Nederlandse historische bronnen 10

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10

Hague, 1st February 1729 NS

My Dear Lord, I should have return'd you my thanks before now for the honour of your letter, of ye 8th Jan. had I not been hinder'd by a great deal of very insignificant business, which has taken up as much of my time, as if it had been of more consequence, and yett is of too little, to trouble you with an account of.

I am extreamly oblig'd to you, for taking young Dayrolles upon my recommendation, I hope he may be of some use to you, at least that he won't be troublesome; you have made his uncle extreamly happy; who returns you his thanks himself by this post. Now I am upon the subject of thanks, I must not omitt acknowledging in a particular manner, the very great kindness, which my brother informs me you show'd him during his stay at Vienna³⁷; and for which he desir'd me to endeavour to make up, by my thanks, what he wished, but was not able to express by his own. I do it with the more pleasure too, because I flatter myself, that your friendship for me had some share in it; be persuaded that I in some measure deserve it, from the sincere sentiments of esteem and respect that I have for you.

I have received from Lord Townshend copys of your letters to him of ye 25 Dec. and the 1st Jan. to communicate in confidence to a friend here, but to tell you the truth, the behaviour of the Court where you are is so very extraordinary that we can form no sort of judgement³⁸, what they will think fitt to do at last; one would naturally think, that since Count Sinzendorf has regain'd his creditt, (if he had lost any) that he would employ it, to maintain a bratt of his own getting, as the provisionall treaty in a great measure was; and yett by what you say, and what seems very probable; he will much rather lett it starve, than rear it, with the least risque to himself³⁹. The only thing that seems certain, is, that the affair will be spun out, to tedious delays; which will be very inconvenient in England; and likely to tire our Master's patience⁴⁰.

The answer lately sent from Vienna to France upon the affairs of Oostfrize, is by no means satisfactory here, it is as uncertain and undetermin'd, as any of the former ones; with this one circumstance that makes it worse; which is, it is said, qu'il n'a jamais été question, et n'est pas encore question de faire sortir d'Embden la garnison Hollandoise; which seems to intimate that some day or other that may probably happen; Count Sinzendorf here says he hopes soon to have an answer,

37 Charles Stanhope, 1708-1736, captain in the Foot Guards.

38 The Austrian rejection of the Provisional Treaty had been followed by the reaffirmation of the Austro-Spanish alliance. Beer, ‘Zur Geschichte der Politik Karl VI’, 44. Eugene to Juan-Bautista, Marquis of La Paz, Spanish foreign minister, ? Dec. 1728, Sinzendorff to Chauvelin, French foreign minister, 5 Jan. 1729, HHStA, Frankreich, Varia 12, GK, num. 102 (a).

39 In fact Sinzendorff's policy of support for the treaty had been rejected in favour of Eugene's policy of alliances with the Empire, Spain and Russia, McKay, Prince Eugene of Savoy, 218-219.

40 On George II's impatience with the diplomatic situation, D'Aix, Sardinian envoy extraordinary in London, to Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, 23 Aug. 1728, Turin, Archivio di Stato, Lettere Ministri Inghilterra, num. 35; Broglie to Chauvelin, 19 Dec. 1728, AE, CP Ang., num. 363, f. 284.

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that will be perfectly satisfactory; but considering, that his father in law has been promising such a one these six months, without any effect, those assurances of the son, are not much rely'd upon; and in my mind the Emperor will not conclude either that or the affair of Mecklemburg, till he concludes, all the other affairs at the same time; that of Mecklemburg seems to grow pretty serious⁴¹, and the answer sent from Vienna to mr. Fonseca⁴² upon that subject, is rather a justification, than an excuse, of the most arbitrary, and enormous proceedings, that I believe were ever heard of in the Empire. People here are in a very good disposition upon that head, and I make not the least doubt, of engaging them to support his Majesty with the utmost vigour, in case it should be necessary⁴³; but I believe the Court of Vienna, will think twice, before they bring it to that; ...⁴⁴ is but upon a very indifferent foot here; his odditys are not excus'd in this grave country; and his excessive turn to gallantry, has brought a ridicule upon him, that he will have much ado to shake off.

The going out of the post gives me but just time to assure you, that I am more than anybody - - -

[P.S.]

I have gott a passeport of the States for your Doctor, and other caisses, which I have sent to Pennington at Rotterdam, but I have not heard that they are yett arriv'd there.

41 The British ministry made it clear that any Anglo-Austrian reconciliation would depend on a satisfaction of Hanoverian demands, Townshend to Mecklenburg, 16 Feb. 1729 OS, PRO, num. 80/64, f. 89-91. On fears of fresh trouble in Mecklenburg, Wych to Townshend, 7 Jan. 1729, PRO, num. 82/46, f. 1-3.

42 Baron Marc de Fonseca was Austrian chargé d'affaires in Paris, 1722-1730, and one of the Austrian plenipotentiaries at Soissons.

43 The British claimed that should any power seek to drive the Hanoverian troops out of Mecklenburg, George II would have the same right to the assistance of his allies, by the defensive clauses in the Hanover treaty, as if they should attack his troops in any part of his own dominions. Much British diplomatic effort was expended to defend George II's interest in what Horatio Walpole termed ‘the darling point of Mecklenburg’, Horatio Walpole to Newcastle, 8 Dec. 1728, BL, Add., num. 32759, f. 319.

44 Not deciphered in the original. Possibly Fénelon, the French envoy, Count Wenzel Sinzendorff, or the Wolfenbüttel envoy Count Dehn.