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INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 397national debt, and the means thus afforded of obtaining unlimited credit under William III., must sooner or later havegiven rise to this, even were it not the character of greatcommercial nations to carry on their military enterprises,ifthey should be engaged in such to any extent, more or lesswith the aid of foreign troops received into their pay. Whether this be done by subsidies or by fairly taking troops intopay, the system remains in its principal features the same, andthe consequences must be the same also. The Spanish war,continued as it unnecessarily was by the breaking off of thenegotiations in 1709, gave a dangerous example of the facilitywith which such wars may be ifprotractedthe interest ofthe partyat the helm of state demands it ;but experiencehas also shown that the injury must necessarily recoil uponEngland itself.4th, The conditions of the peace of Utrecht necessarilystrengthened the continental relations of England, withouthowever, except in the case of Spain, materially alteringthem. This was occasioned partly by the resignation bySpain of her European provinces, partly by the acquisitionswhich England made in America. The Spanish Netherlands now became the propertyof Austria, which thus became the natural ally of England and when the Italian;possessions were given up, partly to Austria, partly to Sardinia, new pointsof connexion arose between these statesand England, who had already by the possessionof Gibraltarand Minorca gained a firm footingin the Mediterranean.On the other hand, the conditions of the treaty of Assientowith Spain, and the acquisitionof Nova Scotia in NorthAmerica, scattered the seeds of future wars which however;did not spring upuntil the following period.From what has preceded, then, we conclude that, whenthe house of Hanover ascended the British throne, the continental interests of England were, in their leading features,already fixed. The rivalry with France was the foundationon which they were built ;and as long as this lasts it willremain essentially the same, whatever temporary changesmay take place.The friendly connexion which was formedunder George L, seemed for a time to put an end to therivalry but it was only the consequence of a family dispute;of the Bourbons, and with the disputeitself it ceased ;aswill appear in the consideration of the next period.