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PART confiderable empire, had promised to fuccour II. her majefty with 40,000 Tartars, Coffacks, and

Calmucks, which in order to divert the King of 1741. Pruffia, were immediately to enter into his kingdom, and live there at difcretion, until the Pruffian troops fhould retire from Silefia; and accordingly, in February ten Ruffian regiments were fent into Courland, where they were kept in continual readiness to march through Poland to the affiftance of her Hungarian majefty; but the other powers who had guaranteed the pragmatic fanction, through the artifices of the court of France, had not made the least advance towards defending and fecuring the liberties and dignity of the Auftrian family.

SANGUINE were the expectations of the Auftrian miniftry, from the arrival of his Britannic majefty in Germany; though at the fame time they apprehended other schemes between France and Bavaria, and were truly fenfible of the approaching danger from fuch an alliance. For his Britannic majefty and the Dutch, encouraged the queen to infift upon it, as a preliminary in any agreement to be made between her and the King of Pruffia, that the Prufian troops should withdraw from Silefia; and even promised her hopes of their affiftance, if he refused to comply.

IN purfuance of this and the former resolution, the Earl of Hyndford, as minifter plenipotentiary from his Brittanic to his Pruffian majesty, began his negociations with requesting the King of Pruffia to defift from his enterprize in Silefia. And in pursuance of this fcheme, on the 19th of June, a memorial was prefented to his Pruffian majefty, by the Major-General Baron de Ginckel, envoy extraordinary from the States General,

in conjunction with the Earl of Hyndford, re- CHAP. prefenting "That their High Mightineffes, as III. "well as his Britannic majefty, could not fee, "but with the utmoft regret, the troubles be- 1741, "tween their Pruffian and Hungarian majefties;

and that they could not refrain from making "the strongest inftances to his Pruffian majefty, "to prevail upon him to withdraw his troops "from Silefia, and thereby pave the way to a "lafting accommodation, as well as to reftore

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peace to the empire, at a juncture when union "was fo neceffary among powers that had any

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regard for its repofe; and for this purpose "their High Mightineffes, as well as his Britan"nic majefty, would employ their interceffion " with all the ardour and affection they were " capable of. That their High Mightineffes " and his Britannic majefty, were under a ne

ceffity to infift ftrenuously on this demand, "and to do all that lay in their power to gain. "the confent of his Pruffian majefty thereto;

and that nothing could be more difagreeable "to them, than to find themselves obliged to " fulfil engagements, in an affair in which his "Pruffian majefty and the Queen of Hungary were oppofite parties."

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To this memorial the Count de Podeweis, by order of his Prufsian majefty, on the 26th of June returned an anfwer, importing, "That "his Prussian majefty had from time to time "made advantageous propofals to the Queen of "Hungary, but the king had feen with regret, "that far from having the leaft regard fhewn "to them, the court of Vienna had rejected "them with difdain; and that it would not be his fault, if those differences were not foon "terminated in a proper manner; hoping from F f 2 "the

II.

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PART" the friendship and equity of his Britannic ma "jefty and their High Mightineffes, that in employing their good offices to attain so falutary 1741. an end, they would never fwerve from the impartiality fuch a work required, much less to exact conditions of the king, that might be incompatible with his honour, and the indif "putable rights of his royal houfe." Indeed his Prussian majefty was always inclined to accommodate the difputes fubfifting between him and the Queen of Hungary; for after the battle of Molwitz, he declared by his ministers at the feveral courts of the empire, "That his victory

"there had made no alteration in his affection "to the house of Auftria; that he did not mean "to take advantage from that fuccefs for pre"fcribing fuch terms as that court might think "too hard, but adhered to thofe which he had

already made known; and that if the Queen "of Hungary, as he defired fhe might, would "hearken to an accommodation, fhe would al

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ways find him difpofed to facilitate it as much "as lay in his power." And the more to manifeft his intentions, his Prufsian majefty wrote a letter with his own hand to the Queen of Hungary, wherein he proposed an accommodation, and fet down the conditions upon which he would agree to a fufpenfion of arms; but her Hungarian majefty ftill infifted upon his withdrawing his troops, as an indifpenfible preliminary article, and this demand being afterwards reiterated by the British and Dutch minifters, and his Prufsian majefty being strongly follicited to join in a contrary intereft, with France and Bavaria, he from that time probably began to think of pursuing other measures.

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As the King of Prussia had reduced his de- CHAP. mand at the court of Vienna, and propofed the III. lower Silefia, with the town of Breslaw, being left to him, either by way of mortgage or otherwife, 1741. in recompence of his pretenfions to the feveral diftricts he had claimed as his right in the duchy ; for which he would not only engage to affift the Queen of Hungary with his whole force, for the prefervation of the reft of the late emperor's fuc'ceffion; but allo to give his vote and beft affiftance to the grand duke, for procuring to him the Imperial crown; and be ready to enter into the strictest engagements with her majefty, the Maritime powers, Ruffia, and fuch other princes as fhould be difpofed to maintain the pragmatic fanction in its full extent: and had for this purpofe requested the mediation of his Britannic majefty, who as he looked upon himself as a party from his engagement to the late emperor, could not accept of it, but willingly offered to employ his good offices for bringing about an accommodation between princes, whofe particular interefts, as well as thofe of Europe in general, required their being united; but at the fame time declared his fentiments to the Queen of Hungary, that although he had long been far from advising the making any conceffions to the King of Pruffia, whilft there were any poffible grounds to hope to be able to reduce that prince to reafon by forcible means; yet, as appearances then were, he recommended it to the queen, to adjust matters without the leaft lofs of time with the King of Pruffia, upon the conditions he had laft propofed; alfo exhorting her majefty seriously to endeavour to gain, at the fame time, the Elector of Saxony, which might be possibly brought about by fome fmall conceffions made him in Lu

PART fatia, being what that prince had long kept II. at heart, and was in treaty about with the late

emperor. But the court of Vienna inflexibly per1741. fifted in their firft refolution, to enter into no accommodation, without the previous abandoning of Silefia by the Pruffians; though at the fame time they knew, that France and Bavaria were folliciting the alliance of Pruffia; and this refufal was the more impolitic, as Spain and Bavaria had openly avowed their ill intentions against the houfe of Auftria, France was very much fufpected, the difpofitions of Pruffia and Saxony were doubtful, and this joined to the timidity and irrefolution of the Dutch, fhould have prevailed on the court of Vienna to have complied with the proposals of his Pruffian majesty, and have fecured fo powerful a confederate from France and Bavaria.

THE army of his Pruffian majesty, after the furrender of Brieg, continued in the camp at Molwitz till the 14th of May; when the baggage, with part of the army, marched to a new camp that had been marked out at Grotkau, within a league of Neifs; and next day were followed by the king, and the reft of the army. From this march a fecond battle was expected; but as Count Neuperg with the Auftrian army continued in their camp on the other fide of the river Neifs, and had fo fortified themselves in that camp, that it was dangerous to attack them, the Pruffians, after staying a few days at Grotkau, returned to their camp at Molwitz, and from thence to a camp near the village of Herinfdorff; after having made a general forage in all the villages on that fide the river, in order to deprive the Auftrians of all manner of fubfillance.

THE

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