TREATY WITH THE LANDGRAVE OF HESSE-CASSEL.

The king of England taking it for granted that the French would invade Hanover, in consequence of their rupture with Great Britain, which seemed to be near at hand, began to take measures for the defence of that electorate. To this end, during his stay at Hanover, he concluded, on the eighteenth day of June, a treaty with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, by which his serene highness engaged to hold in readiness, during four years, for his majesty’s service, a body of eight thousand men, to be employed, if required, upon the continent, or in Britain, or Ireland; but not on board the fleet or beyond the seas; and also, if his Britannic majesty should judge it necessary or advantageous for his service, to furnish and join to this body of eight thousand men, within six months after they should be demanded, four thousand more, of which seven hundred were to be horse or dragoons, and each regiment of infantry to have two field pieces of cannon. 364 [See note 2 Y, at the end of this Vol.] Another treaty was begun with Russia about the same time; but this did not take effect during his majesty’s residence at Hanover: that others were not concluded was the more surprising, as our subsidy-treaty with Saxony had then expired, and that with Bavaria was near expiring, and as the securing of these two princes in our interest was at least as necessary towards forming a sufficient confederacy upon the continent for the defence of Hanover, as it was to secure the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. If the reason of their not being engaged, and no other seems so probable, was, that they refused to renew their treaties with England upon any terms, all that can be said is, that they were guilty of flagrant ingratitude, as they had both received a subsidy from this kingdom for many years in time of peace, when they neither were nor could be of any service to the interest of Great Britain.