CHAP. CHA P. LXV. A new feffion Rupture with Holland- A new fef la-chapelle THE 'HE next feffion of parliament difcovered a continu ance of the fame principles, which had prevailed in all the foregoing. Monarchy and the church were fill 1664. the objects of regard and affection. During no period of 16th the prefent reign, did this fpicit pafs more evidently the bounds of reafon and moderation. March. fron. THE king in his fpeech to the parliament had ventured openly to demand a repeal of the triennial act; and he even went fo far as to declare, that, notwithstanding the law, he never would allow any parliament to be affembled by the methods prefcribed in that ftatute. The parliament, without taking offence at this declaration, repealed the law; and in lieu of all the fecurities, formerly provided, fatisfied themfelves with a general claufe," that parliaments fhould not be interrupted above three years at the most." As the English parliament had now raised itself to be a regular check and controul upon royal power,. 'tis evident, that they ought ftill to have preferved a regular fecurity for their meeting, and not have trusted entirely to the good-will of the king, who, if ambitious or enterprising, had fo little reafon to be pleased with these affemblies. Before the end of Charles's reign, the nation had occafion to feel very fenfibly the effects of this repeal. By the act of uniformity, every clergyman, who fhould officiate without being properly qualified, was punifiable by fine and imprifopment: But this fecurity was not thought fufficient for the church. It was now enacted, that, wherever five perfons above thofe of the fame houthold, fhould affemble in a religious congrega LXV. 1664. tion, every one of them was liable, for the first offence, CHA P. to be imprisoned three months, or pay five pounds; for the fecond, to be imprisoned fix months, or pay ten pounds; and for the third, to be tranfported seven years, or pay an hundred pounds. The parliament had only in their eye the malignity of the fectaries: They fhould have carried their attention farther, to the caufe of that malignity, the former restraint under which they had laboured. THE Commons likewife paffed a vote, that the wrongs, difhonours, and indignities, offered to the English by the fubjects of the United Provinces, were the greatest obftructions to all foreign trade: And they promifed to affift the king with their lives and fortunes in afferting the rights of his crown against all oppofition whatfoever. This was the first open step towards a Dutch war. We must explain the caufes and motives of this measure. THAT close union and confederacy, which, during a Rupture course of near seventy years, had fubfifted, almost with- with Holout interruption or jealoufy between England and Holland, land. was not fo much founded on the natural unalterable interefts of these states, as on their terror of the growing power of France, who, without their combination, it was apprehended, would foon extend her dominion over Europe. In the first years of Charles's reign, when the ambitious genius of the French monarch had not, as yet, difplayed itself; and when the great force of his people was, in fome measure, unknown even to themselves, the rivalship of commerce, not checked by any other jealousy or apprehenfion, had naturally in England begot a violent enmity against the neighbouring republic. TRADE was beginning, among the English, to be a matter of general concern; but notwithstanding all their efforts and advantages, their commerce feemed hitherto to ftand upon a footing, which was fomewhat precarious. The Dutch, who, by induftry and frugality, were enabled to underfell them in every market, retained poffeffion of the most lucrative branches of commerce; and the English merchants had the mortification to find, that all attempts to extend their trade were still turned, by the vigilance of their rivals, to their lofs and difhonour. Their indignation increased, when they confidered the fuperior naval power of England; the bravery of her officers and feamen; her favourable fituation, which ena VOL. VII. Y bled 1 CHAP. bled her to intercept the whole Dutch commerce. By LXV. the profpect of there advantages, they were ftrongly prompted, from motives lefs juft than political, to make 1664. war upon the States; and at once to ravih from them by force, what they could not obtain, or could obtain but. flowly, by fuperior skill and induftry, 17th May. THE careless, unambitious temper of Charles rendered him little capable of forming fo vaft a project as that of engroffing the commerce and naval power of Europe; yet could he not remain altogether infenfible to fuch obvious and fuch tempting profpects. His genius, happily turned towards mechanics, had inclined him to ftudy naval, affairs, which, next to pleasure, he both loved the most of all things, and understood the beft. Though the Dutch, during his exile, had expreffed towards him more civility and friendship, than he had received from, any other foreign power; the Louveftein or ariftocratic faction, which, at this time, ruled the Commonwealth, had fallen into clofe union with France; and could that party be subdued, he might hope, that his nephew, the young prince of Orange, would be re-inftated in the authority, poffeffed by his ancestors, and would bring the States to a dependence under England. His narrow re venues made it still requifite for him to ftudy the humour of his people, which now ran violently towards war; and it has been fufpected, though the fufpicion was not jufti fied by the event, that the hopes of diverting fome of the fupplies to his private ufe were not overlooked by this ne ceffitous monarch. THE duke of York, more active and enterprifing, pufhed more eagerly the war with Holland. He defired an opportunity of diftinguishing himfelf: He loved to cultivate commerce; He was at the head of a new African company, whofe trade was extremely checked by the fettlements of the Dutch: And perhaps, the religious prejudices, by which that prince was always fo much governed, began, even fo early, to inftil into him an antipathy against a proteftant Commonwealth, the bulwark of the reformation. Clarendon and Southampton, obferving that the nation was not fortified by any foreign alliance, were averse to hoftilities; but their credit was now on the decline... By these concurring motives, the court and parliament were both of them inclined to a Dutch war. The parli 2 ament ament was prorogued without voting fupplies But as CHAP. they had been induced, without any open application LXV. from the crown, to pafs that vote above mentioned against the Dutchchments, it was reafonably confidered 1664. as fanction fufficient for the vigorous meafures, which were refolved on..: DOWNING, the English minifter at the Hague, a man of an infolent, impetuous temper, prefented a memorial to the States, containing a life of thofe depredations, of which the English complained. It is remarkable, that all the pretended depredations preceded the year 1662, when a treaty of league and alliance had been renewed with the Dutch; and thefe complaints were then thought either fo unjuft or fo frivolous, that they had not been mentioned in the treaty Two fhips alone, the Bonaventure and the Good-hope, had been claimed by the English; and it was agreed, that this claim thould be profecuted by the States a ordinary courfe of juftice. The had configned fum of money, in case the cause should be decided against A CHARLES Confined not himself to memorials and remonftrances. Sir Robert Holmes was fecretly difpatched. with a fquadron of twenty-two fhips to the coaft of Africa. He not only expelled the Dutch from Cape Corfe, to which the English had fome pretenfions: He likewife feized the Dutch fettlements of Cape Verde and the ifle of Goree, together with feveral fhips trading on that coaft. And having failed to America, he poffeffed himfelf of Nova Belgia, fince called New York: a territory, which James the first had given by patent to the earl of Sterling, but which had never been planted but by the Hollanders. When the States complained of thefe hoftile meafures, the king, unwilling to avow what he could not well juftify, pretended to be totally ignorant Y 2 Temple, vol. ii p. 42. of CHAP. of Holmes's enterprize. He likewife confined Holmes to LXV. the Tower; but fome time after releafed him. 1664. THE Dutch, finding that their applications for redrefs were likely to be eluded, and that a ground of quarrel was induftriously fought for by the English, began to arm with diligence. They even exerted, with fome precipita→ tion, an act of vigour, which haftened on the rupture. Sir John Lawfon and.de Ruyter had been sent with combined fquadrons into the Mediteranean, in order to chaftife the pyratical States on the coaft of Barbary; and the time of their feparation and return was now approach ing. The States fecretly difpatched orders to de Ruyter, that he should take in provifions at Cadiz; and failing towards the coast of Guinea, fhould retaliate on the Eng-. lifh, and put the Dutch in poffeffion of those fettlements whence Holmes had expelled them. De Ruyter, having a confiderable force on board, met with no oppofition in Guinea. All the new acquifitions of the English, except Cape Corfe, were recovered from them. They were even difpoffeffed of fome old fettlements. Such of their fhips as fell into his hands were feized by de Ruyter. That admiral failed next to America. He attacked Barbadoes, but was repulfed. He afterwards committed hoftilities on Long Island. MEANWHILE, the English preparations for war were advancing with vigour and induftry. The king had received no fupplies from parliament; but by his own funds and credit he was enabled to equip a fleet: The city of London lent him 100,000 pounds: The fpirit of the nation feconded his armaments: He himfelf went from port to port, infpecting with great diligence, and encouraging the work: And in a little time the English navy was put in a formidable condition. Eight hundred thoufand pounds are faid to have been expended on this armament. When Lawfon arrived, and communicated his fufpicion of de Ruyter's enterprize, orders were iffued for feizing all Dutch fhips; and 135 fell into the hands of the En-glish. These were not declared prizes, till afterwards, when war was proclaimed. 4th Nov. THE parliament, when met, granted a fupply, the lar-. A new fef-geft by far that had ever been given to a king of Engfion. land, but no more than fufficient for the prefent undertaking, Near two millions and a half were voted, to |