As these were the just and necessary motives for undertaking this war, so the ends proposed to be obtained by it, were equally wise and honourable; for as they are set forth in the eighth article of the same treaty, they appear to have been _the procuring an equitable and reasonable satisfaction to his Imperial Majesty, and sufficient securities for the dominions, provinces, navigation, and commerce of the King of Great Britain, and the States General, and the making effectual provision, that the two kingdoms of France and Spain should never be united under the same government;_ and particularly, that the French should never get into the possession of the Spanish West Indies, or be permitted to sail thither, upon the account of traffic, under any pretence whatsoever; and lastly, the securing to the subjects of the King of Great Britain, and the States General, all the same privileges, and rights of commerce, throughout the whole dominions of Spain, as they enjoyed before the death of Charles the Second King of Spain, by virtue of any treaty, agreement, or custom, or any other way whatsoever.

For the obtaining these ends, the three confederated powers engaged to assist one another with their whole force, according to such proportions as should be specified in a particular convention, afterwards to be made for that purpose: we do not find that any such convention was ever ratified; but it appears, that there was an agreement concluded, which, by common consent, was understood to be binding upon each party respectively, and according to which the proportions of Great Britain were from the beginning regulated and founded.

The terms of that agreement were, That for the service at land, his Imperial Majesty should furnish ninety thousand men, the King of Great Britain forty thousand, and the States General one hundred and two thousand, of which there were forty-two thousand intended to supply their garrisons, and sixty thousand to act against the common enemy in the field; and with regard to the operations of the war at sea, they were agreed to be performed jointly by Great Britain and the States General, the quota of ships to be furnished for that service being five-eighths on the part of Great Britain, and three-eighths on the part of the States General.
"Upon this foot, the war began in the year one thousand seven hundred and two, at which time the whole yearly expense of it to England amounted to three millions, seven hundred and six thousand four hundred ninety-four pounds; a very great charge, as it was then thought by your Majesty's subjects, after the short interval of ease they had enjoyed from the burden of the former war, but yet a very moderate proportion, in comparison with the load which hath since been laid upon them: for it appears, by estimates given in to your Commons, that the sums necessary to carry on the service for this present year, in the same manner as it was performed the last year, amount to more than six millions nine hundred and sixty thousand pounds, besides interest for the public debts, and the deficiencies accruing the last year, which two articles require one million one hundred and forty-three thousand pounds more: so that the whole demands upon your Commons are arisen to more than eight millions for the present annual supply.

We know your Majesty's tender regard for the welfare of your people, will make it uneasy to you to hear of so great a pressure as this upon them; and as we are assured, it will fully convince your Majesty of the necessity of our present inquiry; so we beg leave to represent to you, from what causes, and by what steps, this immense charge appears to have grown upon us.
"The service at sea, as it has been very large and extensive in itself, so it has been carried on, through the whole course of the war, in a manner highly disadvantageous to your Majesty and your kingdom: for the necessity of affairs requiring that great fleets should be fitted out every year, as well for the maintaining a superiority in the Mediterranean, as for opposing any force which the enemy might prepare, either at Dunkirk, or in the ports of West France, your Majesty's example and readiness in fitting out your proportion of ships, for all parts of that service, have been so far from prevailing with the States General to keep pace with you, that they have been deficient every year to a great degree, in proportion to what your Majesty hath furnished; sometimes no less than two-thirds, and generally more than half of their quota: from hence your Majesty has been obliged, for the preventing disappointments in the most pressing services, to supply those deficiencies by additional reinforcements of your own ships; nor hath the single increase of such a charge been the only ill consequence that attended it; for by this means the debt of the navy hath been enhanced, so that the discounts arising upon the credit of it have affected all other parts of the service.

From the same cause, your Majesty's ships of war have been forced in greater numbers to continue in remote seas, and at unseasonable times of the year, to the great damage and decay of the British navy.