History of the United Netherlands, 1587d | Page 2

of the Netherlanders as of
himself. The worst consequence of the concealment was, that a deeper
treachery was thought possible than actually existed. "The fellow they
call Barneveld," as Leicester was in the habit of designating one of the
first statesmen in Europe, was perhaps justified, knowing what he did,
in suspecting more. Being furnished with a list of commissioners,
already secretly agreed upon between the English and Spanish
governments, to treat for peace, while at the same time the Earl was
beating his breast, and flatly denying that there was any intention of
treating with Parma at all, it was not unnatural that he should imagine a
still wider and deeper scheme than really existed, against the best
interests of his country. He may have expressed, in private conversation,
some suspicions of this nature, but there is direct evidence that he never
stated in public anything which was not afterwards proved to be matter
of fact, or of legitimate inference from the secret document which had
come into his hands. The Queen exhausted herself in opprobious
language against those who dared to impute to her a design to obtain
possession of the cities and strong places of the Netherlands, in order to
secure a position in which to compel the Provinces into obedience to
her policy. She urged, with much logic, that as she had refused the
sovereignty of the whole country when offered to her, she was not
likely to form surreptitious schemes to make herself mistress of a
portion of it. On the other hand, it was very obvious, that to accept the
sovereignty of Philip's rebellious Provinces, was to declare war upon
Philip; whereas, had she been pacifically inclined towards that
sovereign, and treacherously disposed towards the Netherlands, it
would be a decided advantage to her to have those strong places in her
power. But the suspicions as to her good faith were exaggerated. As to
the intentions of Leicester, the States were justified in their almost
unlimited distrust. It is very certain that both in 1586, and again, at this
very moment, when Elizabeth was most vehement in denouncing such
aspersions on her government, he had unequivocally declared to her his
intention of getting possession, if possible, of several cities, and of the
whole Island of Walcheren, which, together with the cautionary towns

already in his power, would enable the Queen to make good terms for
herself with Spain, "if the worst came to the, worst." It will also soon
be shown that he did his best to carry these schemes into execution.
There is no evidence, however, and no probability, that he had received
the royal commands to perpetrate such a crime.
The States believed also, that in those secret negotiations with Parma
the Queen was disposed to sacrifice the religious interests of the
Netherlands. In this they were mistaken. But they had reason for their
mistake, because the negotiator De Loo, had expressly said, that, in her
overtures to Farnese, she had abandoned that point altogether. If this
had been so, it would have simply been a consent on the part of
Elizabeth, that the Catholic religion and the inquisition should be
re-established in the Provinces, to the exclusion of every other form of
worship or polity. In truth, however, the position taken by her Majesty
on the subject was as fair as could be reasonably expected. Certainly
she was no advocate for religious liberty. She chose that her own
subjects should be Protestants, because she had chosen to be a
Protestant herself, and because it was an incident of her supremacy, to
dictate uniformity of creed to all beneath her sceptre. No more than her
father, who sent to the stake or gallows heretics to transubstantiation as
well as believers in the Pope, had Elizabeth the faintest idea of
religious freedom. Heretics to the English Church were persecuted,
fined, imprisoned, mutilated, and murdered, by sword, rope, and fire. In
some respects, the practice towards those who dissented from Elizabeth
was more immoral and illogical, even if less cruel, than that to which
those were subjected who rebelled against Sixtus. The Act of
Uniformity required Papists to assist at the Protestant worship, but
wealthy Papists could obtain immunity by an enormous fine. The
Roman excuse to destroy bodies in order to save souls, could scarcely
be alleged by a Church which might be bribed into connivance at
heresy, and which derived a revenue from the very nonconformity for
which humbler victims were sent to the gallows. It would, however, be
unjust in the extreme to overlook the enormous difference in the
amount of persecution, exercised respectively by the Protestant and the
Roman Church. It is probable that not many more than two hundred
Catholics were executed as such, in Elizabeth's reign, and this was