Star. — London, England, 1805-02-04 00:00:00

NUMBER 4994] WAR Wl7 I! SPAIN. LUPFLIMENTAFT LIST OF ►AIIRS PILLSENTIO ST HIS MAJEVIT'. COMMAND, TO BOTH HOUSES OF ►ARLIAMENT, FEBRUARY a, 1.805. No. r —Extrad of a difpatcb from J. H. here, Ffq. to Lotd Hawkdbury, dated June to, i803.--Reeelved July 31. It is rabic that the inclofed intelligence may have already reached you through Lord Robert Fitzgerald. On qutflioning the Pt ince of Peace, he declared that tlit King had made repeated in fiances tobe informed of the affemblage of fueh a body of troops, bnt that no explanati ,n had been' obtained. This certainly does not appear very probable ; but it is a fa& that this Government are treated v. ith great neglect on the fubjea of Portugal, and are kept in the dark as to the objeta of the correfpondenee which has been paring with Poch activity between Generals Bournonville and Lannes. Cevallni, When I mentioned to him the intel ligence which I had received, Paid that he had re ceived the fame, but that later intelligence had per fuaded him that the alremblage would not be fo great or fo immediate ; and I yellerday received a report agreeing with this hatter opinion. (Tranilation of Inc te n in Nn. L' Itrad of intelligence front ne, Dated May 30. I have already mentioned to you the arrival of tome troops at this place; two other brigades are expelled the r 3th Florcal, (June 2), ther7th and the a4th. There will be, independently of the two divifions of noon men each, intended fur the conqueß of Portugal, a body of referve of ta,ooo. The camp is already marked out at Bidard, (a league and a half from hence). I believe I have already told you that one of thefe divifions will march by Perpignan, and the other by Bayonne. Thirty-feven thoufand men are therefore expelled here ; bat as I have jolt Paid, the s a i ooo of referve will only rem a in. The army will afterwards march into Spain. The command of it is provitlonally given to General Cara St. Cyr, a relit. tine, I fancy, of him who was Arnbalfaclor at Ma drid. General La Marque is intrufied with the orga niratinn of thefe troops. Juas B.—There is for the prefent nothing new, or at halt very interdling. The ar r ival of lame bat talions, and of a regiment of chaffeurs cavalry the 241 h, hat which in the lag war ferved the campaign of Portugal ; they are tolerably well mounted, but badly equipped, or rather badly clothed. We are now allured, that the array which is coming here will not exceed 5 or hOOO men, although it is dill report ed that it will be augmented to 40,000. I believe it, fur I do not fee that the C.lvernmeut has fo large a difpoluble force. No. —Extran of a dirratch from J. H. Frcre, Efq. to Lord Hawkelbury, dated Madrid, July 6,1 /14,3.....Receiccd Aug. 3. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Lord difpatch of the 241 ult. and I have great Eta faction in rvfleiting that the !all which your Lord- Blip will have received from me will (hew that I !save been fortunate coon') to conform my condo& to the general (pi, it and tendency of the infiruftions which your Lordship had laid down for my guidance. Tht prefcnt (fate of things ib one which is not very eafy to define. The Ps ince of Peace has not yet thought proper to commit himfelf by any dillina pro. pofals upon the fubjeft of obtaining. a guarantee for ihat neutrality which this count r y p r ot e ff es ant' to have adopted ; at the fame time there is an evident intreate in the ill.humour of the French Anibafrador, and foam ferious altercations have paffed between him and the Prince of Peace. Upon my making tome enquiries Opon the Inkjet of the French raffemble ment at Bayonne, upon which he had before demand ed an explanation of the French Ambalfaclor s as men tioned in thy letter of the loth ult. he told me that he at left declared to him that if an army was colleiled there, he Mould efiablifh a fuperior force in camp Oppofite to them: Some few days fince General Bournonville declared dr* the Fionch army was dif petted into cantonments, and the orders for joining It coontermanded. and Willed agaiaa the eltablifb ment of aSpanifh camp. The Prince of Peace, how ever, told him that it could Ilill be adhered to as a meafure of precaution. He has Paid likewife that if the French attempted to farce a paffagi he would taife an army, and that the King would put himfelf at the bead of it to oppofe them. When I hall called upon him, after the receipt of your Lordfltip's difpatch, I told him, that though I had already explained to him the intentions of his Nfajefiy refpe*lfing Portugal, yet that I had received fuch pofitive infirnaions from your Lord(hip upon the fubjed, that I could not forbear repeating the fame declaration in a more formal manner. To this be anfwered, that he believed that the differences be tween Prance and Portugal were in a train of being fettled, but that this country would (HD continue its preparations, and that he had given orders for twelve regiments of militia to be Aerobia, to form part of a camp in Caltile. ft (could teem fingular, and even fafpicioas, &at language of this kind is paling, no pofitive de 'station should be made to Great Britain, nor any ei.1119 ttatem:nt made cf the means which might be "":nary, and which they inight esperft Great Bri o: rn contribute in v?ndication of their neutrality, if attempted to be violated. It is, however, remarka h;e+ that m a ny Sp an i ar d s w i t h w h om I h ave con ver:tel, and who were ardently defirous of an alli ance againfl France, have never feemed to look for any alliance from England beyond her co-operation; nd the various fymptoms ()f ill-humour on the part of t ie French Miniller are evidently real and unaffeded; at tile tame time the attentions of their Majefties are marked to the Portuguefe Miniller and myfelf in a ma:mei which has excited general obfervation. The King has been much irritated, in addition to tl.t.ormer provocation from France, by the violence which bas been offered to the independence and neu• trallty of Tufeany ; and both their Mak:lies have been fineerely and deeply of sSed by the death of the Kira of Etruria. The difpofitioa of the people bas bee always fr '.' :-;, ;% AC C f , i • E. I^er ..,, , . . q /'' I q a. . ._. .• - .kt : . i .'s ...1 1 .:...•• -t .t. " • . . . r .... , • . Mill . , • ~ • . qi)v-s t , i? , . , ... . , , : _-..„--r--1,,, , ,, . ~. -.•. • . A., „.... - 1. • - .111,' P.' . „ i.. _ . .. [PRICE SIX-PENCE. a force. I Paid, that I hoped that theft coniiderations would induce England to forbear for a time, and that I would mon earnellly recommend it to him to look to fumething beyond the prefent, which could terve as nothing but a temporary expedient. No:B—.Evraet of a difpateh from John Hookham Frere, &quire, to Lord I lawkdbury, dated &curial, ptla of October, 1803 — Received 9th of November. I have referved for a feparate difpatch tome parti culars which may perhaps appear interefting to your Lordlhip, with a view to forming a judgment ref peeling the meafures to be purfued by Great Britain, in conlequence of thole which have been adopted by this Court in their prefent emergency ; and I mention them the rather as they may perhaps appear necef fary to juflify my remaining here, which I have de termined to do till fuch time as I can receive initruc lions from home. Your Lordalip may reft allured that the compliance of the Spanifh Government is the cilia of fear and conllraint—and that fear is no thing left than the apprehenfinn, by no means an-ex- aggerated one, of teeing a French army at Madrid. before there could be any pollibility of their receiving fupport or affinance from abroad. Under there cir • cumnances, and knowing the charafter of this Go vernment, it will not appear extraordinary to your Lordfhip, that they 'hoed have perferred a remote danger to one which was preffing at3d immediate.— At the fame time I can venture to fay, that there never was a time in which the Btkith Government or the Britifh nation *ere more popular here ; not only with the country in general, but with the Court, with the perfon in power, and with the Royal family; and it is hot doing them juflice to fay, that the libe rality and generolity of his Majefty's condo& has been felt in the manner it ought ; while , on the other hand, the difguft which has been created by the bra- , tality and infolence of the French, has rifen to foch a pitch as to break duo' all difguife. No. 9—Extra of a (filet& from J. H. Frere, Efqtare, to Lord Hawkefbury, datcd Eftirial, Oetober fiefs, Mcry--Ree.tved 9tb of November After having written the two preceding difftatehes I delrmined mace more to call upon the Prime of Peace, in order to learn from him if poffihle, fome thing further refpeeting the additional terms infifted upon by ameral Bournonville. He told Me that our conference muff be as Ihort as pdllble ; that he had only to tell me, that he had not yet fired any thing, and that mall probably he (hould not ; but that all depended upon the dilpofition of Portugal, and upon the anfwer which he might get from Mr. Freres when he fhould fee him the next day. I dked bim what the additional terms were ? he anfwered that they were wholly. inadmilllble ; and that they demanded, PEloignement des Troupes et le Palfage."' I laid, the paffage through Spain to Portugal ? he anfwered " It palfage giartout—enfin la difper lion de nos troupes —" dans nos ports—partout." 1 reminded him of the declaration which the Portuguese Government had given, that they confidered the Pyreneans as the common frontier which proteeled the two countries ; and I affured him that England would not fuffer Por ttigal to fhrink from this declaration in a cafe like this, which undoubtedly involved the two countries in a common danger. Ho. to.—Extradt of la dffpatch from J. H. Frere, Erg. to Lord Hawkefbury. datcd Maddd, December 7th, aok—blitteeiccd 3oth of Decoember. Since the date of my laft the events of this Court have proceeded in the channel to which they feemed naturally tending ; and the ratification of the treaty has taken place. It has been agreed that of the fix millions which were itipulated to be paid monthly, two are to be let apart for the reintburfement of the Spaniffi claimants upon the French Government, and are confequently to be kept by this Government, in order that they themfelves may fatisfy the demands of their own fubjeets. Since the arrival of the rati fication a new claim has however been let up, for the payment of arrears amounting to abort a million Reding, and which are pretended to be due fine the beginning of the war. As yet no payment has been made either upon this account or that of the month ly fubfrdy. No. rt—Cory of a difpateh from Lord Haolefbury to J. Farr, Efq. dated Downing-ltrect, Jan. 21, ISO!. 5r:.. 1 1 - 11r. Najeily% Government having received frequent complaints from feveral commanders of his Majelty's flips of war, of the unfriendly treatment to which they are expofed in the ports of Spain, (more efpecially in that of Ferrol), and of the refufal which they have experienced in many inflames of perrniffion to purchafe in thofe ports provifions, and other neceffaries for the ufe of the refpeftive (hips of war under the command of thofe Officers ; I have to, hgnify to you his Majefty's pleafure, that you make the molt forcible reprefentations upon this fubjett to the Spanifh Minitters; and that you Rate to them his Majelly's jolt expeCtation, that the commanders of his (hips of war !hall have full liberty to purehafe in the ports of Spain prosilions, and any other need. fary articles of which they may be in want—and, ge nerally, that they may be treated precifely in the fame manner as .he commanders of the (hips of tvar of the French Republic, or of any other country which may be at Peace with his Catholic Majefty. I am, &c. HAWKES BURY. J. H. Frere, tfq. dte. No. za—Copy of a Difpatch from J. H. Frere, Efq. to Lord Hawke!bury, dated Madrid,3d March, tEha.—Receiv,u 29th. My Lnrd—The inclofed Note upon the Inbjed of -the armaments fuppofed to be deilined to fail from Ferrol, was difpatched by Meirenger to Sir Edward Pellew before I thought it advifable to mention the Cubic& of it the Government. On my fpeaking of it to the Prince of Peace, he poilti vet) , denied any fuels intention, which fasted me from the necefEty.of in forming him of the Rep which I had taken. It has been Mentioned to no one except to the American Minifter, who had been greatly alarmed, conceiving that the armament was dellined to o dufe the occupation of Lciuifiana. The troops dill remain in Gallicia, but all idea of their being der Lined to foreign fervice is now at an end. __ The Amcican Minifter has receival a Noe, in ! 3 . ' I i i t 1 • 1 1 , 1, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 18os. vourable to England, and has been much more fo of late ; and even among thofe clallos whole politics are not fo fpirited or fo generous as thole of the mob, there is a great difpofition to take part decidedly with us, and this is only checked by the apprehenfion of our being perfeCtly cut off from Continental alli ances, and that th erefore the whole brunt of the war would fall onpain. Thel common people are petfuaded that there is a fecret undernanding with England, and that when Spain is completely armed, the two Powers are to fall jointly upon Frances they add feveral parti culars of the fuppofed treaty, and are univerfaSy de lighted with the profpelt. . . No. 3.--.Extrad of a Diipatch train J. H. Frere.Efq. to Lord Hawketbury, dated Madrid, 7th July tBo3. Received 34 Au pit. Ettore I had finished the preceding difpatch, I was called away to the ufual audience which Mr. Ceval- Ins gives to Foreign Minifters on Wednefday night. I then learned t h a t intelligence had arrived of his Majeßy's Go vernment having accepted the media tion of the Emperor of Ruffia. M. Cevallos com municated the intelligence to me. He exprelfed his wish for general tranquillity r. that it was above all things his kikjelty's detire to preferve a good under (landing and harmony with England ; that war was no adiantage to any power, though it might fare to enrich our failors ; that commerce was the true inte re it of the two nations. I replied, that the fentiments of England were the fame t and that his Majefly's Government had given a fair proof of them in ab- Raining from the detention of the Spanith veffels at a moment fo critical as that of the arrival of all their fpecie, and under circumaances which would have perfealy juftified fuch a meafure but that his Ma jelly wifliod rather to trult to the honour and gene coos feelings of his Catholic Mijelly, perfuaded that whaterver appeared ambiguous or doubtful was the effeet of circumßances, and not of any unfriendly in clination. He anfwered with more feeling and open nefs than I expelled, that his Catholic Malay was fully fent - 11)1e of the confidence And gtnerofity of his Majesty, and defirous of cultivating the belt under. Landing with his Government. Upon the whole, considering the dirpe.fition at pre fent exifting here, I cannot but confider it as ex tremely favourable, at the fame time that it will re quire great attention end management, to maintain it for any length of time upon its prefent footing. It is to be eonfidered that a degree of irritation equal ro what ezilts at prefent has exiited on former occasions, but has as often fubfided ; and the Go vernment, for want of encouragement or opportuni ty, and the abfence of immediate provocation, hav e again relapfed to their old habit of acquicfcence.— The degree of provocation which has been given in the pretent inftance, and accumulated in fo film a (pace of time as the affair of Louifiana, Etruria, and Naples, is not likely t- recur again. The feelings of refontment againft France, therefore, will probably grow weaker, and the prefent difpnlition be material fy altered, unkfs it is kept up or the part of Eng land by marked and particular attention to this Court and its Minifler. No. 4.—.Eltradt of a Difparch from J. H. Five, E(. to Lord Hawke bury, dated Madrid, sift July 13z3,--Recc.ircd 18th Angel& My Lord—l take advantage of a private convey ance, to inform your Lordibip of the little which has occurred fence the date of my In an interview which I had Rime few days ago with the Prince of Peace, I returned to the fubjea of the lituation in which this country flood. He told me it was his Catholic Majeßy's intention to offer his me diation, and that the offer would be made in the form of a letter to bis Majelly. I anfwered with expref lions of great refpeet for the mediation of this Court, and fatislanion at the form in which it was intended to be propored ; but (welled the propriety of de parting from their uftml (Nem of gaining time; and endeavouring, on the contrary, to ha (ten this flep, fo that it might be connemled with the mediation of Ruffra. I did not, however, find him difpofed to agree with me in my opinion upon this point ;—on the contrary, he laid, that the chief objed of this meafure was to gain time. I ought to mention to your Lord//hip a cireum (lance which I cannot well account for. The Prince of Peace has repeatedly declared, that though forne overtures have been made by the French Governs ment upon the fubjeet of the contingent, yet that no dillina demand has been made. Ho. s.—Extraa of a &fourth front J. H. Frere, Efq. to Lord Hawkeibury, dated Madrid, sip Auguft aSol—miteeeired lath September. I take advantage of a Courier whom Mr. Frere is now difpatching, to inform your Lordfhip of the fulake of a eery important converfation which I had this morning with the Prince of Peace ; and which amounted in fubliance to a declaration, that the de mands and menaces of France had become fo ur gent, as !o leave them no alternative between imme diate compliance and a declaration of war. He en deavoured to thew me that they had made every pto potition which could be thought of, to avert fuch an extremity ; that they had even propofed to eflimate the full expence of the contingent which was de manded of them by France, and to pay it to that Covet nment as the price of their neutrality. This had been refuted, and a demand made in return, of twenty-foor millions per month. To this outrageous proputal an anfwer has been returned, that, all things coviidered, it would be more prafticable and left ruinous to abide by the terms of the treaty, and to furnith the contingent. He then applied himfelf to prove to me, that if they were forced to a mea lure of this kind, and to a nominal declaration of war againft Great Britain, it ought not to make any difference in the relations between the two countries, or in the good underftanding between them. TO this I anfwered, that I was lorry I co not give the kind of anfwer which he might expo& ; that it was my duty to be frank with him ; and that, without giving any opinion of my own on the propriety of continuing the (yam .f forbearaaae, which is the two la(k wars had been ufed with refpeet to Spain, it was not in my power to flatter him with a profpeet of its continuance ; that as) nothing bad been gain ed by to long a perfeverance in this fyllem, it was natural to expert that it would be renounced by Great Britain. Havingyotir lirdftsip's la ft infirudions upo n th e fnbjed of the contingent prefent to my mind, I did not enter further into the dircufhon, though I was perfnaded that what I did venture to fay produced a ftrong hispreflion, and will incline the Prince to ufe every potGble endeavour .as he affured me that h e would do, to divert the ' French Government from the pdrfuit of their prefent demands. No. 6..—Extradt of a Dlfpateh from J. H. Frere, Efq. to Lord Hawlteibury, thtcd Madrid, kph Auguß, 1E43 --Received miaket S a epte d m vanber. I ttafie of the pairage of a Courier from Mr. &taxa at Pans, whom Mr. Frere has detained fora haw boars. Two dayi after the date of my laft I called upon the Prince of Peace, in order to take leave of him before be let off for St. Ildefunfo. I found him in a temper and tone fo different from that of our 14fl conference, that I ventured to alk him what could have palled to have made fuch an alteration in fo :bort an interval He laid that the day before he had had a long converfation with the Finch Am baffador, and that he had fpoken to him in a tone which had had its weight. It is certain that this conference had been a very lung and a very warm one; and the Ambafrador came away with evident marks of difcontent and ill humour. It is cer:ain that, fence this converfation and the arrival of fume Couriers who were fuppofed to bring very impor tant difpatches, be has very much changed his tune, and has even fail to feveral perfons, who he intend ed fhotald repeat his converfation to me, that he was forty that the Engin Minifler appeared to give him felf fo much uneafinefs; that in fa& there was no ground for it ; and that there was not any difpofi tton on the part of France to make Spain a party in the gar, The prefent repott which I have not the means to verify before the departure of this Courier, but winch comes to me from good authority, is, that the French Government have fuccedively reduced their demand to a hundred millions of rials, or one million tier ling, and fince to feventy4wo millions; and that the prefont offer of the Spanifh Government is (ivy mil lion, or lix hundred thoufand pounds, to be paid as an annual fublidy in lieu of their contingent. No. 7.—Rxtrad of a Difgatch from . H. Frere, Efq. to Lord Hawkefbury, dated Eicurial, 7h ohr!. 1803 —Received gth November. I have to announce to your Lordfhip the conch'. lien of the negotiation between this country and France, agreeably to the conjedure which I !fated in my lall report to your Lordfhip upon the filbjeft namely, that, for the prefent moment, the difference would be patched up with money; and that it can only be for the prefent moment. Your Lordfhip will eafily conceive from the exorbitance of the fum, which is no lets than fix millions of Livres a month; a facrifice beyond the ability of Spain to furnifh, and, as I have cliftinftly explained to the Prince of Peace, far exceeding the limits of any thing but a mere tem porary connivance on the part of England. On the 3d inftant M. Herman arrived from Paris, and the fame evening had a conference with the Prince of Peace at this Sitio. The next day, there was a fecond conference ; at which M. Cevallos was prefent. And on the following day, the Prince of Peace fent to acquaint me that every thing was fet tled; that they had made every facrifice to preferve their neutrality ; and that they had finally contented to pay fix millions of livres a month. - The terms, it hems, which M. Herman had been tinftruetcd to demand, included the payment of ar: rears pretended to be due once the beginning of the war, at the fame rate, together with a payment in advance, the amount of which I could not learn.— The refult of thefe conferences was, to reduce them limply to the monthly paym e nt o f fix millions of li vres. Upon M. Herman's return to Madrid, Gene ral Bournonville fet off himfelf for the Sitio. He had two fucceifive conferences with the Printe of Peace ; which terminated in obtaining tome further addition to the terms which had been crowed by M. Herman, the exad nature of which I have not yet been able to learn. When I preffed the Prince of Peace upon the fubjea of the Treaty, he faid that there was nothing but an additional article about the tranfit of French woollens to Portugal. I then afked what fecurity was obtained for that country; he faid that was fettled : Portugal was to pay a million of livres a month; that the demand upott Spain was extravagant in comparifon ; and that had been made fo, he believed, with a view of a future ground of quarrel, in cafe they Atould find themfelves unable to tail the engagements which they had been forced to enter into. He laid, however, that orders had been fent to M. Azara to fign a Treaty ; and that they Ihould think no price too great for the maintenance of their neutrality ; and he added fomething, which implied a prefumption that loch a neutrality might continue through the war. I interrupted, and re minded him of what J had faid on a former occalion on the fame fubjea, that I thought it pofEcile that Great Britain might connive at a triftmg faerifice,fuch as that which was exacted from Portugal, or even at the prefent, if confidered merely as a temporary mea lure, and intended to give time till the difpofition of the great powers of Europe timid be more decidedly known, and till chore powers themfelves fhould.be acquainted with the etrcumftances and fitnation of this country. He afked, how was it peffible for Spain to as otherwife ? That their conduit was the effet of their weaknefs, and not of any real hoftility to England. I admitted it ; but added, that the el ferns were the fame , that a lubfidy, filch as they were 'about to grant, was a much greater irlury to the in tends of England than any that could be apprehended 'from their nortility. Hu adnotted usis ; but pleasied ihe utter itnpolEbility of refinance, and the neeeffiry ,ef fubmitting to demands which were backed by fuels 0