whole bay and straits of Hudson; to deliver the island
of Newfoundland, with Placentia; to cede Annapolis, with the rest of
Arcadia or Nova Scotia; to demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk; to
leave England in possession of Gibraltar, Port-Mahon, and the whole
island of Minorca; to let the trade of Spain in the West Indies be
settled as it was in the reign of his late catholic majesty; she
signified that she had obtained for her subjects the assiento, or
contract, for furnishing the Spanish West Indies with negroes for the
term of thirty years, in the same manner as it had been enjoyed by the
French. With respect to the allies, they declared, that France offered
to make the Rhine the barrier of the empire; to yield Brisac, Fort Kehl,
and Landau, and raze all the fortresses both on the other side of the
Rhine, and in the islands of that river; that the protestant interest in
Germany would be re-settled on the footing of the treaty of Westphalia;
that the Spanish Netherlands, the kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia,
the duchy of Milan, and the places belonging to Spain on the coast of
Tuscany, might be yielded to his Imperial majesty; but the disposition
of Sicily was not yet determined; that the demands of the states-general
with relation to commerce, and the barrier in the Low Countries, would
be granted with a few exceptions, which might be compensated by
other expedients; that no great progress had yet been made upon the
pretensions of Portugal; but that those of Prussia would be admitted by
France without much difficulty; that the difference between the barrier
demanded by the duke of Savoy in the year one thousand seven hundred
and nine, and that which France now offered, was very inconsiderable;
that the elector palatine should maintain his present rank among the
electors; and that France would acknowledge the electoral dignity in the
house of Hanover. Such, were the conditions which the queen hoped would
make some amends to her subjects, for the great and unequal burden they
had borne during the whole course of the war. She concluded with saying,
she made no doubt but they were fully persuaded that nothing would be
neglected on her part, in the progress of this negotiation, to bring the
peace to a happy and speedy issue; and she expressed her dependence upon
the entire confidence and cheerful concurrence of her parliament. An
address of thanks and approbation was immediately voted, drawn up, and
presented to the queen