They are, particularly, unanimous in their Opinion, That we ought by no Means to part with Gibraltar;* and this their Opinion is grounded upon the same Reasons that sway the wisest Men in this Matter.
They likewise know, That an English War with Muscovy, would be downright Madness;* for that, whatever Advantage the same might be to other Countries, it would grievously hurt the Trade and Navy of England, without hurting the Czar.
They know too, That a Squabble between Spain and the Emperor about Italy, could not much affect England;* and that therefore were we to go to War with either, upon that Account, as Things now stand, it could not be for the sake of England.
They know, That our Men of War* might be always as honestly employed in defending our Trade, by which our Country subsists, from the Depredations of Pyrates,* as in conquering Kingdoms for those, to whom the Nation is nothing obliged, or in defending Provinces with which the Nation has nothing to do, and from which it reaps no Advantages.
abridged, original spelling
* Gibraltar had been ceded to Great Britain by Spain as part of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, following the War of the Spanish Succession. To mollify the Spanish, George I agreed to have the matter raised in Parliament; King Philip V of Spain interpreted this (showing perhaps that he did not understand the British political system) as a promise to return the territory, and was much offended when it all came to nothing.
* ‘Muscovy’ was an English name for Russia, a reference to the historic capital of Moscow (Moskva). In 1713 Tsar (i.e. King) Peter I removed his capital to St Petersburg, and in 1721, a year after the first of Trenchard’s Cato Letters appeared, he took the title of Emperor. Some in London were alarmed by these developments, which followed on from Sweden’s bungled attempt to invade Russia through the Ukraine: see The Great Northern War. Anti-Russian sentiment in England urged Parliament to stir up the states of Europe to war, in order to prevent Russia from becoming a rival economic superpower, but wiser counsels prevailed.
* ‘The Emperor’ was Charles VI, ruler of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 to his death in 1740. The Treaty of Utrecht that gave Gibraltar to England also gave Sardinia to Austria, but in 1717 Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, chief minister of King Philip V of Spain, attempted to recover Sardinia by force. Charles partnered with Britain, France and the United Provinces (the Dutch Republic) and together this ‘Quadruple Alliance’ went to war with Spain in 1718. The conflict ended with the Treaty of The Hague in February 1720, which upheld the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain did not consider the matter closed. The ill-feeling simmered on, and resulted in a new Anglo-Spanish War in 1727.
* That is, in modern parlance, battleships.
* See Pirates at Penzance.