CHAPTER X
ROBERT CECIL, FIRST EARL OF SALISBURY
(continued)
ON other matters, as well as the " Great Con- tract," it is difficult to say how far the policy carried out by Salisbury was in its origin his or the King's. He certainly gave him good advice on the subject of the Union with Scotland, urging, though in vain, that the time was not ripe, and that all that could be done at present was to appoint commissioners to examine the whole question.
In foreign affairs his policy was to preserve the independence of the Netherlands and to preserve the balance of power between France and Spain. Though filled with hatred of the latter country, he, no doubt, agreed with James in thinking peace necessary, and he was instru- mental in bringing it about in 1604. And this led to an incident which is very difficult to under- stand or explain. On the completion of the treaty, all the chief ministers of James, including Cecil, accepted pensions from the Spanish Ambassador. Cecil's amounted to 1,000 a year, and was raised in the following year to 1,500. In 1609 he demanded a still further increase, and asked that each piece of information should be paid for separately. Such a transaction is, of course, not to be judged by the standards of
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