Catalonia in "A Letter to the People of England..." (1714)

The betrayal of the Catalans by Queen Anne with the Tories in power brought this strongly worded rebuke in the anonymously published "A Letter to the People of England occasion'd by the Letter to the Dissenters".
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( 101 )

...

XVII.

    We drew the Catalans into the War. My Lord Peterborough after the taking ot Barcelona assured them of being constantly supported by her Majesty; in proof hereof her Majesty sent her Fleets, which reliev'd that Town; and frequently sent Supplies of Men and Shipping thither: Yet notwithstanding all this, the present Ministry have basely betray'd that brave unhappy People.

    Is not this Treachery?

( 102 )

    Can those Ministers be true to their Native Country, which is free when they have thus infamously betray'd that brave free People?

    Should the Ministry, to amuse the Nation, and varnish over so horrid an Act of Perfidy, intercede with the Spanish King in their behalf:

    Would not this be meer Grimace?

    Would the Ministry deserve any Thanks from this Nation for such Intercession; when they groundlesly, perversly, FOOLISHLY, KNAVISHLY, and VILLANOUSLY, have put it out of their Power to force the Spanish King to confirm the Liberties (thou dear Name) of that People, and thereby have reduced themselves to the Condition of Interceding instead of Commanding?

    No; A Scaffold and an Ax rather!

( 135 )

Some things concerning the Sincerity and Homour of the Ministry are fit to be known, that we may no longer be deceived by their Word or Honour.

1. When the Affair of the Catalans was in agitation in the House of Lords, several Letters were read upon that Subjećt, amongst others one of my Lord Bolingbrook's to Count Zinindorf who had writ a pressing Letter in favour of that brave People; in which Letter of my Lord's, there was a Passage to this effect, that it was impertinent to insist upon the Catalans having their Privileges preserv'd to them; after all the Letters were read, my Lord Hallifax took notice of this Passage but my Lord Bolongbrook possitively denied there was any such Passage; whereupon the Letters were read again; and that Passage, almost Word for Word as my Lord Hallifax had mentioned it, was read.

2. My Lord Bolingbrook when in the House of Commons, insisted we had carry'd on the War wrong, by acting in Flanders, that we ought to have made our chief Efforts in Spain: But not long since, he asserted in the House of Lords, that we had carry'd on the War wrong, by acting in Spain.

3. Mr. Bromley Secretary of State, hath frequently asserted in the House of Commons things as Matters of Fact, which have been immediately disproved.

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Sources:
Full text of "A Letter to the People of England occasion'd by the Letter to the Dissenters" by "Cato Brutus", London, 1714.

https://archive.org/stream/lettertopeopleof00defo/lettertopeopleof00defo_djvu.txt

https://books.google.es/books?id=COtCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA101&dq=%22We+drew+the+Catalans+into+the+War.+My%22&hl=ca&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEk-fQnKXoAhVnTxUIHSbECbgQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=%22We%20drew%20the%20Catalans%20into%20the%20War.%20My%22&f=false