The situation was rapidly tending to become an impossible one.

Late in October a grave conference was held council, “upon the question whether her Majesty should presently relieve the States of the Low Countries.”

It was shown, upon one side, that the “perils to the Queen and to the realm were great, if the King of Spain should recover Holland and Zeeland, as he had the other countries, for lack of succour in seasonable time, either by the French King or the Queen’s Majesty.”

On the other side, the great difficulties in the way of effectual assistance by England, were “fully remembered.”

“But in the end, and upon comparison made,” said Lord Burghley, summing up, “betwixt the perils on the one part, and the difficulties on the other,” it was concluded that the Queen would be obliged to succumb to the power of Spain, and the liberties of England be hopelessly lost, if Philip were then allowed to carry out his designs, and if the Provinces should be left without succour at his mercy.

A “wise person” was accordingly to be sent into Holland; first, to ascertain whether the Provinces had come to an actual agreement with the King of France, and, if such should prove to be the case, to enquire whether that sovereign had pledged himself to declare war upon Philip.  In this event, the wise person was to express her Majesty’s satisfaction that the Provinces were thus to be “relieved from the tyranny of the King of Spain.”

On the other hand, if it should appear that no such conclusive arrangements had been made, and that the Provinces were likely to fall again victims to the “Spanish tyranny,” her Majesty would then “strain herself as far as, with preservation of her own estate, she might, to succour them at this time.”

The agent was then to ascertain “what conditions the Provinces would require” upon the matter of succour, and, if the terms seemed reasonable, he would assure them that “they should not be left to the cruelties of the Spaniards.”

And further, the wise person, “being pressed to answer, might by conference of speeches and persuasions provoke them to offer to the Queen the ports of Flushing and Middelburg and the Brill, wherein she meant not to claim any property, but to hold them as gages for her expenses, and for performances of their covenants.”

He was also to make minute inquiries as to the pecuniary resources of the Provinces, the monthly sums which they would be able to contribute, the number of troops and of ships of war that they would pledge themselves to maintain.  These investigations were very important, because the Queen, although very well disposed to succour them, “so nevertheless she was to consider how her power might be extended, without ruin or manifest peril to her own estate.”

It was also resolved, in the same conference, that a preliminary step of great urgency was to “procure a good peace with the King of Scots.”  Whatever the expense of bringing about such a pacification might be, it was certain that a “great deal more would be expended in defending the realm against Scotland,” while England was engaged in hostilities with Spain.  Otherwise, it was argued that her Majesty would be “so impeached by Scotland in favour of the King of Spain, that her action against that King would be greatly weakened.”