On his removal, the command of the English army on the continent was given to the duke of Ormond, who had private orders not to act with vigour against the enemy : a caution scarcely necessary to a general, who was every way unqualified to follow up the career of Marlborough ; and which leaves us at a loss, whether most to admire the meanness or the inconsistency of a cabinet, who durst not at once conclude a peace till they had made the war disgraceful. The defection of the British troops was severely felt by the allied troops, who soon suffered a severe check at Denain. Prince Eugene was unable, alone, to resist the progress of Villars and Douay. Quesnoy and Bouchain were recovered by the French in this disastrous campaign. The immediate and rapid successes of France, after Marlborough's re moval, furnishes the best arguments for condemning that false pity towards Louis, which the Tories of that period so deeply cherished, and the relaxation of that hostility against France, which, if kept up at the begin ning of the century, might have saved Europe from subjugation before the end of it.
In the mean time, conferences for peace had been opened at London, and the earl of Strafford had gone as ambassador to Holland for the same purpose. Neither the influence of the Whigs at home, nor the visit of prince Eugene, who came to London in order to excite the public spirit against the negotiations, could inter eept, or even retard them. The treaty began at Utrecht, and a peace was concluded in 1713, between France and Britain. By this peace it was stipulated, that Philip, rho had been settled on the throne of Spain, should renounce all right to the crown of France ; that the duke of Berry, his brother, the presumptive heir to the crown of France alter the death of the Dauphin, should also renounce his right to the crown of Spain, in case he be came king of France. The duke of Orleans was to make the same resignation. The duke of Savoy had the island of Sicily, with the title of king, with Fenestrelles, and other places on the continent. The Dutch had that barrier granted them which they had so long sought for ; but if the house of Bourbon was stript of some dominions, in order to enrich the duke of Savoy, on the other hand, the house of Austria was taxed to supply the wants of the Hollanders, who were put in posses sion of the strongest towns in Flanders. In behalf of England, it was agreed that the fortifications of Dun kirk should be demolished, and its port destroyed. Spain surrendered Gibraltar and the island of Minorca. France resigned Hudson's Bay, Nova Scotia, and Newfound land, but was left in possession of Cape Breton. Among the articles which reflected honour on the English, the liberation of French Protestants, confined for thcir reli gion, was not the least important. To the emperor, the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the Spanish Netherlands, were assigned. Prussia was allow ed Upper Guelder ; and a time was fixed for the em peror's acceding to these resolutions, for he had hither to refused to assist at the treaty.
The union with Scotland at first gave so little satis faction, that, before six years had elapsed, the same party by whom it was established proposed to dissolve it, from the real or imaginary injuries which the nation had sustained. On a day appointed to consider the state of the nation, the earl of Seafield enumerated the griev ances which the Scotch had endured : the introduction of English laws against treason ; the declaration of their peers being incapable of acquiring honours ; and the oppression of a tax,' which the country could not sustain. He was seconded by Mar, Argyle, and the Scottish peers. The English Tories, however, con curred in preserving an union which they had formerly so much opposed. The English \Vhigs, apprehensive. of an obscure design which the queen was said to en tertain, of introducing her brother, the Pretender, into Scotland, and securing his succession to the crown, lis tened to the assurances of the Scotch, that they would support the Protestant succession if the union were dis solved, warmly supported the proposal. So nearly were the parties balanced, that the motion was rejected by only four votes.
During the remainder of Anne's reign, the Tories retained their power, with a security which was only disturbed by their own quarrels. The cabinet was a scene of the bitterest altercations between the followers of Bolingbroke and of Oxford. The former, daring, proud, and impetuous, carried the designs and zeal of the Tory party to the utmost pitch ; the other was for a reconciliation with the Whigs, whose resentment he feared, as the queen's health began visibly to decline. Bolingbroke prevailed. Oxford was removed from the treasury, while the suddenness of his fall occasioned the utmost confusion at court. The fatigue of attending a long cabiact council had such an effect upon the queen's spirits and constitution, that she declared could not outlive it, and was immediately seized with a lethargic disorder. On the 30th of July, when her life was de spaired of, the committee of the council, assembled at the cock-pit, adjourned to Kensiagton ; being informed of the desperate situation in which she lay, repaired to the palace, and, without being summoned, entered the council chamber. By their advice, all privy counsellors in or about London were invited to attend, without dis tinction of party. Somers. and many others of the Whigs, immediately repaired to Kensington. By their measures, the designs of Bolingbroke, and those who favoured the Jacobite succession, were defeated. Troops were or dered to London ; the heralds•at-arms were kept in wait ing; and precautions were taken to secure the sea ports, and to overawe the Jacobites in Scotland. The queen continued to dose in a lethargic insensibility till the first of August, in the morning, when she expired, in the 50th year of her age, and in the 13th of her reign ; and with her ended the race of Stuarts. See ANNE.