St. John did to those who resided here; adding, “That the proceeding of the foreign troops would be looked upon as a declaration for or against Her Majesty:  and that, in case they desert her service, she would look on herself as justified, before God and man, to continue her negotiation at Utrecht, or any other place, whether the allies concur or not.”  And particularly the Dutch were assured, “That if their masters seduced the forces hired by the Queen, they must take the whole pay, arrears, and subsidies on themselves."[10]

[Footnote 10:  Compare this language of Bishop Robinson with the letter Bolingbroke had previously written to Thomas Harley (letter of May 17, 1712):  “On the report which my Lord Strafford, who arrived here the day before yesterday, has made by word of mouth, as well as upon the contents of the latter dispatches from Utrecht, her Majesty is fully determined to let all negotiations sleep in Holland; since they have neither sense, nor gratitude, nor spirit enough to make a suitable return to the offers lately sent by the Queen, and communicated by the plenipotentiaries, her Majesty will look on herself as under no obligation towards them, but proceed to make the peace either with or without them.”

When the States-General addressed a complaint to the Queen of the manner in which England was deserting them, Bolingbroke had their letter formally condemned by a resolution of the House of Commons.  He was determined to bring this peace about, and the Dutch might “kick and flounce like wild beasts caught in a toil; yet the cords are too strong for them to break.” (Report from the Committee of Secrecy.) [T.S.]]

The Earl of Strafford, preparing about this time to return to Utrecht, with instructions proper to the present situation of affairs, went first to the army, and there informed the Duke of Ormonde of Her Majesty’s intentions.  He also acquainted the States deputies with the Queen’s uneasiness, lest, by the measures they were taking, they should drive her to extremities, which she desired so much to avoid.  He farther represented to them, in the plainest terms, the provocations Her Majesty had received, and the grounds and reasons for her present conduct.  He likewise declared to the commanders in chief of the foreign troops, in the Queen’s pay, and in the joint pay of Britain and the States, with how much surprise Her Majesty had heard, “That there was the least doubt of their obeying the orders of the Duke of Ormonde; which if they refused, Her Majesty would esteem it not only as an indignity and affront, but as a declaration against her; and, in such a case, they must look on themselves as no farther entitled either to any arrear, or future pay or subsidies.”