keeping, nor the life that is accompanied with it: The honour of English parliaments hath ever been in making the nation glorious and happy, not in selling and destroying the interest of it, to satisfy the lusts of one man. *Miserable nation! that from so

(* Miserable nation! that from so great a height of glory,)

The English republicans took things exactly right; and that in order to the accomplishing of a design that would take up all their lifetime, (for such men ought never to conceive mean ones, after the execution whereof they must be put to the trouble of projecting anew, or live lazily and be exposed to conspiracies against them) they thought it would be their best way to begin with the destruction of the United Provinces, which lay next their coasts, and flourished in trade above any other country in the world; and when once they had effected this, they were in hopes they should easily remove any obstacle in their way to attain the dominion of the seas; insomuch, that if the fortune of war should favour their first enterprize, I do not think they have any design to make a peace with a nation they have a mind utterly to destroy, and to whom they will propose such hard terms, that upon the refusal of them, you will at last find them prepared to make terrible descents in divers parts of Zealand and North-Holland, to break the banks and the other dikes, that keep the flat country from being drowned. There needs no more than this sort of blood-letting to make Amsterdam and all the other cities desolate : for it would signify little to them to seize the Brill or some other place, seeing their design is to destroy the trade of Holland, and to transfer it into their own country; and it would be of little importance to them that the King of Spain should recover the Seven Provinces; that the merchants of Amsterdam should remove to Antwerp, and the manufactures of Leyden and Harlem to Ghent and Bruges; for it would require many years to settle things there, and the English would have opportunity enough to hinder them from having any necessary materials but such as passed through their hands, and their manufactures

great a height of glory, is fallen into the most despicable condition in the world; of having all its good depending upon the breath and will of the vilest per

to be transported any where but in English bottoms: for it would be very easy for them to stop up the mouths of the ports, and to go up the Schelde, even in sight of Antwerp, from whence nothing must come out but will be taken by their ships. By this means, and the notion I have of their designs, no nation in the world, in a few years time, would have any seamen, ships, or skill in maritime affairs, besides themselves: for Holland being intirely ruined, the Dutch must serve on board their fleets, and all the shipwrights, sailmakers, and ropemakers, would be obliged to go and earn their living in the sea-port towns of England; and this they would be the more inclined to do, because there is more wages given there, and people live better. When this noble and rich province, which within the extent of less than five and twenty leagues, contains eighteen large towns and four hundred villages, of which the Hague is the finest in the world, shall be reduced to this sad plight; it is then likely that the English will turn their arms against Denmark, in order to seize the passage of the Sundt, either by main force or rather some treaty, by which they will be willing to give the King more than the profit it brought him, but at the same time will oblige Norway to sell their wood to no other nation but the English.... The cities of Embden, Bremen, Hamburg, Lubeck, all the coast of the Baltick, and the whole kingdom of Sweden, durst appear no longer at sea, but under English colours; and perhaps the formidable republic will be content, in consideration of her commissions granted to them, to receive certain duties from the goods she allows them in her name to transport, only along these northern parts. They will in time send a more powerful fleet to block up the river of Lisbon; while another sails to Brazil, Guinea, and the East-Indies; with a design to spare the Portuguese merchants and the East-India Companies, the labour of transporting the sugars, silks, spices, and other commodities they come hither for, into Europe: and if Spain pre

sons in it! cheated and sold by them they trusted! Infamous traffick, equal almost in guilt to that of Judas! In all preceding ages, parliaments have been

tends to say any thing against them, they will, without any more ado, seize the Streights' mouth and send an hundred and fifty ships of war into the Mediterranean, out of which they can very easily drive the naval force of the other potentates of Europe, were they all joined together against them.

The English having in this manner usurped the dominion of the seas, the trade of all the European nations, and part of the rest of the world; all the earth must submit to them, work for nobody but them, and they will, from time to time, come into their ports, and sweep away all their treasure: every thing that is rare and all the conveniences of life, produced either by art or nature, will be reserved for England, which will be the only country that can purchase them or possess them of her own.... For, as we see, that since the settling of trade in Holland, that province is become the store-house for linen, woollen, and all sorts of manufactures, though there is neither flax, wool, nor, in any manner, any other commodities which they work up, grows there, but they must have them from other countries; so every thing that England wants at this time will abound there, and the best artificers will flock thither, insomuch, that if they would have any fine linen or good cloth for wear, in another country, the flax and wool was to be sent to be manufactured in England. Pray consider then, what vast wealth this country must acquire in less than fifty years! And how miserable must the rest of Europe be, since they can transport nothing by sea from one nation to another, but in English ships? They will always have money to receive in all the ports they come at, and never leave any of their own there. What the English want, they will make compensation for by way of exchange, or readily send over into England, upon the score of the manufactures there they have occasion for; as we have seen the Dutch EastIndia Company have pearl and precious stones, in return for 'some wares sent into those countries, which they got fitted out

the palace of our liberty; the sure defenders of the oppressed: they, who formerly could bridle kings, and keep the balance equal between them and the

at Amsterdam, and then sold them at very dear rates in those places from whence they were first brought, and where there is not perfection of workmanship as there is with us. Hundreds of ships richly laden will daily put into the Thames and other ports of this fortunate island; and the General can scarce ever lose sight of his forces, which, I may say, return every evening to lye at home; for they stay no longer in foreign parts than to refresh themselves, to vend their goods, and to take in new cargoes.. They will be no ways solicitous of making conquests by land, that they may save the charge of maintaining them, seeing they are sure of reaping the profit of them; neither will they plant any colonies and ease their country, as populous as it is grown, of the vast multitudes that are in it, because the whole produce of Europe is consumed there, and their great naval trade renders their stores inexhaustible. In the mean time all the neighbouring kingdoms will, in a manner become like the sea coasts of America, where our Europeans trade; there will be only tillage and some coarse manufactures for plain wear and to serve people's necessities only in the heart of the country, and the maritime towns will be no other than the granaries of England

.......

There is nothing in all the conquests of Alexander, and the pomp of the Roman Empire, that comes near this maritime dominion which I have represented to you. And this seems to be so very feasible, that if Holland be once ruined, I am afraid it will be too late to prevent it. And therefore I would have all the potentates of Europe take it to heart in time; for if they do not quickly put an end to the war they are engaged in on the continent, we shall run the risque, in a few ages, of becoming perfect barbarians. For the English, by the means of their navigation, will transfer all the politeness of Europe, to

people, are now become instruments of all our oppressions, and a sword in his hand to destroy us; they themselves led by a few interested

persons, who gether with its plenty, power and conveniencies of life, into their own country.

Extract of a letter from M. Sorbiere to M. de Courcelles,

at Amsterdam; dated Orange, July 1, 1652: Concerning the designs of the English in the war against the Dutch.

We have done this right unto our monarchy.

We are now to say something of that government which succeeded it. I confess it was never settled, nor put absolutely into the hands of the people. And yet if you respect its infancy and beginning, it outwent in warlike atchievements all other commonwealths. I lay before me the exploits of Sparta, Athens, Carthage, and Venice; and know that the Venetians, Switzers, and United Provinces, at this day being contemptible for territories, are those only that appear fittest matches for the greatest empires, namely the Turk, the German, and the Spanish house of Austria, which monarchs had overborn large kingdoms, and provinces, and could meet none able to measure swords with them, till these little countries, having vindicated their liberty, took them in hand, and not so much by their valour (for Venice was never celebrated for valour, and the United Provinces had no extraordinary name for it) but by the excellency of their government and prudent carriage, have been able to force them to become peaceable and quiet neighbours, and keep themselves within narrower bounds than otherwise they would willingly have done. I know also, Rome, the only mistress of the world, was justly celebrated for large conquests. And yet none of these states gave such starts, and made such acquests at their rise, as our English commonwealth, certainly so many advantages conduced to its greatness and increase; and at its first appearing, so large were its proper territories, that it may well be affirmed, never was com