The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-02-12 00:00:00

* . t • • . '.. ,•-: i '77:#:.3""'Rr— -3.:
that he would transmit the infortnelgon - • 'tic
Court. He wit, however. to watch, wit: he mad
unremitting vigilance. he progress of any prepara-
tions which might he made for carrying it. into eat; .
eution, and, from i ime to time, to transn it sues
intelligence as he migot he able to acquire on Ole
subject, to the Commar.des a cf His Majesty's ships
in the Nleliterranean, at Gibraltar, a•td at Lisbon. -
and generally to pursue sucit mea.ur -s as might be
best calculated to intercept the Spanish auxiliary
hips, on their attempting to sail from the ports,
either of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic. He is
eien to pay particu'ar Attention to the situation of
Portugal, and to signify that the neutraliry of that
power must be iespeded by Spain ; and if these re-
presentations are not particularly regarded and at-
tended to, he was to de:nand his passports and pro-
ceed to Lisbon." This, said the Hon. Gentleman.
was the mode in which the negotiation commenced.
and he was afraid it would be found that Mr. Frere
had ailed but too conformably to his ir.stractions.
Indeed Mr. Frere seem; to have felt his situation, •
and, as the Right Hon. Gentleman hid stated. on
the Sd June following, he informs Lord Ha ei ke.-
bury, " that upon a former occasion he had pressed
the Prince of Peace to an explicit declaration of /he
intentions of his Court as to the 81 article Ot tfns
trelay of St. Ildefonso. and that, according to clar
the hostility of Spain was so inseparably connected
with that of France, that Great Britain, once engag-
ed in a war with France, would be justified in
commencing immediate hostilities upon Spain."
—From the 2d of Jane to the 24th of No-
vember, no dispatch whatever was transmitted
from Lord Hawkesbury to Mr. Frere; bat, -during
this interval, a treaty was entered upon for the pin-
pose of an explanation of the treaty Of St. Ildefonso;
and, as early as the (ft'l of September. Ministers
were informed of the urle it demands that had been
made by France on the Government of Spain; and
the latter was under the necessity of endeavouring
to compramise for its neutrality by the payment of
a subsidy. Nobody can deny but that it was the
pecuiiat and bounien duty of Ministers to have as
soon as pos•ible made arrangements on this import-
ant subject ; and yet, after a space of ten months, no
instructions were sent to Mr. Frere. but he was left
to ad entirely according to his own ,liscrettun, from
the 21st of June to the 2Jth of Sept but, particu-
larly from the 2iath of Sept. there was a criminal
neglea in the correspondence with our Minister
in Spain. On the 24th Novmaber, a dispatch was
seat,on which the Right Honourable Gentleman had
descanted at some length. The: dbpatches of ire
9th and I Ith of °Reber tre:st of the rending news.
tiation, but the Right Hoitoisrabk Geoti•man gave
no information of a precise and distinet nautili
rest'eaing those Notes which were most -t•
markable for the fraud and fallacies they .
tamed; and, strange as it may appear. artni...
standing Lord Hawkesbury knew pesteetiy well t-
state of affairs, no instrudions were sent to Mr
Frere to consent to the neutrality of Spain ; ban, hi
was told, that if a subsidy to the amount inentknivn
was agreed upon, a declaration of war runt ar.
sue. Instead of such a proceeding, Ministeri one
to have stated, specifically and thstinaly, the amoisti
'beyond which they would cease from war. Instead
l•of which, they content themselves with saying, t::4
..nst.a
'if the Spanish Government pet Oat itlp_uMillg.)ll
itTreS of a subsidy, to the annitteatritiie met
tioned, he (Mr. Frere) was to pvocnct again
it as a justifiable cause of war.---1-1: wishes
particularly, that Gentlemen would take th
part of the question into consideration, for
it be grunted to the extent to which it has 11 ea i
tempted to be considered by His Majesty's M :-.:
tars, we might be brought into a situation in whit
all the public laws of nations would be entirely dot
away; tor, having a jiastifiable cause of war. yr
may keep that cause back till it shall suit your os
convenience, and then bring it forward to ar.,w
the most fallacious and unjustifiable purposes. I
instanced the case of a truce between two armies.
which there must be a certain period fixed, and In
tice given of the commencement of future lioni
ties ; but in the resent instance, in which t
Right Honourable Gentleman so vauntingli boa
of, and pretends to moderation and fits
ance, Ministers aaually placed Spain ier site
lion by much more unfavourable swat a truce, at
which she never would hairs 1,-.'cli in °I her own 1
cinsoridst,vdif
,v,notoc.oatst:pellediat,lannyY
naval preparations wi: it
be looked upon as an objet of great jealousy. a
the Right Hon. Gentleman has said that would
excited by any appearance of affording succours
France. In consequence of these Instruelions,
, negotiation was commenced at Madrid,- hetwi
Mr. Frere and Don Pedro Cevallos, 'er the emu
purpose of ascertaining whether the Tteaty of
Ildefonso could be modified, ard how far it co
be done, by allowing her to commute for peeun:
subsidies. Mr. Frere began by lammting hi.
having information from his Court how to prose
He declared he could not help feeling for Mr. Fr
who was thus obliged to make a distind and psi
avowal of the complete state of ignorance in eel
he was placed. On the 22d Sept. MI. Frere ki
well, that a ItaAtV had been concluded between SI
and France,en the store of a su'asidy; he spoke of
Conventon as a thing known, and then gives an
count of the conversation between himself and
Cevallos. He says, in his dispatch of the 13th 1
which is explained by this conversation, that hi
strudions particularly relate to these two poi
first, the payment of a subsidy to France; and
condly, the passage of French troops through
Spanish territory. On the former point he st
" that it is expressly enjoined him to declare.
pecuniary advances, such as are stipulated its
Convention recently concluded with France, ca
be considered by the British Government in any i
light than as a war subsidy; a succour the
efficacioust and best adapted to the wants and t
tian of the enemy." The second relates to the
trality of Portegal; but not any of the procet,.
of the Spanish Ministers seem to lute been Lit'
MO' to Mr. Frere, who unequivocally tells there
' he success of the Negotiation del ended on the
sat on of all armaments, and on the probibitin
sale of prizes in the Spanish ports. it is to be oh
ed th..t on the 27th of Dec. Mr. Firm co.iplea
two points together as an L',11114(10111. T.,i,
said. was the state in which the Negotiatio
mained till the 3.1 of March. He then sec,
Lord Hawkesbury's instructions, which the 1
Hon. Gentleman says nude no matesial alteta


,o 0„, 7,cal