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.

LETTERS OF Sir William Temple, &c. (Book 1)

LETTER I. Hague, Octob. 2. S. N. 1668. (Book 1)

My Lord,

SINCE my last I have received your Lordship's of the 14th; and in one Letter from Mr. Williamson, an Ac∣count of what was Resolv'd at the Foreign Committee, to whom your Lord∣ship only referr'd the Determination of what manner the Amendments of the Ma∣rine Treaty should be pursued. And ac∣cordingly I have since fallen into the De∣bate

of that Affair, with Monsieur de Witt, in all its Particulars; and the Differences between us are not great, and some of his Exceptions seem so reasonable, that I must be furnisht with Arguments to maintain the Points against him, if they must be in∣sisted on; For, I confess, I can find none of my own.

Upon the first, He consents to the change of the Form of Certificates, and will accept of such as we shall draw up, so they mean equal on both sides, mutati•• mutandi••: But to that which the East-India Company say, of their desire that Trade may rather be carried on without any Certificate at all, he says, He does not see how that can be, or to what purpose in that case, all the Articles are about Contraband Goods, since it is by the Cer∣tificate whereby it is known what the Ship is, and what the Goods are she carries, and thereby all further trouble of search is avoided. He says, He should be content, and the Advantage would be theirs to have all Trade free, and none to ask at Sea what another Ship was; Whether it went, or what it carry'd: But since that cannot be, there is no way of avoiding Disputes, besides that of Certificates. And indeed, I doubt the Merchants in that err, or rather, consider'd not the main end of the whole Regulation, which was to avoid Quarrels between the Nations, but only their own private Interest, in saving the

trouble and Charge of Certificates; which made them likewise desire it might be from the Magistrates of the Ports from whence the Ships parted, not from the Admi∣ralty.

Upon the second, He consents to the Proposal in the Margin, with only the lea∣ving out these two Words, Of India; so as the Rule may be generally to all places, and not confin'd to the Indies; which I had nothing to say against, believing those Words fell in only by the Matter's coming from the East-India Company, without notice of any other Traders▪

Upon these two Points I had given your Lordship the Account formerly of my ha∣ving at several Discourses gain'd his Con∣sent; and I do not find that any thing he excepts, as in them, is different from what we mean our selves.

For the other Points which are wholly new, and Additions to the Treaty, they cost us a great deal more Debate, which I shall not trouble your Lordships with, but only the Result at least of the Opinion he gave me leave to write to your Lordships, as his upon them; tho' the first, second, and fourth were all of more difficult Dige∣stion, and such as, I doubt, would have given some Work to the Commissioners in pursuance of the Breda Treaty, so much as to have toucht; for the Truth is, our Trade in the Indies being so little, and theirs so much, all Equalities

of this kind are gains to us, and loss to them.

For the first of the four Particulars not provided for in the Marine Treaty; He consents to one half of the Period, ending with the Word Government. But for the other, allowing liberty to pass any River, or Pass, leading to any place of Trade, al∣though the other Company have a Fort, or Castle, upon the said River, or Pass, he says, it cannot possibly be; nor would it ever be executed, tho' the States should consent to it: For in those Passes, the very End of either Companies Building a Fort, or Castle, was to secure the Trade of such a Country to themselves, so as they would by this Article loose all the benefit of the Expence they had been at; That if to such Nations there were any other way found, not under the reach of their Cannon, that Passage should be free; But under a Fort built to the aforesaid Ends, he did not be∣lieve any Orders would compel those in it, either of our Nation, or theirs, to see the Trade they had secured to themselves, drawn away to the other Nation, by a free Passage.

The second Particular I got wholly a∣greed to, tho' with much Difficulty, as im∣porting, I suppose, more Advantage to us than any of the rest, considering how many more Nations the Dutch trade with than we, by virtue of such Agree∣ments.

The third was without difficulty, im∣porting, as we both conceived, no more than was before provided by the Marine Treaty, and more particularly.

For the fourth, He could not consent it should extend further than to Ships belong∣ing to either Company, or to any Nati∣ons, or People, subject to either Compa∣ny, and consequently under Protection of the said Company; For the making it now in the Words of our Article, [To any Nati∣ons with whom either Company shall Trade, and not in Enmity with the other Company;] would occasion only either Companies sel∣ling their Passports to all the Nations that would buy them; leaving it afterwards to dispute upon any Accident that should ar∣rive, whether such Nation were in Enmity with the other Company, or no, the Natives maintaining the Negative, and perhaps the Company the Affirmative; And it may be upon pretence of some new Injury which had lately given the occasion of the Enmi∣ty; and where such Disputes should be de∣termin'd, was difficult to find. Besides, He argued from common use of Nations, that Passports operated only towards those who were subject to such as granted the Passport, or else by Alliance and Accord between Nations, to such as were one anothers Sub∣jects, and under their Protection; But how it should extend to other Nations, because they were not in Enmity with our Ally, he could not see any reason, nor had heard any

Example: But on the other side, it was e∣ver to be supposed, that there would be no need at all of Passports from the one, to such as were not in Enmity with the other Nations; being to be esteemed as Just in their Actions, and not likely to disturb, or seize another, without, at least, pretence of Enmity, which would be a sort of Pi∣racy at Sea, or Robbery at Land; but in case such a thing should happen, no other Nation concern'd themselves in it, unless it was offer'd to their Subjects, and conse∣quently to Persons under their Prote∣ction.

I thought his reasoning seem'd good; and besides, I imagin'd the thing was not of weight; for wherever one Company found a Nation not in actual Enmity with the other, and had a mind to protect their Navigation, they might do it by receiving that Nation into their Protection, and their giving them Passports as Subjects to them; But where Nations will not submit to such a Subjection, they must protect themselves. And this was the Result of our Conference, which came to no sort of Agreement on either side; since I neither had power to do it from His Majesty, nor he from the States; So that we can only represent on each side what past; and at∣tend our Orders upon them, and he in the mean time dispose the States to his Opini∣on, when we meet to treat and conclude formally upon them.

When I receive Instructions, I suppose it will be necessary to know the Manner as well as the Matter we are to agree on; that is, whether a new Marine Treaty to be made with these Particulars to be digested into the Body of it; Or else these to be per∣fected in an Instrument by themselves as ad∣ditions to the Marine Treaty. For the do∣ing it with or without Commissioners, I can say nothing, since so great Authors are on both sides; but if both seem neces∣sary, one to the Substance, and the other to the Form, I was thinking whether two or more might not be joyn'd in Commission with me to treat, and conclude it with Commissioners of theirs, and those to be acquainted beforehand with what was to be expected upon this Matter: But I know not how our expectation of having the Commissioners meet at London, would be satisfied by their meeting at the Hague, nor how Forms go in joyning Commissioners to an Ambassador for a particular Business, and so I leave it.

The Account your Lordship expects from me of the new Governour in Flanders, will be very lame, Men disagreeing much in his Character. The common Voice making it very low in those Qualities themselves, which are most essential to his doing well; but the Baron d'Isola, in his Letters hither, running it very high as to his Abilities; the Appearance of which must needs have great Disadvantages from his Arrival in a

strange Country, without one word of any Language besides Spanish, without Cloaths, or Retinue, or hitherto the Show of a Go∣vernour, the Marquess having not yet (at least till within this Day or two) given up the Charge.

He is a Person of about Forty Years old, little and lean, with long black Hair, and a Face that the Dutch call Ill-favour'd; of few words, prerending to come in blind Obedience to the Queens Orders, which found him a Hunting, and sent him away in the same Cloaths, and with the same Retinue, which are about eight or nine Persons, among whom a Natural Son (for he never was Married) and a Secretary, said to be a very able Man. How four Women came to be a Hunting with him, I know not; but it seems so many came with him too, and went to Zealand upon his first Arrival. He intends, they say, to stay at Mecklyn till the Plague ceases, or at least abates at Brussels, and perhaps Don Este∣van intends to be Minister of State; for he tells me the Constable has sent very ear∣nestly for him, and away he is gone this Day.

The Prince of Orange is expected to Day or to Morrow in Town. Monsieur Odijck▪ tells me, His Highness is much concerned in the Attempts of removing the Scotch Sta∣ple from Teweet to Dort, that it will be twelve Thousand Guilders a Year out of his way; That those of Tewe••t offer all that

can be ask'd, and more than those of Dort; That His Highness has written to His Maje∣sty about it, and hopes He will not allow it, being a thing, as he says, of Sir William Davison's only contrivance, and in the de∣sire whereof the Scotch Merchants are no way agreed.

I have sent this Post, a Bottle of Juni∣per-Water for His Majesty, which he plea∣sed to tell my Wife he desired: It goes by Mr. Bucke, a Gentleman belonging to the Duke of Ormond. If the King likes it, I shall endeavour to get more, and should have said this to my Wife rather than your Lordship, but that I hear His Majesty will be out of Town. I am ever,

My Lord,

Your Lordships most Faithful, and most Humble Servant, W. Temple.