ey were ready to go on to the other points, and try to
agree upon some of them.

"On the 7th of March, they exchanged heads of articles for
consideration. On the 11th and 12th of March they again met, and had
fruitless debates about a _free navigation to the Indies, &c._ The
Marquis Spinola proposed that the subject should be divided, and that
two sets of propositions should be prepared, one for the navigation in
Europe and the other for the Indies.

"On the 17th of March they again met, and the Dutch Deputies offered
to the others two sets of propositions as had been proposed; they
received them for consideration; but, after debate, they declared that
they could not agree to them, and that they must make a journey to
Spain for further instructions; for this reason the truce was
prolonged to the end of May.

"The truce was continued from time to time, and sundry fruitless
meetings held; but, on the 20th of August, 1608, the Deputies
assembled; 'the Spanish ones declared, that they had lately received
full instructions on the several points in question, viz. _that the
King and Archduke were content to quit the sovereignty of the United
Provinces_; but that he required two points to be yielded by the
States by way of compensation, viz. the re-establishment of the Roman
Catholic religion in every place in the Provinces, and that they
should immediately _desist from all navigation both to the East and
West Indies_.'

"The Dutch Deputies reported this to the States-General. On the 25th
of August, the States-General made a long and spirited declaration on
the subject of this report, resolving against negotiating any longer,
and they ordered a copy of it to be delivered to the Spanish
Deputies.

"On the 27th of August 1608, the Ambassadors of France and England,
&c. came to the States-General and endeavored to prevail upon them to
agree to a long truce.

"On the 30th of August, the States expressed their readiness to agree
to a long truce, provided, the adverse party 'would _so absolutely
acknowledge them for free countries, as that it should not be
questioned after the expiration of the truce_, that otherwise they
could not listen to a truce.'

"On the 3d of September, the Spanish Deputies said they had no
instructions to treat of truce, in acknowledging the United Provinces
to be absolutely free, and _permitting the navigation to the Indies_,
but that they had sent the proposition to Brussels, in order to have
fur