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 XX. Hague, February 12. S. N. 69. (Book 20)

SIR,

I Am to acknowledge the Honour of o〈…〉〈…〉 from you of the 26th past, approvin•• the State of our Affair with Spain, whi•••• you will since find is drawn to a Head▪ And in case His Majesty approves of t〈…〉〈…〉 Form of the Guaranty, we have nothi•••• left to transact in this Matter, but wit•• Sweden; Towards which my Lord C••∣lisle's Journey, if so sudden, as we here be∣lieve, will much contribute.

I doubt Monsieur Boreel has but a col•• Scent in his Pursuit of the Zealand Preten••••∣ons at Surinam; But the truth is, that i•• ••ase the English Planters all remove toge∣ther from that place, the Plantation is as good as wholly lost to the Dutch, their Numbers there being wholly inconsidera∣ble, and their Nation not at all fit for that Business of Planting, which makes them never like to grow considerable in the West-Indies: But otherwise for the Reason of the thing, I never saw the least colour o••

it on their side, nor find that Monsieur de Witt offers at maintaining it, when upon occasion, I have fallen into the Discourse of it with him. So that I should think my self happy, if I had no greater Difficulties upon my Hands here than what are likely to arise in that Affair when it comes in play: Tho', I think, you judge very pru∣dently, that the Time for it will be rather after we shall have come to some Issue in our Marine Treaty than at present, that so we may have but one Knot to untie at a time.

How I shall succeed in the last, I am yet to learn from my farther Conferences here upon the Papers last sent me, which I have newly received, and are Translating, that I may upon occasion use them here; I mean the Arguments as well as the Arti∣cles: That which troubles me, is to see I am of late gone back on both sides, for what Monsieur de Witt and I had agreed on, is strongly opposed by those of Am∣sterdam, and being at first approved in England by the East-India Company them∣selves, as my Lord Arlington wrote me word, they have since, as I now find, al∣ter'd their Minds, and propose to have the Passage free under all Forts, tho seated in Countreys that are absolutely under the Dutch Occupancy and Subjection, which is a new Point, and that which I am sure in several of your Letters you have said di∣stinctly, was never aimed at. But since

this is now in my Hands, you may be assu∣red, that it shall go as far as it is possible to pursue it by any Cares and Endeavours of mine. I am sorry I am not made acquaint∣ed with the Particulars of the Case at Iuc∣catra, which, it seems, is alledged as the only occasion of this Apprehension and Proposal from our Merchants; For as to that of the Fort upon the River of Iambre, Monsieur de Witt, I remember, alleadg'd that as an unreasonable thing, if they should pretend it, where the River was so broad, that the Ships were not under the certain unavoidable danger of their Canon, which he would have had the measure of the free Passage: But of these Proceedings you will be troubled hereafter with farther Ac∣counts from,

SIR,

Your most Obedient Humble Servant, W. Temple.