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420 RISE OF THE CONTINENTALrepublic itself, intent upon the preservation of peace,thought it could never employ sufficient precaution in pursuit of this object.With regardto the confederate powers,Spain and Austria, negotiations had been opened with theformer of them, which though at first they appeared to takean unfavourable turn, owingto the death of the king, weresoon restored to their former course, by the continuance inoffice of the Walpole administration, and were brought to asuccessful issue by the treatyat Pardo. Since the schemeof the Ostend company had been suspended, it appeared asthough friendly relations might be renewed with Austrialikewise ;but new events intervening, this was prevented,or at least delayed.The British cabinet at that time evidently set a muchhigher value upon the friendship of Spain than on. that ofAustria. The temporary advantages derivable from the secure possessionof Gibraltar and Minorca, the profitable tradewith Spain itself, and, above all, with its American possessions, guaranteed as it was by existing treaties, seemed toclaim a paramount importance. But this friendship couldnot well be maintained without entering into the interestedplans of the queen of Spain for the advancement of herchildren, and thus hazarding giving offence to Austria.However, the prospect of advantage derivable to Englandfrom a separationof the two powers, Austria and Spain,overcame this consideration. By the conditions of thequadruple alliance, Tuscany, with Parma and Placentia,were secured to the queen of Spain for her elder son DonCarlos, as soon as their projected opening should be comtillpleted which time they were to remain in the occupation of neutral troops.But apprehensive that obstaclesmight be thrown in her way, she wished to secure the immediate possession of them, and Spanish troops were sentinto them as a garrison. England entered into these plans, andalthough they were an infraction of the quadruple alliance,without consulting or apprizing Austria, joined with France1in concluding a treaty with Spainat Seville, in which itwas not only permitted to Spain thus to act, but even England rendered itself liable to contribute towards sendingBon Carlos into those provinces with 6000 Spanish troops.1Nov. 9, 1729.