John Arbuthnot Spanish Succession. The war had profited John and Sarah Churchill, and the Tory ministry sought to end it by withdrawing from all England's alliances and negotiating directly with France. Swift wrote "The Conduct of the Allies," and Arbuthnot wrote a series of five pamphlets featuring John Bull. The first of these, "Law Is a Bottomless Pit" (1712), introduced a simple allegory to explain the war. John Bull (England) is suing Louis Baboon (i.e. Louis Bourbon, or Louis XIV of France) over the estate of the dead Lord Strutt (Charles II of Spain). Bull's lawyer is the one who really enjoys
Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet escaped. Arbuthnot was appointed commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron in January 1915, with the obsolete armoured cruiser HMS "Defence" as his flagship. Admiral John Jellicoe, commanding the Grand Fleet, noted that all was not entirely well with the squadron under Arbuthnot: "Arbuthnot is one of the finest fellows in the world, but somehow can't run a squadron. His ideals are too high and he can't leave people alone." Still, Jellicoe believed, "He would be invaluable when there is fighting. I have the highest opinion of him." "Defence" with the admiral on board was sunk at the Battle of Jutland