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HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

upon the whole, Britain appears to have considered Philip as a prince of whosepower she need not entertain the smallest apprehension, since it was agreed thatall the ships, taken from him in the engagement off cape Passaro, should be re-stored, or that the value of those which had been sold should be refunded to him.Though the cardinal had been dismissed, the world might have quickly perceived,that the charge made against that minister, of having been the sole cause of thepreceding war, was unwarrantable in the extreme. Philip, though he haddelivered himself so peremptorily from his ambitious and dangerous monitor, soonconvinced both his friends and his enemies alike, that the utmost extent of thecrime that could be substantiated against the favourite was his having implicitlystudied the inclinations, or pursued the instructions, of his sovereign.

Although the peace between Spain and England was formally signed at Madridon the 13th of June, 1721, yet there appeared not, by any means, that returningsystem of amity between the parties which was absolutely necessary to render itpermanent and effectual. Treaties succeeded to treaties, and negotiations to negotia-tions, without any of them accomplishing the wished-for end. The congress atCam bray, the unsettled state in which the Spanish government at that time was,the irregular, the fickle, and weak conduct of Philip, all tended to prevent themisunderstanding from rising into the dignity of a public quarrel, but kept all therest of Europe for some years in doubt, and suspence as to the event. The interest,the dangerous spirit of intrigue, together with the ambition of the queen of Spain,combined to prevent that cordial intercourse which seemed so indispensably neces-sary to the mutual discussion of the cause of complaint, and the affectation of re-spect and feeling for the misfortunes of the spurious descendant from the house ofStuart, proved an admirable excuse for the interference of that or any other courtwho sought a pretext for encouraging a dispute with that of Great Britain. Thequeen of Spain, having, by the treaty of Vienna, settled her difference with theemperor, and engaged by a subsidy his friendship, and probably his assistanceif necessary, began now to talk in a more peremptory style, and insist on therestoration both of Gibraltar and Minorca. A combination rather of a dangerousnature appeared to threaten Great Britain; and the want of decision on thepart of government appeared, in some measure, to favour the attempt. Thesquadron sent under the orders of Sir John Jennings, to cover Gibraltar, was re-strained from acting offensively; and Spain, probably attributing its inactivity to thewrong cause, or presuming upon the false consequence which the respite from

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