<: H AIX VI.n-77-

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246 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN 1 .

v. This success, derived from such great powerand such wise conduct, infused a pill terror intothe English parliament. They addressed the king,representing the danger to which the kingdomwas exposed from tht; greatness of France ; andpraying , that his maiesty , by such alliances ashe should think fit , would both secure his owndominions and the Spanish Netherlands , andthereby quiet the fears of his people. The king,desirous of eluding this application , which heconsidered as a kind of attack on his measures ,replied in general terms , that he would use allmeans for the preservation of Flanders, consistentwith the peace and safety of his kingdoms. Thisanswer was an evasion, or rather a denial. Thecommons, therefore, thought proper to be moreexplicit. They entreated him not to defer theentering into such alliances as might attain thatgreat end: And in cafe war with the French kingshould be the result of his measures, they pro-mised to grant him all the aids and supplies,which would enable him to support the honorand interest of the nation. The king was alsomore explicit in his reply. He told them , thatthe only way to prevent danger, was to put himin a condition to make preparations for theirsecurity This message was understood to be ademand of money. The parliament accordinglyempowered the king to borrow on the additionalexcise 200 ,ozo pounds at seven per cent: A verysmall sum indeed ; but which they deemed suf-ficient , with the ordinary revenue, to equip a

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