miral Hosier's instructions for the West Indies, and of Sir Charles Wager's for the Baltic. Hosier was at this time sailed, and Wager sailed a little after, but before this time I never saw the instructions, nor was acquainted with them.

June 20th.-The Duke of Newcastle communicated to me the information given by Mr Keene, the 15th instant, to the Duke, of the discoveries made to Mr Stanhope in Spain by the Duke of Ripperda. After the Duke of Ripperda's disgrace he sheltered himself in Mr Stanhope's house, and, whilst there, made such discoveries to Mr Stanhope that he did not think fit to send in writing, lest they should fall into the hands of those who might make an ill use of them, therefore sent Mr Keene to acquaint the Duke of Newcastle with them by word of mouth, that so he might lay them before the King.

The account that Mr Keene gave was, that Mr Stanhope having pressed the Duke of Ripperda to inform him of the schemes that had been projected or agreed to by the Emperor and King of Spain, either with regard to the state of Europe in general, or to His Majesty's affairs in particular, the Duke began with the secret treaty of Vienna,* consisting of five articles, and three separate ones, the substance of which he dictated to Mr Stanhope, who took them down in writing with his own hand, and are as follows.

ART. 1. confirms and ratifies all preceding treaties made between their Imperial and Catholic Majesties.

2. The Emperor gives the eldest Archduchess in marriage to the Infant Don Carlos.

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3. The second Archduchess is given to the Infant Don Philip. 4. The Emperor and King of Spain enter into reciprocal engagements to begin a war for reconquering the Duchy of Burgundy, Franche Comté, Alsace, and all the French conquests in Flanders and encroachments on Lorraine, Navarre, Roussillon, Petite Sardaigne, which are to be divided after the following manner. gundy, Franche Comté, Alsace, and all that formerly belonged to the House of Austria, is to be settled upon Don Carlos, and looked upon as the Austrian patrimony: Lorraine is to be restored to its Duke and Navarre, Roussillon, and La Petite Sardaigne, to be reunited to the Spanish Monarchy.

5. The Emperor and King of Spain do mutually oblige themselves and posterity, never to give an Archduchess or Infanta in marriage to the House of Bourbon in France.

1. Separate article—That in case the present King of France *The particulars of this secret treaty of Vienna, related by Ripperda are curious, and almost incredible; they rest on the veracity of Ripperda, Ripperda was an adventurer; born a Dutchman, he became a Spanish minister, and at last retired to Morocco, where he died, having attempted to establish a new religion.

should die without issue to inherit that Crown, the Infant Don Philip is to be King of France.

2. The Emperor and King of Spain do solemnly engage to assist the Pretender with their forces, in order to the putting him in possession of the throne of Great Britain.

3. Is a reciprocal engagement between the Emperor and King of Spain utterly to extirpate the Protestant religion, and not to lay down their arms till this design be fully and effectually executed.

None of the King of Spain's Ministers besides himself knew this treaty, and that it had not been communicated to any person whatsoever, except the Emperor, the King and Queen of Spain, and the Ministers who signed it.

His Catholic Majesty was so earnest for the extirpation of the Protestant religion, that in the several letters that had passed directly between the King of Spain and the Emperor upon this subject, the King proposed, in case of necessity, to see the domains of his throne put up grandezas to the highest bidder, and dispose of all the employments for life in the Indias to the best purchaser, for promoting this scheme; and in one of his own letters he makes use of these extraordinary expressions, "Je vendrai même ma chemise."

July 28th.-Received the King's orders by the Duke of Newcastle, to make Ric. Edgecombe, Esq. custos rotulorum of the County of Cornwall.

Received also a sign manual to put the Great Seal to the power to Lord Glenorchy, envoy in Denmark, to treat with foreign princes.

Wednesday, June 14th, 1727.-About five in the evening, I had a letter from Sir R. Walpole, informing me that the King was dead, and desiring me to meet him immediately at the Duke of Devonshire's.

I went there immediately, and found that Sir R. Walpole, on receipt of the news from Lord Townshend, had instantly gone to Richmond, and acquainted the Prince with it, and that thereupon the Prince had resolved to be in town as fast as he could that evening. In the mean time we prepared, by the Attorney and SolicitorGeneral, the draft for proclaiming the King, and settled the other things necessary to be done. The King, in the mean time, came to town, and sent us word that he was ready, whenever we were ready to wait on him. Accordingly, we who were at the Duke of Devonshire's, except the Duke himself, who had the gout, went to Leicester-House, and there being joined by several others of the nobility, we sent in to the King to desire an audience: and although the Archbishop was present, yet I made a short speech to the King, according to agreement, setting out the great sorrow we

were under by the unexpected death of the late King, and that nothing could relieve or mitigate it, but the certain prospect of happiness under his future administration; and that being now become our liege lord, we desired leave to withdraw into the Councilchamber, to draw up a form of a proclamation for proclaiming him, and to sign it as usual; which being granted, we retired into the Council-chamber, and there the form, which we had before agreed upon, was produced, engrossed, and thereon all the Lords of the Council then present first signed it. Then the doors were opened, and the peers in the outer room were desired to walk in and sign it, which they did; then it was delivered to the gentlemen in the outer room to sign as many as they pleased. And after it had been some time out, the Lords of the Council sent for the parchment, which being returned, secret intimation was given to the King that the Council were ready to receive him. Whereon he immediately came in, and seating himself in the royal chair, he there read the declaration, that was printed at the desire of the Lords of the Council: it had been prepared at the Duke of Devonshire's, by Sir R. Walpole and the Speaker. After that, orders were given for the proclaiming of the King the next morning at ten o'clock, and several other orders of course were made, which are to be seen in the Council-book, particularly one for proroguing the Parliament, being now, by reason of the King's demise, immediately to meet.

Thursday, 15th.-A little after ten, I came to Leicester-House, and the Heralds and all being ready, about eleven, the Archbishop of Canterbury, myself, and other Lords, went into the yard before Leicester-House, and there the Heralds proclaimed the King, we being there on foot uncovered. As soon as that was done, we went into our respective coaches, and in the street before Leicester-House the King was again proclaimed. From thence we went and proclaimed him at Charing-Cross, Temple-Bar, the corner of Woodstreet, and the Royal Exchange.

After that I came home, and about four o'clock got to the House of Lords, where the Parliament met, and all the Lords present taking the oaths, I then informed the House that I had a commission from the King to prorogue the Parliament to the 27th instant, which was the day it stood prorogued to in the late King's time. And thereon the Lords Commissioners seated themselves as usual in such cases, and on message by the Usher of the Black Rod, the Speaker and Commons, coming to the bar, the commission was read, and I declared the Parliament prorogued to the 27th inst.

From hence I went to Leicester-House, a Council being appointed this evening, and there several other orders were made, which had been omitted the evening before, and particularly the same proclamation, which had been issued out upon the death of Queen Anne, on the foundation of the act Sexto Annæ, for continuing

persons in their offices, and requiring them to take the oaths, according to the said act.

Friday, 16th.-A Council in the evening, wherein I delivered up the Seals to the King, who re-delivered them to me as Chancellor, and thereon I was sworn Chancellor in Council.

Saturday, 17th.-I was sworn Chancellor in the Chancery Court in Westminster-Hall, and this day I swore all the Judges de novo, and the King's Council, and some of the Welsh Judges, pursuant to the Act of Parliament, Sexto Annæ.

Sunday, 18th.-Received the Sacrament at Ockham, to qualify myself.

Tuesday, 20th.-Took the oaths in the King's Bench; went to Kensington, and presented the Judges, both English and Welsh, Masters in Chancery, and the King's Council, who all kissed the King's and Queen's hands.

Saturday, 24th.-At a Cabinet Council at Lord Townshend's office, the King's speech settled. There then arose a question, whether the King was to take the test on his first coming to Parliament next Tuesday, and the Lords desired me to look into that matter, and I promised them to do it by Monday morning, and lay what I could find before them, for their determination.

Monday, 26th.-At Lord Townshend's in the morning, where were present Harcourt, Trevor, Walpole, Newcastle, the Speaker, Townshend, Godolphin, and myself, and I stated the matter to them.

"That by the first Gul. et Mar. c. 2, an Act declaring the rights and liberties of the subject, and settling the succession of the Crown, it is enacted, That every King and Queen of this realm shall, on the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament next after his or her coming to the Crown, sitting in his or her throne, in the House of Peers, in the presence of the Lords and Commons therein assembled, or at his or her coronation, which shall first happen, make and subscribe the declaration, &c."

As this Act stood, there could be no doubt when this declaration was to be made, viz. at the coronation, or on the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament, which should first happen; that at this time the Parliament determined by the demise of the King, and therefore the first Parliament could not be meant, but of the first Parliament called by him, and the first day of the meeting is the day when the King comes to the House of Lords and opens the Parliament, and declares the causes of the meeting, 4 Inst. 7.

That afterwards, by the 7 et 8 Gul. c. 15, it was enacted, That that Parliament, or any other Parliament which should be summoned by King William, his heirs or successors, should not determine or be dissolved by the death or demise of the said King, his heirs or successors, but such Parliament should continue, and was thereby impowered and required immediately to meet, convene, and

sit, and to act, notwithstanding such death or demise, for six months and no longer, unless the same should be sooner prorogued or dissolved by the next heir to the Crown in succession, according to the first Gul. et Mar. c. 2. Though the enacting part of the said Act be general, extending to the death or demises of all future Kings, yet the restriction of determining the continuance within the six months being appropriated only to those who were within the limitation of the Crown, by the first Gul. et Mar. c. 2, shows that the intention of the legislature was, this Act should extend no further than to the persons inheriting the Crown under the limitation of the said Act.

12 et 13 Gul. c. 2; an Act for the further limitation of the Crown, &c., thereby enacts that whosoever should inherit the Crown by virtue of the limitations in the said Act, should make, take, subscribe, and repeat the declaration in the first Gul. et Mar. c. 2, in the manner and form thereby prescribed.

Anno 1701, 8th March, King William died, the Parliament then sitting; they met the same day, and continued on to do business. Nothing was discontinued by his death, but they went on just as if he had been living, and the 7 et 8 Gul. c. 15, not requiring the oaths to be again taken, they did not take the oaths de novo only before the 25th March, 1702; they took the oath of abjuration, according to the prescription of the 13 et 14 Gul. c. 6, which passed into a law but the night before the King's death, whereby all members of Parliament, as well peers as commoners, were to take the said abjuration before the 25th March, 1702.

1701, 11th March, the Queen came to the House the first time, made a speech, but did not subscribe the declaration.

The session in King William's time, and the session in Queen Anne's time, did not make two different sessions, but one session under two different sovereigns. If they had been different sessions, then on Queen Anne's coming to the Crown, the Houses of Parliament must separately have begun all things de novo, which they did not; the consequence of which was, that without a particular provision to the contrary, the Acts passed in Queen Anne's time must in law have commenced the beginning of the session in King William's time, because all Acts commence in law the first day of the session, unless a special time of commencement be limited and appointed. Therefore an Act was made the same Parliament, 1 Anne, c. 8, that that Act and all other Acts to which the royal assent should be given after the 8th March, 1701, and before the end of the present session of Parliament, shall commence and begin, and be taken in law to commence and begin, the said 8th day of March, 1701, unless in such Acts some other time for commencement thereof be specially limited and appointed. This was the case of the King's dying when the Parliament was sitting, and it seems that they did not take this