he Catalonian populations
of Northern Spain in the most shameless manner. The Catalans had been
encouraged to rise against the French prince, and England had promised
in return to protect them, and to secure them the restoration of all
their ancient liberties. In making the peace the Catalans were wholly
forgotten. The best excuse that can be made for the Tory ministers is
to suppose that they positively and actually did forget all about the
Catalans. Anyhow, the Catalans were left at the mercy of the new King
of Spain, and were treated after the severest fashion of the time in
dealing with conquered but obstinate rebels.

[Sidenote: 1714--Degradation of Marlborough]

In order to make such a peace it was necessary to remove Marlborough.
Some accusations were pressed against him to secure his removal. He
was charged with having taken perquisites from the contractors who were
supplying the army with bread, and with having deducted two and one
half per cent. from the pay which England allowed to the foreign troops
in her service. Marlborough's defence would not have been considered
satisfactory in our day; and indeed it is impossible to think of any
such accusation being made, or any such defence being needed, in times
like ours. Imagination can hardly conceive the possibility of such
charges being seriously made against the Duke of Wellington, for
example, or the Duke of Wellington condescending to plead custom and
usage in reply to them. But in Marlborough's day things were very
different, and Marlborough was able {95} to show that, as regarded some
of the accusations, he had only done what was customary among men in
his position, and what he had full authority for doing; and, as
regarded others, that he had applied the sums he got to the business of
the State as secret service money, and had not made any personal
profit. He did not, indeed, produce any accounts; but, assuming his
defence to be well founded, it is quite possible that the keeping of
accounts might have been an undesirable and inconvenient practice. At
all events it was certain that Marlborough had not done any worse than
other statesmen of the time, in civil as well as in military service,
had been in the habit of doing; and considering all the conditions of
the period, the defence which he set up ought to have been satisfactory
to every one. It probably would have satisfied his enemies but that
they were determined to get rid of him. They we