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Show . [ ~~ ] . ' ar.e dated, what occafion'd the Lofs of t~at'B~t; ~ dq or which comes to the Tam1' thi,ng; wlia't ' ga~e thefrencb that great Superionty ofT roo~~!~ I have told you before, h was the Reinforce-J ment which the french, by the Evacuation of the Milanc:.e, were at Liberty to fend trot?t Jtaljl to Spain ; a Thing which in England we' did not know till it was too late to fence a~' gainft it. What Pains had been taken' here'a~ · home, to enable K. Charles to recover the' Ground he had loft, upon his Retreat from Madrid, has been ro well !hewn in an Anfwer I have· read to that Part of Faults on both Si.des which' relates to this Matter, that I !hall beg Leave to refer you to it. . ·' As to the general S'c\leqie bf the War on that Side, and the Provi{ion made for it, let t~ofe who cla'mour upon 'this Head !hew us' that they difapprov'd it, and let them tell us what they thought wrong, and how 'they would hav.e had it mended, and then we may tl.iink for once there is fome Sincerity in what they fay ; but till then I !hall take Leave to fufpefr all they fay on this Head is only an Invention to infufe groondlefs Prejudices into the People againft' their belt Friends: And for my own part, ~ am fully perfwaded that thefe Writers, or thofe at lealt whofe Tools they are, have been long convinc'd; from all the Experience we h~vc had of the Sp~nifh War, and particularly fro~ the Battle of Alman:.a, and what follow'd upon it, that the belt thing for ' Engl~nd, is to draw the War on that Side into the lea It Compafs we conveniently can, and keep on the [)efenliv~ only, contenting our felves w.ith t'l'laint:ijning ~~e Footing we had got, without pretending to [ '~ ] ·fo pipr~ tJ)an to b~ in a R~adinefs t!) lay hold of .apY:tavolJ~a\>le Opportumty of Aaion, whicq · .either th-e Weak_nefs or Negligence, or ill tonduel: Qf the Enemx, 1,11ight offer or which V\C 'ID!gh\ be invited , to by the Enc~~ragement given 11s \>Y,. thofe !that are in the Auflrim,~ Intc: .~eft. Th1s, I dar,e fay, thofe Gentlemen thfnk IS the Jrue foot yve !hould put the Spani/1J War upon :. and tha~ t£ !hould be chiefly carried Oll by takmg F?re1gn Troops into our Pay, and not. e~ploymg our own Men, which can't he done without the great eft lncoveniencies . befides that, at this Time, they may, 'tis plain, be much more ufefully employed nearer home· and therefore I can think nothing to be farthe; from t.hefe Mens Thoughts than what is fo much 1n thc1r Mouths, that this War has beeli neg~ I_ecled, and that greater Provilion ought to have been ma~e for it : My Rcafon why 1 think them fo mlincere, is plainly this, that the can't but know the great Difference there' is 'hl. tween an Offenfive and Defenfive War, and that what they feem to contend for is imprafricabJe and the molt effetl:ual !N_ay we can t ake, · neve; to ,have what thcfe Wnters and their Friends prete_nd to be fo mightily concern'd for ; 'Tis fo ,evident to all that know any thing of thefe .Matters, upon how unequal a Foot the Frencl> .and we muft make an Offenfive War in that Country; But nothing can make this fo plain as to put a Cafe to you. , Suppofe then, to humour thefe Men, · we were to fend from hence iln Augmentation of zoooo Men, or for our own Share 1 oooo to C~tflonia, lhall we not then have 1 oooo lefs in .Fit#l;ffYf, }lnd mty not th~ Fr.ench lellln t6eir ' ArmJ |