himself to furnish a body of six thousand
auxiliaries, in case they should be required by the maritime powers;
and to act as an elector, in concert with the house of Austria, in every
thing relating to the welfare of his country that should square with the
fundamental laws of the empire. The courts of London and Vienna had this
election so much at heart, that they sounded almost all the powers of
Europe, to know how they stood affected towards the measure proposed.
The king of Spain declined intermeddling in a domestic affair of the
empire. The French king returned an ambiguous answer; from whence it
was concluded that nothing but opposition could be expected from that
quarter. The Swedish monarch was rendered propitious to the project by
assurances that the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he was the head,
should be elevated into an electorate. They even endeavoured to soften
his Prussian majesty, by consenting, at last, that the treaty of
Dresden, confirming to him the possession of Silesia, should be
guaranteed by the diet of the empire; a sanction which he now actually
obtained, together with the ratification of his imperial majesty.
Notwithstanding this indulgence, he still persisted in raising fresh
objections to the favourite project, on pretence of concerting measures
for preventing the inconveniencies that might result from a minority;
for regulating the capitulations to be agreed on with the king of the
Romans; securing the freedom of future elections, and preserving the
prerogatives and privileges of the Germanic body in all its members. In
consequence of these obstacles, joined to the apostacy of the elector of
Cologn, the obstinacy of the elector palatine, and the approaching diet
of Hungary, at which their imperial majesties were obliged personally to
preside, the measures for the election were suspended till next summer,
when his Britannic majesty was expected at Hanover to put the finishing
stroke to this great event in favour of the house of Austria.

DEATH OF THE KING OF SWEDEN.

Another disappointment, with respect to this election, the promoters of
it sustained in the death of his Swedish majesty, who expired in a
good old age, and was succeeded by Adolphus Frederick, duke of Holstein
Eutin, bishop of Lubeck, upon whom the succession had been settled for
some years, by the unanimous concurrence of the states of the kingdom.
This prince ascended the throne of Sweden without the least disturbance;