are to preserve that part which is Design'd him face and then effectually to put it out of his power to obtain the rest and with all not to admit him into the part Reserv'd for him till he agrees to accept it on the Terms proposed if he shou'd absolutely refuse it which is a ridiculous Supposition there are other Heirs of that Line to have recourse too there 's no doubt the Crown of Spain need not go a begging for an Heir It may be answered if it be thus it is the Emperors best Course to lay his Measurer for the whole and if he connot carry it he may accept of the Partition at last That 's more than the Objector may be able prove how far the Confederates may think fit to bestow the remainder if the Emperor after a War shou'd be reduc'd to accept of it is more than any one can Answer and more than the Emperor will try if he be not infatueted worse than ever a certain King was who if he had not might ha' been a King still The Second Branch of the Answer is supposing the King â—f France shou'd so far forget himself as to quit the League of Partition and claim the Crown of Spain for his Grandson Duk d'Anjou by Virtue of the Will of the King Defunct It must certainly then be the Interest of England and Holand first to put themselves in such a Posture as may prevent â—he French King seizing of Spain it self and Flanders in Parâ—icular And upon the First Invasion of the Territories of Spain by the French King to Declare War against him in the Name of the whole Confederacy as an Infringer of the Grand Peace at Reswick And then by appearing on the Frontiers in such a formidable manner as shall give him diversion enought that he not be able to enter Spain with any considerable Forces The First of these things is to be done immediately by fittâ—ng out a good Fleet which should so Scour the Mediteranean â—hat the French wou'd not be able to do much on the side of Catalonio for Experience has told us a Fleet at Sea will make â—heir War in Catalonia very uneasie to them and by landing 〈◊〉 small Force of about Eight or Ten Thousand Men at Fonerabia which should be sufficient to Defend that side of the Country from the Invasions of the French But this Pamphlet is not wrot to direct Methods but to Ara gue the general Point The Conclusion of the Argument must come to that sort â—f People who have appeared Champions for our English Liberty as to Damn all kind of force as useless burthensom â—o the Kingdom and Badges of slavery and all Arguments to â—e only pretences for supporting Arbitrary Designs If the French shou'd attack Spain I am far from saying I â—m glad they will be convinc'd convinc'd but I must say I am sorry â—he people of England have been deluded by their specious â—retences Fâ—â— if the French carry the Spanish monarchy for want of our being in a Condition to 〈◊〉 it I am bold to tell those Gentlemen God Almighty must be put to the trouble of working another miracle to save us or we are reduc'd to a very dangerous Condition But say they we hav a great Fleet and in that we are safe it is true Gentlemen so we are from Invasion I believe we need not fear all the World but what is England without its Trade without its Plantation Trade Turky Trade and Spanish Trade and where will that be when a French Garrison is planted at Cadiz and the French Fleet brings home the Plate from Havana What will the Virgina Collony be worth when the French come to be strong in the Lakes of _____ and have a free Commerce from Quebeck to Mexico behind ye what will our Northern Trade be worth in a War when the ports of Ostend and Newport are as full of Pivates as Dunkirk and St. Malo A wise Man cannot patiently reflect upon the formidable power of France with the Addition of the Spanish Dominion and should he at last annex it to the Crown of France who can consider without Horrour that all the ports from Sluce in Flanders to the Fâ—râ— Messina in Sicily should be in the Hands of the French which is a Coast of near 3000 Miles Portugal Genoua and Leghorn excepted and how long they will bold out is easie to imagine I know God can prevnt Humane Contrivances and I believe he has plac'd King William on the English Throne on purpose to dsapoint this Invincible Monarch in these vast Designs but no Thanks to our Gentlemen that have so weakned both his Hands and his Interest at home as to make him less able to perform for us what is our own Advantage than His Majesty wou'd be and than the Case requir'd As to Ways and Means I meddle not with them I leave them to the wise Heads of the Nation but with Submission to their Judgment this I am positive in let our Measures be what they will if we do not keep the Enemy the French I mean out of Spain we are undone In all the Histories of Times and Wars I never read of a General who would not chuse to be Master of the Field and able to fight his Enemy rather than to be coop'd up and bound to defend the Walls of a Town If the French get the Spanish Crown we are beaten out of the Field as to Trade and are besieged in our own Island and never let us flatter our selves with our Safety consisting so much in our Fleet for this I presume to lay down as a fundamental Axiom at least as the Wars go of late 't is not the longest Sword but the longest Purse that conquers If the French get Spain they get the greatest Trade 〈…〉 World in their Hands they that have the most Trade will have the most 〈…〉 and they that have the most Money will have the most Ships the best 〈…〉 the best Armies and if once the French masters us at Sea where are 〈…〉 And though I would not lessen our Fleet which I believe is now the best in 〈…〉 yet he that looks back to the French Fleet before their Misfortune will tell 〈…〉 all our English was not able look them in the Face if we had no Dutch on our side and hardly with the Dutch and us together FINIS
The Two Great QUESTIONS CONSIDER'D I. What the French King will Do with Respect to the Spanish Monarchy II. What Measures the English ought to Take LONDON Printed for Charles Mount near Holburn 1700. Price Two Pence The Two Great Questions CONSIDERD WE are told That the Deceased King of Spain has by his last Will bestow'd his Kingdoms on the Duke D' Anjou Grandson to the Present King of France Amongâ—â— the many weak Actions of that Effeminate Prince who hardly ever did a Wiâ—e One This is the most Ridiculous if it be proper to give â—uch 〈…〉 to the Actions of Soverign Princes 〈…〉 imigine the most Christian King wou'd give any Regard to or put 〈…〉 upon such a Bequest any farther than consisted with his other 〈…〉 or at least with his Interest must be a Folly none could be guilâ—â— of 〈◊〉 such as know very little of the King of France or of the Affairs of Europe 2. To think that the Rest of of Princes of Chrestendom wou'd suffer the Spanish Monarchy to be bequath'd by Will to a French Man without any Title or otheâ— Right than the Deed of Gift of the late King and without any Regard to the Right of the Lawful Pretenders is also most Egregious Nonsence To make way therefore to the Case in hand and come at the Questions before us with more Clearness 't is necessary to Examine the Nature and probable Consequences of this Last Will and Testament of the King of Spain 1. As to the Nature of the Thing it seems to be a Tacit Invitation to all the Competitors to a Dangerous and a Bloody War as if the King of Spain should 〈◊〉 said to his Privy Council I 'll be revenged on them all for attemping to divid our Dominions for I 'll give it to One that has no Title let the Rest fight for it and the longest Sword take all As to the Duke E ' Anjou he as no Manner of Title but what is presumptive on the Death of his Father and Elder Brother vvithout Issue if they should have Children the Emperor of Morocco has as good and perhaps a better Title to the Crovvn of Spain than He. The Dauphin of France has an Unquestion'd Title to the Crovvn of Spain if it be True that the Renunciation made by his Father and Mother at the Pyrenoean Treaty cannot bind the Children so as to deprive them of their Right vvhich is the great Argument novv us'd to defend their Title Novv if their Right be good the Crovvn is the Dauphin's and after him the Duke of Burgundy's and his Heirs and Dr. Davenant may spare himself the Labour of Writing a long Discourse to defend the Dauphin's Title for vve vvill grant he has an Undoubted Right of Succession But I should be glad to have it ansver'd hovv the Duke D' Anjou can have a Title vvhile the other are alive Is cannot be in the Povver of the Dauphin to say I vvill give my Right to my Second Son for I do not think it vvorth my vvhile to accept of it for my self or my Eldest Because 2. The Consequence of that vvill in all Probability be this that the Duke of Burgundy's Son vvhen he has One vvill say again My Grandfather had no Power to give away my Right I am the Undoubted Heir to the Spanish Monarchy and so no Question he will be if the present Dauphin has a Right and if Power be in his Hands to subdue it he will have it tho' the Possession be his Uncle's for Crowns know no Uncles Brothers or any Relations when Power of Possession joyn'd with Right is before them So that the King of France cannot but see that to take the Crown of Spain from the Will and Testament of the late King is Disclaiming the Right of his own Son and Involving his Grandsons in Bloody Wars the Issue of which a Wiser Head than His cannot foresee This leads me to Consider The First Question What Measures the King of France vvill take vvith respect to the Succession of the Spanish Monarchy By saying what Measures he will take I mean what He will in all Probability take or what his Intrest will lead him to take for I suppose no Man will imagine I am of his Privy Council To debate this Matter 't is necessary to consider the King of France wirh respect to the Terms He stands in with the rest of Europe If the King of France were Absolute Master of his own Measures and had no Leagues or Neighbours to regard there is no Question to be made but that rejecting all Conditions of he would immediately enter upon the Dominions Spain as his own undoubted Inheritance or at least his Sons annex the the same to the Crown of Franâ—e and make it one Entire Empire and any Man else wou'd do the like But as He has Measures to take with Powerful Neighbours who as Potent as 〈◊〉 is are able to give him Diversion enough and if He shou'd embroil himself with them may make it a Hazard whether he should obtain it or no He is too Wise a Prince not to see that his Interest will Oblige him to act in Concert with his Neighbours as far as conveniently He can The Truth of this Argument is abundantly confirm'd in the Measures He took and the Alliances He made before the Death of the King of Spain They who think the King of France so Magnipotent that He values none of his Neighbours and talk so big of him that like Medal-makers they place him among the Invincibles must have forgot the Siege of Namure and the Vain Effort of the Power of France to relieve it they must pass over his Deserting the Late and Acknowledging the Present King of England at the Peace of Resvvick they must overlook the low Steps he was oblig'd to make to draw the Duke of Savoy from the Confederacy how he was unable to save Casall which cost him so much Money how he delivered the Impregnable Town of Pigneroll which his Father call'd the Righ He and of France and which cost him 100 Millions to fortify how he maried the Fortune of France to a Daughter of Savoy without a Portion and bought â—he Duke of Savoy at the Price of his Grandstn's Dishonour how he surrendred the â—arge Dominions of Lorrain and Luxemburgh and above 100 Fortified Towns to â—he Confederates which though he were always Master of the Field wou'd cost him â—even Years to recover by the Ordinary Course of Sieges and Attacks These are plain Demonstrations that he found himself over match'd by the Confederacy and he is not a Man of so little Sence as not to know it Why else in the League now made for the Partition of the Spanish Monarchy shou'd be content himself with the Dominion the Spaniards had in Italy and quit the Delicious Morsel of America to the House of Austria What Reason can any one assign for it but that finding the English and Dutch never to be
with him and all the little ones will join to keep the great one from suppressing them Hence comes Leagues and Confederacies thus the German Protestants call'd in the Assistance of Gustavus Adolphus to mâ—ch the Power of the Emperor Ferdinard the 2. and founded the famous League call'd the Conclusions of Leipsick which brought the Imperial Power to the due Ballance which it now stands at on the Foot of the Treaty of Westphalia so the French and the English assisted the Dutch to bring the Spanish Power to a Ballance in the time of Philip the II. when the Spanish Greatness began to be terrible to Europe which Ballance was established in the Peace of Aix la Chappel So the Power of France was brought to a Ballance but not so equal as it might have been had King Charles II. stood to his own Proposals at the Treaty of Nimegune the Defects of which Peace were in a great Measure the Occasion of this late War which has been the longest most chargeable and most bloody that ever the French Nation has been engaged in since the Days of Francis the I. their own civil Wars excepted This War has brought the power of France to a Ballance she had fortified her Frontiers with a continued Rampart a Line of strong Cities from Hunninghen on the Confines of the Swiss down the Rhine the Mosell and the Maes to the very Sea-side the greatest whereof she has been oblig'd to part with to enable her Enemies to be their own Guarantees by which in some places she is left so naked that she is fain to build new Cities or fortifie old ones to supply the Vacancy as at Brisack and in other she lyes wholly open as at Pigneroll she has stoop'd to such a peace as has made her far less formidable than before Now the precarious Life of the King of Spain gave the King of England just Umbrage that this Ballance in which our Safety so much consists should receive a Shock to the prejudice of the Protestant Interest by the Addition of the Spanish Dominion to that of France And here I place the Original of the Project as a probable Conjecture at least drawn from the Nature of things according to rational Conclusions from probable premises when better Grounds are made publick I shall own my self mistaken When the pretenders to the Spanish Succession are considered they are found to be the Emperor and the King of France the Prince of Bavaria being dead before To let the Emperor possess the Spanish Dominions would be the overthrowing the Ballance made at the Westphalia Treaty by which the House of Austria already strengthened by the Conquest of Hungaria and the peace with the Turks would be too potent for the princes of Germany nor wou'd the French like well that the Emperor the Eternal Competitor of France upon the Rhine shou'd be strengthen'd with such an addition by which he wou'd ha' been Lord of almost half the World To let the French possess the Spanish Dominions would overthrow the Ballance Purchas'd in this War with so much Blood and Treasure and render fruitless the Treaty of Reswick Twou'd especially ha' been Fatal to the English and Dutch by the encrease of Wealth from the Mass of Money returning Yearly from the Empires of Mexico and Peru which the French wou'd be better Husbands of than the Spaniards by their encrease of Shipping which wou'd make them too strong for all the World at Sea and by their ruining the Spanish Trade which is the greatest and most profitable in Europe 't would immediately unhinge all the Settlement of our Merchants and Factories and turn the whole Channel of Trade for the ports of Spain being free to the French 〈◊〉 Subjects all our Negoce that way wou'd be destroy'd then their Neighbourhood in Flanders and in the West-Indies would be intollerable and insupportable O 't would fill a Volume to set down the Inconveniâ—ncies which England and Holland must expect to feel â—n Case the French were Masters of the Spanish Monarâ—hy the Streights-Mouth would be like the Sound and â—ll our Ships should pay Toll at Gibralter as they do at Elseneur your Fishing Trade from New-England and New-foundland wou'd perish for the French from the Banks of Newfoundland should go free and you Pay 23 â—er Cent. c. We must erect an Admiralty in the West-lndies or mantain a Fleet there or our Plantations wou'd be always at his Mercy our Collonies of Virginia and New-England would easily be destroy'd while the French would lye on their backs quite thro' their Country from Ganada to the City of Mexico These are some of the lesser Inconveniencies which as I presume were the first Motives to the Treaty The Consederats therefore not being willing the French â—houl'd have Spain and the French being resolv'd the Emâ—â—â—or should not have it a Medium is proposed that since it was not convenient for Europe that either of them should have 〈◊〉 â—ll and both of them had a Title to it it should therefore bâ— divided between them in Manner and Form as aforesaid This is the short History of this League which really has more of Pollicy than Right in it for strictly Considered the Right of Succession can devolve but upon cue Person let that one be who it will is not the present Business But publick good the Peace of Kingdoms the General quiet of Europe prevails to set aside the Point of nice Justice and determine in favour of the Publick Tranquility And I crave leave to make Two Observations here First Our Jacobites-Protestant-Brethren whose Understandings are so blind that they cannot see the Interest of their Native Country have here fairly represented to them the Condition England had now been in and Europe in General 〈◊〉 a Papist and Consederate with France had been on the English Throne if England had not had a King who cou'd so far Influence the Ambition of the powerful Prince as to prevent his seizing that Monarchy of Spain which none but England cou'd hinder him from Secondly Our Non-jurants who hold the right Lines of Princes such Sacred things may also see that even among Hereditary Princes themselves the Rights of Succession are oftentimes infringed and the private Interest of Princes and Families set aside when the publick Interest of Nations the Preservation of Peace and the keeping a General Ballance of Power among Princes comes to be the Question and the Histories of all Ages and Nations give Instances to Prove it as well as this Having thus run thro' the Reasons of this League of Partition the Question is answered of course that if the Emperor shou'd refuse to come into the Partition and push for the whole then the King of France is not thereby at Liberty to possess the whole if he can for that wou'd overthrow all the Measures upon which the League of Partition is built The Emperor is not so weak a Prince to refuse the Kingdom of Spain with all its c's
brought to consent to his being so very powerful at Sea as that Addition wou'd make him he was willing to accept so large a Portion as the Italian Part assigned to him upon Easie Terms rather than venture like the Dog in the Fable to loose all by coveting too much Upon these Terms therefore in Consent with the English and Dutch his Most Christian Majesty has agreed that on the Decease of the King of Spain the Spanish Monarchy should be thus divided All the Dominions with the Spaniards possess in Italy to be given to the French Millan excepted which is to be given to the Duke of Lorrain in Consideration of the Dutchies of Lorrain and Barr which are to be yielded to the French and all the rest some few Towns on the Frontiers of Navarr excepted to be given to the Arch Duke of Austria with other Particulars needless to repeat This League being Concluded the King of Spain as if had linger'd out his Days only 'till it was thus fix'd dyes according to cur Account on the 22. October last The Spaniards on pretence that they would not have their Monarchy divided and taking no Notice at all of the Right of any Prince to succeed has made a Legacy of his Kingdoms and given them all away to the Duke D' Anjou a Prince who has no more Right to it or Pretence of Right except as before than the Prince of Wales or the Czar of Muscovy Now 't is a Mighty Disputed Point among our Politicians what the King of France will do in this New Juncture of Affairs whether He will stand by the Partition agreed on or accept of the late King of Spains Bounty and take the Kingdom as a Gift to his Grandson What He will do as is before noted cannot positively be asserted but what Reason the State and Nature of the thing and his own Undoubted Interest will dictate to be done by any Prince in his Circumstances any one may judge If He be the same King of France that he has always been who has very rarely took false Measures or baulkt his own Interest if He be guided by the same well-mannag'd Council as he used to be He will certainly adhere to the Posculata of his Alliance and quietly accept the Partition of the Spanish Monarchy as it is agreed in the before-mention'd League For By this Acquisition of Italy He secures to Himself the whole Absolute Dominion of the Mediterranean Sea He entirely excludes the House of Austria from any farther Concern in Italy He has the Church so absolutely in his Clutches that He may make himself Pope if He thinks sit and whenever He is pleas'd to be displeas'tl with the Petty Princes of Tuscany Parma Modena Mantua c. He can blow them away with the Breath of his Mouth they shall lay down their Principallities at his Invincible Feet and count it more an Honour to be call'd Princes of the Blood or Peers of France than to be Absolute Lords of their own Dominions So He shall whenever He thinks fit re-establish the Old Kingdom of the Lombards and annex it to the Title of France and Navarr And all this without the Expence of Treasure or Hazard of his Armies without fitting out a Fleet or fighting at Sea or on Shore the English and Dutch being assistant to put him into the Possession of it If the Emperor shou'd be so weak to oppose Him He must stand upon his own Leggs and in the present Circumstance his Power does not seem formidable enough to make the Matter doubtful And now we are come to mention the Emperor let us say a Word or Two to those Gentlemen who in his behalf speak big and say be is able to baffle all these Measures First They tell you how powerful the Empire now is by the Acquisition of the Kingdom of Hungary and the most advantagious Peace with the Turk They tell you his Imperial Majesty has an Army of 120 Thousand Men besides the Troops of the Circles which are 80 Thousand more that of these 50 Thousand lye ready on the Confines of Italy and all the rest of his Forces are drawing down to the Rhine that the Duke of Brandenburgh on Condition of being made King of Prussia will joyn him with all his Forces that the Duke of Lunenburgh on account of the Ninth Electorate will maintain 30 Thousand Men at his own Charge and thus all the Princes of Italy are on his side By these they tell you the Emperor will immediately on the one side secure Italy and on the other side make such a Vigorous Diversion on the Rhine that the King of France shall have Work enough to secure his own Dominions while in the mean time the Arch-Duke Charles shall be sent into Spain where the Spanards who naturally hate the French will immediately proclaim him King Those are great Things indeed and if the Emperor be so strong he may cut out a great deal of Work for the Confederates and I' ll suppose the Emperor should be so blind to his own Intrest as to attempt it yet seems not at all probable that his Impereal Majesty who has hardly been able to support himself this War in Conjunction with the whole Confederacy of Europe should imagine himself capable of putting a Check to the Power of France in Conjunction with England and Holland for whatever he might do in Italy and on the Rhine he would never be able to defend Spain and Flanders if he really had them in Possession First Flanders always which has been maintain'd by the Conjunction of the Dutch would immediately be entred by the Dutch on one side and the French on the other and must fall into their hands with little difficulty Secondly Spain cou'd never hold out against the French by Land assisted with the Naval Forces of the Engilsh and Dutch by Sea the Islands of the Mediterranean must submit to the Masters of the Sea and America would lye like the Golden Garland to the Wrestlers to be given to the Conquerors No man can imagine but the Emperor to whose Son so Considerable a Dominion is allotted will accept of the Partition for his Part especially when he sees how impossible it will be to make better Conditions by force What the English and Dutch are to do if he should remains to be debated under another Head I 'll now suppose that which to me seems very unlekely That the King of France should accept of this Legacy and claim the Crown of Spain for his Grandson the Duke D' Anjou and attempt th set up that Ridiculous Title of a Last Will and Testaament as the Foundation of his Pretension Let us Calmly consider the Consequences 1. He inevitably renews the War with the whole Confederacy that Peace which cost Him so much to procure is immediately broken upon the first Invasion He makes on the Territories of Spain who are a Branch of the Confederacy 2. He renews the War under insuperable Disadvantages