OCR Text |
Show t ·48 J thing but what they ,themfelves olfc.r'd from the beginning; and th.e Steps .they ~e-t.a~en in this Point are very extraordinary. Firfl:, Negotiations are broke off upon the lingle .Point of the 37th Article; then an Expedient 'is offer'd of Cautionary To,wns >; then the Conferences are again delir'd to b,e renew'd, upon repeated Affurances of agreein·g to. all the other Vreliminaries except the 37th; then, as what wou'd folve all Difficultys, a Parti- tion is propos'd, which is at !aft· ,reJldc'd to Sicily and Sardinia. And what'js aU this fod Will they lign the Pre.liminal;.ies, if tl1is Pattitian be ag&eed to ? ·uy no mc.ans .< riley take the very asking of this Que!tion for a plain defign in the Allies to break off the Conferences; and they who wou'd have ·gi.«n you .kfore.a\1 the Preliminaries, except: _the 37rh Article and chree Cautionary Towns, now take it v-ery ill, you won't acce"pt the,Preliminaries, not only without •that Article, but without any Cautionary Tol"'ns ·'Or otller Expedient, tho Sardinia and Sicily be taken out of them, without having for this any more Security given .than before, ,that Spaj1t and the Indies lhall be reftor'd, tho ·the ,propoling a Partition cou'd not pofflbly have a·ny other meaning ~n it: .for it was propos'd as an Expedient, bot for .what? 'To leave the Allies where it found them? no fure; but to remove the pretended Difficulty of evaQuating Spain and the Indies, in favour of King Charles. But if this.' be the plain meaning of this Propofal , .how came tlte Treaty to break off upon this Point? What can be more unjuft, t~an to d.elire .the Allies to [ 49 J £~-qllit JWt.f o{ l!~~t )he 'Prelimi~;mie$ give ,. IU111 'fqr . O.f. ~~~i ·of the rei!:; ~lid!~eCIIide te"!lltheiif, Vf,llit9 'way. the rell: is "to QB~IIadlr }f~Jat mllre ,rtil,icplous Jhap to prefs tl1e s<lti:s ~p ~I 1h~ Hicon~~niences, which t'he 'c6ilfoli1 ~i~ .~ ;i P:trtjtion might ' be attended with \Yif.ho~c,,a,lloy..'ing them t~e leal!: Advarltag~ f,~0 1!,1 ~~r.·b Flqw can one reconcile the asking ~ Partltl n llt the beginning of the Confe~ renc;s, and then breaking them off. becaure the Allies defire to be fecur'c.i' of the 'Effect propos'd from it? . ~ow after all that has been faid upon this ~ubject, can there be any doubt which-Side is In fault, or at whofe door it lies that thefe C~nferen·~es did not fucceed ? One wou'd tlunk, Without entring into the Merits of the Ca?fe, we fhou'd in this cafe believe our F,n~nds rather than our Enemies, and not be m the leall: at a lofs, to know where to lay the Fault, t~at thefe Negotiation, were bro~e off, efpec1ally .c.onfidering the part the All!es .aCted, W3S wbat they all readily concurd ln. Sue~ Friends in fuch a Cafe, and w_hen fo unammous, ought furely to be credited, by thofe at leaf!: who arc not them( elves competent Judges of the Matter · and t;~en ,they that are, ought to be very' fure 9.r ~he Goodnefs of their Reafons before they" prefume to dilli::nt from them, much more before they cenlure them : and if we all think our fe1ves fo wile, that we will be ufing our bwn J ud,gments, yet fure more credit will l ·allgw d to fuch, fo many and fo faithful fc~!~0 ~.' who are embark'd with us in' the • !if .~nterell:, than to Enemies, the wdrll: l:I of |