A. C. 1672 feven hundred thousand livres by ftipulation from the king of France, he ftill found himself in neceffity. He gave his miniftry to understand, that he could not begin the war without a further fupply of five hundred thousand pounds; and as he could not have recourfe to the parliament, which was prorogued, he promised to confer the office of treafuter upon him who fhould contrive a practicable expedient for raifing that fum of money. Sir Thomas Clifford happened to be the most fortunate in his invention: he proposed to stop the payments of the exchequer, and convert all the money to his immediate occafions. The fcheme was immediately put in execution, and Clifford appointed lordtreasurer. The whole nation was aftonished and affrighted at this defperate measure. The bankers, who had lent money to the government, fhut up their shops, and refused to accept the draughts of those who kept cash with them; fo that many private families were ruined. The merchants could neither answer bills, nor pay duties at the customhouse, so that commerce was interrupted, credit in a great measure destroyed, the public faith violated, univerfal confufion enfued among the trading part of the nation, and the city of London was filled with clamour and diftraction. The king published a declaration, excufing this step as the effect of neceffity, arifing from the formidable preparations of his neighbours, and promifing to do juftice to the creditors of the crown. Finding very little regard was paid to his proclamation, he convened the bankers at the Treafury, and affured them from his own mouth, that they fhould be punctually fatisfied, either from the next supplies granted by parliament, or out of his own revenue: he therefore defired they would answer the draughts of the merchants, fo that business might flow in its former channel.

The

Dutch fleet

The cabal had devised another plan for filling A.C. 1672. the king's coffers; namely that of intercepting the Attempt Dutch fleet of merchant fhips from Smyrna, valued upon the at fifteen hundred thoufand pounds. Sir Robert from SmyrHolmes was fent on this fervice, and fell in with na. Spragge, on his return with a fquadron from the Mediterranean had he been reinforced by this officer, he would certainly have fucceeded in his defign; but he was refolved to ingrofs the whole honour and advantage to himself, and allowed Spragge to continue his voyage homewards. He foon defcried the Dutch feet, under convoy of five fhips of war, commanded by commodore Van Nefs, who had received fome intimation of his defign, and put his fquadron, with the convoy, into an admirable pofture of defence. Holmes attacked them with great impetuofity, on the thirteenth day of March; and all that day they bravely sustained the engagement: it was renewed in the morning, and maintained till night; on the third day, one of the Dutch fhips of war was taken, together with three or four inconfiderable trading veffels : the rest continued their courfe, under the excellent conduct of their commodore; and, by the favour of a thick fog, arrived fafely in Holland. The States-general exclaimed loudly against this piratical attempt, which appeared the more dishonourable, as it had proved unsuccessful; the people of England condemned it as an infamous enterprize, and the king himself was afhamed of the undertaking. The miniftry pretended that it was no other than a cafual rencounter, occafioned by the pride of the Dutch commodore, who refufed to ftrike his topfails in compliment to the English fquadron. Nevertheless four Dutch Eaft-India fhips, afterwards taken by the English cruizers, were condemned as lawful prize, even before the declaration of the war.

The

A.C. 1672.

The States-general could hardly believe the king of England was in earnest, until these outrages were committed; then they were convinced, and redoubled their diligence in preparing for a rupture between the two nations. In the mean time Charles, with a view to favour the Roman catholics, by virtue of his fupreme power in ecclefiaftical affairs, confirmed by divers acts of parliament, iffued, a proclamation, fufpending the penal laws against nonconformifts, indulging proteftant diffenters with the public exercise of their religion, and allowing the catholics to worship God after their own way in private. This was a large ftride towards arbitrary power, fo contrary to the fentiments of the parliament, that he would not have ventured to take it, had not he been provided with a powerful fleet, and a new-raised army, at his devotion. Charles de- His next step was to declare war against the Dutch, for having refufed to fend home the English families fettled in Surinam, as the two nations had ftipulated in the treaty of Breda; for having denied the honours due to the English flag; and ridiculed the king and people of England in medals and pictures: fuch were the frivolous pretences of this iniquitous war. The Dutch juftified themselves, by affirming that they had not detained the English families in Surinam, but they had refused to quit the colony; that their admirals were not obliged, by any treaty, to lower their topfails on their own coaft to an English pleasure-boat; and that they had never countenanced any pictures or medals that reflected upon the honour of the king or people of Englandt. Charles, to complete the farce, pretended,

clares war

against the Dutch.

The foundation of this ridiculous charge was a portrait of Cornelius De Wit, the penfionary's brother, painted by order of the magiftrates of Dort On the back-ground, the painter had

exhibited a representation of fhips on fire, fuppofed to allude to the exploit of the Dutch in the river Medway, in which Cornelius De Wit bore a confiderable fhare,

in his declaration, that he would ftill faithfully ad- A. C, 1672. here to the purport of the triple alliance. Mean while, he ordered all the Dutch fhips that were in English harbours to be feized, contrary to an exprefs article in the treaty of Breda. The Dutch followed his example; but afterwards released them, obferving that his breach of faith was not a fufficient reafon for their imitating fuch unjuftifiable conduct. After fuch an uncommon inftance of candour and integrity, Charles was afhamed to detain their veffels, the greater part of which was fet at liberty. He now, by a ftretch of prerogative, fufpended the act of navigation, as almost all the feamen in the kingdom were employed in the navy. He iffued a proclamation in favour of preffing failors in another he threatened all those who fhould prefume to speak irreverently of his conduct, or hear fuch difcourfes without informing against the delinquents; and, by an order of council, he established martial law for the regulation of the army. The lord-keeper Bridgeman refufing to affix the feal to the declaration for fufpending the penal laws, was removed from his office, and lord Afhley, now earl of Shaftesbury, was appointed lord chancellor of England.

Lewis XIV. in his declaration of war against the Dutch, affigned no other reafon than his being diffatisfied with their conduct. The Bishop of Munfter declared war against the republic, on pretence of their having attempted to corrupt the governors of his places; and the elector of Cologne admitted a body of French troops into his dominions, under the pretext of providing for his own fafety, though De Wit was well apprifed of the treaty in which he had engaged. The commonwealth of the United Provinces feemed now devoted to deftruction. Lewis was at the head of an army, confifting of one hundred and eighty thousand men, command

I

ed

in that re

public.

A. C. 1672. ed by the best generals in the world: his subjects were enriched by commerce, under the excellent Diftractions adminiftration of Colbert; and his finances were managed with admirable oeconomy. The Dutch, on the other hand, were distracted between two powerful factions. De Wit, the chief of the Louveftein party, who had long directed the adminiftration, thought he could not take more effectual means to depress the Orange faction, than those of difbanding great part of the army, difmiffing the old officers who were devoted to the family of Orange, and supplying their places with the fons and kinfmen of his own friends, generally raw youths, who had never seen service, were utterly ignorant of discipline, and, for the most part, ferved by proxy; so that no military spirit remained. The foldiers were defpifed; the fortifications neglected; and all the valour and difcipline of the republic confined to the navy, which was the object of the penfionary's peculiar care and inspection. The States-general at first endeavoured to divert the king of England from his hoftile intentions, by conceffions and fubmiffions. They confented to honour his flag in any manner he should prescribe; and they appointed his nephew the prince of Orange captain-general and admiral, though he had not yet attained the twenty-third year of his age but Charles rejected all their advances; he was bent upon the deftruction of the republic, without paying the least regard to the interest of his nephew.

Battle of
Solebay.

De Wit had not acted with his ufual vigilance, in making preparations for the threatened invafion. He was now fenfible of the extreme hazard to which his country was expofed; and refolved to make one powerful effort by fea, while the prince of Orange was employed in making levies, and reestablishing difcipline in the army. De Ruyter

was