Part 6

Gr. Eric. I am ready in the same way of secresy as it hath been carried with my father, so that Mr. Beningen in his letters to his superiors saith that the English Ambassador did treat with none but the Queen alone, and sometimes alone with the Chancellor, whereby he could not possibly give any account of those transactions; for he thought that not one person in Sweden, except the Queen and the Chancellor, knew what they were.

Wh. The gentleman hath done me an honour in that expression.

Gr. Eric. My coming to your Excellence is to proceed in your business; and I desire a consideration may be had of the great losses which the Queen's subjects have sustained by the seizing and detaining of their ships by the English.

Wh. This is a new objection, and I am neither empowered nor have ability to cast up such accounts or to take such examinations; but there is a court of justice in England, which I presume has done, and will do, right to any who have cause to complain; and I know that my Lord Protector will command that justice shall be done to all the Queen's subjects; and if any of them have received any injury, they ought to receive a just satisfaction from the parties that did them wrong; and, if you please, I shall mention these things in my letters to England, and when I come thither myself I will personally endeavour that the same may be had fully.

Gr. Eric. I hope a just satisfaction will be given herein, without which there can be no solid foundation of amity between the two nations and their people.

Wh. The same is reasonably and mutually to be expected; and I make no question but my Lord Protector will order right to be done therein.

Gr. Eric. The Queen's subjects have received great losses under colour of contraband goods, when the same hath not been proved.

Wh. And many of our allies have been found to colour our enemies' goods to the damage of England; but these matters will be proper for an examination elsewhere.

They proceeded to the particular articles.

1. This, Eric said, was equal.

2. He made the same objections as the Queen had done, and Whitelocke gave the same answers; and Eric said that this article depended upon our treaty with the Dutch.

3. Eric desired an explanation of the words "omnibus in locis quibus hactenus commercium exercebatur,"--whether that were not intended to include the English plantations in America, because traffic thither, without special license, was prohibited by our Commonwealth; and he said it would be unequal for the English to have the full traffic in the Queen's dominions, and her subjects not to have the like in our Commonwealth. Whitelocke answered, that the English desired no traffic in any of the Queen's dominions out of Europe, and therefore it was equal not to consent to their traffic in America; and that the opinion of the Council of State in England had been made known to Mr. Lagerfeldt in England, in this point; which paper Whitelocke then showed, and the Grave urged many other arguments, but Whitelocke kept himself to the paper of the Council.

Eric said, those transactions of Lagerfeldt were remitted to Whitelocke's Embassy. Whitelocke said, that whatever his instructions might warrant, yet it would not become him to do anything contrary to that wherein the Council of State had declared their judgement. The same answer Whitelocke gave him concerning the herring-fishing, which Eric much insisted upon; and as to the pre-emption of the commodities of Sweden, mentioned in the Council's paper, which Whitelocke showed him, Eric said that could not be, because those commodities were of very great value, and belonged to several private persons; and he demanded of Whitelocke if he thought England would be contented to give a pre-emption of all their cloth.

Whitelocke said, the cloth of England was likewise of very great value, and there would hardly be found one stock to buy it all, and there were several staples in other countries to vent it at; and he said he thought the best way would be, first to agree upon the general amity and commerce between the two nations, and afterwards, if Sweden held it fit, when they sent an ambassador to England, or otherwise, to propound anything concerning the fishing for herrings or the traffic in America, or touching a staple at Narva, Revel, or Gothenburg (which Eric likewise discoursed of at large), that the Protector would give a fair and just answer.

4. Eric made the same objections that the Queen had done, and had the same answers.

5. The like discourse was upon this article.

6. The sixth, Eric said, was the same in effect with the fourth article, and might be adjoined to it. Whitelocke showed him the difference, chiefly in the beginning of this article; and so they passed on.

7. They had many arguments touching contraband goods, wherein Whitelocke held himself to the paper given by the Council to Lagerfeldt; and Eric passed it over, as depending upon the success of the treaty with Holland, especially in the words "bona a suis cujusque inimicis direpta."

8. This, Eric thought, would need explanation of the words "in quolibet suorum marium." Whitelocke told him that was intended in Europe only.

9. Eric said the words "armatis vel inermibus" were not necessary, because by the law of Sweden any might carry their arms with them. Whitelocke told him that it was not permitted in England for so many together without license.

10. Eric made no objection to this article.

11. Nor any to this article.

12. Nor was anything objected to this article.

13. Eric said the proviso needed explanation as to the point of breaking bulk, as the Queen had objected; and Whitelocke gave the same answer.

14. The like objections and answers as before, and consent to the like amendment.

Eric and much other good company dined with Whitelocke, and after dinner they had further discourse on the same subject. And Eric promised to give his objections to Whitelocke in writing, and to let him know the Queen's pleasure upon their conference; which Whitelocke intended to know also from the Queen herself.

The company being gone, Whitelocke visited Piementelle, who discoursed much touching the Duke of Lorraine, and of the insolencies of his soldiers, for which the Duke would give no right; but if a poor countryman complained to him, that his wife had been ravished by his soldiers, and his goods taken away, the Duke would laugh at the poor man, and say to him, "It is my condition: the King of France hath ravished my wife and my estate, and I have got another wife, and maintain myself with the goods of others; and I advise thee to do the same as I have done." Piementelle informed Whitelocke of a carriage of Beningen of much more incivility towards the Queen than that which he attributed to Whitelocke towards Prince Adolphus; and Whitelocke imparted to Piementelle some passages between Grave Eric and Whitelocke, supposing he would tell it to the Queen.

March 14, 1653.