Letters written by Sir William Temple during his being ambassador at The Hague, to the Earl of Arlington and Sir John Trevor, Secretaries of State to K. Charles II wherein are discovered many secrets hitherto concealed / published from the originals, under Sir William Temple's own hand ; and dedicated to the Right Honourable Sir Thomas Littleton, Speaker of the House of Commons, by D. Jones, Gent.

LETTER X. Hague; Decemb. 11. S. N. 68.

SIR,

I Am to acknowledge one from you of the 24th past; Whereby I find that the Agreement fallen into, concerning the Guaranty, was as wellcome in England, as it was here; And I doubt not but there will be the same Concurrence on both sides, in the way of pursuing it, tho' I can yet give no further Account of that Matter, having been so Indisposed, since my last, with an extream Cold, that I have been forced to keep my Chamber. I cannot tell whether Monsieur Beverning, or Van ••en∣ninghen, will be pitch'd upon to go to Brus∣sels, nor in what Quality they will go: Whether as deputed from the States, or without Character, but it is certain what you observe, That if I go, it cannot be as an Ambassador, but Incognito; And for my Letters of Credence, or Powers, they must be according to what His Majesty shall think of to be Treated there: I sup∣pose the Point will be the Accom••li••h••••••t of our Guaranty, upon their Satisfa••t〈…〉〈…〉

of the Swedish Subsidies, and for the Offers which will be prest by the Spaniards, of à Defensive League. I suppose the Intention is to let them draw no further than into such Discourse as may sound the bottom of those Advantages they may carry with them. But to the main End proposed, next to that of the Subsidies, by these States in this Negotiation, is to possess Spain, all that can be, with the Assurance of the same Support to Flanders, they will give to any of their own Provinces: So to raise the Confidence both of Spain, and the Government in Flanders, and keep them from any thoughts of Treating with France; or abandoning the utmost Defence of those Provinces. I doubt there is another, Point where••n the States will prove some∣thing forwarde•• than His Majesty, as well as they seemed so in the Guaranty of the Pyrenoean Treaty, which is in a concert of doing our jo••••t Offices to dispose France to some assurance of not breaking this Peace, as far as it touches Flanders, even upon the King of Spain's Death; Which is a Point, that tho' I had the first Orders to Sound them in, yet I know not whether we are disposed to keep pace with them now in it, but should be glad to know His Majesty's Thoughts, for my own Government upon ••cca••••on.

There is another Point likewise, where∣in I should be glad to be instructed; which is in case we succeed in inducing

the Spaniards to reason upon our Guaran∣ty; Yet I am confident they will ••••••••st▪ as the Marquess ever did, u•••••• ou•• entring into a particular concert with them, upon the Specification of Means and Forces▪ by which every one should •••• ••••••iged to main∣tain the Peace, in case of a Rupt••••e from France; In which concert, 〈…〉〈…〉 should be likewise comprehended ••s well a•• we.

For the second particular of your Letter, which concerns Major Bannister, there need nothing more be said to prove the Reason his Majesty had to demand his Liberty, which, I will hope, he has already, hav∣ing never heard from him since the last Assurance I had from the Lords of Zealand, there should be no difficulty in it.

I cannot yet give any further Account concerning the Marine Treaty, but shall press it on upon my very first stirring out of my Chamber. This I cannot but re∣mark upon it; That notwithstanding those high and violent Exclamations that were made by some, (and as they said, the City) against the Marine Treaty, as it was ••▪ greed to by his Majesty last Winter upon so great Motives from the Conjuncture of other more publick Interests at that 〈…〉〈…〉; Yet all that Noise produced only two Ex∣ceptions against any thing contained in that Treaty, and already agreed by the Treaty of Breda, with the Term of a Pro∣visional, that differ'd little or nothing from a Perpetual. That having induced the

Dutch to give His Majesty intire satisfacti∣on upon those two Exceptions. I do not find we think any thing considerable gained by it, unless we gain likewise every one of five or six new Propositions made by the East-India Company upon that Subject; and such, as I doubt, whether Sir George Downing would have given any hopes of before the War, tho' the End of that can∣not be supposed to have given us any great Advantage in our Negotiations here. I said every one of our Propositions, because I find by your last Letter, nothing will be thought done without that Point of passing by their Forts, which▪ I know, will be of more Difficulty than all the rest; And up∣on which, I desired to be furnisht with Ar∣guments from President and Practise in the Indies, as well as from Reason grounded upon the Ius Gentium here in Europe; The whole course of things being, as Monsieur de Witt says, quite different in the Indies, from what it is any where else; And disa∣greeing with all common Rules of Justice and Right observed in other places, as he was, I remember, very large in instancing upon our forbidding all to Traffick in our Colonies.

I observe, you say this of passing by Forts, was never denied before the Dutch began it; Whereas I remember one of Monsieur Van Benninghen's Arguments up∣on it was, That it would be d'introduire une noveaute; For all Nations had done it,

from the very first of the Spaniands Disco∣veries in the Indies; That the first Footing used to be made by any European Nation in those Parts, was only upon Coasts and Ri∣vers; Where being fixed, they propaga∣ted their Commerce and Plantations by degrees into the Country; And did it chiefly by forbidding all other Nations to come, or Trade into those Parts, whose Passes were first seated by their Forts. Be∣sides, he said it was observ'd indistinctly to all, as well as by all, that if they gave this Liberty to us, it would be immediately de∣manded likewise by the French, and other Nations their Allies, to whom it was equal∣ly now denied as well as to us.

I remember Monsieur de Wit went fur∣ther into the History of those Parts, and the Transactions there, and told me, That our Interest in the Indies, lay chiefly in Co∣lonies, and theirs chiefly in Forts upon large Coasts, and Agreements with the Natives for sole Commerce; That in the first, our Interest was much greater than theirs, but in the last, theirs very much greater than ours; So that tho' those Points carried the Face of being Reciprocal, yet the Disadvantage and Loss was single to them, whilst we forbid their Traffick to our Colonies, which was the main of our Interest, and they suffered ours under their Forts, and to the Nations in Contract with them, which was the main of theirs. I repeat these Discourses to the Ends I may be fur∣nish'd

with Reasons upon them at our fur∣ther Conferences, in case they continue to insist upon theirs. It seems further, by your constant m••ntion of the East-Indies alone upon this Subject, you intend not the Rules agreed upon, should reach only to them; Whereas if they grant any thing hard to ••••em there, I suppose they will in∣sist upon its being general to West, as well as East.

I beg my Excuses may go here to my Lord Arlington, having nothing to communicate this Post, but what was due in Answer to the Particulars of yours, nor received any from his Lordship these four last Posts. Having nothing more to add to this Trou∣ble, I Kiss your Hands and remain,

SIR,

Your most Humble, and most Obedient Servant, W. Temple.