PRIOR to ROBERT HARLEY, EARL OF OXFORD, 16/27 September 1712, Versailles
Table of contents
1712.0927.Fb
11
Addressed:
Ld Treasurer.Versailles Sep: 16/27 1712My Lord.
Since at this time it can not be indiffe
rent to the L:d High Treas:r to know
what becomes of Her Maj:ties minister
in France, nor is it so, at any time, to
the Earl of Oxford, to know how matters
go with his faithfull servant Prior
I begin by telling your Lordsp that for
ten days past I haue been confined to
my Bed by what We speaking finely
call une trousse galante,
2 a distemper
cruel to bear as unmannerly to name.
I am better, and at Versailles from whence
I dispatch this post: the service, God
be thanked, has no way suffered by my
being ill, nor ever shall as long as I
can draw vital breath. mons:r Torcy
came to Me with the same Ease that
You would haue done: and as well He
as I expected a Cargo from you
2
by Barton, thô on the Contrary he
brought from you neither letter,
powers nor Secretary all wch I
want most exceedingly. the 2 latter I
presume are on the way, or I should be
mighty clamorous, for as well as that it
is idle for Me to depend vpon other
people's Charity for their being civil
to Me; it is really very troublesome
for mons:r Torcy d˂t˃hus3 to transact my
busineſs for Me with mons:r Pontchar
train, mons:r Voisin and the other
Ministers: and while I am vpon
this Subject, pray let the appointments
be antedated, however the powers
may come late: NB: we sett out the
2:d of Aug:t and the Plenipotentiaries
at Utrecht are above 3 quarter~ of
a year old, at 100 p:d p:r Week.
As to letters from you, I must beg
you that as often as any order or ad
vice I may receiue is doub[t]full,4
3
you would be pleased to giue Me your
explication of it, which will likewise
serue to mons:r Torcy, in case you do not
write directly to Him: for I must
own He acts without any reserue to
Me, such credit the character you haue
given Me of being yo:r ffriend has acqui
red to Me here:
In my last I referred your Lordsp to
what I had writ to L:d Dartmouth,
I do so likewise now; observing to
you only that my L:d sent Me the
inclosed from D:r Henchman w:ch
according to his order I translated and
gaue to mons:r Torcy, I found Him
mightily concerned, that after He
thought the form of the Renoncia
tion was agreed to, any new diffi
culty might arise, and desirous that
above all things this point might
be finished as the only means effect
ually to prevent any Remora yt
4
may arise at Utrecht: I haue letters
of 6 and of 7 days date fresher than
those that accompanyed these doubts
of Dr Henchman, and my L:d Dart
mouth not sending any thing fur
ther vpon this head, and L:d Lexing
ton being dispatched into Spain
in such a Manner as is satisfactory
to this Court, We hope that my
Lord has such orders and his good
Sence will so well interprete them
that the form of the Renonciation
will be so fairly agreed on at
Madrid, as to meet w:th no difficulty
at Paris, and that We shall hear
no further from the Doct:r of Oxford.
I think We haue settled another point in
the Manner you could wish and my Lord
Bolingbroke instructed: That of renewing
the Conferences at Utrecht: mons:r Torcy
writes to Ld Boling:~ vpon this head, and
will send Me the Copy of the King's order
w:ch he communicates to the Plenipoten
5
tiairyes; by wch you will see that neither
the French are to break in vpon Us for
any Declaration derogotary to what Her
Majty mentions in her Speech as to the
bounds of the Dutch barriere, nor Ours to
be hindered as to the renewing the
Negociations by any Specification
that the French may oblige them to
consent to: it is indeed a thing of Appea
rance rather than of reality; and I
think in a great deal of discours wch
I haue had on this subject with monsr
Torcy, he plainly vnderstands a very
Essential difference between her Maj:ties
declaring her Consent that They shall
haue Tourney, and setting her Self in
such a Scituation (as to her Allyes) that
they may reasonably demand and obtain
it:
The affair w:ch will precede any other
is the Satisfaction w:ch Mesnager expects
I own to yo:r Lordsp I was very glad
that the Issue of this Matter is referred
6
to Her Maj:ties Arbitrage: thô I seemingly
declined such a reference, for that it
would be impossible in such an extra
ordinary Case to satisfy both parties,
and that already the Malcontents did
not stick to say we were trop Francois,5
that the Dutch were as yet our Allyes
and we could not (thô I hoped We should
shortly) call the French our friends.—
however I was heartily glad the thing is
so referred, for that it is certainly a
great honour to Her Majty to decide
solely what satisfaction the Monarch
is to haue, the Emp:r being by his
Ministers vpon the place, as likewise
all the Confederates collectively taken,
and obliged to think of this affair as
Her Maj:ty shall please to determine,
so I conceiue it to be a particular
advantage to our [...]˂p˃resent6 scituation
that Her Maj:ty may determine sooner
or later as She thinks proper
7
the Conferences shall advance or no.
Vpon this subject I must tell you that the
Dutch press more than ever for a peace,
the way they take is by the El:r of Bavaria
to whom they haue sent un homme affidé
I think he is one of the Elr's subjects
or his servant; their Curiosity is to
know if the low Countryes may be
assigned to the Elec:r and in that case
if he would not take it, giving vp the
property of all the Garison'd towns (wch
the Dutch are to haue) to the States
for ever: you see by this how well the
Imperialists and the States are likely
to be together, and in how different
senses Each vnderstands the word Bar
riere. if Henniquin whom I haue
named persists to ask a passeport to
come heither shall he haue One? but
pray, let Us make an end of our own
great affair as soon as possibly we
can, and in order to it, for God's sake
let the Commands I shall receiue be
8
charged with no Chimæras,7 and that the
Ministers here may see that I speak
the sence of a Nation where the E: of
Oxford is Minister.
The Vessel the Griffen belongs to
Crozat a relation of mons:r Voisin
your Lordsp will see by the inclosed8 to
Me from mons:r de Torcy how particular
ly he interrestes himself in this
affair, I haue sent the Memorial
it self to my Ld Dartmouth
S:r Tho: Hardy being the Captor, and
the Case so very particular as that
Crozat had a passeport but had it
not on board will intitle him to as
much favour as may justly be
shown.
I haue given the Mar: Tallard his release
he expresses his Sentiments of the
Queen's favour to my Ld Dartmouth
and desires Me to return his acknowledg9
9
acknowledgements to your Lordsp
mons:r Torcy orders Me to inform your Lordsp,
as from Himself in particular, that the
Emp:r has great correspondence with
our Whiggs by the means wch Count
Galas 10 formerly established: that a
design is forming of no less intent
than dethroning or securing her Majty
and that 3 lords whose names he
can not yet find, are to head this hope
full project: as He knows more of
it I shall likewise know more, but
this advice, vague as it is, he thinks not
to be neglected:
The D: of Lorrain is certainly in the
Austrian interest and will betray the
Chevalier in every thing he does or
says whilst he remains in his domi
nions, whereas he asks that We
should from the Emp:r obtain those
passeports for the Chevalier, wch may
assure him from that power to wch
he betrays him: such passeports
10
must however be obtained.
A long letter I haue writ to my Lord
Dartmouth will let your Lordsp see
what I haue done in the points of
the release of Prisoners, the Case of
fish and Corn carryed to Spain or
Portugal, Passeports &c.
Pray write to Me, my Lord, for the
next Messenger that comes without
a letter from you I will certainly
go back with; to tell you vivâ voce
that I am ever with all zele and
respect
My Lord
Yo:r Lordsp's most obt
and most humbly devoted
SertMPrior.
11
Pray don't let Dartmouth know that I
send you the Doctor's letter, with monsr
Torcy's annotations vpon it, nor
lett Me haue any more of John of
Buck's Cookery
2.
Endorsed:
Versailles
Mr Prior Sept 16/27. 1712
℞ Sept: 25: